Small mill

[Submachine]

I have limited ability to move a Bridgeport into my basement. I want the most powerful and feature rich small mill that I can get into my basement. Basement is a walkout, so no stairs. I found this 2HP model. Thoughts?


Midas MI-409MZ Metal Mill

Benchtop Milling Machine | Smithy - MI-409MZ Milling Machine

Benchtop Milling Machine | Smithy - MI-409MZ Milling Machine - Rugged Gear Driven Mill with Power - Smithy Quality - 2 Year Warranty - Best Product Support

smithy.com

 

[Ed ke6bnl]

Check out Burke Millrite

 

[wrmiller]

The folks here my need a little better definition of what you consider "most powerful and feature rich".

You might get a better warranty and customer support with this: https://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-940m/

 

[Nogoingback]

A few more questions:

What's the budget?
Are you only looking at bench top machines?
Would you consider second hand machines, or do you want to buy new?

 

[Submachine]

Budget is max of $5000, but I would prefer a used machine for under $2000. Hard for me to quantize what I need when I am fairly new to this. I can tell you I cut mostly steel and I would like to be able to drill a 1 inch hole easily in mild steel. Not looking for solely benchtops, but I need to be able to wrestle it down a hill and into basement. Most powerful for example would be a 2 horse motor. Feature reach would be include all axis power drive and DRO.

 

[ThinWoodsman]

Sounds like you won't have a hard time getting a knee mill (like a Bridgeport) into the basement. Set aside about a grand for hiring riggers and make them deal with it. When dealing with steel, you'll be glad for the extra mass.

 

[Submachine]

Sounds like you won't have a hard time getting a knee mill (like a Bridgeport) into the basement. Set aside about a grand for hiring riggers and make them deal with it. When dealing with steel, you'll be glad for the extra mass.

what type of Bridgeport I should be looking for? I.e. specific models

 

[ThinWoodsman]

A J-head Series I should cost around 2k (hopefully less) used for the basic mill and would do the job. Working DRO and axis feeds will bump it up to the 3-5k range, though you can always add those later to save money now. If your 5k is a hard max, then new knee mills are out of the question (see PM's offerings).

 

[Mitch Alsup]

Set aside about a grand for hiring riggers and make them deal with it.

This, transporting heavy equipment done stairs is a job for professionals.

 

[markba633csi]

I'm sure the Smithy would do the job but it's limited in terms of vertical (Z) travel. It's a bit expensive for what you get, but I have heard good things about Smithy's service after the sale even on older machines, just hold back some money for collets and stuff
Mark