- Joined
- May 14, 2013
- Messages
- 104
Hey y'all, just wanted to say thanks for this forum! I've used it extensively over the last year or two to answer questions about getting started in a hobby machine shop. Last January I picked up a (very, very, very) old SB 9" (22Y), and just last night I picked up a mill (Sieg SX2P).
For what it's worth, I've wanted a mill for many many years. I had originally wanted a full-size knee mill, but after consideration (and prayer), I came to the realization that I had mentally fallen down the rabbit hole of 'the perfect solution or bust'. The following factors accompany a "real" mill:
- Providing 220v power in my garage and all that entails
- Finding a mill in 220v 3-phase (95% of them locally available are 575v)
- Providing a VFD/converter
- Budgeting 3-5k for something not a wreck
- Paying for moving costs
- Making space in my small garage
- Larger mill = larger tooling = higher costs
I decided that making chips today was better than waiting another 10 years for the above to happen (we are on a kinda tight budget for this sort of thing). It would be a 5-7k fee just to get in the door of a real mill - this little guy was $1300, and came with a bunch of tooling/supplies.
In-pieces mill-drill - so tiny!
Gotta be honest, lol, after looking at knee mills for 5 years, seeing this thing in person shocked me. But, for the tasks that I will be doing, it should be a perfect stepping stone!! Hope to use this to learn all the basics and have some fun.
Lathe being set in place
Over the next year, I'm looking to learn basic milling operations, get some basic metrology tooling (scraping is in my future, the SB's cross-slide is rather sticky/loose), and start learning how to combine lathe and mill operations.
Looking forward to contributing and asking questions!
For what it's worth, I've wanted a mill for many many years. I had originally wanted a full-size knee mill, but after consideration (and prayer), I came to the realization that I had mentally fallen down the rabbit hole of 'the perfect solution or bust'. The following factors accompany a "real" mill:
- Providing 220v power in my garage and all that entails
- Finding a mill in 220v 3-phase (95% of them locally available are 575v)
- Providing a VFD/converter
- Budgeting 3-5k for something not a wreck
- Paying for moving costs
- Making space in my small garage
- Larger mill = larger tooling = higher costs
I decided that making chips today was better than waiting another 10 years for the above to happen (we are on a kinda tight budget for this sort of thing). It would be a 5-7k fee just to get in the door of a real mill - this little guy was $1300, and came with a bunch of tooling/supplies.
In-pieces mill-drill - so tiny!
Gotta be honest, lol, after looking at knee mills for 5 years, seeing this thing in person shocked me. But, for the tasks that I will be doing, it should be a perfect stepping stone!! Hope to use this to learn all the basics and have some fun.
Lathe being set in place
Over the next year, I'm looking to learn basic milling operations, get some basic metrology tooling (scraping is in my future, the SB's cross-slide is rather sticky/loose), and start learning how to combine lathe and mill operations.
Looking forward to contributing and asking questions!