Help getting the first milling essentials

[sycle1]

My mill looks very similar to the one pictured in your post. Congrats!
Be aware some of the paperwork that you get the specs from for these Asian made Mills are out of date or just plain wrong.
With my mill the paperwork said it had a MT2 taper with a metric 10mm drawbar. That's what I was expecting.
What actually turned up was a machine with an MT3 taper and a Whitworth 1/2 inch drawbar thead.
A lot of the new tooling uses MT3 with 12mm metric drawbar thread.

 

[Jim F]

1 thing to add to my list, zero flute countersinks.
Wish I still had my set I got rid of years ago.....

 

[graham-xrf]

I would not purchase a face-mill right away, use conventional endmills first for a while. You may find a simple fly-cutter is more suitable for your machine.
-Mark

I did see in a YT video last night, the guy saying that his fly-cutter flings chips into places in his shop where he never knew there were still places.
His solution was window film, arranged around his mill like a transparent curtain. He says it saves 90% of the cleanup task!

 

[graham-xrf]

My mill looks very similar to the one pictured in your post. Congrats!
Be aware some of the paperwork that you get the specs from for these Asian made Mills are out of date or just plain wrong.
With my mill the paperwork said it had a MT2 taper with a metric 10mm drawbar. That's what I was expecting.
What actually turned up was a machine with an MT3 taper and a Whitworth 1/2 inch drawbar thead.
A lot of the new tooling uses MT3 with 12mm metric drawbar thread.

I just had the phone call from the delivery firm. It is to be Friday
Re: Things Asian? This one isn't.
The factory is in Poland, though the mix of German and Polish literature suggests it might be a place where both is known.
The manual(s) are in English.

I did have a little "wobble" because of the Morse Taper designations being "MK" instead of "MT", but members here assured me that MK3 means MT3.
It seems Taper = Konus in German, which is where the "K" comes from.

My first shot was to try for a PM machine. I gave up on that. Imports to UK of that brand are just too fraught!

 

[brino]

Check out the Cormak "Starter Kit" Seen on the Cormak site

........it's strange that the picture of that kit that you showed in post #23 shows a face-mill head that appears to take square inserts, right beside a package of triangular inserts.



Likely no matter as it sounds like you're avoiding that kit.

Graham, I don't know if you have one from your lathe work, but a DTI (dial-test indicator) is very useful for centring an existing hole under the mill spindle. Of course for low-precision work you can get away with using a tapered point to align the work before clamping it down.

-brino

 

[macardoso]

My first couple things to buy for a mill would be (in order):

• 6" digital calipers
• Vise
• Parallels
• Hold down clamping set
• Edge finder (I prefer electronic)
• Drill chuck
• 115 piece drill set (spend a bit of money to get something better than the bottom of the barrel import set - from experience)
• MT3 collet set (1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4"). You really don't need much more than that to start unless you get an odd lot of tools.
• 1/4" carbide endmill
• 3/8" HSS endmill
• Machinists square
• Taps of various sizes, get the common ones and acquire more later
• Tap wrench
• 0-1" micrometer
• Dial test indicator (0.0005" graduations, Swiss style, extended range, LINK)
• Boring head with couple of different boring bars

This set will get you enough to do nice work on plate stock with precision holes and bores. Surprisingly this makes up maybe 75% of the work done on a mill.

Past this there are a bajillion things you can buy. My bonus list would be:

• Over/Under reamer set 1/8-1/2" (great for creating press/slip fits on dowels)
• Facemill or flycutter (I still don't have one after 10 years of doing this)
• Dial test indicator (0.0001" graduations, Swiss style, extended range, LINK)
• 0-6" micrometer set
• Surface plate and height gage
• Assorted milling cutters (carbide endmills, chamfer cutters, keyseat cutters, corner rounding cutters, etc.)

 

[graham-xrf]

@macardoso : Thank you for the list. In going through it, I already check out OK on much of the stuff.
Re: Measuring stuff
I use the cheaper Chinese with the South Bend Lathe for getting "nearly there", or for non-critical sizing.
When want real precision, I get out the better kit.

I have more quality calipers than most could need. Like many, I have one of the low-cost eBay variety, and the "Silverline" brand is handy, with the big digits. I have taken it apart and "modified" it a little, to stone outer sharp edges, tighten up the mechanism, etc. It's pretty good for the price. The number it delivers can be this way or that, depending on thumb pressure by about 0.0005". It disagrees with the gauge block by about 0.0007, when it is open to 50mm.

Then comes the "good" ones. I have the iGaging OriginCal. This one is an "absolute" type like Mitutoyo. You can zip it about, and close up with any pressure you like, it always knows where it is, and it always zeros. The only feature it does not have is auto-turn-off, but even if one forgets, it seems not to matter much. It does not chew batteries. I had a quick inventory..


--> iGaging OriginCal - IP54

The Mitutoyos are the dial caliper and the 25mm metric 0.001mm.
The gauge blocks are Bowers Metrology Cal Lab BS 4311 Grade 1
The 300mm bigger caliper is a Kanon in both inches and cm.
The Electronic Digitals are 0-26mm and 25-52mm Chinese, and checked out on the gauge blocks.
The little Moore & Wright is one from the complete set of internal micrometers I refurbished and calibrated.

