# Homemade vertical mill drill



## matthewsx

Well, I guess I'm gonna try to make myself a mill for cheap.

I found this column on Craigslist for $80.




And I ordered this spindle I can power with a VFD I already have.




And I'm going to get one of these cheap x-y milling tables.




And probably look for a really flat piece of C channel steel about 18" wide for a base.




What do you think?

Cheers,

John


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## eugene13

GO FOR IT


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## ThinWoodsman

Take a look at the design for the Taig mill. Might give you a few ideas. Taig Tools


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## matthewsx

I should have less than $500 into it and hopefully better capability than a cheap mini-mill. I can make it CNC later if I want to as well.

One of the things I'm concerned about is attaching to my base with enough rigidity. Currently it has an aluminum plate with three 1/4" screws holding it on. What I'll probably do is weld a thick-walled square tube to the base and cross bolt it down. Some well placed screws should allow for tramming it to the table.

I'll post more pictures as I go and probably be asking questions of the members here.

Cheers,

John


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## matthewsx

ThinWoodsman said:


> Take a look at the design for the Taig mill. Might give you a few ideas. Taig Tools



Those are cool little machines for sure 

Obviously the biggest area I'm compromising on is the x-y table. I wanted to use an American made CNC stage but anything close to the size I will need is prohibitively expensive. I've read some of the tutorials for how to make these cheap tables perform, and since it will just be bolted down I could eventually replace it if I can't get the accuracy I want.

I'm not a very good machinist so I see reconditioning and building tools as a way to improve. I just finished my lathe mounted milling attachment 




and cut my first really ugly slot in a shaft. Doing that convinced me to try something bigger.


Cheers,

John


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## MontanaLon

You have to wonder how the first mill or lathe for that matter was made without benefit of either a mill or a lathe. It is one of those things that keeps me awake at night. If they were able to do it, then it is possible so what is stopping me?


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## Submachine

I did something similar but I picked up a yusa xy table.  10 times the quality of the one you are going to use.  I got lucky and only paid 125 for it.

Your work looks great
Sub


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## DiscoDan

Too bad we aren't closer. I recently picked up an x/y table that came from a Burke #4 bench mill. It was a knee mill and they cut it off at the z-handle. Nice piece. Just needs a new y-axis nut. Keep an eye out for something similar. Those ebay specials leave a lot to be desired.


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## matthewsx

Submachine said:


> I did something similar but I picked up a yusa xy table.  10 times the quality of the one you are going to use.  I got lucky and only paid 125 for it.
> 
> Your work looks great
> Sub



Thanks,

I didn't actually build the little compound in the photo, just figured out how to get it mounted to my qctp. The eBay seller turned down my offer on the x-y table so that may be a sign....

John


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## matthewsx

DiscoDan said:


> Too bad we aren't closer. I recently picked up an x/y table that came from a Burke #4 bench mill. It was a knee mill and they cut it off at the z-handle. Nice piece. Just needs a new y-axis nut. Keep an eye out for something similar. Those ebay specials leave a lot to be desired.



Hi DiscoDan,

Maybe we can work something out, how much does it weigh?

John


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## matthewsx

MontanaLon said:


> You have to wonder how the first mill or lathe for that matter was made without benefit of either a mill or a lathe. It is one of those things that keeps me awake at night. If they were able to do it, then it is possible so what is stopping me?



Two appropriately spaced trees and some animal gut I've read


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## ThinWoodsman

matthewsx said:


> One of the things I'm concerned about is attaching to my base with enough rigidity. Currently it has an aluminum plate with three 1/4" screws holding it on. What I'll probably do is weld a thick-walled square tube to the base and cross bolt it down. Some well placed screws should allow for tramming it to the table.



The way the Taig handles it is one bolt going through the center of a round bearing surface - allowing the column to tilt, but also making it east to knock out of trap. The column and the base are square tubing, maybe 2-3" (I haven't checked). The table is bolted into the base. 

A weld would certainly work, but you should consider at leat bolt-then-weld. You don't want that getting knocked a hair out of alignment during welding - the base wouldbe aligned to the column, but the table wouldn't.



matthewsx said:


> Obviously the biggest area I'm compromising on is the x-y table. I



Check out the scraping threads on this forum. Way too much skill involved to just dive into, but it gives you a look at what's possible down the road.

