Must Have Mill Machine Accessories For A Beginner?

65Cobra427SC said:
I haven't even started buying tools/accessories yet... using the information here to make a list. Is the Harbor Freight tool chest above large enough to store everything you need for a mill?
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I use the smithy box/stand and so far it seems to have all the room I need. I just keep the vises and stock on the shelves instead if in the drawers. That hf box looks nice though. uploadfromtaptalk1440357975169.jpg

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Correct vise finally came in...

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Now I need to search the forum on how the heck to secure it to the table...??

EDIT: Looks like I need to buy or make (lol, love that! ) something like these securing blocks in the photo:

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A few more things that I have learned...

Clean as you go (Dad used to say that all the time)...and also, oil as you go... during the first use of my milling machine, there were drops of sweat falling on the table... I did not think of it much... only cleaned some... those I missed, there was surface rust on the table the next day... now I know... got the table completely clean and oiled...

Also, remove the mill end before you oil the table, lol... those things are sharp and will cut your hand like it was butter... or so I have been told... :cautious:

Something else I learned... making squared holes is expensive... started looking at the Rotary Broach Tool Holder and Rotary Broaches... yikes! Expensive... Nothing that I need right now, just found it cool to be able to make all those shapes as simple as it looks with them tools... http://www.polygonsolutions.com/

Watching videos and reading a few threads... yeah... a rotary table attachment is next on my list... :encourage:
 
So I wanted a rotary table also and I needed something to spin while I milled a convex radius in my workpiece. I had been looking for months and ended up with a non working cnc W axis(I think) that the optical lens was busted on. (Fo free). So I made 2 plates that would attach my 3 jaw chuck from the head of my Smithy to this gizmo. Then made a template in Autocad for the 5 degree marks and another for the 1 degree marks for the 3rd plate I made on the base unit. Now I have a 20 vdc laptop power supply running through a flip flop on/off/on switch so I can run it clockwise/counterclockwise depending on the direction of milling. Also made the knob so I can manually turn it to any degree 1-360 by 1 degree increments.

uploadfromtaptalk1440527633434.jpguploadfromtaptalk1440527648580.jpg

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Wachuko. Which 123 blocks did you get? 11 or 23 hole? If you got the 23 hole, can you put a 3/8 16 bolt through the thru holes so as to bolt them directly to the table?

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