[Newbie] First Machine Ordered...buying Tooling And Accessories...advice And Help Me Not Forget Anything

[0110-m-p]

So I put a deposit down on my first machine (Precision Matthews PM25 mill) and am wanting to go ahead and order most of the tooling and accessories I will need to take off running before the machine gets here (I was told that it should arrive at my door mid-May). My goal here is to list out everything I am planning on buying to get feedback on A) if it is a decent purchase to start with and B) if I'm forgetting anything that I really should have.

A little back ground first. I have machining experience and am not a complete newbie (definitely not extremely experienced though), but I have never owned my own equipment. I am a mechanical engineer and work professionally in product development, but my hobbies primarily revolve around my RX-7 race car and 3D printing (design/build/use). Currently I fabricate pretty much everything I make for my race car with a 4" bench vise, hand drill, hacksaw/sawzall, angle grinder, pneumatic cut-off tool, and a TIG welder. Anything that has needed true machine work has been outsourced to a local shop. All this is getting a bit old and is the primary reason I decided to bite the bullet and start my own little home machine shop. Mill is first, but lathe will follow within a year.

Anyways, here is what I have on order from QMS...

- Precision Matthews PM-25MV milling machine
- Milling vise (precision ground 4" w/ swivel base)
- 52-piece clamping kit (3/8"-16 threads)
- 11-piece R8 collet set (0.0005" precision grade)

And here is what I am planning on buying (hopefully some of it today with the Enco 20% off coupon)...
- Dial test indicator (0.0005" graduations | 0-15-0 range | Enco import "premium quality")
- Edge and center finder kit (4-piece | Enco import)
- End mill set (20-piece | TiN coated HSS | Enco import)
- Parallel set (10 pairs | 6" long, 1/8" thick | Enco import)
- 1-2-3 blocks (pair | Enco import)
- Center drill bit/countersink set (5-piece | Anytime Tools on Amazon)
- South Bend R-8 to JT33 chuck arbor
- Woodstock D3455 chuck (JT33 | key-style | 5/8" capacity) [questioning this one]
- Mason Industries machine mounts (Qty: 4 | 1/2"-13 studs | 250# capacity each)

I already have the following items before anyone suggests these...
- 6" digital calipers
- 1", 2", and 3" micrometers
- 0.001" dial indicator with magnetic stand
- feeler gauge set down to 0.0015"

Thanks in advance for any input/advice and apologies for any ignorance.

 

[chevydyl]

i would suggest an ER collet chuck, i have one on my Bport clone, er40 made by ETM, very high quality, plus i dont fiddle with a drawbar to change tools, the ER has the highest clamping range at .039. mine has an intergal R8 shank, very nice. also you may want to rethink your vise purchase, as craigslist could provide a Kurt at low cost
i got my Kurt D688 for $277 heres what it looks like, had no drill holes or accidents, near new condition. the deals are out there. I dont own a single R8 collet at the moment, i may get a couple for certain things to keep the tool a little closer to the spindle nose, i would recommend an ER32 R8 collet chuck for your mill, and get a good brand name from ebay, Bison has em for around $140, or as a set for $300 with collets, my ETM collets are on the higher end if thats what your into

 

[brav65]

Congratulations on the new mill! I have the same machine and love it. The list looks good, but I have found the end mill sets to be of poor quality. I bought a bunch of tooling from a retired machinist and the higher quality end mills are sooooo much better. I will not use the cheap ones again. I would recommend getting 1/8", 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" two and four flute roughing and finishing. They will get 95% of what you want to do. You could probably skip the 1/8" if your budget is tight.

Good luck!

 

[chevydyl]

Sorry I missed the pm25 part not realizing It was the baby, I just read a post about a larger mill and carried over, I suggest you find a Kurt D40 for this size mill. I still recommend the er32 chuck, it translates to using the same collet to hold a 3/8 end mill as a 10mm end mill.
+1 on quality end Mills, shop ebay for new brand name or AMERICAN MADE Carbide end Mills, Cgs Tool is where I get my end Mills from, $15.99 for a 1/2" single end 4fl, can't beat that

 

[0110-m-p]

Thanks for the advice so far guys!

Right now a Kurt vise isn't in my budget, but it is something that I have already planned as an upgrade down the road. It sounds like the one QMS sells is fine for the money, but is obviously nothing special with plenty of negatives.

I'll look into the ER32 chuck because that does sound interesting if the price isn't outrageous. I've always used normal collets in the past and never found that to be a major hindrance/problem.

For the end mills, I hear you loud and clear that the set I'm looking at probably shouldn't be ordered. As I'm looking at other option is there a certain material or feature I should specifically look for? I generally don't fall for the "brand name is always better" game and like to know why I'm paying more for something else.

 

[samthedog]

Get yourself a good chuck - Jacobs, Rohm, Albrecht are all ok. Get a decent set of drill bits as well. If cash is tight then I would recommend the newer Dormers in the red plastic box. They are made in Brazil but I have seen no drop in quality.

Also, get yourself some decent oil cans or guns to keep everything lubed up properly and deadblow plastic hammer for setting parts in the vice. Cutting oil is also a must and I would also recommend a good deburrer and hand countersink. White board markers and a scribe to mark up your work is also useful.

Paul.

 

[0110-m-p]

Paul, thanks for the response. Guess I have more tools than I listed originally...from your list of items...

decent drill bits - check
deadblow plastic hammer - check
hand countersink - check
scribe and markers - check
cutting fluid (tap magic and tap magic aluminum) - check

Picking up a deburrer is a good idea though, thanks.

What are your thoughts on this Jacob's chuck. Right now with 20% off on Enco I can get it for $53.60.

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PARTPG=INLMKD&PMPXNO=950914&PMAKA=505-2189

Or this Rohm for $59.43?

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=325-1537&PMPXNO=5802616&PARTPG=INLMK32

 

[smoa]

Definitely get the drill chuck, it will come in handy for odd ball drills. Also some kind of clamp to put your dial indicator in the chuck. Great for sweeping in holes, finding the center of bar stock, and other general dialing in. In reality you could make your own once you get mill. That was one of my first projects as an apprentice.

http://www.flexbar.com/shop/pc/TEST-INDICATOR-HOLDER-DOUBLE-JOINT-p4834.htm

Also a machinist a decent machinist square.

http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-H2993-Machinists-Square-4-Piece/dp/B0000DD4EE

 

[REdington]

Don't buy the import endmills. Get some good quality USA made and you'll never regret it. They stay sharper 2 to 3 times longer and less prone to breakage. If you going to work with aluminum, get some endmills made for machining aluminum. Watch you local Craigslist for machining accessories and tooling. About a year ago, I bought almost everything a retiring machinist had for about 20% of what it would of cost new.
See if you have a local dealer that caters to the machining industry and buy your consumables from them as you need them.

 

[0110-m-p]

So I went ahead and ordered the following items from Enco before the 11PM EST cutoff for the 20% off deal.

- Dial test indicator (0.0005" graduations | 0-15-0 range | Enco import "premium quality")
- Edge and center finder kit (4-piece | Enco import)
- Parallel set (10 pairs | 6" long, 1/8" thick | Enco import)
- 1-2-3 blocks (pair | Enco import)
- Jacobs 6279D JT33 drill chuck
- Mason Industries machine mounts (Qty: 4 | 1/2"-13 studs | 250# capacity each)

I'm going to continue looking into end mills and will likely post my results here before I purchase anything.

Thanks everyone for the input thus far.