The table will be fine for milling, but not very precise. I'd be surprised if the one I have on my drill press holds 0.005. Should get you started though, and any engineering process is one of continual refinement.


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## DiscoDan

matthewsx said:


> Hi DiscoDan,
> 
> Maybe we can work something out, how much does it weigh?
> 
> John



Hey John, I see you are in Elk Rapids. I'm not from MI but I did graduate from WMU in 1988.

The table is currently in pieces. I was going to clean it up and paint it and try to replace the y-axis nut or try to fix it because it is different than ones I have seen before and probably not easily obtainable. A guy on ebay is parting out a machine and wants $100 just for the nut and no guarantee it will be any better. I think this one could be bored out and insert a new piece of brass/bronze and then re-threaded. Let me see if I can figure out a shipping cost. It is heavy, so probably pretty expensive.


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## DiscoDan

I will try and get some pics today but one thing to be aware of is that it is a single t-slot table.


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## ericc

I am trying to do the semi-homemade mill thing on the cheap too.  I started out with a drill press and an import XY table.  I think that I paid too much attention to the Internet naysayers who warned that the chuck would come off due to side loading.  It never did, but all kinds of other bad things happened.  The main problem was the quality of the import XY table.  I am now using a Burke table, just like discodan, but this is still a little bit sloppy.  I have to take a good look at the gibs.  The other problem was the Z movement and tram.  Anyway, the setup is making real parts which are doing real work, so that's good.  My next step is to put a better vertical head on the machine.  I just got a junk wood lathe headstock...


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## matthewsx

ericc said:


> I am trying to do the semi-homemade mill thing on the cheap too.  I started out with a drill press and an import XY table.  I think that I paid too much attention to the Internet naysayers who warned that the chuck would come off due to side loading.  It never did, but all kinds of other bad things happened.  The main problem was the quality of the import XY table.  I am now using a Burke table, just like discodan, but this is still a little bit sloppy.  I have to take a good look at the gibs.  The other problem was the Z movement and tram.  Anyway, the setup is making real parts which are doing real work, so that's good.  My next step is to put a better vertical head on the machine.  I just got a junk wood lathe headstock...


Yes, I did the angular bearing and er32 collet chuck held in with a set screw mod to my drill press. But I still need the press for making holes in stuff and was wary about putting too much more into it. When I found the column I figured why not give it a try. The powered spindle is key for my build since I don’t have to worry about tool holding or pulleys and belts. 

Did you cut down your column and mount the table on the base?

Cheers,

John


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## DiscoDan

John, I forgot that you can see pics under another of my posts titled
*Identify my tool flea market finds*


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## matthewsx

I just went to the local steel supplier and picked up some off cuts. The idea is to weld a section of the 3” od square tubing to the channel at a 90 deg. angle and slide the column over that. I’ll secure it with bolts and have screws going into tapped holes in the column that I can use for fine adjustment. Whatever xy table I end up with will bolt down to a base fabricated from the c channel.

Cheers,

John


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## matthewsx

DiscoDan said:


> I will try and get some pics today but one thing to be aware of is that it is a single t-slot table.



Yes, I probably want a little larger table. I’m still hoping to find something from a decommissioned CNC machine that I can adapt.

Another possibility would be a combination rotary/x-y table.


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## ericc

matthewsx said:


> ...
> Did you cut down your column and mount the table on the base?
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> John



I used the whole horizontal mill and put a vertical head on the overarm.  Somebody hit the horizontal drive countershaft with a tractor.


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## DiscoDan

ericc, just curious what head you used? I own a Pratt & Whitney 3C bench horizontal mill and I want a vertical head. I am actually gathering parts for a home-made version based on some I have seen on Youtube.

Thx


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## matthewsx

ericc said:


> I used the whole horizontal mill and put a vertical head on the overarm.  Somebody hit the horizontal drive countershaft with a tractor.


Ok, I thought you still had the drill press setup....


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## matthewsx

ericc said:


> The main problem was the quality of the import XY table.



