Mini mill recommendations

I would not recommend a Grizzly Tools product. I bought a mini lathe (G0765) from them and have had nothing but trouble with it. Every aspect of the carriage and compound were defective from the factory. I literally spent over 50 hours of time correcting the many errors and sloppy workmanship. I realize that supposedly these are all made by the same company in China but the mini mill I bought from Little Machine Shop was much better than the lathe that I bought from grizzly tools.
 
Thank you all very much for your input and suggestions. I just got done ordering the LMS3990 I also ordered the R8 arbor set, some parallels, and the 20 piece set of end mills. Let the adventure s begin..............Again thank you for your help and I will also thank you in advance for the future help I know I will be requesting.
 
Do you have all the other tooling and accessories, like calipers, micrometers, dial test indicators, surface plate, height gauge, clamping set, DRO's, edge and center finders, etc.? Make a list of everything you find you need then order it all at once to save on shipping.

I would recommend an RPM gauge (https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3818). Just get the plug and play one and be done with it. I tried to find a cheaper way, but they all seemed like too much hassle. The one meant for the machine is awesome.
 
Yes, I have the basics, calipers,micrometer, etc. I have a plan for setting this up, just haven't had the time yet. Hopefully in the next week or 2 .
 
jjtgrinder said:
I just bought a LMS 4962 ( Sieg X2D) about 6 weeks ago. I also purchased the belt drive conversion kit. The belt drive conversion kit is installed and works very well. I have had plenty of power for the milling jobs I’ve completed thus far.
The machine needed very little adjustment to perform well. Very satisfied thus far. Like yourself, only inet debt to do small projects. This machine is perfect because it doesn’t take up much space. It is adequately rigid as long as you do not take heavy cuts.
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jjtgrinder said:
I just bought a LMS 4962 ( Sieg X2D) about 6 weeks ago. I also purchased the belt drive conversion kit. The belt drive conversion kit is installed and works very well. I have had plenty of power for the milling jobs I’ve completed thus far.
The machine needed very little adjustment to perform well. Very satisfied thus far. Like yourself, only inet debt to do small projects. This machine is perfect because it doesn’t take up much space. It is adequately rigid as long as you do not take heavy cuts.
Click to expand...
Hi jjtgrinder, I am seriously thinking of getting this machine because it is just for my strictly hobby/not for sale/not for profit :cool: use and is $250.00, with cost of belt drive kit, less than the LMS 3990. How has it worked for you and do you recommend it now a year later? Thanks, Jeff.
 
snorky said:
Hi jjtgrinder, I am seriously thinking of getting this machine because it is just for my strictly hobby/not for sale/not for profit :cool: use and is $250.00, with cost of belt drive kit, less than the LMS 3990. How has it worked for you and do you recommend it now a year later? Thanks, Jeff.
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Yes, for very small work it is fine. I would recommend it. I like it because I don’t do any large workpieces. My shop is small so this is all I need.
I am going to do a project which will add some rigidity to the column.
See this video.
snorky said:
Hi jjtgrinder, I am seriously thinking of getting this machine because it is just for my strictly hobby/not for sale/not for profit :cool: use and is $250.00, with cost of belt drive kit, less than the LMS 3990. How has it worked for you and do you recommend it now a year later? Thanks, Jeff.
Click to expand...

Yes, I would recommend it if you’re only doing very small workpieces. Not rigid enough for large work. I like it because it fits in my small shop. I’m planning to do an upgrade very similar to the one depicted in the video below. I have the materials gathered. Just need to start. I plan to do the coupling to the column a little differently. When I start, I’ll post photos and explanations.

 
jjtgrinder said:
Yes, for very small work it is fine. I would recommend it. I like it because I don’t do any large workpieces. My shop is small so this is all I need.
I am going to do a project which will add some rigidity to the column.
See this video.


Yes, I would recommend it if you’re only doing very small workpieces. Not rigid enough for large work. I like it because it fits in my small shop. I’m planning to do an upgrade very similar to the one depicted in the video below. I have the materials gathered. Just need to start. I plan to do the coupling to the column a little differently. When I start, I’ll post photos and explanations.

Click to expand...
Thanks. I'm probably going to order it - when they get it in stock. Jeff
 
snorky said:
Thanks. I'm probably going to order it - when they get it in stock. Jeff
Click to expand...
I’m thinking about doing the same thing jeff. So many to chose from and I always second guess myself if I am getting the right one.
 
Blacksuit, man ain't that the truth. Hope the tariffs don't raise the price over what they have it listed at.
 
I have an LMS 3990 and it is a great machine to start with. It's small enough to fit on a workbench in a garage, but just big enough to make hobby stuff. However, I did just upgrade to an RF-30 clone, which are huge compared to this one. I'm glad I started with a smaller one, though. I got to practice on small parts and see how the process works. Mine uses R8 tooling so when I upgraded, I was able to keep my tooling. You are limited by the size of the vise and the travel, though the 3990 has quite a bit of travel for it's size. If you get one, get a tachometer. I initially balked at the price ($160), but it's plug and play and easy to use. I've cut steel (0.025" at a pass) and it works fine. I added DRO's (I used the mill to make the parts) and that has been great. I find that the z-axis has a bit of play, but tightening the gibs seems to help. The DRO makes that somewhat a non-issue. My next big purchase will be a x-axis motorized feed, so if you have the funds, just get one.

The PM and Seig machines are good choices as well. I think Seig makes the LMS ones to their specs. I live near LMS so I can call them or even go for a visit if I need anything. They have great customer service over the phone as well.
 
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