There is also (not shown) two vernier height gauges with carbide wedge scribes, the three 0.02mm/m levels, various Rabone Chesterman rules, two sizes sine bar, a Chinese vernier protractor, a 2ft straight edge 1/4" thick x 1.5" wide with beveled one edge, and a 3ft (floppy) straight edge 1/16" thick x 2" wide.
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2. The Vise - there may be discussion here!
Or "Vice" as in the British dictionary, and they don't mean decadent deviance!
This I still have yet to get, and here we run into all sorts of choices. The advice from @Mitch Alsup is to not use the type with a rotational base, not the type that can tilt up at a settable angle, or worse - both! Flat down hard on the T-slots is stiffest. I am not sure my relatively smaller mill would shove hard enough to make it significant.

We may have to have experts discuss these for newbies. I exclude simple hand vises, and with small 2-axis cross slides as used on drill presses.

There are several sorts:
a) As 100mm (4") vise on vertical axle rotation, with 1 degrees graduations. Sometimes undeservedly referred to as "precision".
Can be had for about $60 to $70 (£50 ish)


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b) There is a type called "self centering". It has half the thread right-handed, and the other half left-handed. This example is a 3" (75mm) size.
Is that a handy feature? This one goes for $87 (£65). Do we want a mill vise to do that?


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c) It can tilt in 2 axes. I guess this is the one @Mitch Alsup meant was a bad choice!


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d) Is this "Precision"? Is it "Ultra-Precision"? It looks kinda swish. It might also be Uber-'n-Mega expensive!
This one is from the Orange Vise Co. Don't know the price. I think you probably need a lawyer and an appointment to find out!


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e) There is the 2-part, so-called "infinite vise". This one is $215 (£160.71) from CORMAK. I guess it lets you set for wide stuff. Given the cost, I guess it is a useful feature, but experts please comment.


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f) There is the one-axis-only tilt. This one also from CORMAK for $111.35 (£83.10)


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g) There are many that include the word "Precision" This one is a 4-inch from UK eBay --> 4" SuperLock Vise
This for $91.72 (£68.45)


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This posting has got big enough already, and we are only on item #2 of the list from @macardoso .

Please experts, comment freely about the goods, and bads of the above. I can sniff out the quality brands, and I am sure there are some that can be mentioned with confidence in supplying products you can trust. Do you have any that let you down? Have you ever refurbished one of these? What are things not to do? What is the deal with the removable handle looking a bit like something you would use to crank a 1940's Ford? Is that more convenient? Why do some 2nd-hand 4" and 6" mill vises ask prices well above these new ones/

Things I would like to know are .. are they always hardened? Do they have bearings? Does the thread shaft wear out? Do they always have gibs?

I will trawl choices on further kit in another posting.

 

[DavidR8]

My vise ad'vice' is to get the best one can afford because it is the foundation of your work. While you may not be hogging off gobs of metal in a single pass, any inaccuracies will translate to the work.
Out of square jaws, jaws that lift when tightened all contribute to inaccurate work. And while I don't think you are sub-contracting for British Airways to make jet engine parts, out of square part are just annoying.
I could not stomach the price of a 4" Kurt or Orange vise so I opted for a Glacern 4". It's as accurate as I can measure with my tenths indicator and finished very well.
I would not get anything that swivels or tilts.
The tool makers style vises such as what Stefan Gotteswinter uses seems to be a smart choice for a small mill.

 

[rock_breaker]

I had a lathe long before getting a mill at which time I knew my machining skills were (and still are) minimal, so started browsing for books. Found several texts on Amazon; settled on Machineshop Operations and Setups. 4th Ed. by Lascoe, Nelson and Porter. Machinery's Handbook seems to be the "Bible" as you probably know. I just recently discovered Mr. Pete 222 on you tube. There are several more at his level of expertise. This website, You tube, Machine Shop Operations and Set ups plus How to Run a Lathe have given me confidence in my shop.
If you haven't already done so you may want to add some literature to your list.
Have a good day and enjoy that mill.
Ray

 

[macardoso]

Nice collection on the measuring instruments! It is great to have good quality measuring tools before you even start machining.

On the vise, I like the style of the last one you posted. I have the Shars version. A 4" is really all out need for most work on a machine this size. You use the clamping kit for most anything else. A HUGE plus with that vise is you can flip it on it's side to clamp a part that might be too tall or long to clamp in the vise normally. I have done this a few times since the Z travel on these machines is very limited.

4'' SINGLE LOCK DOWN PRECISION MILLING MACHINE VISE

<!-- <ul><li>Jaw Width: 4"</li><li>Jaw Opening: 4"</li><li>Jaw Depth: 1-1/2"</li><li>Overall Length: 11"</li><li>Bed Height: 2.8"</li><li>Overall Height: 4.8"</li><li>center distance between jaw's bolting screw: 3.8"<br /></li><li>Clamping Force: 9,000 lb

www.shars.com