New member joining

[Dave Smith]

The mill pictured is smaller than it appears, but very heavy. The table only measures 8" by 12". It's a Gorton pantograph engraver remade into a mill. I needed something beefier than my Gorton P1-2 pantograph, but I'm too old to carry a mill into the basement and could not afford one anyway. Plus it will cost very little to construct and I'm tired of waiting for my first mill.

welcome---I also am converting a French made engraving machine for use as a mill---it is also very heavy and 10" x 24" table----I am interested in seeing how you do the mill head and if you use the moveable arm also---Dave

 

[Diecutter]

welcome---I also am converting a French made engraving machine for use as a mill---it is also very heavy and 10" x 24" table----I am interested in seeing how you do the mill head and if you use the movable arm also---Dave

Dave, I'm starting out with a fixed spindle head, with z-axis adjustments by way of raising/lowering the knee. The knee wheel has .001" increments on the outside edge spaced about 1/8" apart, so fine adjustments should be doable. Planned on removing the movable arm, but if you have any ideas on incorporating it into the design, I'm all ears. Future plans include finding a small mill complete head if one presents itself and grafting it to the existing base/table. I'm keeping the Gorton 3-U undrilled and uncut so I can possibly sell it when this happens. Will be starting a build log soon .

 

[jrkorman]

Will be looking forward to your progress - That looks like it will be a nice mill once completed!

 

[Diecutter]

welcome---I also am converting a French made engraving machine for use as a mill---it is also very heavy and 10" x 24" table----I am interested in seeing how you do the mill head and if you use the moveable arm also---Dave

Dave, You have me beat regarding table size. Your question regarding the movable arm spurred me to use it to mount the center step pulley; thanks for that tip. The attached photos also show my spindle design. Looking forward to seeing info on your French engraver conversion.