Anyone here have one? Curious how it has treated you.

HF, among others sell them for around $500. They are light duty with a 4x8 table, but look to be decent for aluminum work (spacers, adapters, throttle bodies, etc).

-- Joe

 

I don't own one, but i know exactly what you're looking at...

http://www.harborfreight.com/two-spe...ine-44991.html

probably that....

i've been trying to convince myself to get one for a while.

Maybe it's ***** envy or something but i feel like i would be inadequate with a 4x8 mill. Granted, i am doing everything by hand now or with my drill press, or whatever and i really NEED a mill, i just don't think that 4x8 would be big enough for my needs...

12x12 seems a little small too honestly...

i think 8x8 for a manual mill would be -ok- though, depending upon what you use it for. 4x8 would be annoying... especially if you're milling a 9x9 part and need a hole at right in the middle... which, TRUST ME... it happens more than you'd think.

--------

with that said, i have pretty much decided that some of the 1200$ range ones are a little more worth it for various reasons...

but...... if you don't plan to EVER use this on something more than 4x8, or steel, then get it... then upload videos and show me lol ..

 

there... i've been looking at these two....

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-1-...eed-44142.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/vertica...ine-40939.html

still not really wide enough for what i'm looking for, but, figured they'd do...

and the first one is also a lathe, and whatever else....

but for the record, when you start getting into that kind of money, you can get a CNC machine...

 

My machinest retired over the summer. Today he called me and offered me his mill-rite or whatever brand it is. It's got a 48" table. He said he has all the attachments and end mills I could dream of, and a 90* attachment of some sort. He wants $2500.. That's a lot of money though for something I might not use much..

-- Joe

 

Wow.. ( will reply after dinner)

 

seriously man, if i HAD the money and i were you i'd go buy that thing....

if i didn't have the money, trust me, i'd be looking for stuff to sell to buy it, would be talking him down or trying to get him to create a payment plan or something....

I'll put it this way...

I don't know what you do for a living, but, i'll say this: Anyone who is posting on the Fabrication section of this forum is someone who likes to get their hands dirty and build stuff out of nothing..

so, i assume you're like i am! If it were me, i guarantee, i'd buy that thing and would have an add out in Craigslist looking for people who need stuff milled and would be making money with it in less than a week, and it would pay itself off in noooooo time...

but MY issue is having the money in the first place, otherwise i'd jump all over it...

in fact, if i can find some things to sell, i MAY jump on it, but shipping to TX would be expensive as hell, and i'm bound to find one locally before long...

seriously though.... think about the possibilities if you had it...
you say "won't get much use out of it" but i personally see ENDLESS use...

being a bike guy myself, i can think of at least 20 different parts i could mill out QUICKLY, mass produce and SELL on ebay...
and after selling maybe a dozen or two parts, buy a CNC kit for the thing and automate it!!!!!!!!!!!

and continue the process... then buy larger machines, make more parts, then heavier machines and mill heavier metals.. etc etc...

.............

and if i had the money, that's -exactly- what i would do.... the problem is, i don't... so i'm making due with what i have for the moment.

 

hmm... i'll put it this way...

if you get that mill, i may even send you work lol

 

I looked at a bunch of the smaller imports and finally gave in and picked up a 1960 vintage Bridgeport J-head 48x12(I think, it's the extended one) table, with a pan head motor (the only one that would clear my garage door). even with a 2400# beast blocking my garage I haven't regretted it at all

 

i think a used Bridgeport is the way to go,I'm a machinist and I know you can pick up a used one,it should be fairly inexpensive..and with enough ingenuity you can do almost anything with one..
I'm a boring mill operator and i've done 17 foot parts on a 72 inch machine..lol

 

God that would take forever....

My question though is, how do you mill parts that are more than double the width of the Y axis gantry, also assuming that is longer... I.e. a 36x36 piece in a 17x8 machine..

If its longer than the gantry you can just keep sliding the part once you reach the limit of the machine, but width is fixed....

(Asking for personal knowledge since the topic was raised)

 

on a some vertical milling machines like a Bridgeport,the head is mounted on a ram and you can slide it in and out for larger parts.you've raised a good question,for holes you could make a transfer plate bolt it into existing holes and transfer the holes outside your axis by drilling through location holes in it or using a transfer punch to locate new hole positions

 

If its a Bridgeport style machine, the head is mounted on a ram which can be moved in or out depending on how much clearance the part/table has with the turret. For a horizontal/bed mill, I think you need a bed plate for that kind of stuff. Then again, I've never used a horizontal or bed mill.

How big a thing do you have in mind that a 12x12 table isn't enough??? We had 8x30 tables in the shop I was in on all our manual mills and that was more than enough for anything you could do. I machined an 8' long piece of bar stock on those mills and had no issues what so ever.

Size matters not in using a machine. Knowing how to use it properly is the key to getting things done.

OP:

I don't have one of those mills, but the guy who ran our shop did and he liked it well enough for what it was. Just don't expect to do heavy machining with it. Its not the most rigid thing out there.

 

You will difinitely find more uses for it once its sitting in the garage. plus you will probably never touch your drill press again.

If you're getting accessories with it, $2500 is probably a good deal. Collets, chucks, and vices aren't cheap

 

i have a van norman mill and a 9" south bend lathe they dont get used much but when they do get used it sure does make it worth having them

 

For awhile some of the CNC convresational mills were going for so cheap it was not funny. When buying this stuff remember to check if it is 3 phase or not. Getting a phase converter may cost you money but opens up to a bigger buying pool of equipment.

 

It pays to "make friends" with a local CNC shop. I did & have had a few milling things done for free. And "cheap" prices for other stuff.

 

the problem with cnc machines for the home garage is the tooling and software. CNC tooling is outrageous priced and the software like featurecam or something is too expensive to just use it occasionaly. I agree with the last couple post that its better to just send the parts to a machine shop and have them make whatever you need. I work in a machine shop and our hourly rate is $85 hour. You can have alot of parts made for what 1 machine would cost. Thats just my humble oppioun.

 

keep in mind that you don,t want to waste money on a machine that won,t do the jobs you have in mind so you want to have a clear idea of whats required before you buy a mill, and its the tooling, and the adjustable VISE that will make or break a good deal of your projects


HERES THE MILL I PURCHASED
http://machinerydistributors.com/m1004.htm

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...t=mill+machine

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...machine#p11181

 

If you ever look at equipment and they include tooling, holders, collets, software grab all they have. Buying those small items from the seller at 1/2 price save time and money. Find local repair/service shops for the equipment, they may have a good/bad history with that equipment.