Reply With Quotei kinda asked for a starter mill, not a sell my house mill
:/
Yea, look for a used Bridgeport>Originally Posted by cheesyhoney
i kinda asked for a starter mill, not a sell my house mill
:/
ehh, whether all that is worth it depends on what the OP threadstarter is looking to make. Buying a 3-phase mill is probably 10x more than anyone should spend on a whim.
IMO it comes down to the type of parts you're trying to make. It's the same thing if you're talking about a cheap garage machine or a high-end CNC production cell. It's not about what is the strongest or fastest or most powerful, rather it's about what is the most cost-effective...depending on what you want to make (which sometimes isn't any of those).
I get guys at the local college that buy little cheap machines that cost only a couple hundred, and all they're doing with them is milling foam or wood. For projects like that, little lightweight machines are perfect! (even plastic bridge-router style CNCs like the ones Sears used to retail). Of course the OP was talking about aluminum, in which case those machines won't work very good, but you can still cut it with a benchtop after minimal investment...then gauge truly how much cash you want to start spending
http://www.harborfreight.com/two-spe...ine-44991.html
how bout this?
Harbor freight tools are not known for being the best quality, so you won't be able to do much on that machine. I'm no expert by any means, but I wouldn't put any of my guns on that mill.
Plenty of people are able to get by for quite a while with an X2 style mini mill (the one you linked to from Harbor Freight, Grizzly and others also sell their own version), and many can do nice work with it, just at very diminished capacities and speed. However, they are also best thought of as kits that really need some serious TLC and often some modifications straight out of the box to be overly useful. Mine fell into the "put together wrong at the factory" category that took a while to figure out. The out of the box issue causing some damage under use so that even when it was put together properly it was never completely right until I converted it to CNC.
Room and budget permitting, The G0704 from Grizzly or even the G0758 are much more capable machines for not that much more money. Depending on where you live, a used Bridgeport like Luke suggested can be relatively affordable - again room permitting. If the mini mill style machine is all you have room or budget for at all (aside from tooling, fixturing, measuring tools, etc... which quickly cost more than the machine to begin with) then one of the little machine shop versions might be better suited as they have larger tables and table travels than the other brands, as well as some of the versions having more powerful motors.
I would suggest looking to see if your local college has a Manufacturing Program, and take a couple of their mill and lathe classes. Many cost you a few $$, but you will have an idea of the basics of machining, and how to do it safely.
Classes: $2,000 < Hospital bill for cutting up hand: $5,000
Last edited by evil_racecocker; 09-13-2014 at 01:56 PM.
Go for it, I think Walmart has that on special this week. Good luck in your quest.
I purchased this mill and a ton of tooling. At the time I knew exactly NOTHING about machining, I had never even seen a milling machine in person before then. In all I spent about 12K to get started learning the trade. That machine is still used 4 days a week for one thing or another although I dont do production work on it any more.
That cheap ass machine paid for itself, the building I built to put it in, a new Millermatic MIG welder, Lincoln 250 TIG welder, Oxy/Acet, tool boxes, hand tools, welding tables, compressor, etc, etc, ect. At one point it paid for every single tool in the shop, including the shop itself! (Until I went to CNC).
Every machinist I talked to advised me to stay away from the table top junk, I'm glad they did, I only wish I would have spent more money on a better knee mill from the get go...
We get it, you don't like the mini stuff. But for someone who isn't trying to make a career out of it and just wants to run small parts, or have it as a hobby, the larger stuff is not worth the cost. I can run small parts and modifications just fine on my benchtop lathe and mill.
I don't know, fly casual
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