Mills

[HOSS]

I have been wanting to get a mill and learn how to use it. I just got parts in from Summit and they sent me a brochure on Smithy mills. I`m sending off for the catalog. Are they any good?

[victorfb]

anything has got to be better than trying to use a drill press as a mill. lol
i havnt heard anything about that brand. do they have a web site? ive been wanting a mill for years and just today i scored an old one from a nieghbor for $50. now i just have to figure out how to get it home. ( that sucker is HEAVY ):D good luck and i hope you get it. its just so darn cool to be able to fab your own stuff. :D

[flat broke]

Vic,
If its any consolation to you, it only cost $150 to have our mill delivered and placed right where we wanted it in the garage. That was a couple years ago, but I can't imagine prices going up too much.
You'll have to let us know what you scored. Crap for $50, at the worst case, you got a great deal on a nice workbench :) If you have the option to run 3 phase on the motor, go for it as it will be kinder to your wallet come electric bill time.
Chris

[victorfb]

chris. i couldnt get to the motor to see how it was wired or anything, but its basically just a 230 motor that drives a "V" belt, then from the mid pully it has a leather belt inside to turn the head of the mill. i figure even if the motor is done i can allways get a new one, and 3 phase would be cool. all the table assembly and vise moved easy and smooth with no play. of course theres quite a bit of lash in the turning handles from forward to back, but i think i can adjust that some. i tried to wabble the head and couldnt feel anything by hand so i think its still pretty tight. the manufacturers tag was low and hard to read from were its sitting, but i did see that it was made in italy ( a long long time ago). on the base it has APEX casted in, so im thinking that may be the manufacturer aswell. i think i got a killer deal, and am looking forward to playing around with it. ill give more info on it tomorrow when i go get it.

[superdave013]

Hoss, are those the combo lathe/mill deals? I'm thinkin they are. If you have the space I would pick up a used Knee mill with about a 9X40 table. You will be much happier and might even spend less money for it too.
Vic, cool deal on the new mill. Did you get any tooling too? That's where the money adds up. If you skimp on anything don't do it on the vice. Those import vices suck. Your parts are only as square as your vice is. My Kurt vice was pretty spendy but I love it to this day.

[spectras only]

James , you can e-mail Tony at this website.He's very helpful with info and there's a lot of stuff for sale on his site from either side of the big pond:cool: http://www.lathes.co.uk/page3.html

[victorfb]

dave. i didnt see any tooling around so i dont think ill be getting any with it. but Danhercules says he has a bunch from his dads old shop. maybe some of it will fit my machine. he is bringing it all by tomorrow. (thanks dan). if not, there is a couple places i know of that sell tooling by the pound. you just have to rumage through it. the vice that came with it looks pretty nice. i have no idea who made it, but its definatly not "import". well maybe it is since the rest of the machine was made in italy. :p

[Hotcrusader76]

Originally posted by HOSS
I have been wanting to get a mill and learn how to use it. I just got parts in from Summit and they sent me a brochure on Smithy mills. I`m sending off for the catalog. Are they any good?
HOSS...
I just bought a mill for the shop used from a race car builder down the street. It was made in Italy back in the day...hell it still had some red oxide paint on it...between the lead layers:D
I've been searching and searching...and for $1000 I scored this machine in excellent condition; 3-phase, coolant pump, and is ready to add a new power feed. Granted they all come that way I'm sure but I couldn't pass this thing up...specially being down the street from me. Next week I'll be getting my new power feed and DRO.
I'll post some pics of my second score this month later on tomorrow sometime. Funny thing is originally I looked at the Smithy stuff but I believe I would have out grown that equipment real fast. Plus now with this iron horse I can start doing my own cylinder head work...
My advice....keep searching...and asking around...etc.etc. Between RiverDave and SuperDave I think you can get just about any question answered.

