[jimbo]

Lately I have been thinking about parts I have to machine for my cnc router. Mainly some flat motor adapters to nema 23 mount. and squaring up ends of aluminum. all parts would be small.

so i am looking for a manual mill. I would like to explore options for around 500. I was looking at the chinese ones, but for one reason or another I dont like any of the mini mill models.

I thought maybe I could build a better one. I was looking at the r8 mill head from littlemachines.com, same head used on chinese mini mills. Using a xy table with 11x7 travels. and constructing a square column from heavy square tubing. for z travels using some thk slides. The mill head, xy table, and thk slides add up to about 400. for another 150 I could outfit it with the chinese DROs.

Has this been done? are there any other sources for mill heads? Am i just blowing smoke?

As an aside, how much can one find older mills for and what typical outlets would one find them?

thanks, jim.

[kong]

Sorry for thread-crashing, just wanted to subscribe to this thread, as I have a similar interest.

[kong]

My father pointed out this drill-press on ebay last week, and I just won the auction for £41 (~$70). It seems like a good candidate for a mini-mill. Since I already have an 18x6 x-y table, all I need to consider is a spindle. The MT3 ones on littlemachineshop.com seem like a good buy for $40, but then how the hell will I drive it? I think the answers will come when I eventually pick the machine up, and see what it's got inside.

[jimbo]

kong, have you picked up the drill press yet? It looks beefy enough. how do you like the 18x6 table? is it chinese made? what do you plan cut on yours?

I havent decided yet but am leaning more towards getting an older mill. That way I wont have to cobble something together that may or may not be satisfactory.

guess there is not too much interest in creating a small bench mill.

[kong]

I picked up the drill yesterday, and boy, is it heavy! It is actualy smaller than I thought, about 2' tall, max. I think the dovetail-slide will make a nice z-axis, might be a problem getting one of littlemachineshop.com spindles to fit though!
You are right of course, if you can find an old mill cheap, then it will be a far superior machine than this. My biggest problem is space - I have none! If I can make some extra money, then I can afford to build a big garage or something, but until then, the converted mini-mill is all I have room for. Here is a good link for you anyhow!
http://www.pathcom.com/~vhchan/cnc/cnc.html

[lancedulak]

I was going to do this. Most likely a gingery mill though. In the END i wanted to end up with

1. a minimill big enough to do gun recievers etc.
2. a minilathes small enough to be desktop
3. a forge to recycle scrap (al is $1 a lb scrap)

I checked aorund and finally figured out that for a quality system id really need to buy the table and spindle and that i probably would end up spending More over time. So i bought a HF micromill (actually MEANT to buy a minimill!). The micromill is a stunning value for the price. Nice little table. Machine can actually handle more than i need by far. (noone ever thinks to stand in pics of mills for scale). AND..

I can use this mill and the forge to build a Much bigger mill and lathe. Most people do the lathe first. With the mill i can rough in the tables/beds for the bigger mill/lathe quickly and easily. I can make all the parts. I can even use t to improve itself. The only disadvantage is the mt2 spindle (which ill change once figure out how)

The cost for the mill (hf 41758) is $250. add in $50 of hf tools and you get free shipping. Add in a cnc Kit (you can do this cheaper) for around 200-250 you have a CNC minimill for about 500 which you can use to CNC your bigger mill and lathe. (though honestly i cant think of too much i cant do on this mill).
Of course you'll need (want) a LOT more tools but realistically thats always true.

As for the drill press go for it! And dont listen to all the morons saying "it cant be done". Remember a mill is nothing but a motor attached to a bit that you can move accurately. Get an R8 SPINDLE!!! It will save you a fortune. As for driving it look at the gingery books. You should be able to make/buy your own pulley or geared system (im converting mine to gearedafter i figure out how to build my own 4th axis). You can buy 1 or 2hp motors on ebay for $20-$50 all day long.

Sorry for the rambling. Just some thoughts and good luck

[Hobbiest]

Speedway has a new mini mill/drill for $200. Looks pretty good to me. Check it out here
http://www.homier.com/itemdetail.asp?i=03989&c=11

[kong]

Damn you guys, why is there nothing like that in the UK! I bet the shipping on that would be more than the machine

[Ferenczyg]

kong.. I assure you that there are countries with less DIY resources than UK.. more sun and less rain of course , but lot of less CNC too

Fer

[RotarySMP]

While we are looking at homebuilt machines of various origins, I have this frame squirrelled away in a friends garage.

http://www.wrathall.com/Interests/CN...nkenDeckel.htm

Although it was originally an engraver, it is massively built. I just bought the Sherline ER16 flange cartridge spindle for it. Got a 370W three phase motor off ebay. Just need to get some steel bar and plate and make up the head support, turn up some pulleys, and buy a VFD off ebay.

[Hobbiest]

You lucky sod! That looks nice and its a deal at twice the price.

[RotarySMP]

Yepp. that was about my feeling.

[lancedulak]

You had any heart at all you'd sell that to me for twice what you paid *GRIN*

[kong]

You just gotta watch ebay more often. I bought this last Sunday for £230, and will collect it next week. It is old, but witha bit of work, should turn out ok.





First thing I gotta do is get rid of those pulleys!

[ESjaavik]

You sure?
Wouldn't that be a beautiful machine if you just got rid of that modern switch on it's side and replace it with one of those on the wall. I bet it runs with no unnecessary noises except a slapping sound as the belt buckle hits the pulleys. That's rythm man! All you have to do is compose the rest using the appropriate cutters and workpieces. I bet that beast could chomp steel for another 50 years given some lubrication.

Seriously why not. Replace the wiring inside and other items necessary for safety and enjoy it as it is.

[RotarySMP]

Could be a steal for you Lancedulak. At the current exchange rate, €40 is about $50 for the Deckel, and the freight from Vienna, Austria to North Carolina shouldn't be more than $1200. You still interested

When you look at the Deckel and that machine in the post above, you gotta say, "they don't make em like that anymore"