Mini Mill recommendations.

[unioncreek]

I will be looking for a mini mill in the very near future. I have very limited space at the time and am looking for a mill to compliment my HF 8x12 lathe. Have looked at the HF 44991 and Grizzly G8689, it looks like the prices difference is not that great and would be interested in which is best. I like the idea that the HF has an R8 taper versus the MT3 on the Grizzly. Or should I bite the bullet and go with the Grizzly 0758 which is about $300 more?

Bob

 

[zmotorsports]

Have you taken a look at Precision Mathews PM20MV, PM25MV or PM30MV? They appear to be quite close to that Grizzly with maybe a slightly larger table and more table travel in X and Y directions.

Mike.

Oh yeah, on edit the PM benchtop mills take R-8 tooling. This was something I hadn't thought of 15+ years ago when I purchased my Smithy and now that I am upgrading I have had to purchase all R-8 tooling and let my MT tooling go with the old machine. Wish I would have thought that through years ago but oh well, live and learn.

 

[Baithog]

I would go with the R-8 taper. That way you can keep your tooling when you upgrade. I would also spend the extra $300. The more mill you can afford, the better. The extra y travel and spindle feed will be appreciated. You might be able to find a used mill, but you always run the risk of buying someone else's screw ups. New is definitely nice.

I have a seig X2 from HF. It does most of what I need. Would I like a knee mill, sure. Unlimited cash is not our doom, unfortunantly.

 

[NightWing]

This is the mill that I have. Also available with a tilting column.

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3960&category=

 

[wrmiller]

This is the mill that I have. Also available with a tilting column.

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3960&category=

I have the LMS mini-mill (fixed column) and believe it to be the best of the little mills. I also have a PM25 (Griz G0704 mill w/blue paint) and saw a recommendation for it. My understanding is that Matt no longer carries the smaller PMs and has no intention of doing so in the future. The G0704 is the same mill though, and available from Grizzly.

Bill

 

[zmotorsports]

I have the LMS mini-mill (fixed column) and believe it to be the best of the little mills. I also have a PM25 (Griz G0704 mill w/blue paint) and saw a recommendation for it. My understanding is that Matt no longer carries the smaller PMs and has no intention of doing so in the future. The G0704 is the same mill though, and available from Grizzly.

Bill

Good to know. I didn't realize that Matt was no longer carrying them. I guess I will have to quit recommending them as a smaller alternative to the PM45/932.

Mike.

 

[countryguy]

And when you say Grizzley G0704 you just gotta see Hoss's G0704 page and all the upgrades he has done. even sells the DVD for doing it yourself. Parts , videos and more. See it here: http://www.g0704.com/

The machine shop Mini Mill is an X2 class. You will find several places that carry them. Many call upon Harbor Freight and the 20% coupon and then disassemble, put in ball screws, Turn into CNC and way more than ever dreamed.... Hoss did one of these as well. See the youtube videos. This thing is just awesome.

So what do you need to Mill? I guess the Mill you select should fit your work. Are you doing anything big and Hairey ;-) Or anything in sizes that reqiure your table size to be a certain X & Y distances? Those can be two big factors. Same on Motor HP. .5 to .75 is common and not for some applications and great for others.

All in all, I envy ya. Enjoy the process. Learn about them all and have fun! Post away here and lets get you into a Mill

 

[6530]

I would go with the R-8 taper. That way you can keep your tooling when you upgrade.

I've read this a lot & I'm not sure I understand. Tooling is typically held in an end mill holder or a collet, so isn't switching tapers just a matter of replacing, say, an MT3 collet chuck with an R8 collet chuck?

I guess there are instances in which a new drawbar will need to be fabricated (3/8-16 to M12-1.75 or vice versa) but that would seem to be a relatively simple task.

 

[chuckorlando]

In short, no. A r8 collet fits right in the spindle. No chuck. Your drill chuck, face mill, and all that will have r8 shanks. Unless your using a quick change collet system. Then maybe you can buy just a collet holder. Far more good used r8 tools out there. Keep in mind that with just the r8 collet you have more distance from tool to table.

Buy as big a machine as your pocket allows.

 

[Ngray]

If you have the budget to skip the mini mill (x2), do so. I own one and it just isn't very rigid. Weight is your friend, it's size you may want to keep down. Also remember that 1k is a low amount to spend on starter tooling. The price of the mill is just the beginning.