Hi Ericc,

I'm wondering how much worse these are than the tables on a cheap mill/drill from China? Did you try and tighten things up on the one you had, or just use it as shipped?

BTW, I'm originally from Cupertino....

Thanks,

John


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## DiscoDan

Guys, I should also weigh in on drill press conversions. I bought a vintage Craftsman from a dude that had replaced the bearings and kept it in great shape. It came with a Craftsman collet chuck typically used for cutting wood or plastics. I bought a Shars x-y table and tried milling some aluminum. It cut but I was not impressed at all. The Shars table has heft to it but is not very precise. It definitely needs taking apart, cleaning up and deburring, and lots of adjustment. That's why I recommended finding a table like I have from Burke. It's OK for drilling holes but not for milling.


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## mickri

I am pretty sure you don't want to hear this but I would search long and hard for a used off brand mill, even a mill/drill, before I would ever try to make one.  You will be $$$$$ ahead in the long run and have a better, more accurate mill.   I have seen used off brand mills sell for little more than  scrap value because 1) people are fixated on bridgeports and CNC mills and 2) mills are heavy and expensive to move if you  have to pay someone to move it.  IMHO unless you are a very skilled machinist/fabricator I think that it would be very hard to even duplicate the accuracy of a round column mill/drill in a home made mill. 

I paid around $500 for my round column Excel 31 mill/drill.  The table is smooth and accurate in both the x&y directions and I don't seem to have flex or movement in the head when milling.  The quil is accurate in the z direction.  With careful planning I have not had to raise the head to change tools.  There is no way that I could have cobbled together a home made mill that would have been anywhere near as precise as my mill/drill.

Maybe I am missing something here.


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## matthewsx

mickri said:


> I am pretty sure you don't want to hear this but I would search long and hard for a used off brand mill, even a mill/drill, before I would ever try to make one.  You will be $$$$$ ahead in the long run and have a better, more accurate mill.   I have seen used off brand mills sell for little more than  scrap value because 1) people are fixated on bridgeports and CNC mills and 2) mills are heavy and expensive to move if you  have to pay someone to move it.  IMHO unless you are a very skilled machinist/fabricator I think that it would be very hard to even duplicate the accuracy of a round column mill/drill in a home made mill.
> 
> I paid around $500 for my round column Excel 31 mill/drill.  The table is smooth and accurate in both the x&y directions and I don't seem to have flex or movement in the head when milling.  The quil is accurate in the z direction.  With careful planning I have not had to raise the head to change tools.  There is no way that I could have cobbled together a home made mill that would have been anywhere near as precise as my mill/drill.
> 
> Maybe I am missing something here.



No, I don't think you're  missing anything. 

My old mill was a Gorton 1-22 that I got for just being able to haul it away so I know what a real unit looks like. I'm well aware that what I'm attempting is a challenge but I don't have to make high precision parts right away and my current space limits me to something no bigger than the Rong Fu units that sometimes pop up for what I expect to spend on my project.

I could also buy something new if I really wanted to but honestly, if I just needed to get parts made I have a great local machine shop that can do anything I want for less than it costs me to do it in-house.

I've spent far more on less satisfying things in life so why not give it a try, I know when to stop if it's going sideways and I can probably sell the parts I have to someone else for what I've got into it. But thanks for being a voice of reason, we need more of those

Cheers,

John


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## ThinWoodsman

Actually sounds like a fun project - determine how much of a mill's capability you actually need, and build that. If you stumble across a great price on the perfect mill, you can disassemble the home-made one and fashion a tool cutter grinder out of it or something.

So, those X-Y tables. I have one bolted the drill press table (one of them Porter Cable  floor jobs), with a drill press vise bolted to it. The vise and the drill press table introduce so much imprecision themselves that it's difficult to determine how sloppy the X-Y table is. It was pretty bad until I took it apart, cleaned/stoned the ways and tightened the gibs. If I have the drill table locked and trammed, then the X-Y table will hold to a straight (scribed) line for drilling multiple holes, and is repeatable. I think this is the one I got: https://www.shars.com/products/workholding/machining-tables/compact-machine-slide-table . I can chuck up some drill rod and measure the runout of the T-slots if you're curious, but it you'll probably be going with the larger model (https://www.shars.com/products/workholding/machining-tables/heavy-duty-mill-drill-table) so the information won'tbe very helpful.

