R8 Spindle Mini-Mills

[dwall174]

Does anyone have one of the mini-mill style machines?

Curious about how good these little machines work!

I've kind of been looking at something like the Micro-Mark MicroLux machine that I could use down in my basement.

 

[tghsmith]

depending on what you plan on doing they work great,, I have the LMS version, much more solid column..

 

[dwall174]

Yeah I'm not planning to mill anything like 1/2" stainless steel with it.

Probably stuff like slots in small brackets and small motor mount plates.

 

[ChazzC]

I have an LMS 3990, solid column & air spring. I have added a riser block, power feed, DRO’s and a number of other “improvements,” so it is like their 4190. It does what I need, but if I was buying again I would go for one of their (or Precision Matthew’s) Bench Mills for the slightly larger size and increased rigidity.

 

[markba633csi]

They are light, light, light duty so as long as you are prepared for that limitation...they are ok
The fixed column is preferred for rigidity (as opposed to the tilting style shown)

 

[ARC-170]

I had an LMS3990 and liked it, but it was a a little too small for my needs. If you are making small parts for model trains or something similar, this would be a great machine. Get the fixed column.

 

[tghsmith]

have had my LMS3990 for over 4 years, I build parts for model boats up to 1/6th scale, steam engines and lots of strange shaped things.. a lot of work has been done on the mill and I have never found myself thinking this would be easier if the column could tilt!!! I have added DRO's, better handles and a tach.. plus a few needed assecories..

 

[wrmiller]

Had a LMS 3990 that did very well, as long as you stayed inside it's intended work envelope, e.g., small cutters and small cuts.

Gave it to a friend who still uses and loves it. That thing is over 10 years old now, and still going.

Just my opinion, but the non-tilting column works better/is more rigid than those that tilt (tried one many, many years ago).

 

[Eyerelief]

I have the LMS unit with R8 spindle table feed and magnetic scale DRO. Going on 8 years. Very precise. A little bit of a pain to Tram in since you have to shim the column.

 

[homebrewed]

I own the Micromark 500 watt R8 minimill. It's been a good machine for me, given its relatively small XY table. I use both HSS and carbide inserted end mills on it, the largest being a 1.25" carbide insert job -- but I only use it for light finishing cuts or removing scale from HRS.

I have added DROs, done the air spring upgrade and modified the Y axis feed screw setup to add thrust bearings, similar to the X axis. I also stiffened the column by replacing the large Belleville washer on the back of the column with a 1/2" steel plate. That modification added the ability to tram out the column "nod".

I also added a hand crank to the fine-adjust knob for the Z axis, it made it a lot less tiring when boring holes.

I have never used the tilting column option. I have a 3" tilting vise I use when I need to mill angles, and a couple of home-made sine tables for larger stuff.