Looking for best table top mill

H

HalfFaceblades

Joined
May 20, 2014
Messages
11
I am looking to purchase a table top mill for under 5k. Something that is the best possible in that price range with versatility.
thank you,
 
Look at the Grizzly 0731.
 
I'm looking for the exact same thing. I am leaning towards the little machine shop 3990. Interested to hear what others have to say


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How goes it...I use one from little machine shop as well, with the belt drive and air piston setup. I reinforced the base with a large steel plate, but I would get the fixed base variant. BTW...off topic, I'm out in Rota with Kris (ITC type).
 
get the biggest dovetail mill you can fit in the shop. the mini mill has been fantastic knife makers drill press and mill combo and even now tha i have a bridgeport im not selling the mini as its jsut handy
i have upgraded most the parts to what LMS sells as there small mill so if i wasas to do it again i wouel just get theres and since your budget is good you can get a whole mess of tooling to go with it
 
The Grizzly 0731 mentioned about does look good - then add this Digital Readout: https://goo.gl/vvAMtK for $270 shipped and you've got a real setup. I've ordered/installed two of these DRO's - 1 to mill, 1 to lathe (lathe is only 2 axis) and couldn't be happier. DRO sure are nice -

I have the G0619 and it does everything I really need for knifemaking, but the 731 would be so much nicer {G}

Ken H>
 
that o731 is nearly the size as my bridgeport (mine has a 32 inch long table and is the smallest dovetail head they made) i feel liek i stole it from the seller at 1600bucks delivered to my shop door no way i woudl spend 3500 bucks on a import mill as a knife maker i jsut dont need to spend that kind of $ in my knife shop for such a low use tool
the band saw KMG and kiln are the top 3 in my shop then comes a mini mill and a few other thign i only fire up the BP for heavy work
im mostly sure that ther eis a size between the mini mill and tht agrizly that is still a bench top model. i think for the small shop knifemaker/ hobby fab guy it might be the best bang for the buck
 
I looked hard at the 0704, and it was well recommended. I ended up finding a used Rong Fu 31 locally. There are quite a few clones of the RF-29/30/31 mill out there. They're technically a bench top, but weigh about 600 pounds. They're round column, which can be a pain for precision work, but have the beef to do just about anything a knifemaker needs.
 
Jason Fry mentioned machine weight. More is better; pay attention to it in product descriptions.
 
P.Brewster said:
Jason Fry mentioned machine weight. More is better; pay attention to it in product descriptions.
Click to expand...

right to the point of not being a bench top item. woudl say 400lb is about tops for moving with ought a lift even taking it apart to transfer it. i used a bobcat and stood on the tail to move my 1800lb bridgeport i can on the otherr end pick up my mini mill and walk it around to a new place in the shop
 
Wow that grizzly is 4,200$ on Amazon. I am with Butch and Jason, buy used. For 3500-4500 you could by a hell of a used mill likely with a DRO, vise and tooling depending on how long your willing to search.

Just for the heck of it I looked and locally there are several bridgeport or similar style mills for under 3k.

-Clint
 
Serious consideration should be given to where you plan to set up the mill and how it will be utilized. I like saving money and have purchased used machinery at a substantial savings and used the savings for tooling which is not cheap.

There is a surplus of good used equipment that has been replaced by new CNC centers and California has a huge share of machines needing new homes. I would look for a nice Knee Mill with a vise for under 3k they are out there. Go to a showroom talk to a sales person get familiar with the workings of a machine at least it will help with your decision on what type equipment to spend money on. BTW I've spent 30 years as a machinist.
 
Being a machinist by trade I would buy a old knee mill in decent condition and pop a DRO on it in a heart beat. You get so much more value buying older used machines as long as you know what to look for and what to check.
 
JTknives said:
Being a machinist by trade I would buy a old knee mill in decent condition and pop a DRO on it in a heart beat. You get so much more value buying older used machines as long as you know what to look for and what to check.
Click to expand...

That's the key. If you know what to look for. I didn't, so I bought an import. http://www.busybeetools.com/products/milling-machine-digital-readout-r8-cx600.html

This mill does everything I've needed it to, primarily slotting guards, and squaring stock. The next larger mill would have been nice, but it was $1000.00 more, and that $1000.00 bought tooling. It's under powered for a 2" face mill, but it wasn't designed for that.
 
5k should find you a pretty decent knee mill (USED) with DRO, power feeds, and a fair amount of tooling. IMO, you're not going to be taking up that much more of a footprint than a standard sized table/bench top mill (including the bench), and you'll be getting 10x the machine.

Heck, if I had 5k to spend on machine tools, around here, I'd be able to get a decent mill AND a lathe, with enough left over for a little bit of tooling and a good VFD or RPC to run them off of.
 
Ditto on a knee mill rather than a bench top. I had a gear driven Rong Fu for some years. While the round column is never an issue unless you need to raise or lower the head in the middle of a job, I found the size and weight (800lbs) still wanting whenever I used the mill for jobs bigger than knives. No matter what size mill you get, you will always have a job for it bigger than it can handle! I ended up picking up a Millrite knee mill, and now wished I had gone with a Bridgeport!
 
and again i need to state that after i got my BP i didnt get rid of my mini mill as its jsut too handy for all the little/dirty work that a knife maker has in the shop. rememberr tho i also dont have a drill press in the shop and i use the mini for that and for fly cutting all my scales dead flat
 
If you could find a Burke/Powermatic Millrite, it would take up about the same amount of room, and it would be a better machine.
 
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