The main thing you're going to have trouble with is rigidity. I'm sure you've seen the gingery stuff, made out of cast concrete. I'm a little hesitant to trust something as brittle as concrete for the entire casting, but filling large-diameter square tubing with concrete should do the trick. Use lots of down pins to join the frame together so that the load isn't entirely on the weld.


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## ericc

DiscoDan said:


> ericc, just curious what head you used? I own a Pratt & Whitney 3C bench horizontal mill and I want a vertical head. I am actually gathering parts for a home-made version based on some I have seen on Youtube.
> 
> Thx



Hi Dan.  The head I used first was a Harbor Freight rotary tool with a speed control and 1/8" end mills.  I lost the 1/4" collet, and I think that this was good, since this setup is marginal for the larger end mills.  I am trying to graft a more substantial head that should be able to run larger end mills.  It will be made from the headstock of a wood lathe.  Once I got past that stupid xy vise, which is barely adequate for a drill press vise, the setup could make good parts.


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## ericc

matthewsx said:


> Hi Ericc,
> 
> I'm wondering how much worse these are than the tables on a cheap mill/drill from China? Did you try and tighten things up on the one you had, or just use it as shipped?
> 
> BTW, I'm originally from Cupertino....
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> John



I think that they must be much worse, since I see good work coming out of the Chinese import mill drills.  Although I don't personally know anyone who owns one, from indications on the Internet, their main problem is the column rigidity.  The problem about the XY vise is that the dovetails are not precise.  They are NOT machine slides.  If you tighten them enough to bind, they will still rack and ruin the part.  They need to be tuned up, and they are so imprecise that even a cold chisel would be better than nothing.  They are not even good for lining up a drill location, since the gibs must be so loose that the whole thing wobbles when the drill point hits the punch mark.  If you tighten them, they shift and the drill point gets bent.  The main reason I have one on my drill press is that they keep the metal from spinning dangerously if the drill point catches.  They are not even flat on the bottom, so if you put a piece of material on parallels, it will drill off square.  Correct me if I am wrong, but it is possible to drill square on a Chinese mill drill, right?


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## mattthemuppet2

I would skip the XY table completely and go with linear rails. Make your own table!


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## matthewsx

mattthemuppet2 said:


> I would skip the XY table completely and go with linear rails. Make your own table!



I've been looking into this. 

The setup on my vertical column is pretty sweet, there's lots of stuff online but how to engineer it is the question.

John


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## matthewsx

I pulled the trigger on a couple of linear rails and a ballscrew with mounting hardware. The thought is to make the X axis just like my column, have a heavy piece of steel machined flat with a protrusion in the center for locating the rails. Mount a carriage on top of that to hold the Y axis. I looked up the specs for this stuff, IKO LWL12-BCS and it looks like it should be strong enough to handle the forces I'll be putting on it and since they use it for making really precise machinery I should have a fair chance of exceeding the tolerances of the cheap X/Y tables 

Cheers,

John


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## matthewsx

Here's what the vertical column looks like for reference.


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## mattthemuppet2

nice! I'll be watching with interest  Might be worth thinking about how you could fit some steppers/ servos on the end of the ball screws - you're already halfway to a CNC mill.


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## matthewsx

mattthemuppet2 said:


> nice! I'll be watching with interest  Might be worth thinking about how you could fit some steppers/ servos on the end of the ball screws - you're already halfway to a CNC mill.



That's exactly what I was thinking, I already have a stepper motor and controller on my electronics workbench....


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## matthewsx

I’ve been reading and scratching my head on how construct a base and I came across epoxy/granite. Seems like an ideal solution for this project. I can weld up a skeleton for the base from steel, then “pour” my cast base around it. The column won’t actually be welded or bonded to the base, just slipped over a post and bolted down. I’m looking at a “T” shaped frame with the C channel facing up and my column mount welded to the bottom of the “T”. Then a 1/2” plate welded to the top of the C channel that’s drilled for the linear rails and stands proud of the epoxy/granite base. I’ll post pictures when I get the base mocked up but this approach should let me dial in the geometry, then add rigidity and mass once I’m happy with the basic structure.


