Machining metal parts

[jthibodeau89]

Collets are fairly limited in number of sizes and not many drill bits are going to successfully fit in them, but when you can, sure it can help. And most people who own a round column mill/drill are not going to have a collet set in 1/64's increments either... 1/8,1/4, 3/8, 1/2...are what you will probably have.

My R8 set is 1/32 increments. Never had a problem.

 

[jwmorris]

Collets are fairly limited in number of sizes and not many drill bits are going to successfully fit in them, but when you can, sure it can help. And most people who own a round column mill/drill are not going to have a collet set in 1/64's increments either... 1/8,1/4, 3/8, 1/2...are what you will probably have.

If you have something that won’t fit any collets on hand, use the Chuck. You are drilling at that point NOT putting a side load on the Chuck, like you would be trying to use a drill press as a mill. End mills, even if the cutting surfaces are odd, will have a common shank. 1, 3/4, 1/2, 3/8, 1/4…

 

[TMGT]

Now you are gonna go an confuse new people.

There are literally dozens of different tool holder types.

R8 with drawbar seems the most common on the Bridgeport type Mills that a home hobbiest would be interested in.

Mine has quick switch tooling with er style collets.

Just going to an ER tool holder instead of directly in the r8 collet may be enough length that you can swap from Mill tooling back to a drill chuck without having to constantly raise and lower the table

If they are this far they'll have to learn it sooner or later anyways!

I have an ER32 adaptor I use in my knee mill with R8 spindle, overall length is a little shorter then a standard N14 chuck. What gets you is the length of a jobber drill bit is most likely longer then the end mill you'll be using, so unless you're using screw machine length bits you'll probably still have to change the Z axis.

Agreed there's a lot of different style tool holders, but I'd say currently the most common, especially in the hobby side, is the R8 and ER collets.

Sent from my SM-G715U1 using TractorByNet mobile app

 

[GeneV]

A couple good sites for the original poster: hobby-machinist.com, The Home Machinist! - Index page
You'll find some good info there, more than you'll need.

My advise for a new hobby machinist who's just wanting to turn out some parts for himself, do repairs, etc...just get some Chinese machines from Enco or Grizzly. Do your due diligence obviously, read some reviews to make sure you don't buy machinery everybody has problems with, but yes I would start with the Chinese machines.

 

[GeneV]

Buy a Bridgeport milling machine.
Come from a 40 yr. Retired machinist here.

You should be more specific for this guy, actual bridgeport or a bridgeport-type (knee mill)? Around here, buying an actual bridgeport generally means a project of some sort, coz it's gonna be a clapped out machine. I think that's too much for a newbie to take on, extra expenses and all that...he's better off getting a chinese clone. A well-running bridgeport is a beautiful machine though, I'll give you that!

 

[BukitCase]

Gene, same situation around here - after spending about 8 YEARS looking for a semi-local (100 mile radius) and finding only over-priced, "rode hard and put away wet" (if not just left in the rain) Bridgeports or clones, I finally gave up and bought this

10" x 32" 2 HP HD Mill/Drill w/ Stand & Power Feed

<h1>G0755 10" x 32" 2 HP HD Mill/Drill w/ Stand & Power Feed</h1> <h2>Taking mill drills to the next level with impressive features.</h2> <p>The G0755 10" x 32" 2 HP HD Mill/Drill is a free-standing mill/drill that strikes a great balance between being heavy-duty and high-precision.</p> <p>The...

www.grizzly.com

(price is now almost a grand higher than I paid) - the R8 collet set I have is in 1/16" increments, so far haven't needed more. Added an 8" rotary table, 6" 3-jaw adapter for the rotary, small angle table (for when I don't wanna hafta re-tram), replaced the crap drill chuck with my 3/4" Jacobs super chuck, 3" boring head, Fowler centering gauge, plus a bunch of other goodies as I learn about 'em...

So far it does all I need, so it's a win. Now, if I can just save more than the price increases for the "companion" size lathe (and find a place for it), then yay fer me :=)... Steve

 

[wdchyd]

Depending on where you are, there are deals to be had if you know what you want and willing to jump in the truck and drive asap to look and put a deposit on decent mills.
I bought this Sharp 3hp, varispeed, R8, Mitutoyo DRO, power feed on table, Kurt vise ready to work for $1500. It was running, wired and a guy just finished up a quick job with it, company was going out of business. Had to move it the next day promptly, but was worth the effort. IMO it’s value is worth twice what I paid but I was in the right place at the right time with cash.

 

[Fallon]

Depending on where you are, there are deals to be had if you know what you want and willing to jump in the truck and drive asap to look and put a deposit on decent mills.

I think that hits the nail on the head. A newbie isn't likely to have a great idea of what they want & an even worse ability to evaluate if a machine has some hidden issues or is even just plain worn out. Deals are definitely there to be had, but you need to be able to capitalize on them.

I'm setup to haul 7-10k lbs of tractor & impliments at the drop of a hat. But don't have any equipment to load or unload a 3k lbs + Bridgeport. I might be able to get it in pipe rollers & winch it on, but don't have a toe jack decent pry bar & other stuff offhand. They aren't well balanced machines designed for frequent moving.

Where you are factors in massively as well. People out East seem to forget that's where the majority of manufacturing was before it left the country. Way fewer older machines the further west you go.

I've been looking for a mill for a few years at various degrees of seriousness & been frustrated. The Denver area is better than many for avalibility too. Lots of clapped out machines out there or stuff that's way to expensive, sometimes both. I ended up with a new Tawanese Precision Matthews lathe for that reason. Still looking for a mill & may get another Taiwanese one there.

 

[jthibodeau89]

Macine shop near me was upgrading mills and had 6 mills at auction. Paid $1375 out the door for this 3400lb 3hp ACRA with pnuematic draw bar, power feed, VFD speed control, and DRO. It was in production until the day before the auction closed.

 

[LD1]

Macine shop near me was upgrading mills and had 6 mills at auction. Paid $1375 out the door for this 3400lb 3hp ACRA with pnuematic draw bar, power feed, VFD speed control, and DRO. It was in production until the day before the auction closed.View attachment 721019View attachment 721020

That's a nice piece

Looks like it has an extra long y-axis compared to most knee mills