milling question-last time i promise

marekz

marekz

Joined
Jun 16, 2008
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1,699
i have consulted some forum members about this and would like to offer anyone the oppurntunity to add there opinions--and i thankyou all for it.

I will choose between a sherline mill 5400 deluxe http://www.sherline.com/mills.htm or a taig 2019er http://www.taigtools.com/mmill.html . im hoping to do carbon,stainless,damuscus milling--guard slots, profiling,maybe grinds, and sooner get into folders. any strong opinions about either. thanks again-marekz the taig says something about the leadscrews being 1/2-20 were as the other mini mills have leadscrews of 1/4. what does that mean? does it make a difference
 
The leadscrew is what moves the table when you turn the handles. 1/2-20 means it is 1/2 inch in diameter, and has 20 threads per inch. If the other one is 1/4" that seems pretty flimsy. One thing I do see is that the TAIG is heavier. If everything else about the two mills was the same that would make the difference for me. The heavier the mill the less likely you are to have chatter when cutting.

(Example of 20 TPI (Threads per inch))
|<---------- 1"--------------->|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
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From the information that I have any of the projects you discuss will take alot of time. I have a much larger mill and it will mill a guard slot but it does shake the whole thing a bit and it weights about 600 lbs.

When I was looking for a mill I talked in length to the owner of littlemachineshop and he really did not think the small mill would work for me.

My feeling is if you are going with a small mill get the auto feed so you can set a cut light and slow feed and go away for a while. It would be great if someone would post a video or discuss their experience milling a guard slot with a mini or micro mill.
 
yes Patrick that would be nice to see a video of mini mils and knife making technigues. I wonder how long it does take to mill a guard slot with one of the mills i mentioned.I wish i knew more about Mills so thjat when i look at used ones i would be able to tell if there not junk. There are a few on craigslist for atlanta for around a grand but there heavy and i dont know how much work i would need to put into them or even what parts to get. thanks marekz
 
marekz said:
i have consulted some forum members about this and would like to offer anyone the oppurntunity to add there opinions--and i thankyou all for it.

I will choose between a sherline mill 5400 deluxe http://www.sherline.com/mills.htm or a taig 2019er http://www.taigtools.com/mmill.html . im hoping to do carbon,stainless,damuscus milling--guard slots, profiling,maybe grinds, and sooner get into folders. any strong opinions about either. thanks again-marekz the taig says something about the leadscrews being 1/2-20 were as the other mini mills have leadscrews of 1/4. what does that mean? does it make a difference
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You realized there was an extra zero on the end of the Bridgeport price?

Of the units with the 1/2" vs 1/4" lead screws, the 1/2" lead screw will be much beefier than a 1/4" leadscrew.
 
Hey Marek,

I'm in the same boat. I've read through numerous threads on this forum to try and get a bit of a handle on it, but I'm still floundering. The fact that I've never even seen a mill in action makes it more challenging too. (Of course, I never saw any forges or forging in the flesh before building my first one and starting to heat metal and pound the snot out of it.)

I'm taking the basic tact that whenever I stumble on one (whatever it is) that I can afford (aka, dirt cheap), I'm going to go for it. I figure I can learn on it and resell it if I ever want to upgrade. The fact that so many esteemed knife making luminaries use and endorse the feather weight machines encourages me. It sure can't be slower than drilling and filing, can it? The fact that I need to be able to house and move my equipment also defines some of my parameters. Being forewarned that some of the mini and micros have nominally effective plastic gear drives that should be converted to belt drive (and other retrofits) is good too.

I look forward to hearing more and agree, that some U-tube like footage of minis in use making knife parts would be invaluable!

All the best, Phil
 
This what I bought for $300, I put another 400 in tooling and a nice rotary table. It was hardly used and did come with about 200$ in tools. I was not real thrilled about the lath but lately have been thinking about how to use it, Farmer has seen my shop and know how little more space I have so this worked well. Hows the folder going?? see you scored some damascus!!!

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Patrick--ylou seem to have been lucky to get a great deal. If something like that came my way i would jump on it. Unfortunetly im not so lucky so I really have to weigh out the facts before i spend my hard earned money.Im almost ready to say the hell with a mill and just keep filing slots.maybe ill spend the grand on desert ironwood. thanks -0marekz
 
Maybe this is dumb, but it's something I've been thinking about... if you have the time, maybe you could take a machining class at a local tech college. I've never used a mill and haven't touched a lathe since one project in high school shop. I think I'd want some actual instruction before buying a mill.
 
James-just last night i told me wife that i was going to look to see if there are any classes avialable at the tech school or through the university. that is a really good idea--thanks marekz
 
Yay! I had a good idea for a change! :D

The only problem I'm seeing is, sometimes they frown on a guy just taking one or two classes... I'm not really interested in commiting to a 2-year program, though if I could afford it, it might be a pretty good idea.

I think I'll ask if I can just audit a class or two and not get actual credit...
 
Don-hands down ,you seem to really have alot of faith in the sherlines- im sticking with your advise. thanks-marekz
 
I had the money in my pocket for about 6 months watching for a good deal, grabbed this one the day it was advertised on craigslist. Been really happy, I was planning on spending quite a bit more.
 
i looked at the 2000 8 directional sherline with the package deal that doesnt include the dro. im quessing the dro is a digital eadout. im sure i could always add the dro on later-marekz
 
those little mill would be great for brass and other soft materials, steel would probably be a bit rough, but if you take your time with small cuts it would be fine. when i went to trade school 7 years ago they had 2 retired guys join and my teacher would just scheldule them for one clock hour a semester, so basically they got to rent a whole machine shop for about 90 bucks a year, thats something to think about.
 
marekz said:
James-just last night i told me wife that i was going to look to see if there are any classes avialable at the tech school or through the university. that is a really good idea--thanks marekz
Click to expand...

I went to our local Vo-Tech school and talked to the Machine Tool Tech instructor. He was very accomdating I took 3-4 simesters of "classes"
He let me pick out a project and taught me what I needed to finish it.
I made a Kmg clone as one project and a mini-tapper as another. They let me use their HT oven and I made some hardie hole fullers and cut-offs. I did make sure the guys learning a trade had top priority of machine use. The school loved my tutition money and yours would to have yours!!
 
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