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## matthewsx

Rough cutting done.


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## MontanaLon

So I was perusing the classifieds and I came across a Benchmaster horizontal mill. The price is affordable but who really wants a horizontal mill? 

But it got me to thinking. The base of it would be nearly ideal for a vertical mill. Yeah, I know, they made them in both horiz. and vert. but holy baby Jesus the prices I saw on the very few of those I could find were about what I could get a full size mill for. And the heads alone were not that much cheaper. 

So now I am very interested in how you will go about making a head for this? 

I'm even looking at building up a mold form for both a base and a head. Of course I don't have the means to cast it in iron or anything else but the thinking is there. I've even played with the idea of making the vertical head out of thick wall tube. A couple of welds, couple of bearings and I will likely have enough in it to have bought a real milling machine.


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## matthewsx

MontanaLon said:


> So I was perusing the classifieds and I came across a Benchmaster horizontal mill. The price is affordable but who really wants a horizontal mill?
> 
> But it got me to thinking. The base of it would be nearly ideal for a vertical mill. Yeah, I know, they made them in both horiz. and vert. but holy baby Jesus the prices I saw on the very few of those I could find were about what I could get a full size mill for. And the heads alone were not that much cheaper.
> 
> So now I am very interested in how you will go about making a head for this?
> 
> I'm even looking at building up a mold form for both a base and a head. Of course I don't have the means to cast it in iron or anything else but the thinking is there. I've even played with the idea of making the vertical head out of thick wall tube. A couple of welds, couple of bearings and I will likely have enough in it to have bought a real milling machine.



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## matthewsx

MontanaLon said:


> So I was perusing the classifieds and I came across a Benchmaster horizontal mill. The price is affordable but who really wants a horizontal mill?



I'd go for a decent horizontal if you can get one cheap. I can already think of a few things I would use one for on this project....

John


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## matthewsx

It's not super powerful but the speed should be great for small bits and I already had a spare VFD.



MontanaLon said:


> I'm even looking at building up a mold form for both a base and a head. Of course I don't have the means to cast it in iron or anything else but the thinking is there.



Here's my first test making epoxygranite with some West System and blasting material from Tractor Supply. It's surprisingly heavy and tough.


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## MontanaLon

I'm not sure what the black diamond media is chemically but it only weighs 92 pounds per cubic foot. Iron is about 5 times as heavy. I wonder what sort of metal powders you could get ahold of to use as the aggregate in that to make it heavier? I know magnetite and hematite are about 250# per cubic foot but not sure where you could buy it in useful quantities.


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## matthewsx

MontanaLon said:


> I'm not sure what the black diamond media is chemically but it only weighs 92 pounds per cubic foot. Iron is about 5 times as heavy. I wonder what sort of metal powders you could get ahold of to use as the aggregate in that to make it heavier? I know magnetite and hematite are about 250# per cubic foot but not sure where you could buy it in useful quantities.



I really wasn't planning on using just that for a mix, it's just what I had on hand. I'm pretty sure what I have is coal slag, they also have iron silicate, garnet, glass and aluminum oxide.  Most people use decomposed granite, sand, and several other items to make a mix where most of the voids are filled with stone rather than epoxy. A solid chunk of rock and plastic is probably going to be heavier than a cast iron shell regardless.

I'm getting to the point now where I really need milling capability to move ahead so I'm thinking to get one of those cheap XY tables as an interim step. I've done lots of long-term projects and have learned that sometimes you need to make compromises that can be fixed at a later stage in order to keep moving ahead.  If I can get to the point where I'm making chips with just the steel frame I can start to figure out what I'll really need to do to improve tolerances.  And, I'll need to buy some better measuring tools as well

Cheers,

John


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## mattthemuppet2

those XY tables do work - I used one on my drill press as a "mill" for a couple of years - but they can be pretty frustrating. As long as you can take light cuts and lock everything down that you can, it'll work. One big improvement is to add thrust bearings to the handles, reduces the cranking effort considerably.


