Which mini mill?

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

drill the fixing holes in the mdf then apply one or two coats (if you feel you can aford the extra 30p) of polyurethane varnish – oil unless you spill a pint over base any oil will wipe off – you prob know already that you can often obtain offcuts of such mdf free from the larger B+Q stores that do a cutting service (two smaller pieces are easily superglued together if you are truly into penny pinching ) but metal bashing with a mill will mean probably about half the cost of the mill again in tools.

If you are right handed a good position is at the left hand of a bench with any lh movement into a passage way – you will obviously need to allow about another 25% of the table width from the midpoint to allow rh travel – if you havn’t bought DRO then strongly consider even the cheapest as makes a big difference to convenience.

Edited By Frances IoM on 21/05/2016 19:40:34

Edited By Frances IoM on 21/05/2016 19:41:03

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

an ER25 collet set with an R8 arbor for the Mill and an MT2 for lathe tailstock will probably be the way to go – changing collets to accommodate different size drills + mills is easier than continually winding the head – some stub drills for your commonly used sizes will also be useful – double the number of T nuts you first think of (making these yourself is easy – also I found making a few with 4mm threads is useful) – also make a large number of clamps (30mm x 3mm hot rolled bar is good for this + available from Wickes or B+Q – Harold Hall has many examples – also keep the drill press as once you have set and clamped work it is a right pain to undo effort merely to drill a couple of holes tho the mill will be needed for accuracy

[Dave Smith the 16thParticipant @davesmiththe16th]

I will be buying a few extra bits like the clamping blocks and i think the R8 – MT2/3 as they are approx £11 each? I wont have any issues then if i need to swap something to the lathe and back.

Those triangle shaped clamps with steps in them seem like a good idea. Not sure if the cheap clamping set comes with those or just spacers?

Something to make and have a play with it i guess.

Free stuff from B&Q? Nope never heard of that.

Seen some really cheap digital calipers on ebay but their resolution is only .1mm i may try the slightly better ones and see if i can make the clamps.

I should have enough equipment to do most basic stuff, i just need the push to actually start and finish a project.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, I just used four hard plastic blocks about 28mm thick, cut to the size of the machined areas of the mill base, see **LINK** I regard anything more as just a passenger. These lifted the mill high enough to operate Y axis handle and gives a good gap to enable cleaning underneath the machine and retrieving small items that seem to enjoy hiding from you.

As Frances IoM suggests, fitting DRO's helps a lot, this is how I did mine **LINK**.

Dave I hope you enjoy using your new toy.

Regards Nick.

P.S. There is also a thread about how I went about fitting my DRO's, see http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=112371

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 21/05/2016 22:56:53

[Dave Smith the 16thParticipant @davesmiththe16th]

When bolting it down is it like a lathe and it needs careful adjustment? Or is it just a base and as long as its a flat surface then its OK?

If using blocks and ones 0.1 bigger will it affect the mills accuracy?

Thanks.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi Dave, yes you will need to be a bit careful when bolting down your mill. Although the base is normally quite a ridged casting, you can easily put a slight twist in it, which will affect the alignment a little bit. I had to use a 0.1mm shim under two opposite corners of my mini mill to stop the quill from moving with respect to the table, when clocked with a DTI. I can't remember exactly how much the quill moved, but I'm sure it read + & – 5 or 6 thou over a radius of about 80mm. Ideally you want the flattest stiffest surface you can get and any raising blocks being the same uniform thickness. You may find you need a shim under at least one corner no matter how flat your surface is.

Regards Nick.

[Dave Smith the 16thParticipant @davesmiththe16th]

Had a problem with the lathe, only 2 fixing bolts which are central to the lathes axis. After lots of trial and lots of error i finally managed to get it better than most people thought was satisfactory for a small machine.

Neglible runout over 8 or 10", i have the previous figures mentioned somewhere.

[Dave Smith the 16thParticipant @davesmiththe16th]

I picked up the SX2P yesterday from ARC. Excellent customer service.

Its on the bench but not bolted down, i want a nice tray for it. I have a shallow one but it has lots of grooves and a deeper one thats a little too large.

Will checkout the compost trays on offer and see if they are what i need.

Those that have fitted a mill into a tray do you seal it to prevent coolant dripping through the bolt holes?

Thanks.

[John RuddParticipant @johnrudd16576]

My milling machines just sit on top of the box section( bolted to it…) , but the box section just sits in the seed tray atop the bench….

Never had an issue with machining….

[Dave Smith the 16thParticipant @davesmiththe16th]

So yours is not bolted to the bench? I have some 3.5" heavy steel box sections, if i have any doubts i could always fill the section with something to add weight. Although the weight of the machine and the box sections should be more than enough for any task i plan on doing.

Probably need to make something to level and cleanup the box sections though.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

I fitted a mill / drill machine to a factory drip tray / stand a couple years ago. The stand came with a selection of rubber plugs and grommets so you could seal the bolt holes (the grommet things) and block the unused holes (plug things). Never got round to using coolant but it looked like a reasonable solution that is easy to implement. Silicone sealant would doubtless work too.

[John RuddParticipant @johnrudd16576]

Posted by Dave Smith the 16th on 25/05/2016 19:58:22

if i have any doubts i could always fill the section with something to add weight.

Concrete?

No, definitely not bolted to the bench…

[Dave Smith the 16thParticipant @davesmiththe16th]

Yeah concrete or my secret stash of tools the missus didnt know i ordered?

Muzzer, maybe i am overthinking it but i thought getting sealant or paint under the mill may upset it? At least the holes appear solid. On my lathe one is solid but the other is a slot, I drained the oil recently and spilt more than last time and it found its way down the bolt hole and into the tub beneath. Oily mess.

Anyone want to buy some oily sandpaper?

Back to the square tube, its years old and has a rusty coating. Needs cleaning and probably a pass through the mill to level them. Do i just give them a light spray of oil or paint them? You may have guess i like to do things right even though it may make zero difference or make it worse

I like to be different also, has anyone converted the belt drive to a plastic gear drive? (just kidding)

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