Awesome New Mill- Is it worth it?

[JetMech]

OK FOLKS!

I appreciate all the comments here, and have no wish to end this discussion. You guys are great!

However, I'm pretty sure at this point that the mill for me will be a new PM30MV, and wouldn't you know, they are in stock!

Wife is ok with it, even pointed out where I had some cash stashed. Good woman!


At this point, I expect that I will plan my upgrade path like this:

-Right away: X power feed, collet set, face mill, fly cutter, end mills

-ASAP: Other cutting tools, DRO,

-When possible: Z power feed, coolant system

Would you guys adjust that list any?

Keep in mind, the jumpo to new PM30MV does stretch the mad money a bit. . .

I have some cheap end mills so really an R8 collet set would get me cutting. . .


Any reason not to build a very stout wood stand , with drawers and so forth? (I'm an experienced carpenter) I'd been planning to put this on my bench, but now I'm thinking dedicated stand in the corner. . .

I have my lathe, about 350 lbs, ona cheap HD rollaway cab, but I'm a bit wary of doing that with this mill- maybe a Snap-On 27" rollaway would support it. . .

What do you folks think?

 

[tq60]

Avoid a standard tool cabinet as the mill is heavy and it has viberations that will work on the cabinet.

Simplest path is a wood stand with dimensional lumber in the corners and 3/4 thick ply on 3 sides and top.

Under top is cross members to hold weight.

On very top place sheet melamine as it is a vinyl covered particle board that structure is not strong but surface great for cleanup.

Locate a suitable tool cabinet for under the mill and build the above box to fit chest inside.

Use cross members between sides for top support and in front one drill holes to hold your collet and Allen wrenches.



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[JetMech]

Avoid a standard tool cabinet as the mill is heavy and it has viberations that will work on the cabinet.

Simplest path is a wood stand with dimensional lumber in the corners and 3/4 thick ply on 3 sides and top.

Under top is cross members to hold weight.

On very top place sheet melamine as it is a vinyl covered particle board that structure is not strong but surface great for cleanup.

Locate a suitable tool cabinet for under the mill and build the above box to fit chest inside.

Use cross members between sides for top support and in front one drill holes to hold your collet and Allen wrenches.



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Awesome, that is a great idea.

I guess I have a sketchup/carpentry project to do while I wait for the mill. . .

Thanks for the line-out on how to do it.

I bet I could destroy melamine pretty quickly, I do use it in aqaurium stands and the like, but I do have a nice piece of white formica covered 1" ply that was part of the original Unisaw outfeed table. . .

 

[higgite]

HA! It worked, I knew that would spool someone up. . .

There will always be a guy that says, the "next one up" but I've already taken that advice a few times in a row!

That bench mill is way MORE than I need. I'm a casual, lazy hobbyist so it's never going to see production work.

Aw, c'mon, Jet. Why settle for a new pickup truck when you might find a killer deal on a used 14-yard dump truck that will do everything the pickup will and more?

Tom

 

[tq60]

We built a bench years ago from assorted harvested goods...

A steel frame on floor that once was a display stand with a group of tool chests for storage setting on top of that

Plywood structure like an old style six pack carton surrounding tool chests with space for floor mount drill press in corner.

Top as suggested above.

On top was hf mill on one side and lathe along other.

Makes for great work center.

We have yet to stain ours.

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[wrmiller]

When I had my PM25 and SB1001 lathe, I had both on 40" Craftsman toolboxes that I built outriggers for to stabilize the mill (didn't need them for the lathe, just made some screw jacks to stick under the toolbox). Zero problems with that setup, and I had a bunch of drawers to keep stuff!

 

[JetMech]

Aw, c'mon, Jet. Why settle for a new pickup truck when you might find a killer deal on a used 14-yard dump truck that will do everything the pickup will and more?

Tom

This, my friend, is one of the funniest, and most apt analogies of my situation. Hats off to you! I really enjoy this. . .

 

[JetMech]

When I had my PM25 and SB1001 lathe, I had both on 40" Craftsman toolboxes that I built outriggers for to stabilize the mill (didn't need them for the lathe, just made some screw jacks to stick under the toolbox). Zero problems with that setup, and I had a bunch of drawers to keep stuff!

View attachment 235642

That is a nice shop area and similar to my setup. I think this mill is a bit heavy for that setup, but I have a similar lathe on a very similar toolbox.

Any detail pics of your outriggers? Can't quite mentally picture that.

 

[wrmiller]

No, sorry. Basically I just took some angle iron I had laying around and fit some large bolts for adjustment and made some cups to sit between the concrete and the bolt heads. Had the pieces at both ends of the toolbox. Crude, but it worked. Once I quit stubbing my toes on the outriggers that is.

 

[JetMech]

We built a bench years ago from assorted harvested goods...

A steel frame on floor that once was a display stand with a group of tool chests for storage setting on top of that

Plywood structure like an old style six pack carton surrounding tool chests with space for floor mount drill press in corner.

Top as suggested above.

On top was hf mill on one side and lathe along other.

Makes for great work center.

We have yet to stain ours.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

I would love to see a picture of that, I love to repurpose stuff.