[Hotcrusader76]

Originally posted by victorfb
anything has got to be better than trying to use a drill press as a mill. lol
i havnt heard anything about that brand. do they have a web site? ive been wanting a mill for years and just today i scored an old one from a nieghbor for $50. now i just have to figure out how to get it home. ( that sucker is HEAVY ):D good luck and i hope you get it. its just so darn cool to be able to fab your own stuff. :D
Hahaa...that was my problem as well. "How to get it to the shop?" What I did was head over to 7-Eleven...grabbed a case of beer for bartering power on a trailer. Found a poor soul that loved Hienken traded it for 2-hours of his "double axle"....key word "double" trailer and broke the mill down into two pieces.
From there.....with a secure connection on the truck...I hauled the head and base back to the shop where another fork lift awaited (same Hienken donor as before) to place it into the shop....pictures to follow.
I couldn't be happier today...or even this week over this score....even though TPC lost their hard drives due to a virus last weekend:frown:

[Hotcrusader76]

Originally posted by flat broke
Vic,
If its any consolation to you, it only cost $150 to have our mill delivered and placed right where we wanted it in the garage. That was a couple years ago, but I can't imagine prices going up too much.
You'll have to let us know what you scored. Crap for $50, at the worst case, you got a great deal on a nice workbench :) If you have the option to run 3 phase on the motor, go for it as it will be kinder to your wallet come electric bill time.
Chris
Originally I was quoted $200.00 to transport it 2 miles:D...the Hienken was cheaper:D

[Hotcrusader76]

Originally posted by superdave013
Hoss, are those the combo lathe/mill deals? I'm thinkin they are. If you have the space I would pick up a used Knee mill with about a 9X40 table. You will be much happier and might even spend less money for it too.
Vic, cool deal on the new mill. Did you get any tooling too? That's where the money adds up. If you skimp on anything don't do it on the vice. Those import vices suck. Your parts are only as square as your vice is. My Kurt vice was pretty spendy but I love it to this day.
Dave,
What vice are you referring to? The vice that came with my used bench nearly weighed more than the mill itself...would it be safe to say that my vice could be as old and reliable as the bench itself. I'll post some pics to get your opinion. I'm ordering all my tooling this week and I was curious about whether or not to get a new vice. I don't believe I need another but I'd rather check first since this thing must weight near 80lbs or so.
~Ty

[DansBlown73Nordic]

I bought a Brown & Sharpe mill once. It was a huge Horizantol. We moved it out of a cellar. That was a real project. It was four feel below ground. Another words we had to raise it up four feet to get it out the door. :eek:
I moved this prick three times before finally deciding it was just way to big.:rolleyes:

[cstraub]

Hoss, we had several Enco's at Omega gear. The bench top models. You can get them from $750 to $1500 for a 110 set up. These work fine for doing stuff at the "home shop"
Chris

[superdave013]

Originally posted by cstraub69
Hoss, we had several Enco's at Omega gear. The bench top models. You can get them from $750 to $1500 for a 110 set up. These work fine for doing stuff at the "home shop"
Chris
I bought a used one for 500 bucks. It even came with some tooling. I had it for years and just sold it to another forum member for you guessed it, 500 bucks.
It was ok and much better them some little combo mill/lathe. But I was always trying to put something bigger then should be on it. And no knee just sucks. It would be ok if the head was on dove tails or something.
They are good starters but it won't take long to out grow it. If you get one make sure it's the bigger one with the 4" collum.

[HOSS]

Thanks everyone. Wow, too much to process now. There is a machinist school here in town that I would like to attend. Maybe I should learn how to operate one before I purchase it. It would probably save me bread in the long run.

[Freak]

Smithy is not bad for home use. The one my neighbor picked up for 1700 had some plastic gears in it. :(
Anyway I like http://www.shoptask.com this one you can add cnc drives later. sweet....
Also check out what a customer is building : http://www.shoptask.com/shoptaskwebsite/custp4.htm
1/4 scale running blown v8

[HOSS]

After doing some minimal research I find that bed length will limit your capabilities. Anything else I should be looking at? I also like the "idea" of adding a CNC to it as Freak pointed out. I`m just tryin` to crawl so should I even keep CNC in consideration?

[Freak]

If I remember correctly they have a model with a 40in bed. I think it is the 2000 series.

[superdave013]

when I bought my ACRA mill new I bucked up for the larger table. It also came with the larger saddle (or what ever you call it that the way's are on). I tink it only cost 100 bucks more too. Mine has a 9 X 49.
Hoss, I took a class at nights to get rolling. I ws just like you. Wanted to buy but also wanted to get my hands on one first.
I failed the course as they turned us loose to make a ball peen hammer and I whipped out a nifty shiter for my lenco clutch insead. :) He took a look at it and said "nice part but it's not to print and that = FAIL" lol, I just smiled and told him that he's not looking at the same print I was.
Then he had us make some v blocks on the mill. Opps, my v block looked more like a shifter base :D another FAIL
It was worth taking the class though.

