Mini Mill?

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mnm99

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Hello,
This is my second post so don't be too hard on me. I've been doing a bunch of reading on Mini Mills, but still don't know if it will do what I need and what cost I'm getting into. As of right now I'm looking to mill some under water light housings for my boat. The housings could be made out of Aluminum or Bronze. What I'm looking to do is mill a pocked 1/4" deep out of a 4"x1" round puck. The machines I'm looking at start at around $500 from Harbor Freight then I'm reading that I need like $500 worth of add ons?? What if the cheapest route I can go to get a job like this done? where should I start looking? There are a ton of different bits ect... What tools would I need to complete this project? If I'm looking at big $$$ I may just have to hold off.
Thank You
 
Hello,

yeha always plan for tooling as thats a big part of the total cost.

basic stuff;
vice

clamping set

123 blocks

parallels

vee blocks

collets for holding end mills

drill chuck for holding drills and reamers or taps

some end mills in a selection of sizes and flute numbers 2/3 or 4 (generaly)

mesuring tools (a basic good quality calipers is a good base to start with, i often see mitotoyo or moore and wright and starret stuff at good prices on ebay)

enginears square(a number of sizes is handy)

steel ruler in 2/6/12 inch (i curently dont have a 2" one and am constantly cursing this fact ;)

the second hand path is good for saving money and things often come with accesories.

new is good because it should all work as intended, theirs a garentee, some support may be available from the supplier.

brakedges will happen when your new to stuff, e.g. To agressive or not enough rpm with small end mills. Drilling into the table all that good stuff.

I'm sure other will chip in with oppinions. Some stuff will depend upon what you want to do e.g. If the pocket for the light is round you would need to use a booring head or a rotory table depending upon the size.

The Size of end mills will define the corner radius on a square hole, worth having big and small for that reason.

ok i'm rambling on now and will stop before i write a book.

Stuart
 
If the housings are round it would be better to use a lathe machine out the recess. Can you supply a detail drawing?
 
It will take a fair amount of tooling to do the job you describe when starting with nothing. A rotary table would be the easiest way to do the job. As Stuart said above, you will need measuring tools and a clamp kit and a few other accessories to complete the package.

Another option might be a small lathe and a drill press. It would be pretty easy to pocket that disk on a 7x10 lathe, with minimal tooling. Then use the drill press to drill the mounting holes.

Another option is to look around for some used equipment on your local Craigslist.
 
bpratl said:
If the housings are round it would be better to use a lathe machine out the recess. Can you supply a detail drawing?
Click to expand...


Here is a basic diagram. The green will be milled out. I could go with Square or round. Looking at it I would prefer square. Looking for the cheapest rout to mill these out. If it get's too expensive maybe I can contract them out to some of you..LOL. If these lights work out I may be making a bunch to sell so I will need to be able to do it without too much trouble. Thanks...Here's the pic. It will start out with a 4" round x 3/4" thick aluminum. Needing a pocket 3/8" deep.

light.png
 
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For the round depression, a lathe would be more appropriate. How many do you have to make? (ok.. i saw you answered that question.. more than one).
 
I'm right here in NJ.. if you want to send me one and I'll hollow out the round depression for you as a prototype. As long as you don't need it to be too accurate. I'm not a professional.
 
herbet999 said:
I'm right here in NJ.. if you want to send me one and I'll hollow out the round depression for you as a prototype. As long as you don't need it to be too accurate. I'm not a professional.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I may take you up on that. I'll keep you in mind.
 
Several folks have mentioned a lathe; however, keep in mind that even though a mini-lathe is usually 7X, the standard chuck will not hold something 4" in diameter. I'd suggest a mini-mill and a boaring head. Of course, as mentioned above you will need the required clamping devices to hold your work to the table.

I just invested in the LMS Sieg X2D mill and by the time I purchased it, a tooling kit, DROs, boaring head, etc. I have well over $1200 invested. The machine is just the start, but it sure is a lot of fun to make chips on it.
 
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