Micro milling machines

[QUAZAR]

This beasty from Axminster is probably a far better proposition and only a couple of hundred more.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-A...ill-364975.htm

[andy_con]

decisions decisions

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/pr...hes-milldrills

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalo...Super-X1L-Mill

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster...ii-prod719673/

[p1t8ull]

Andy have you chatted to Dan about the pro's and con's of these pocket millers?

decisions decisions

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/pr...hes-milldrills

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalo...Super-X1L-Mill

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster...ii-prod719673/

[beamann]

All three are real nice and would love to have any of the three!
I like the SUPER MILL the best!

[JohnYayas]

I have the mini-mill which is the next higher up from the micro-mill. I had to lap the ways and gibs to get smooth movement but now it works pretty well. I use it to make all of my diode holders, dichro mounts, module shims, etc. It does everything I could ask for.

The micro mill looks too small for me, though.

[mixedgas]

This beasty from Axminster is probably a far better proposition and only a couple of hundred more.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-A...ill-364975.htm

You might be shocked to find the vertical rack on those is barely fixed to the shaft, giving it some issues when to try to mill a large area.

Steve

[mixedgas]

I have the mini-mill which is the next higher up from the micro-mill. I had to lap the ways and gibs to get smooth movement but now it works pretty well. I use it to make all of my diode holders, dichro mounts, module shims, etc. It does everything I could ask for.

The micro mill looks too small for me, though.

Reply With Quote

I had to lap and scrape the ways on the 7-10 lathe, took two weekends. However the improvement is fantastic.

Steve

[JohnYayas]

I have a 7x12 mini-lathe but haven't used it nearly as much as the mill. Once I can set up a shop I hope to use it more, though. The bed seems pretty good, though. The quality definitely varies from item to item with these Chinese machines. A lot of people consider them to be somewhat of a kit that you have to do some work on before they are ready to go... or at least to do precision work.

[mixedgas]

of a kit that you have to do some work on before they are ready to go... or at least to do precision work.[/QUOTE]


When I got done working on it, I took the lathe in and had the university master machinist check it out. He was amused and called any lathe one man can lift, a toy. He later changed his mind.

The 7x10 held -.000 and +.0005 over 8 inches taking a pass off a .75" hard brass round using a ball bearing center in the tailstock, after scraping the ways and some adjusting.


For those who do not know, the ways are the rails the tailstock slides on. Scraping means you paint them with blue dykem, slide the tailstock back and forth, and see where the scratches and patches are in the dykem. Those patches and scratches are the high spots in the rails. You take a sharp piece of tungsten carbide and slowly remove the high spots. Then more dykem goes down. Lather, rinse, repeat. A few hours to days of scraping and polishing later, you have a flat way and a sore wrist.

The cross slide sucks, but for 300$ and shipping, what do you want???

The real difference between a Rong Fu and a South Bend is the number of hours you spend maintaining vs working.

Steve

[chad]

Don't forget you will spend easily what you paid for the mill in tooling.

You are going to need.

A good indexed drill set.
Some good UNCOATED carbide end mills.
A decent mill vice.
A small rotary table is always good to have unless you have cnc.
Parallels
A shop vack to suck up chips.
Some kind of lubricant for cutting.
A small face mill or fly cutter.
A boreing bar of some sort.
A good micrometer and a good set of calipers.
A 6 inch rule, A protractor.
A small flat.
A Spotting drill
Countersink set.
Dial indicator.

And a bunch of other things that you didn't even know you needed.

Then you will eventually get the bug and want to convert it to cnc. That is another can of worms.

chad