A good light weight mill

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Pete Wass

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I am interested in procuring a medium size light weight mill. I have a newish Grizzly with DRO, etc but has limited spindle travel and power. I want to be able to make bigger cuts and have more spindle travel.

My problem is my workshop is in a wooden shed with a wooden floor so a Bridgeport type machine is too heavy and space too small.. Some of the smaller knee mills look great but they all seem to be 7 or 800 pounds.

Wondering if I have missed seeing a machine of 500 lbs or less woit 5" of spindle travel and two or so HP?

Thanks,

Pete
 
Have you looked at Precision Matthews PM727? There is a variable speed version as well as a fixed
geared head version.
 
Could you reinforce the floor or build a supporting base that spreads the weight out if neccessary? You may be unde estimating the strength of the floor. We have a 100 gallon fish tank in the house that weighs at least 900lbs and it is no issue for the wooden floor. Granted an older home with real lumber, not toothpicks but even in new homes I don't recall seeing any warnings at the fish store.

Just saying it might make more sense to make some minor alterations to the shed and get the machine you need, rather that find another that only marginally meets your needs.
 
5" of spindle/quill travel is not commonly found in smaller machines AFAIK
Mark
 
How big is the space? I have a 12x20 shop and have Lagun FTV 2 with a 50 inch table in it.

You can reinforce the floor or pour pad on to sit the mill


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The Tormach personal mills look right up your alley, less then 700 Lbs., a weak 1 Hp spindle and stepper drives are a no go for me. However if you are not pushing it 50+ hours per week it appears to have all of the features you require, also a Cat 20 spindle taper is an excellent choice for small parts. I have zero experience with the control so it may be clumsy and difficult in use or easy as pie.

Edit, this machine has an R8 spindle so no tool changer option, this is a drawback.

https://www.tormach.com/product_pcnc_770_main.html#techspecs
 
Pete Wass said:
I am interested in procuring a medium size light weight mill. I have a newish Grizzly with DRO, etc but has limited spindle travel and power. I want to be able to make bigger cuts and have more spindle travel.

My problem is my workshop is in a wooden shed with a wooden floor so a Bridgeport type machine is too heavy and space too small.. Some of the smaller knee mills look great but they all seem to be 7 or 800 pounds.

Wondering if I have missed seeing a machine of 500 lbs or less woit 5" of spindle travel and two or so HP?

Thanks,

Pete
Click to expand...
That's an oxymoron. Medium size light weight mill that can take bigger cuts. Bigger cuts, mean more mass. Otherwise it chatters. Mass helps eliminate chatter as it is not affected by the cut as much as something that is smaller and vibrates. It's like a small rubber ball, doesn't push a car, but a big medicine ball will move it slightly. The lighter it is , the less likely to have a 5" spindle travel. More like 3".
I have a Clausing 8520, hardly a big mill, about 1000 lbs and it has 3" travel. And it does chatter on bigger cuts. That's twice the 500lbs you want and still has the issue.
 
You mention a shed as being your shop, if you can get under the floor it may be possible to install "X" bracing between the Joists to distribute the load.
My Enco round column mill/drill has a 5" travel using R-8 tool mounting, it can even become a nuisance to install longer tools.
Have a good day
Ray
 
Pete Wass said:
Wondering if I have missed seeing a machine of 500 lbs or less woit 5" of spindle travel and two or so HP?

Thanks,

Pete
Click to expand...

I think your request is over constrained. As the case with most machines, you can't get everything you want. A good light weight mill, 2 hp & 5" of spindle travel is also known as a Bridgeport (or any of the many similar knee mills).

I have a Cinci 1D, which by most considerations is seen as a pretty modest size machine (the smallest Cinci made). It is a few hundred pounds heavier than a BP.

I also have a small Maho machine, it meets your 2 hp criteria, but only 3" of quill - the size on it is quite limiting at 12x8x12. Although it is a dear little machine, very capable in its own right and fun to use, it is quite limiting for many jobs. Also, once the attachments are stripped off, it weighs 2000 pounds. Again, it fails your criteria.

Per the comments from others above, is there any way you can get around that 500 pound constraint?
 
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