I am getting a milling machine

It is difficult to buy new American made machines.

When I set my mind to start something I knew I wanted 100% American machines in my shop. So far I have managed to pull that off with some great people I know giving me solid leads and good ole boy prices. My first knife will be named after the primary motivator.

I don't regret the added expence nor the time delay to rebuild them all and get them leveled into foundations
and built with bearing upgrades and such.

I wouldn't feel right building anything with a wong-fu machine. There is a special feeling using a heavy machine from the 40's. Like my grandmother made it or something. I managed to restore a switch cover last night i removed a paint coating to reveal a classy patina and the original coating.
 
ron_m80 said:
It is difficult to buy new American made machines.
Click to expand...
Nah, that part is easy.

Buy Haas!

Now finding funding an American machine is a different story.

I bought new last year @ 2.9%
I tried to fund a lathe last week, 6 months used, still under warranty, best I could get was 15%.
Crazy.
 
I figured out a trick for keeping the head squared to the work with round column mills. Mount a laser firmly to the head. Mark the spot where the laser hits on the opposing wall.
 
Hope that works for you. I'm sure in California the earth doesn't shift around or anything like that.
Buy a good indicator...learn to use it.
 
Hey CM, don't let this milling machine change your design approach. I think we like the way your knives look like they were fabricated with nothing but a grinder, blowtorch, sledgehammer and a hangover.
 
powernoodle said:
Hey CM, don't let this milling machine change your design approach. I think we like the way your knives look like they were fabricated with nothing but a grinder, blowtorch, sledgehammer and a hangover.
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LMFAO! Dude, my shit won't change, it will just get more precise.
 
IMAG0378.jpg
 
BTW Brian, if you ever come to central CA, don't be a stranger.
 
Great. I found that I could use the mill to get things flat and angles square and such, too. It makes fitting handle slabs to bolsters and guards a lot easier. I have the hi torque mini mill. it can cut through w1 if you speroidize it.
kc
 
Charlie Mike said:
I figured out a trick for keeping the head squared to the work with round column mills. Mount a laser firmly to the head. Mark the spot where the laser hits on the opposing wall.
Click to expand...

Keep beam divergence in mind, it will expand and get wider and less precise the further from the focal point you get.
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I have an $1500 pro-end laser I'm trying to sell .. wink ;) Though I'm just kidding, nobody is that crazy other than me. Enjoy your new mill! Can't wait to see some work with it.

You can get cheap focusable lasers out of hong kong from DX.com, the red 200mW one I have and it's pretty good for what it is. But anything >5mW is quite dangerous without safety goggles.
 
Nice CM! I really want to post a photo of my mill to give you a hard time, but I won't steal your thunder bro. ;p

Congrats on a serious addition to your arsenal. Knives can certainly be made without a mill, but they're one of the most useful and significant tools to ever exist, which open serious possibilities beyond knifemaking.
 
Nice, CM:thumbup:

Hope you enjoy the new tool. Mills can do a lot for you, and it's lots of fun learning it all. I love having a mill in my shop, you will too. Very happy for ya!
 
I'm hoping to have a working SA OTF done within a year.
 
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