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## matthewsx

mattthemuppet2 said:


> those XY tables do work - I used one on my drill press as a "mill" for a couple of years - but they can be pretty frustrating. As long as you can take light cuts and lock everything down that you can, it'll work. One big improvement is to add thrust bearings to the handles, reduces the cranking effort considerably.



I've been working on a modern design with ballscrews and linear slides that would be suitable for CNC. One of the challenges I have is I live a long way from anywhere, when I get back to San Jose, (where I'm from) I know of at least three surplus places that should have all the stuff I need for a good price. In the mean time I want to get something manual that I can do a few parts on (don't need to be super accurate).  

I'll take the table apart and make improvements before I mount it to try and minimize frustration. If you know what you're getting into it's easier to adjust your expectations. I'll still be under $400 which I feel is a reasonable price for a tool like the one I'm building. If something comes along that's better I can re-purpose this one as a tool grinder or something else.

Cheers,

John


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## matthewsx

I've been intimidated by CAD software since the 1980's when AutoDesk was across the street from the A/V company I worked for. Mostly the programs had too steep a learning curve and cost too much.

Well, I downloaded FreeCad to my Ubuntu workstation and started trying to figure it out since it will be good to have some drawings of what I'm trying to accomplish. In less than an hour I had a basic design of my machine base, I know it won't impress any seasoned CAD operators but I'm pretty happy with just being able to do it.

Here's the steel frame.



And here it is with the cast stone slab.



So now I can at least explain with pictures what I'm trying to do.

Cheers,

John


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## Latinrascalrg1

Looks good.  Dont forget to cast in a few mounting holes when you pour to help down the road if needed.


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## brino

Latinrascalrg1 said:


> Dont forget to cast in a few mounting holes when you pour to help down the road if needed.



Great Idea! ....and perhaps some anchor points for lifting with an engine hoist.

-brino


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## matthewsx

Well, here is the xy table. Just like I expected....




And torn down....




I'm definitely ordering some new lead screws from McMaster Carr.

Cheers,

John


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## DiscoDan

I hope it works for what you want. I do have a suggestion before you replace the lead screw. For that Burke table I am working on I ordered a new nut from McMaster Carr and it fit the old screw nice and tight. So maybe try a new nut first.


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## matthewsx

DiscoDan said:


> I hope it works for what you want. I do have a suggestion before you replace the lead screw. For that Burke table I am working on I ordered a new nut from McMaster Carr and it fit the old screw nice and tight. So maybe try a new nut first.



That's a good thought. I had a friend over last night who used to own a machine shop and he couldn't figure out what pitch the ones I have are. I can get 3' ea. left & right handed standard 1/2' 10 for ~$20 so I might as well order them. Turning and finishing the ends should be easy on my lathe.

Thanks,

John


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## rwm

matthewsx said:


> That's a good thought. I had a friend over last night who used to own a machine shop and he couldn't figure out what pitch the ones I have are. I can get 3' ea. left & right handed standard 1/2' 10 for ~$20 so I might as well order them. Turning and finishing the ends should be easy on my lathe.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> John


Wouldn't they be metric?


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## matthewsx

rwm said:


> Wouldn't they be metric?



Only if I buy the metric ones. Plan is to replace the screws and the nuts.


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## matthewsx

Some progress today, got the X/Y table cleaned out and put back together and mounted on my modified Central Machinery drill press. 




Yes, a drill press is not a mill. But I did put angular contact bearings and drilled and tapped the spindle to hold the ER32 collet holder so I figure I should make some chips.




It's not real pretty but this is what I was after.




This piece gets welded to the frame for the base and slips inside the column. It'll get bolted in and have lateral screws pushing against it from the column to set alignment.




Once I mount the spindle the Z axis should be pretty much done.



Cheers,

John


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## ThinWoodsman

matthewsx said:


> It's not real pretty but this is what I was after.



Certainly nothing a few minutes with a file won't clean up - not bad. 

Did you measure the runout of the drill press spindle before and after? I would have been in too much of a rush myself, but it would be reassuring afterwards to know how well those bearings did their job.