[superdave013]

Here's the Enco mill drill I had. I did make a shit load of parts on this lil bugger. But it's pretty limitted. Even though they say bench top you better have a bad ass bench. Thing weighs over well over 500 pounds.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/48enco_mill_drill1-med.jpg
From the sounds of the stuff you get into ya might as well go right to a Knee mill. Used they can be had cheep. I bought this one brand new and it should last a lifetime with the use it gets at my house. It's already paid for it's self 10 times over.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/48mill.jpg

[victorfb]

damn dave, that is one sweet mill. CHEEP? what exactly do you mean by cheap? once i learn how to use this thing and of course after i build the 5 car garage (next year) i want to get a nice machine like that. :D

[Moneypitt]

Hoss, just to straighten this out. You can add an NC controler to most common type full size mills. A CNC is a different animal all together. The NC controlers are cool, programable X and Y, but I've never seen one with a Z control, as CNC mills have... Machining with an NC mill is how I earn a living right now, and with a little effort and planing you can do just about anything that a CNC will do, only slower, MUCH slower. You aren't looking for any mass production mill anyway, so what ever you can find to learn on is really cool..........If you can learn some basics, the rest is fun to learn as you create...........Moneypitt

[sleekcraft76]

accu-rite makes a 3 axis knee mill controller real nice and easy to learn we have a couple at work. the z axis is only real useful when you have some kind of cam software we use mastercam.

[Moneypitt]

Yes, I've heard about those, I've just never seen one. For the do it yourselfer at home you can't beat the NC type. A CNC in the garage would be cool, but rather large when you consider all the other shit most of us have in the garage.........Moneypitt

[DansBlown73Nordic]

I took two years of Tool & Die at a local college. I worked for about five years in a couple machine shops. It was a lot of fun, however around here the machine shops are super busy or have nothing to do.
If it was me Id go take a course at a Boces type place. Just so you have a little idea how it all works. It can be kinda dangerous if you do something stupid.....:eek:
I saw a guy once turn on a furface grinder. He started to grind and had never turned on the vise.....:eek: The part took off like a Big Bird....:eek!: It stuck in the roof.....:rolleyes:

[HOSS]

Boces type place?
Saw a guy at Equitable (subsidiary of old Halter Marine) scalp himself on a drill press. He had long hair in a pony tail. Never grow hair again or eyebrows. This was a very experienced man in his craft. Just a freak instant.
I am probably going to sign up for this Summer semester. I want to be able to do engine machine work and fab stuff.
Just dropped out of Radiology and will probably end up back in a shipyard. I want to learn how to do my own machine work because thats where my interests lie.

[Cole Sanger]

Anyone have any info on a Robotool CNC Mill, model # CVM-1? I know of one for sale near me for $500. Here are some of the specs. I have never used a mill of any kind before, but I thought for the price if it was in good condition I might pick it up. What should I look for when I inspect it? What tooling might I want to see if it has with it? Any help would be great. Thanks
Height: 86"
floor space: 94"X80"
machine weight: 3000 lbs.
table size: 13"X42"
maximum load: 500 lbs
rapid transverse: 200ipm
Power requirements: 208,220,240, VAC-3phase
quill diameter: 3 3/8"
taper: No. 30
X-axis longitudinal travel: 30"
Y-axis cross travel: 12"
Z-axis quill travel: 4 ¾"
spindle speed/lo: 60-500rpm
spindle speed/hi: 500-4200 rpm
Hardened chrome quill
heat treat, ground and chromed slideways
class 7 spindle bearing
automatic timed lubrication
built in base coolant system
Mehanite castings
operator manual and parts list

[victorfb]

cant tell you anything about the mill, but for $500 id say your getting a killer deal. id buy it.

[Cs19]

Im into my 3rd machine tech. class at my local college. I highly reccomend taking a mill class, they have night classes, so you can get them in after work.From what im told, Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa,Ca. has the best program in the nation.