Milling machine questions.

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thequintessentialman

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Would have expected this to have been beat to death in here but I'm apparently using incorrect search tags. In fact, I thought I had asked this question myself a while back but not finding it in my history.

I'm looking for suggestions for reputable, quality, entry level mills but something that hopefully I won't outgrow too quickly. Would like to keep it around $2k if that is even realistic. Not sure what I want to build yet but usually when I get a new tool, a new task soon presents itself. I started down this road a year or so ago but some stuff came up, figure now I better get back into it before something else comes up again. If someone can point me to some previous discussions that would be great.
 
New, you can get some benchtop mini mills for about that.

Used knee mills like the Bridgeports come up close to that here and there. You have to wait and watch for them. And you have to be able to jump or someone else will.

Occasionally, bigger industrial machines are available. They will usually cost more though, and moving and powering them can be tricky.

For most things a home shop guy would want to do, it's hard to go wrong with the Bridgeport style and size. Without knowing what you want to work on, it's tough to suggest a machine size, but that's what I would suggest. They are big enough to handle most any hobbyist jobs but not so huge that powering them up is a huge pain.
 
One important thing to remember is that the tooling and tool and work piece holding devices can easily cost much more than the bare machine. You can't do anything without tooling and devices to hold both your tool cutters and work pieces regardless of what machine you buy.

If 2K is your top budget then I would suggest looking for something used that comes with some tooling. A vise, collets, drill chucks will get you started and be a bare minimum. Then start making some of the things you need and save to buy more down the road.

Ted
 
I use the search engine www.searchtempest.com. It covers Craig's List, eBay and Amazon in one search. Type in your zip code, distance you want to drive, price range and search key and voila. Couple of hits around your price in your area on CL are below.

Bruce

U.S. Burke knee mill for $2000. Has a vise, not anything else I see but it'd be a great mill for the price. Much, much better than a mini or Rong Fu. It's outside of Austin.
https://austin.craigslist.org/tls/d/austin-machine-tools-vertical-mill-lathe/6880803618.html

Exacto vertical mill for $2150 in Tulsa. Nice looking mill with vise and some tooling.
https://tulsa.craigslist.org/tls/d/tulsa-bridgeport-style-exacto-milling/6884243791.html
 
Technical Ted said:
One important thing to remember is that the tooling and tool and work piece holding devices can easily cost much more than the bare machine. You can't do anything without tooling and devices to hold both your tool cutters and work pieces regardless of what machine you buy.

If 2K is your top budget then I would suggest looking for something used that comes with some tooling. A vise, collets, drill chucks will get you started and be a bare minimum. Then start making some of the things you need and save to buy more down the road.

Ted
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To Ted's point, I bought a Jet JVM-830 mill for $1200. Then added a 4" vise, collets, 4-axis DRO, parallels, center/edge finders, drill chucks, clamping kit, etc. for close to what the mill cost.

Bought a BP for $4K that came with a 6" Kurt vise and a clamping kit. I've added an ER32 collet chuck, Z-axis DRO (had X and Y), power feed on the Z, drill chucks, R-8 collets, QuillMaster, right angle head (last two are esoteric) for an additional ~$1000.

Bruce
 
I have generally been happy with Grizzly machines. They aren't perfect but the quality is reasonable for the price. Over the years, I have bought G4000 and G0602 lathes, a G0755 mill, two 3 axis DRO's, and a 10" hybrid table saw, along with a pair of 4" machinist's vises and numerous tooling items. The G0755 is above your stated budget but is kind of in between a bench top and a knee mill. It has a square column and a 2 hp motor as well as power feed on the x axis and power travel on the column.

Used mills of the Bridgeport type are more machine but you are buying a pig in a poke unless you have the ability to do a critical pre-purchase evaluation. Most will come from industrial environments and likely have thousands of hours of use .and may have some serious wear issues. These machines can be brought back to nearly new condition but it is not a job for a novice machinist.

If your budget is limited, you should be aware that the cost of tooling can easily exceed the cost of the machine. With careful shopping, you can get enought tooling to get you started and slowly build your inventory.
 
I have a decent vise from my drill press, too I'm about to get a cross vise for it just to make lining things up easier. Regarding the cost, I just need a price point to aim for (start with? From what I can tell, these things are like cars, start adding features and capability, and the price sky rockets.) I don't plan on anything more than hobby stuff and maybe occasionally make a bracket for work if the opportunity presents itself.

... there are a few tasks in the past that I would like to readdress. I wanted a threaded adapter to allow a handle to be screwed into a shovel head to to attach a collapsible handle. Also wanted a twist-lock device to break down a marching flag pole into two pieces for transport and storage. The wife has had similar ideas for stuff on craft projects over the years that was just beyond my ability to make with hand tools. I did machine a part (arrived partially completed) using jigs, drill press, carpenters router, bench vise, and mill bit. The aluminum block was approx 6x4x2. Hopefully this gives some ideas on my goals.
 
You aren't going to get much for $2K on a new mill. Prices vary with region but in my area it takes about $2500 to score a decent deal on a good used mill... you have to search CL often and jump immediately when something good comes up. In my area larger mills will often be cheaper than Bridgeport size mills because businesses don't want older manual mills and most hobbiests can't move larger mills and don't have space to set one up.

Tooling IS expensive... but you don't have to buy everything at once. A vise, a hold down set and some end mills will get you started. Then you buy specific cutters for specific projects and your capabilitis expand. You will have to spend a couple hundred for a VFD and wiring supplies to run a 3 phase mill on your single phase household current. All together I would plan for about $3000 to get up and cutting with a used mill.

It sounds like you finished a 1911 frame? It's OK, I don't think anyone around here is going to give you a hard time for wanting to get into gunsmithing.
 
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thequintessentialman said:
I have a decent vise from my drill press, too I'm about to get a cross vise for it just to make lining things up easier. Regarding the cost, I just need a price point to aim for (start with? From what I can tell, these things are like cars, start adding features and capability, and the price sky rockets.) I don't plan on anything more than hobby stuff and maybe occasionally make a bracket for work if the opportunity presents itself.

... there are a few tasks in the past that I would like to readdress. I wanted a threaded adapter to allow a handle to be screwed into a shovel head to to attach a collapsible handle. Also wanted a twist-lock device to break down a marching flag pole into two pieces for transport and storage. The wife has had similar ideas for stuff on craft projects over the years that was just beyond my ability to make with hand tools. I did machine a part (arrived partially completed) using jigs, drill press, carpenters router, bench vise, and mill bit. The aluminum block was approx 6x4x2. Hopefully this gives some ideas on my goals.
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For what you plan to do the Harbor freight mill drill would be suitable. It's 1200, get it for 960 with a 20% coupon.
https://www.harborfreight.com/1-1-2-half-horsepower-heavy-duty-milling-drilling-machine-33686.html

Similar machine at Grizzly is almost double the price.

or watch CL for a used Rong-fu (taiwan) RF30 or 31. I got one with power feed for $500
 
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No disrespect to those with smaller machines, but with a mill weight, heft, bulk are king. The more mass the better. You can work around and with some slop, unless you are building for NASA. Big orphan machines that are not bridgeport, "frankeinports" are out there and are cheaper. The sought after 3/4 mills go for higher dollars on ebay and craigslist so be open to something new and different. If you have the space and dont mind sorting out 3phase bigger industrial machines are often affordable.

Good luck
 
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