Looking for my perfect size hobby mill....

[Mr Mike]

This is the BS-0 on my mill, the table is 6x24" so just a pinch smaller than your G0704. That is a 5" vice on the table to the right.


View attachment 497049

Hello Aaron_W
Have I mention I love your mini Knee Mill, Solid looking machine right there...

On the flip side even if you remove the vise it looks like your running out of X more so than Z with that Dividing Head - And what about Y ..? is there enough draw, Looks like its fully extended..?

Wish I live close - I'd bring your favorite drink and have a look see... Thanks Mike.

 

[Aaron_W]

Hello Aaron_W
Have I mention I love your mini Knee Mill, Solid looking machine right there...

On the flip side even if you remove the vise it looks like your running out of X more so than Z with that Dividing Head - And what about Y ..? is there enough draw, Looks like its fully extended..?

Wish I live close - I'd bring your favorite drink and have a look see... Thanks Mike.

The photo is a bit deceiving. I just plopped the dividing head on the table for a photo sometime back when somebody was asking to see the size. The vise is centered on the table and the table is shifted over to put the dividing head closer to the spindle. As a result you are only seeing maybe 2/3 of the table in the photo with a good chunk of that being occupied by the vise.

The 5" vise is really too big for the mill, but it is what it came with. Since that photo was taken I've bought a 4" vise which is a much better fit, but the 5" has proven useful so I'll keep it around.

The Clausings do have very short Y travel, only 5" which amazingly is the same as my Sherline. The head can be moved in and out which helps to extend the effective Y, but as much as possible I try to line the work up so most of the needed travel will be in line with the X axis.

It is a very nice mill, but also a small mill.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

Hello Aaron_W
Have I mention I love your mini Knee Mill, Solid looking machine right there...

On the flip side even if you remove the vise it looks like your running out of X more so than Z with that Dividing Head - And what about Y ..? is there enough draw, Looks like its fully extended..?

Wish I live close - I'd bring your favorite drink and have a look see... Thanks Mike.

I have posted this in the past but for reference this is a PM-BS-2 with all the gear that comes with it sitting on my PM-940 table, the chuck is an 8" 3 jaw:

The trap is the Z axis, a BS-0 or a BS-1 will work on a fairly small mill as long as you are cutting spur gears and the like horizontally; but, if you want to cut a bevel gear and need to roll the head up 90 degrees your z Axis will be your limiting factor as seen below, My mill has a max clearance between the spindle and the table of 22" and in the picture below is using about 18" of it:

I do not know if that helps but there you are.

 

[Larry$]

and in the picture below is using about 18" of it:

The solution to this arrangement is to use your rotary table instead.
But cutting bevel gears at some angle is still going to be a problem unless you fixture to a face plate instead of the chuck.
When I was deciding between buying a BS-1 or a BS-2, I decided The likelihood of me ever wanting to go through the setting up to do spiral gears was very small. Still it would be a neat trick to have available. But reality set in and I bought the BS-1. I've cast aluminum blanks with a protruding hubs and made them into spur gears. Necessary? Not really but I proved to myself that I could. Have fun.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

The solution to this arrangement is to use your rotary table instead.
But cutting bevel gears at some angle is still going to be a problem unless you fixture to a face plate instead of the chuck.
When I was deciding between buying a BS-1 or a BS-2, I decided The likelihood of me ever wanting to go through the setting up to do spiral gears was very small. Still it would be a neat trick to have available. But reality set in and I bought the BS-1. I've cast aluminum blanks with a protruding hubs and made them into spur gears. Necessary? Not really but I proved to myself that I could. Have fun.

One of several things I wanted the BS-2 for is rifling buttons among other things. Keep in mind I am not advocating he get a BS-2, I am providing an example of the spacial issue.

 

[Mr Mike]

One of several things I wanted the BS-2 for is rifling buttons among other things. Keep in mind I am not advocating he get a BS-2, I am providing an example of the spacial issue.

The photos from you and Aaron_W above help with Scale, you have a good amount of Cross Travel with the Y Axis: 12" on your PM-940, The PM-833T has 11" the PM-932 has just 8" and PM-727 8.25", I am making the assumption that the table sits at the half way mark through the travel right under the Spindle on all the mills...

I'm guessing here because I don't have a dividing head just yet... so correct me if I'm out of the ball park.!

For the PM-727 with a BS-0 Mounted at the Y Axis center - and a 3" cutting head in use, I lose 1.5" off one side of my 4" of Y cross travel... leaving 2.5" or a max gear blank size of 5"...

Does that sound about right....?

