Homemade vertical mill drill

matthewsx

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Well, I guess I'm gonna try to make myself a mill for cheap.

I found this column on Craigslist for $80.

column.jpeg

And I ordered this spindle I can power with a VFD I already have.

s-l1600.jpg

And I'm going to get one of these cheap x-y milling tables.

milling_table.jpg

And probably look for a really flat piece of C channel steel about 18" wide for a base.

c-channel.jpeg

What do you think?

Cheers,

John
 
I should have less than $500 into it and hopefully better capability than a cheap mini-mill. I can make it CNC later if I want to as well.

One of the things I'm concerned about is attaching to my base with enough rigidity. Currently it has an aluminum plate with three 1/4" screws holding it on. What I'll probably do is weld a thick-walled square tube to the base and cross bolt it down. Some well placed screws should allow for tramming it to the table.

I'll post more pictures as I go and probably be asking questions of the members here.

Cheers,

John
 
Take a look at the design for the Taig mill. Might give you a few ideas. Taig Tools

Those are cool little machines for sure;)

Obviously the biggest area I'm compromising on is the x-y table. I wanted to use an American made CNC stage but anything close to the size I will need is prohibitively expensive. I've read some of the tutorials for how to make these cheap tables perform, and since it will just be bolted down I could eventually replace it if I can't get the accuracy I want.

I'm not a very good machinist so I see reconditioning and building tools as a way to improve. I just finished my lathe mounted milling attachment

millattch.jpeg

and cut my first really ugly slot in a shaft. Doing that convinced me to try something bigger.


Cheers,

John
 
You have to wonder how the first mill or lathe for that matter was made without benefit of either a mill or a lathe. It is one of those things that keeps me awake at night. If they were able to do it, then it is possible so what is stopping me?
 
I did something similar but I picked up a yusa xy table. 10 times the quality of the one you are going to use. I got lucky and only paid 125 for it.

Your work looks great
Sub
 
Too bad we aren't closer. I recently picked up an x/y table that came from a Burke #4 bench mill. It was a knee mill and they cut it off at the z-handle. Nice piece. Just needs a new y-axis nut. Keep an eye out for something similar. Those ebay specials leave a lot to be desired.
 
I did something similar but I picked up a yusa xy table. 10 times the quality of the one you are going to use. I got lucky and only paid 125 for it.

Your work looks great
Sub

Thanks,

I didn't actually build the little compound in the photo, just figured out how to get it mounted to my qctp. The eBay seller turned down my offer on the x-y table so that may be a sign....

John
 
Too bad we aren't closer. I recently picked up an x/y table that came from a Burke #4 bench mill. It was a knee mill and they cut it off at the z-handle. Nice piece. Just needs a new y-axis nut. Keep an eye out for something similar. Those ebay specials leave a lot to be desired.

Hi DiscoDan,

Maybe we can work something out, how much does it weigh?

John
 
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