Buying a new mill

[GaryK]

Here's a few pics of my new mill.



Here's my cast iron base.




I forgot just how heavy cast iron is. It must weigh close to 200+ pounds.

I couldn't get my hoist over it so I just dragged it off the top. It comes in two pieces so I removed the top (see picture above) section and I thought I was going to bust a gut removing. I probably weighed 40-50 pounds alone




Next time I will get everything put together.

Still feeling a little under the weather.

Gary

 

[fretsman]

Looks great, Gary, and congrats to you. Nothing like unpacking a new "toy" and get her cleaned and setup.

Have fun and I look forward to more pictures,
Dave

 

[jumps4]

you are going to love your mill gary
I'd change the oil after about an hours running
and on mine it took a while before the spindle broke in, at first i didnt run it on high speed very long because the lower bearing would get really warm fast
but after repeated warm ups and cool downs running on high it's not a problem anymore
happy chips
steve

 

[tc17]

i received my new pm45 last week. something very strange. i also got the micrometer on my quill, but i don't have a quill stop. i called and inquired about that earlier this week(figured it was weird that it didn't have 1 since i have a power quill), but the guys there did not know, and matt's out of town till next week.

I got the es12 3 axis dro with the homge vise also. I wish i knew that i could have upgrade to a cast iron base.

i just looked at your mill pics again gary. it seems you do not have the power down feed on the quill. is that correct?

here's a pic of mine.

 

[darkzero]

i received my new pm45 last week. something very strange. i also got the micrometer on my quill, but i don't have a quill stop. i called and inquired about that earlier this week(figured it was weird that it didn't have 1 since i have a power quill), but the guys there did not know, and matt's out of town till next week.

I got the es12 3 axis dro with the homge vise also. I wish i knew that i could have upgrade to a cast iron base.

i just looked at your mill pics again gary. it seems you do not have the power down feed on the quill. is that correct?

here's a pic of mine.

Nice! My ES-12 should be arriving today. I'v been waiting for them to come in.

 

[tc17]

darkzero, does that mean your going to do something custom to mount the z-axis to the quill? i know it's going to be something good. I really like all the custom things you're doing with your mill and lathe.

 

[Splat]

That's a nice mill. I've heard nothing bad about PM branded mills. When I was looking for my first mill I would have went with one of theirs but Matt couldn't give me an ETA on them. Good luck and many happy years with your mills guys.

 

[GaryK]

I did have a hard time getting the mill off the pallet since I didn't have the room for my hoist to straddle the pallet. I went ahead and lifted the mill at an angle and as the weight in the pallet decreased I could slide it closer to the lift point. I got it so light that only one corner was touching and pivoted it on the corner and it was air born.

Lifting it high enough to get on the base was no problem. Very anti-climatic. Then I had to move the old one.

Here that are side by side. I don't like that that handle in the front is 5" lower than my old one. The heads on both are at their lowest.



Here it is in it's final resting place. For those with a 45 clone I can verify that the power feed will fit. I tested it for fit on my 20+ year old mill.


This is the Homge 5" vise. I'm very happy with it. I will discuss that at a later time.




I bought a length of 2x4 x 3/16 wall steel tubing. I will be raising the mill with it and some leveling feet to bring it back to the same height as my old one. I'll show that next time. Hey, It's what I'm used to!

Matt sent me an e-mail telling me that the guy how put the oil in the head filled it to the top on a bunch of mills, and mine was one of them, so I will have to drain some of the oil out.

If I was feeling better I would be cutting chips already. Feeling better though.

Gary

 

[Ray C]

Good luck with the new machine! Looks mighty fine... -And hurry-up and make a leveling platform that gives you the 5" height... Heaven forbid your muscle memory kicks in and you grab a handful of spindle instead of wheel. :whistle:


Ray

 

[Dan]

Nice!