I actually finished up all the siding & trim on the shed this weekend, Just needs some paint and shelving and I can start clearing out the garage and start setting up the G0704 test mill so I can figured out what Mill to buy and put an end to this thread.

What should have took a weekend to finish took 3 weekends due to how hot it's been here.. But it's almost ready.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

The photos from you and Aaron_W above help with Scale, you have a good amount of Cross Travel with the Y Axis: 12" on your PM-940, The PM-833T has 11" the PM-932 has just 8" and PM-727 8.25", I am making the assumption that the table sits at the half way mark through the travel right under the Spindle on all the mills...

I'm guessing here because I don't have a dividing head just yet... so correct me if I'm out of the ball park.!

For the PM-727 with a BS-0 Mounted at the Y Axis center - and a 3" cutting head in use, I lose 1.5" off one side of my 4" of Y cross travel... leaving 2.5" or a max gear blank size of 5"...

Does that sound about right....?

I actually finished up all the siding & trim on the shed this weekend, Just needs some paint and shelving and I can start clearing out the garage and start setting up the G0704 test mill so I can figured out what Mill to buy and put an end to this thread.

What should have took a weekend to finish took 3 weekends due to how hot it's been here.. But it's almost ready.

View attachment 497158

That sounds about right.

 

[Aaron_W]

For the PM-727 with a BS-0 Mounted at the Y Axis center - and a 3" cutting head in use, I lose 1.5" off one side of my 4" of Y cross travel... leaving 2.5" or a max gear blank size of 5"...

Ok, now I see why you were focused on the Y axis. I have the photo of the BS-0 on my Clausing because most people are asking about a vertical mill. On a vertical you will be cutting from the side.

I also have a horizontal partner for the Clausing which will always be my first choice if I make a gear. In my head I've always pictured the cutter from above where the Y is far less critical, but that is because I'm thinking how I'd do it on the horizontal mill, not a vertical. I did not realize I was thinking that way until your post.

This has also led me to better appreciate the value of a feature of the Clausing, and that is the sliding head.

Again I mostly think in terms of working from the top down with it, but in the case of slitting saw or gear cutter working from the side of a part rather than above like an endmill or drill, that ability to move the table and the head in opposite directions becomes much more of an advantage.

So we've come up with another wrinkle for you, maybe you actually need two mills, not one.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

Ok, now I see why you were focused on the Y axis. I have the photo of the BS-0 on my Clausing because most people are asking about a vertical mill. On a vertical you will be cutting from the side.

I also have a horizontal partner for the Clausing which will always be my first choice if I make a gear. In my head I've always pictured the cutter from above where the Y is far less critical, but that is because I'm thinking how I'd do it on the horizontal mill, not a vertical. I did not realize I was thinking that way until your post.

View attachment 497181


This has also led me to better appreciate the value of a feature of the Clausing, and that is the sliding head.

Again I mostly think in terms of working from the top down with it, but in the case of slitting saw or gear cutter working from the side of a part rather than above like an endmill or drill, that ability to move the table and the head in opposite directions becomes much more of an advantage.

So we've come up with another wrinkle for you, maybe you actually need two mills, not one.

I really like your horizontal mill, when I head back to the farm and have more shop space a horizontal mill is on my short list of additional machines I will be looking for. I believe that a Horizontal mill and a vertical mill are complimentary though, I would like to have both for different operations.

 

[Mr Mike]

Ok, now I see why you were focused on the Y axis. I have the photo of the BS-0 on my Clausing because most people are asking about a vertical mill. On a vertical you will be cutting from the side.

I also have a horizontal partner for the Clausing which will always be my first choice if I make a gear. In my head I've always pictured the cutter from above where the Y is far less critical, but that is because I'm thinking how I'd do it on the horizontal mill, not a vertical. I did not realize I was thinking that way until your post.

View attachment 497181


This has also led me to better appreciate the value of a feature of the Clausing, and that is the sliding head.

Again I mostly think in terms of working from the top down with it, but in the case of slitting saw or gear cutter working from the side of a part rather than above like an endmill or drill, that ability to move the table and the head in opposite directions becomes much more of an advantage.

So we've come up with another wrinkle for you, maybe you actually need two mills, not one.

Ya know Aaron,I use to consider us friends, Cohorts, Pals even... But now that I see you've been hiding that beautiful horizontal mill, I think its time we revisit our friendship contract. And by that I mean palletize that horizontal mill and send it to me and we can let bygones be bygones, So what do you say Deal...?

You have the best of both worlds right there Sir, Very Nice.

Lol guess I'm asking too much of a single milling machine to be fully multi purpose. Once I get the G0704 in use I should start getting a better understanding of the limitations these machines have...