I Bought My First Milling Machine!

[wildo]

Not exactly the plan I had in mind as to the order of finishing stuff up, but the opportunity (and more importantly- the money) was there and so I sprung for it! Last Friday I picked up a 1969 Burke Millrite MVN. It was located about 125 miles away and I rented a trailer to get it home. My Hemi Magnum had no problem pulling it.

Loading it into the bedroom took some planning and a lot of time, but it went without a hitch in about four hours worth of work. The mill is currently wired for 480, but I'm going to rewire it for 220 and use a VFD to power it. I think I got a pretty good deal on the mill, in spite of the fact that it came with no accessories. It has the 32" table (only one size smaller than the largest- 36" table) as well as x-axis power feed. It is the R8 collet, so all the tooling that I buy will work with a larger Bridgeport machine if I ever upgrade in the (distant) future.

Here's some pics (to prove it happened)


Base is off the trailer, and the head/ram is separated (and my dad making a joke about holding it up)


Taking the base through the hallway


The eagle has landed! The base is set in place in my bedroom shop!


Installing the head/ram


Finally the mill is completely in place


For those curious, the floor joists had no problem holding it up. It was a little bouncy and so as a basic precaution I did choose to put some support in the crawlspace. Like I said, from an engineering standpoint- it wasn't necessary, but it really did shore up the floor and remove pretty much all bounce.


I'm excited to see what I can do with this mill! I have to say it's about the perfect size for my bedroom shop!

 

[francist]

Looks perfect in there, that shop is really starting to take shape. Congrats!

-frank

 

[woodtickgreg]

Very cool, congrats. And you have a nice little shop there! I have a newer version of that mill, a Powermatic, it is still stored at my work. Mine has to go in the basement, won't be quite as easy as your move. But I have a plan. Again congratulations on your new mill!

 

[rwm]

Awesome! I think the floor reinforcement is a great idea. It will give you piece of mind. I did this for my lathe. It will prevent the joists from sagging over the years.
I want to hear how you like this mill. What is the headstock taper? How much does it weigh?
R

 

[wildo]

Awesome! I think the floor reinforcement is a great idea. It will give you piece of mind. I did this for my lathe. It will prevent the joists from sagging over the years.
I want to hear how you like this mill. What is the headstock taper? How much does it weigh?
R

I edited the post to indicate the taper- important info. It's an R8, which was a big selling point for me since that tooling can be used elsewhere in the future. The weight should be about 1500 pounds.

 

[Bob Korves]

Congratulations, wildo! That is a nice looking mill, I suppose because it looks just like mine! Well, almost, mine has the rapid quill and a different motor. I am on my second Millrite, traded up for a literally new and unused 1965 MVN, have added a Servo X axis power feed. They are capable and solid machines that fit into a tighter space than a Bridgeport or clone. Let me know if I can help you with any questions about it. Also be sure to join the active and helpful BurkeMills Yahoo group, if you haven't already. You obviously already know that there is a Burke forum on Hobby-Machinist, hang out there for sure, and click the "watch forum" link .

Edit: The Millrite looks great there in your shop -- like it belongs there...

 

[wildo]

Thanks Bob! I did find the yahoo group and it's already been very helpful- just in the "files" section alone. I also saw some of your posts over there and recognized your name. Thanks for the comments! I'm sure I'll have tons of questions over time. For now, I'm kind of letting it all settle in. Maybe for some of you this wouldn't be a big purchase. For me, it was and I need to let the bank account recover a bit. I don't have any tooling for it yet, so I'll be on the lookout for an R8 collet set. No end mills, no mill vise, etc, etc... Really- same goes for my lathe. I guess step 1: buy the machines is complete. Now onto step 2: spend twice as much money on tooling. Oy!! I seem to find the most expensive hobbies!

 

[wildo]

Bob- if you could recommend a mill vise size/brand, I'd appreciate it!

 

[jpfabricator]

Nice iron brother!
I have a 4" Kurt clone on my Burke powermatic, so far it's done all I have needed to do.

Sent from somwhere in east Texas by Jake!

 

[Bob Korves]

(snip)I don't have any tooling for it yet, so I'll be on the lookout for an R8 collet set. No end mills, no mill vise, etc, etc... Really- same goes for my lathe. I guess step 1: buy the machines is complete. Now onto step 2: spend twice as much money on tooling. Oy!! I seem to find the most expensive hobbies!

Used tooling is a whole lot cheaper than new. Sometimes you can get tool lots for pennies on the dollar. For collets, 90+% of what you will use is 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, and 3/4" with round holes. The others are mostly frosting -- until you need one. You might look for those sizes I listed, even if they are well used, to keep you going until you can afford to purchase a set by 16ths, which will cover 99% of what most of us do. Sets are much cheaper per each than individuals, and it gets pricey to fill in a partial set. Some Chinese sets, like Interstate brand, are decent tools.

I have a Bridgeport 6" vise on my Millrite, it came with my first mill and looked really nasty, cleaning it up, making new jaws for it, and fitting it closely made it into a very nice vise, but it is definitely overkill on a Millrite. I think a decent quality 5" Vise would be about ideal on your machine, depending on anticipated projects. You can do small and light work in a big vise, but not necessarily do big and/or heavy work in a light vise. Kurt makes very nice vises, but $$$. Most of the 4 and 5" vises you will find used or cheap will be Asian imports of marginal quality. I would find something inexpensive that works and then be on the lookout for the right one at the right price, used, or new on a super sale. The better brands are definitely better vises.

Craigslist is your friend! Ebay, sometimes...