Machine choice

[Ian McVickersParticipant @ianmcvickers56553]

Hi, all. At the moment I have a Warco GH Universal machine which is ok but I would like to get myself something sturdier. I will mostly be getting jnto model engineering so a bridgeport is too big I think so I've been looking at other options. I've found an A&S 1ES with a vertical head but I'm a bit worried that this type of machine without a quill would be a hindrance as I use this a lot for drilling and tapping. Anyone else got a similar machine and would like to share their thoughts?

Ian

[Ian McVickersParticipant @ianmcvickers56553]

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

I've got a Sharp MkII without a quill. I don't have a problem drilling holes down to 1mm using the rising table. Not as convenient as having a quill but certainly not a show stopper. I do have a substantial bench drill as well, though.

HTH,

Rod

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

There are likely a few on here with Centecs which have the MkI and II vertical heads.

Mine has the MkIII head with quill, but I really only use the quill for drilling and tapping, so it would be a bit of a pain for tapping and if doing a lot of drilling – especially if needing to spot, pilot and drill. I prefer to raise/lower the table, even though it is rather harder work, for most jobs.

That said, the A&S machine is, it seems, in a different league to the Sharps and Centecs. I don’tknow what power Rod’s Sharp is, but the Centec is only 1HP.

[IanTParticipant @iant]

I have two horizontal mills Ian – both fitted with vertical heads (but no quill feeds to either).

The larger mill (Victoria H0) tends to be kept in vertical mode – broadly because it is the larger machine but also because the vertical head is very heavy and takes some effort to put on & take off. The smaller mill (Atlas MF) tends to be run mostly in horizontal mode because there are some things where this is more useful for the work I do. I do drill on both mills – on the larger (and heavier) mill, I tend to just 'spot' the holes for later enlargement (on either the drill press or even the lathe) unless I feel it should all be finished in one run or I'm going to bore it. You cannot really 'peck' drill (well you can but it gets very tiring!) using the knee movement.

With the MF – I drill horizontally using a chuck in the MT2 spindle – so depth is put on with the cross-slide, which takes a bit of getting use to but can work very well for some work (e.g. long rows of holes for instance where the Z-axis is fixed). This generally works well enough but my larger MT2 drill chucks (plus drill bit) do not always leave too much room to actually drill and/or change the bit (without moving the table over).

So whilst in my view a horizontal mill (with vertical head) in many ways gives you the best of both worlds generally – I would certainly like a quill arrangement on the larger mill's vertical head which would then be perfect. I've also thought about a making a small vertical 'quill' head for the MF – but it's not very high up on my TUIT list – so I guess I'm managing to get along OK with what I have already. I also have a small Cowells drill and a large Warco 12-speeder for my general drilling needs – so that helps quite a bit in this area…

Not sure this will help you decide what to do but these are my two pennies worth (in old money!)

Regards,

IanT

[Ian McVickersParticipant @ianmcvickers56553]

Thank guys. Been in the shop trying to finish my machine side table and new grinder tool rests which had quite a bit of drilling, tapping and reamer work and the quill definitely made the job easier. So might have to rethink this idea or maybe find one of the rare short table Bridgeport's…..

[IanTParticipant @iant]

By a strange co-incidence – I was looking through Jurgen Eichardt's "Drehen fur Modellbauer – Band 1" [Milling for Model Makers – Vol 1"] this morning – and lo – there was a design for an MT3 based drilling spindle. As my Victoria has an MT3 spindle in the vertical head – this was something I probably spotted when I first got the book but had managed to completely forget about.

It works in a similar way to the micro drill adaptors that Arc sell – so a sliding chuck spindle revolves with the MT taper but can be fed down by a lever that is connected to the drill spindle by bearings. Good description (in German) but also fully dimensioned parts drawings and a clear photo. Fairly simple to build and may well move up my TUIT list a bit…

BTW – I've mentioned this before here but for the small scale modeller & machinist – Jurgens books are full of great ideas. Have a look through his pages on building the USS Cassin Young (link below) and you will find lots of useful stuff – even if you don't build model warships (which I don't). Clearly a prolific and gifted modeller.

http://www.ship-model-today.de/fotoreport.htm

Regards,

IanT

[Paul KempParticipant @paulkemp46892]

Keep an eye put for an Elliot Junior (Omnimill). Fantastic bit of kit, 28" table, horizontal and vertical spindles and a quill on the vertical spindle for drilling (no fine feed though so for milling you put the cut on by raising the knee). I managed to pick one up last Christmas and have just finished cutting the gears for my 6" traction engine on it. My colleague has a Bridgeport in his shop and to be honest I prefer the Omnimill. You might have to search around to find one though.

Paul.

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

Just been looking at a Bridgeport locally to me **LINK** not connected to them but thought it worth a look.

David

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Nice looking machine David – but it is £1750 – whereas the Victoria Horizontal with vertical head (on the same webpage) is only £850 – and although it was a few years ago – I paid a lot less than that for mine.

So, as with most things, you have to decide what you want and/or need (which are often quite different things as I am always explaining to my grandchildren) – and then you pays the price. I haven't tried arguing the plus-sides for horizontals here – but cost is certainly one of them – leaves a bit of money over for the tooling…. .

Regards,

IanT

[Ian McVickersParticipant @ianmcvickers56553]

I've been looking at that supplier as well. The Victoria has been sold but the Bridgeport is still available. Found a Tom Senior M1 I think that's what it is buts it's rather a long way away from me. https://www.1stmachineryauctions.com/lots/auction/4th-october-featured-auction?page=3

[Author]

Posts