milling machine

J

Jeff Faria

Joined
Jan 21, 2012
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22
im looking to buy a mini milling machine but i have no idea which brand or if a small mill is good enough for working with 440c
 
3 axis i would assume? your going to need one with 2 gears, high and low. you prob don't want a CLLS machine as it would make a mess of your garage ha. and if you get a digital auto feed its gonna add a lot of cost. you will need rpm range from 150(ish) to 2k. most 440c speed would range from 650-1050 depending on bit type and feed rates. i would check craigslist for an old machine out of a college or a old machine shop going out of business
 
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your looking at an easy 2-4 grand for a used on in decent shape.


truly amazing machines though :) i always find excuses to use the one at work i can't help myself
 
If you don't need something huge, but only to slot guards, drill precision holes etc take a look at the Grizzly G0704. It's not a heavy duty machine, but most knifemaking mill jobs are not too demanding on your machine. You can find the same machine painted different colors with the DRO installed, which makes life a lot easier. I have seen some guys that took a mill like this and CNC'd it on a pretty low budget.
 
I think the general idea is the bigger and heavier, the better. You can mill thin passes with a smaller machine, just not hog off huge swaths of steel. If you don't have much room, the mini mills are pretty decent. I've played on a few and they are not the heaviest machine so they can chatter quite a bit even on light passes.

If you have the room, keep checking Craigslist. There are some insane deals that come up.

I searched for about 6 months and I eventually found a 1944 Bridgeport M-head mill. It's not as huge as the current versions which is great, although it still weighs in at about 1600-1800 pounds. I got this off Craigslist, disassembled, Delivered, and reassembled in my shop for a grand total of $600, and that included the bridgeport vice, a full set of collets and some end mills. I'd have paid more than that for a mini mill.

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Deals are out there!
 
David Schott said:
I searched for about 6 months and I eventually found a 1944 Bridgeport M-head mill. It's not as huge as the current versions which is great, although it still weighs in at about 1600-1800 pounds. I got this off Craigslist, disassembled, Delivered, and reassembled in my shop for a grand total of $600, and that included the bridgeport vice, a full set of collets and some end mills. I'd have paid more than that for a mini mill.

Deals are out there!
Click to expand...

Wow! great deal.
 
basically need it for sloting guards anything for making knives i have no expiernce with milling machines or know whats good or not
 
The SIEG X series(X1, X2 and X3) is popular among hobbyists. Several companies sell re-branded SIEG mills as their own; here's the breakdown:

X1 aka the "micro-mill" = Harbor Freight 47158
X2 aka the "mini-mill" = Harbor Freight 44991, Grizzly G8689, Micro-Mark 82573, Homier 3947 and Cummins 7877.
X3 aka the "small-mill" = Grizzly G0463 and Harbor Freight 93885

CNC conversion kits are available for all three models(a la http://www.cncfusion.com/index.html ). Check out John Grimsmo's youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnGrimsmo

I believe the mill he uses to produce knife parts is a Grizzly re-branded SIEG X2(Grizzly G8689). I plan on converting one in the future.
 
i have a mini mill and while its ok for light knife making stuff i have a "need" for a mill that can hold its tram better and take bigger cuts (less chatter)

i have found a brbuilt bridgeport BRJ for 2900 with vice and collets it has the 42 inch table tho. im going to keep looking for the 32 incher or even a 36
 
Those bridgeport mills are gorgeous in the same way as an old ulster, case, etc. Makes me think "America, f*** yeah" and then makes me sad.
 
I think it's much easier to find deals on bridgeports in a close vicinity to Bridgeport, conn. Moving these things costs a lot so I doubt they travel far once they are used. They are such a bitch to move. I had called a few rigging companies before I searched and they wanted more than the worth of a used machine to just move it. If I had a downstairs basement, I probably couldn't have done it as easily. Mine has direct access from the driveway.

Don't get me wrong...I do NOT need this kind of machinery for what I do with it...if I had a mini mill I could probably do most of everything, just at at a slower pace. The M-head bridgeports can only hold collets for endmills up to 1/2" so I can't hog metal like some of the insane R8 tooling that's out there.
 
oo and just tyo point out i am full time maker and have milled out intergrals and the like so a reall mill is needed

the mini mill is the best dam drill pres i have ever got (and it works good for light milling)

i have milled A11 and its slow going but can be done. the best thing that mini is for is folder making (full custom not batch work ) and guard slotting
 
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