"free" Is Never Free

I have a non contact tach. I labeled my lathe with all the speeds. I would definitely do the same with the mill. :)
 
Mills can be very handy even with a limited amount of tooling. Linier slots and pockets can be done with just hold downs and end mills. Basic minimum would be collets to hold end mills and a drill chuck.

Basic hold downs can be cobled together from flat stock with a hole in it used in combination with some studding(all thread) and tee nuts.

A half decent milling vice is very handy for quick holding of parts.

I like to keep an eye on ebay for new old stock quality end mills.

Stuart
 
A vice, for me is a good starting point to get the most out of your mill. I held round parts in all manner of odd angles or just flat. From a lathe and the mill vice you can make up a ton of tooling to use on each other.
 
All the advise above is really good. I've bought some basics, vise, collets, end mills, clamp set. You can make every thing else, because you have a lathe. There are lots of threads here about making tooling. Keep in mind if your mill is a smaller machine it's not going to like big tooling, so you sure don't need a collet over 3/4. One of the things I find hard, is to envision what I might want to do. I can see each project and ways to perform the operation, but looking into the future and thinking what I might be doing is hard. I've puzzled over a particular set up, done an operation only to find out later there is a tool for it.

Another thought, about something you will use over and over, A dial indicator and a wiggler, so you can locate things on the table in reference to the quill...............
 
My list in order of precedence would be:
1) 3/8 collet. Most HSS endmills down to 1/16 th can be ordered with a 3/8 shank so one collet can hold them all.
2) cheap drill press vice (but you will want to upgrade as soon as possible.)
3) test or dial indicator so you can "dial in" the vice or workpiece clamped to the table to make sure it is square with the X-Y motion of the table.
4) edge finder so you can find out where zero is (and to help get back to zero if you raise or lower the head). Make sure to get one with a 3/8 shank if you only have a 3/8 collet.
--- You can go all fancy electronic but I prefer the mechanical ones like this:
--- or go even more old fashioned and us a wiggler:
5) T-nut and step block hold down clamp set: http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?PMPAGE=730&PARTPG=INLMK32
6) good quality machining vice (other people might move this higher on the list)
 
I have watched both Tubal's videos. I will say that it is NEVER a good idea to have the spindle extended nearly ALL the way out. It increases the errors that you may have. For example,it magnifies any head tilt that is present.

I am surprised that he would not already know this. Or,maybe he knows it,and just forgot. But,when you are instructing others,it is important to think of everything.
 
MrPete does think of everything. And he says it, whether or not it has anything to do with the video. ;)

I like the idea of practicing good workholding technique without the vise for a while, as I save up for a good one. I should also have a better idea then what size to get. I'm thinking 4" or 5" at this point. Once I get a vise I'll also need a set of parallels and a ...
 
I normally use the first 11 R8 collets I got with the machine and one small vise with two or three end mills I use the most. It would be barebones tooling but I find it would do more than 50% of what 'I' do in the shop. You can add as you go along and find other tooling in your price range. Its what I did and now I have much of the tooling I would ever need. But then...you never have enough!
 
You can remove the backplate from your lathe chuck and toe clamp it to the mill too. I used a 4 jaw chuck as a vise when I started out. I still use a 3 jaw if I'm doing work on the ends of several parts at a time. A 4 way tool post can be clamped on it's side to the mill table and used as a poor man's vise for small parts. You'll soon learn to use what you have to get by until you can afford what you want.
 
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