What Beginners Mill to Buy

I guess it depends on your needs, but I was in the same situation a few months back. I had a Sherline, but it was way too small for the stuff I want to mill now.

A lot of members recommended a used Bridgeport type mill, but I'm a newbie and I wouldn't know if a used mill was too worn out plus I could never get it into my basement.

So, after much research I decided on a PM25-MV. I'm completely happy with this purchase. The owner of PM seems to bend backwards to support purchasers.

As for tooling, it adds up fast. My Kurt vise alone was over $600. Then, I added collets, drill chuck, fly cutter, boring bar, etc. You get the idea. I don't even want to think how much I spend so far.
 
About a year ago I was at the same place and settled on a Little Machine Shop HiTorque bench top mill. All in all, I've been pretty happy with it. If you go for a bench top mill, stay away from round column (as mentioned above).

I think with any new affordable mill, you are going to end up making some tweaks / mods / improvements.
Plan on spending at least half as much again on tooling etc. You can get started with minimum kit, but will end up with more quickly. Probably best to not try to "buy it all at once" - but don't try to suffer through working with just what you've got. The point being you are going to end up with a lot more kit if you stick with the hobby - don't skimp other than being constrained by budget.

Same goes for size of the mill - get as much as you can afford and will fit in your space. There are some really inexpensive micro-mills out there that people love but they are sized for making pretty tiny stuff (small model trains/engines etc.)

I spent about $2500 on my mill and probably another $2000 on kit.

I did look for used first - If I was less constrained by shop space and my ability to move equipment, I could have gotten a lot more mill used. Small bench top mills are hard to find used, at least in my area.

If you go the used route, try to find an experienced home machinist to help you find and evaluate used machines. Also try to get as much kit with the machine as possible - look for someone selling or downsizing their shop. Home shop sales are probably better than a machining business closing or selling old equipment. Machine shops are in the business of making money and tend to "use equipment up" - but you can also find a "tired" machine that is a great deal if you are willing to tune it up a bit.

You can get lots of advice from people on this forum - we love looking at sales of used stuff and "spending other peoples money".

Good luck and keep us posted!

-Dave
 
Thanks for the input fellas; I am leaning towards a Benchtop Mill because of space constraints AND for the fact that I don't envision the need for a larger machine. Now, if a used Bridgeport presented itself for a reasonable price and in a close location I'd consider that as well.
 
If I had a nickel for every post where they admit their mini-mill was too small and they now need a bigger one, I could probably buy a scissors knurler for my knee mill. Better make it a dollar.

I say, buy your last mill first.
 
Good advice Winegrower, but I'm at the point that I'm locking in on a new Mill AND I'd like input concerning the Grizzly G0704 7" x 27" 1 HP Mill/Drill with Stand ?
 
I bought the HF round column mill for $960 with a coupon. It wasn't too hard to come up with an indexing system to get around the round column and I'm happy with the machine. It's no Bridgeport but it beats the hell out of milling on my lathe like I've been doing for 20 years.
 
Finding a used one in your budget would be the best option if it comes with tooling.
It's very easy to spend as much or more on tooling as the mill itself, collets, cutters, vise, etc.
One that has a DRO would even be better. While not a necessity, it is close to being so.
 
If going benchtop, try to go square column at least RF-45 size class. Most who go BF-20/G0704/PM25 progress to it anyway (or at least want to). Not so much for the larger work envelope, more for the mass/rigidity.

Sure it is more expensive up front, but you will save in the long run.

As was said above, buy your last mill first if you have the floor space for it. Just my .02c
 
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The G0704 & G0759 both have a similar problem plastic drive gears. These are prone to failure. Now there are conversion kits, but when you add in the cost it would be better to go with a different machine. Precision Matthews, Little Machine Shop, DRO Pros sell similar machines with belt drive that eliminates this.problem.
 
As mentioned above, EVERYONE here loves to spend your money! A lot depends on what you want to do (as mentioned above). You can do little stuff on a bigger mill, but it can be really tough to do the converse. I'd get the biggest your shop can handle. I've had a Grizzly round column mill (~8 x 30 table, 700 lbs.), have a Jet JVM-830 small knee mill (8 x 30 table, ~1000 lbs.) an Atlas MFB horizontal mill (350 lbs.), a Bridgeport (9 x 42 table, ~2000 lbs.), and a Tormach 1100 (9 x 24 table, ~1300 lbs.). Bought the Grizzly new, others were used.

New is very nice as you will have a pristine table and most likely no hidden issues. However, they typically do not include much if any tooling. You can easily spend half again as much on tooling: Vise, clamping kit, collets, edge-finder, parallels, end mills, drill chuck, measuring tools, etc. Most of the time used mills come with some tooling.

If you are looking for used, hit the web site www.searchtempest.com. It's a Craig's List/ eBay/ Amazon search engine. Give it a search title, price range, and max drive distance and you'll have plenty of options. I listed a few in the area around you (give or take a state). Some around your budget, some a bit higher.

Personally, you can't beat a Bridgeport-sized knee mill. But it's literally a ton of iron so you'll need the infrastructure to move it. There are a plethora of parts and accessories out there. The market didn't lead to dozens of import knock-offs without good reason. BP-sized machines are generally 3 phase power, so budget another $100 - $300 for a static phase converter or Variable Frequency Drive unit. Good Hunting!

Bruce

Decent looking Enco small BP clone for $4K. No tooling, but power feeds on X, Y and Z plus a 2-axis old DRO
grandisland.craigslist.org

2001 Enco mill milling machine.

2001 enco knee milling machine. Can load it on your trailer, 1,750lb. Coolant pump were removed. 3ph motor, can be running on single phase with a converter. X Y digital read out. Z axis read out. 3...
grandisland.craigslist.org


Another Enco small BP close for $3K. Comes with a vise, collets, clamping kit, 3 face mills, 2 drill chucks, power feed on the X and an old 2-axis DRO.
semo.craigslist.org

Enco Milling Machine - tools - by owner - sale

Enco Milling Machine 8" x 36" Table X Axis Power Feed 10 Spindle Speeds, Two Speed Motor Low Range...
semo.craigslist.org


Nice looking real-deal Bridgeport with a 1 1/2 HP variable speed head, $3500. Comes with power feed on the X, no other tooling though it has a drill chuck in the spindle.
stlouis.craigslist.org

Very nice Bridgeport mill

Nice little 9 x 36 Bridgeport milling machine. Variable speed head great looking hard chrome ways power feed automatic lube.
stlouis.craigslist.org


Nice looking Bridgeport 1 HP step-pulley machine for $1500 (same seller as above). Power feed on X, drill chuck in the spindle.
stlouis.craigslist.org

Bridgeport type mill

Nice milling machine has power feed runs well.
stlouis.craigslist.org
 
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