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Posted: 9/26/2012 12:13:49 PM EDT
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Ok so I a looking at purchaing my first mill. I was thinking the Smithy 3 n 1 granite elite. w/ cnc. I will be doing some manufacturing and some gunsmithing. What are your thoughts opinions and advise? thanks in advance. |
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Either a Rong Fu RF-45 or maybe a mill from Industrial Hobbies if you're going to buy new.
There are hundreds of J head Bridgeports for sale. They are thick in the old rust belt, New England, and Florida. Quite a few come up for sale here. They don't require as much space as you might think. The square column mills such as the RF's and clones have one feature I don't like, the head can't be trammed in the nod direction. Now, whether that's a problem depends on the requirements of the part being made, there's a good chance a gun part will be fine. The other problem with small mills is sufficient space between the table and the spindle for a vise plus the work piece, and that will be a particular problem with one of the combination machines. I wouldn't buy a combination lathe plus mill. A milling attachment for the lathe is a better choice for small parts in my opinion. |
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Quoted:
Ok so I a looking at purchaing my first mill. I was thinking the Smithy 3 n 1 granite elite. w/ cnc. I will be doing some manufacturing and some gunsmithing. What are your thoughts opinions and advise? thanks in advance. I've used a smithy combo before (not by choice) and you will NEVER catch one in my garage unless it was free and it will only be there until I can get it sold to some unsuspecting sucker... You will NEVER be able to ream any holes because the head doesn't crank high enough. The machine is not rigid at all and you will get LOTS of chatter when milling. Not to mention the big PITA when switching from lathe to mill. You have to re-tram your vice every time you switch back to milling from turning. HUGE time waster and the only reason I used the Smithy was because I was in the middle of Afghanistan and that's what was provided to me. I have good ol' American Iron machines sitting in my garage for less money than a Smithy would have cost me and they are SO much better than a Smithy could even dream about being... Just keep your eyes open and don't be afraid to drive a little ways to get a good machine. Learn now how to inspect used machines so when you show up you'll know what you're looking for. There are tricks to checking for bed wear etc on lathes. Sometimes you can see the original scraping on the ways, that will be a good indicator of very little use, but still check it out good. Just for example. I have a Wells-Index knee mill that still has the original scraping on the ways (all the ways, even in the middle of the range of motion where they normally wear the most). I paid $2,000 for it. It came with 3-axis DRO-PROS DRO newly installed on it ($1,100+ by itself plus all the labor to install it), Kurt clone vice, a handful of endmills, a full collet set, and a really nice keyless chuck plus other misc tooling. IMHO, the DRO and tooling alone was worth $1500 so $500 for the mill itself was a pretty good deal. There are deals out there, you just have to search. BTW, I have less than $500 in my Southbend Light 10 lathe (minus the tooling I've bought to go with it) and that figure includes a brand new single phase motor and wiring. Just my .02 |
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Quoted:
Either a Rong Fu RF-45 or maybe a mill from Industrial Hobbies if you're going to buy new. There are hundreds of J head Bridgeports for sale. They are thick in the old rust belt, New England, and Florida. Quite a few come up for sale here. They don't require as much space as you might think. The square column mills such as the RF's and clones have one feature I don't like, the head can't be trammed in the nod direction. Now, whether that's a problem depends on the requirements of the part being made, there's a good chance a gun part will be fine. The other problem with small mills is sufficient space between the table and the spindle for a vise plus the work piece, and that will be a particular problem with one of the combination machines. I wouldn't buy a combination lathe plus mill. A milling attachment for the lathe is a better choice for small parts in my opinion. These pop up here in the northwest on a reliable basis too. It's the better solution. *ETA* It doesn't *have* to be a Bridgeport. You can usually find a decent Lagun or other knock off as well. If you do, make sure to check it out as some of them (Lagun, etc.) were not always very good as far as being able to tram everything in correctly. Bring an indicator and indicol and a set of end wrenches to play the tram the head in game. Check the drawbar to make sure it isn't stripped out and it clamps good. Don't forget to check the spindle for run out and try the gibs to ensure someone hasn't had a freakin' goriller reefing down on them and that they work. Similarly, check the T-slots in the table for the same reason. The under side of them should be mostly smooth (free of indents caused by the same ape overtightening the vise mounting bolts) and not rusted. Once trammed in, run the table back and forth and look for any dips or rises in it. There will probably be some but they shouldn't be more than a couple little dings that would easily surface out with a good stone. If it has a DRO on it, make sure it works, same with power feed. These are things you should do when looking at any miill anyway. |
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I wouldn't buy a combination lathe plus mill. Ever. Forever ever. Never. They have no redeeming qualities. Craigslist is your best bet for used old iron. The used machinery dealers make car salesmen appear to be boy scouts, and rarely post prices online. Auctions are another good source, sometimes high schools and votech schools auction off their old equipment and from what I've seen it is generally in better shape than ex-industrial equipment (at least as far as manual machines go). |
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