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## matthewsx

ThinWoodsman said:


> Certainly nothing a few minutes with a file won't clean up - not bad.
> 
> Did you measure the runout of the drill press spindle before and after? I would have been in too much of a rush myself, but it would be reassuring afterwards to know how well those bearings did their job.



I didn’t measure runout on the drill press but it’s not good. The point of the bearing is to take a side load, it really didn’t change operation of the machine.


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## matthewsx

One more step.


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## rwm

I'm worried about the rigidity of the column and flexing. It will be interesting to see. Nice work so far.
Robert


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## matthewsx

rwm said:


> I'm worried about the rigidity of the column and flexing. It will be interesting to see. Nice work so far.
> Robert



Yes, that is a concern. The column itself is pretty stout steel and the linear slide system is pretty strong but obviously it was built as an optical comparitor, not a mill. The spindle I'm using is only .7 hp so I have no illusions of making big cuts in steel with this thing. I'm gonna get it up as a manual machine and see how it performs and if it's good enough I'll switch it over to CNC where I can program it to be patient.

I am looking for a bigger machine eventually but I really don't have the space right now. When I started looking at benchtop mill/drills it seems pretty easy to spend too much on something with too little capability. If this unit gets me through the projects I have this summer (motorcycle and travel trailer) I'll be happy. If not then I'll re-purpose the parts into something else.

Cheers,

John


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## ThinWoodsman

matthewsx said:


> The column itself is pretty stout steel and the linear slide system is pretty strong but obviously it was built as an optical comparitor, not a mill.



The column is similar to the Taig (though possibly thicker walls) mill, which I found to have a lot of flex. I've considered pouring cement into the column (with some threaded rod going through the bench and acting as rebar), but have not yet done so.

For the linear slide, definitely work up some sort of locking mechanism, like a quill lock, so when you're milling you don't pull the spindle down towards the work. The Taig requires you to tighten the gibs to lock the quill, which is really not that ideal. One more thing to fix on those benchtop machines I rarely use anymore.

Looking good, can't wait to see how the base filler (epoxy?) turns out.


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## matthewsx

ThinWoodsman said:


> The column is similar to the Taig (though possibly thicker walls)



It's 4" square steel with 1/2" walls


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## ThinWoodsman

That's twice as thick - the Taig is 1/4. Maybe you should suggest it to them


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## matthewsx

Major milestone today, I got the spindle mounted on the column.




Now on to completing the base....

John


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## MontanaLon

There was a guy local to me selling the castings from a Delta radical harm saw. Bed, column, and then the articulating parts for the arm for $25. I looked at them hard as they seemed to be half way to a light duty mill already.


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## ThinWoodsman

MontanaLon said:


> There was a guy local to me selling the castings from a Delta radical harm saw. Bed, column, and then the articulating parts for the arm for $25. I looked at them hard as they seemed to be half way to a light duty mill already.



Naw naw naw man - CNC welder


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## matthewsx

Racked up the base since I was so close.


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## RobertHaas

Excuse my ignorance. How will you "Tram"  that?


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## matthewsx

RobertHaas said:


> Excuse my ignorance. How will you "Tram"  that?



Hi Robert,

The column is hollow and fits over another very stout steel tube, it's not welded to the base. There will be bolts to hold it in place and others to provide adjustment.

Thanks,

John


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## RobertHaas

Interesting, I believe you possess a million times my patients.


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## matthewsx

RobertHaas said:


> Interesting, I believe you possess a million times my patients.



Hi Robert,

I took on this project because I wanted a challenge and the winters here are brutally long and cold (I'm originally from the SF Bay Area). I also don't really have the expectation that it will be super accurate but it should be good enough for my use and by building it myself I know I'll be able to improve it as time goes on. Mostly I really just wanted to learn about building machines and CNC so there's that. 

I have less than $500 into it so far and expect to have it completed for less than $1000, I already have linear rails for the table and some of the control pieces I will need. Sure I could have bought a used RF30 and been making chips already, or I could have gotten one of those cheap Chinese CNC "engravers" but where's the challenge in that? 

I'm still looking out for a full size knee mill but that will probably have to wait until I (hopefully) move back to California. If all goes well I should have a place in Santa Cruz soon so maybe we could meet up and talk shop.

