A busy weekend of building

[danielbriggs]

It is a good spec. But you're paying a few quid too much for features you're not gonna use. e.g. tilting head.

What do you want out of this upgrade?
Budget?

[andy_con]

i use the tilting head feature on mine.

bigger table with more movement and more power/torque

[danielbriggs]

i use the tilting head feature on mine.

Clamp work differently; saves titting about.

bigger table with more movement and more power/torque

So no CNC upgrade then?

[andy_con]

Clamp work differently; saves titting about.


So no CNC upgrade then?

im sure if you own the right clamp but i dont. it takes 30 seconds to tilt to head.

ummm dont really wana spend anymore than around the £1k mark ish

[Doc]

brass... and ive got more of both on order

having a mill makes building so much easier, the mill was such a good purchase. although i have been looking at upgrading already

So THAT'S why Dave has none in stock GRRRR!

[dave]

Looking nice and tidy Andy

[kitatit]

Hi Andy,
Nice worK mate

I just had a quick look around for for 1000GBP mills and that one isn't looking too bad.

I agree with Dan though. I'd buy a tilting vice instead of going for the tilting head.

Check the tilting machines vices here.
http://www.engineerstoolroom.co.uk/m...ccessories.htm

Also a digital inclinometer is very handy when using a tilting vice.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_t...All-Categories

I've found it extremely rare that you need to tilt the head.

With these size machines rigidity is still quiet a challenge. the tilting mechanism adds another point where rigidity can be lost and when you tilt it you loose a lot of the table area you can use.

One major reason not to tilt the head is that you need to re-clock the head to the table with a dial test indicator when you return it to the vertical position so it is exactly perpendicular to the bed. otherwise when you drill hole they wont be square. A more noticeable result of machining with the head slightly out of square is when you are face milling with smaller cutters. You will get a small but very annoying sawtooth ridges left on the surface you are facing.

Hope this helps.

BTW I've got a ...........

[DMills]

Should be able to find a used tom senior or similar for that money with a vertical head, and possibly some tooling.

Fecking heavy, but MUCH more rigid that the little machines and you will be able to hog out huge amounts of metal at feed rates that you would not believe.

Don't worry if it is a three phase machine, inverters are an easy retrofit (And the three phase ones often go cheap).

A suds pump and tray is a win on these.

Regards, Dan.

[andy_con]

So THAT'S why Dave has none in stock GRRRR!

so saying i have 20 more on order wont impress you!

[andy_con]

thanks for the milling advice will check out the links later