- Joined
- Feb 13, 2017
- Messages
- 2,138
Really difficult to compose a comment here...
Asking about a "bench" mill implies (to me) that you are interested in a "horizontal" mill, which is a pain in the wazoo to do anything with. But what you do is very well done. When you describe "small" parts, perhaps a consideration would be a "Grizzly G-0727" mill. Convertable from horizontal to vertical, with R-8 tooling. Not bad at the price (<$1K) but the horizontal system uses a 5/8" arbor. Since I have an Atlas MF-B with a 1" arbor, I had to pass, much as I like the machine. I may get one to replace the vertical "mill/drill" one day but still hanging there. As far as the "mini-mill" is concerned, I use one as a model makers drill press. I need the ability to use very small drills (61-90) in plexiglas. Meaning slow speed, slow feed.
If you are bent on a vertical machine, to get a decent one that is truely square, look toward the high end. Or the G-0727 which has a rotating collar instead of a slide. BTW, it is a "knee" mill, more like a floor mounted vertical mill.
I must interject that, as a model builder, I work with very small parts. Such as #000-120 screws up to #5-40. To my work, a #10-32 or 1/4-20 is fairly large. (The #000 screw is (about) .75 mm......) As such, much of my equipment is rather unusual, in that I also need to work with larger parts occasionally. Such as a '68 Chev C-30 Dump.
The biggest reason I haven't acquired the Griz is that I am currently unable to move it from the truck to the shop; for health reasons. So I can't give you any detailed information there. I don't know if my meandering helps any, but I had to input my two cents worth....
Asking about a "bench" mill implies (to me) that you are interested in a "horizontal" mill, which is a pain in the wazoo to do anything with. But what you do is very well done. When you describe "small" parts, perhaps a consideration would be a "Grizzly G-0727" mill. Convertable from horizontal to vertical, with R-8 tooling. Not bad at the price (<$1K) but the horizontal system uses a 5/8" arbor. Since I have an Atlas MF-B with a 1" arbor, I had to pass, much as I like the machine. I may get one to replace the vertical "mill/drill" one day but still hanging there. As far as the "mini-mill" is concerned, I use one as a model makers drill press. I need the ability to use very small drills (61-90) in plexiglas. Meaning slow speed, slow feed.
If you are bent on a vertical machine, to get a decent one that is truely square, look toward the high end. Or the G-0727 which has a rotating collar instead of a slide. BTW, it is a "knee" mill, more like a floor mounted vertical mill.
I must interject that, as a model builder, I work with very small parts. Such as #000-120 screws up to #5-40. To my work, a #10-32 or 1/4-20 is fairly large. (The #000 screw is (about) .75 mm......) As such, much of my equipment is rather unusual, in that I also need to work with larger parts occasionally. Such as a '68 Chev C-30 Dump.
The biggest reason I haven't acquired the Griz is that I am currently unable to move it from the truck to the shop; for health reasons. So I can't give you any detailed information there. I don't know if my meandering helps any, but I had to input my two cents worth....