Cheers,

John


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## matthewsx

Starting to dial it in.


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## matthewsx

So, what I'm learning is that this spindle really wants to run at >10K rpm. I think that means using small carbide end mills and CNC programming. 

I have the ballscrews, linear rails, steppers and controllers to retrofit the table I have which I think will be ok once I get rid of the dovetails and acme screws. 

I'll probably move this thread over to the CNC area once I really get going on that but so far I'm happy with the rigidity and feel like everything is close enough to being square that I will be able to tram the table pretty well. It's been a long journey to get to this point and I know I'm only a little way along the path, but this forum and all of you have been such a great source of inspiration and support I just want to say Thank You

Cheers,

John


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## brino

John,
You are attempting something that few of us do.
I believe that _*YOU *_are the inspiration!
-brino


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## matthewsx

LinuxCNC, ST-V3 interface board and TB6600 stepper driver. Time to make some adapters....


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## Creativechipper

Ya listen to that lil stepper go!!  Glad to see you getting some use out of the motors!!  Cant wait to see it completed


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## matthewsx

PO38847


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## matthewsx

View attachment D3FB8A8B-64D8-489B-A5F8-CA393B203271.MOV


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## matthewsx

Y axis is a little weak so getting a new one ready.


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## matthewsx

Using the 100-year-old lathe to build a CNC.


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## matthewsx

View attachment 26B75ECF-031E-427A-9C30-38524D4A58DE.MOV


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## bradyhylla

Thank you for mentioning freecad, just downloaded it myself and bout to dive in.


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## matthewsx

Need to get back to this project now that my new/old lathe is almost ready to help finish the pulleys for the new spindle/motor.

I’m helping with a Centroid upgrade on the prototyping mill at work.

John


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## matthewsx

bradyhylla said:


> Thank you for mentioning freecad, just downloaded it myself and bout to dive in.



It’s a good program. They use SolidWorks at work so I may join EAA so I can get a copy for my shop.

John


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## matthewsx

Wow, really need to update this thread, doesn’t even show the new XY stage or table.

Will get back to it next week. 

More recent photo


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## matthewsx

Update, today I got the motor mounted and ordered a smaller belt. Might have it running again tomorrow. 








John


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## matthewsx

View attachment trim.6E159D5D-E2B4-470A-810D-45ED3929CBF5.MOV


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## matthewsx

So I really need to get this trammed in and I think a circular square would be the ticket. Except I don't want to buy one and I don't think it would work with how small the Z is on this thing.

So, I'm thinking a fairly large bearing race just might be the ticket. I have a surface plate and lapping plate so I figure I can verify/correct within my realm of precision. Anyone have something like this they would like to part with?

Better suggestions? Doesn't need to be perfect but needs to be better than what I have. 

Originally I planned on an epoxy granite base but that never happened so it's riding on a fabricated steel base which isn't exactly flat or square. Would like to get it at least good enough to know if it's worthwhile building a new base for it....

John


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## Aaron_W

matthewsx said:


> So I really need to get this trammed in and I think a circular square would be the ticket. Except I don't want to buy one and I don't think it would work with how small the Z is on this thing.
> 
> So, I'm thinking a fairly large bearing race just might be the ticket. I have a surface plate and lapping plate so I figure I can verify/correct within my realm of precision. Anyone have something like this they would like to part with?
> 
> Better suggestions? Doesn't need to be perfect but needs to be better than what I have.
> 
> Originally I planned on an epoxy granite base but that never happened so it's riding on a fabricated steel base which isn't exactly flat or square. Would like to get it at least good enough to know if it's worthwhile building a new base for it....
> 
> John



I've seen chunks of hydraulic ram shaft suggested for this use. Apparently the shafts are precision ground, or very close to it, so you just have to make sure it sits squarely on a base.


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## rwm

I found a large bearing race on eBay cheap. I didn't mind paying a little for it because I figure it is a forever tool. I guess that would get your spindle trammed vertical but not necessarily your Z axis.


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## matthewsx

Last night I realized I have several lathe backing plates that will do what I need and should be plenty accurate for this use.


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