? on Harbor Freight Micro Mill/Drill

STR

STR

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I got one of these Central Machinery mirco mills for my birthday. Second time I used it to cut out a frame lock it made a funny noise and then stopped. Actually the motor runs fine but the chuck no longer moves. Anyone have any ideas what has occurred here? It isn't even three weeks old yet.

I suspect a shear pin or key but can't be sure. I was more curious if anyone else with this machine has experienced something similar or even with a different one.

Tomorrow I'll be hauling it back to the store I guess. Not sure about that. I may call first to see what they say. It may be I'm stuck with having to fix it myself or get someone local to look at it.

Thanks
STR
 
Hey STR..I've done some business with Harbor Freight..You need your reciept and if you didn't get the extended warranty..30 DAYS is the extent of coverage THEY WILL REPLACE IT ....GO TOMORROW Good Luck...If they offer the extended this time take it...$30...$40...$50...??????PEACE OF MIND..Most everything I've got from them ,once it made 3 months it was worth it....DISPOSABLE TOOLS............I'M NOT SAYING THE MILL WOULD BE!...But most tools are...GOOD LUCK AGAIN...
 
Do this instead:

- go to HF
- get the 20% coupon off their Website
- exchange the micro for mini-mill, a true workhorse
- bitch and complain to where manager will just swap it. Worst case, you will have to pay some $ , but you will get a MUCH more superior piece of equipment.

I personally am in love with mine, it's been 3Y or so. As I am with the rest of HF gear I bought: 8x12 lathe, 4x6 BS, few dift grinders, compressor, MIG, TIG , dozens of hand tools etc. Never had any problems with any of those
 
Thanks guys. I've spoken with the manager and I'm upgrading to the mini mill from the micro mill I recieved for my b-day.

My shop is a Harbor Freight showcase of tools really. I've had great luck with them. Some are over 20 years old and still working fine. I bought two of the $39 1x30 sanders thinking that it would be a disposable unit and I've never yet had to open the second one. I of course didn't do that with this piece. I wish.

Anyway, I appreciate the help and feedback. For what its worth I can't even find my reciept and the manager said it didn't matter. He knew it came from them because they are exclusive to that piece in this area. I thought they were pretty cool with me really considering I can only show them the reciept from my Visa for when we were there.

STR
 
I ordered the belt drive conversion on Friday late in the afternoon if not early evening by my clock. I got it Monday in the mail USPS. Its on the the mini mill already. Maybe took me 25 minutes to convert start to finish. Five of that or more was gathering the tools needed for the swap.

Thanks again to all that told me about these links and advise. I not only got a better machine but the link to the belt drive conversion makes it even better now.

STR
 
I am sure you'll love it over many years to come. A very capable machine @ simply unbeleivable price.

Some advice on tooling (all R8).

- a good chuck. Albrechts are the name in the game, but are rather pricey. I use a no-name Asian-made chuck. Has been a true workhorse, 0 issues.
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-2-DRILL-CHUCK...5QQihZ017QQcategoryZ25292QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


- a set of R8 collets. Skip the R8 end-mill holders (ones with set screw). The mill doesnt have nuff power to justify those
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-11pcs-R8-Ro...QQihZ017QQcategoryZ104242QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



- good set of drill bits.

- ditto for end mills

- a nice vise. I use grinding vise - just like this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/precision-vise-...ryZ25297QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

- machinist squares

- parallels

- face mill

- boring head

- clamping kit

- wiggler/edge finder



Well, you get the picture, the list goes on and on. But for now a drill chuck and
a vise will do :)
 
Seems to me that the draw bar is kind of cheesy with this unit. I'm about to order another better one of those.

I actually bid and bought that vise you linked as I've been looking for one of those anyway.

The machine already has an R8 chuck on it so is there something different about the one you linked to?

Thanks

STR
 
A better chuck will have less rouout and drill rounder holes closer to the size you want.

If you like a nice chick but don't want to spend the cash for an Albrecht or Rohm, there's some nice Polish made stuff out there under the Bison brand.

I'd say, quick, while you still can, return this machine too and swap into a mill drill that's got even more cast iron! Rigidity is everything in a mill and the beefier the better within reason.
 
This post has me thinking...i too was a victim of the broken gears..then i started the machine with the locking bar in place and fried two circuits..now i cant get accurate cuts to save my life..my guard slots look terrible..gaps ..looks like i hacked them in with an axe..to be honest from one trouble to the next i have gotten one or two acceptable guards and lots of junk..and for the money i have spent boys its depressing..
im sure im going to do the belt drive upgrade..(i was very pleased to see this was available) but what else is going on here? any ideas..did i get a junk machine or is it the nut behind the wheel?..thanks Luke
 
the stock R8 chuck should be just fine. It will always have a bit of
runout, as compared to spindle and/or collet, but it won't matter for
most of drilling ops. If want ultimate accuracy for 1/4 and 1/8 drill bits,
mount them via R8 collets.

Another advise: every now and then you'd need to drill a 1/2" hole.
you will discover that most drill bits are just too long, especially when
you mount them in the chuck. Use a 1/2 collet and it will save you a few
inches.


For the grinding vise, when I first got a couple of years ago, I made
2 clamps out of some mild steel - just smallish blocks with a "lip" on top
that slides into the side groves of the vise. This way it takes me seconds
to mount/remove the vise on/off the mill table.


The mill is exceptional value. While I do think that an ideal mill for a home
shop machinist is Sieg X3, it is much more expensive (2x) and much heavier mill.

While extra weight and rigidity are wellcome in any mill, X3 is a definite overkill
for knifemaking.

Few more things on mini:

- don't overtighten the Z-stop's handle or the "metal" of the collar will snap. It happened to mine and built my own replacement

- the locking handles for X Y Z are bad and will strip internal groves pretty quickly. Order much better ones from Grizz or McMaster (few bux per)

- adjust the gibs accross to where there's no play

- adjust backlash on X Y to your liking. You wont be able to eliminate it
completely, so learn to live with it

- when clamping stuff to the table, DONT OVERTIGHTEN !

- wear safety glasses !!!

- when knocking on the top of the lock bar to release whatever R8 tooling you have, most of us just use the wrench, which you have in your hands at that moment anyway. Beware that a piece of metal can chip off the wrench or top of the bar and fly at suprising velocity. SAFETY GLASSES ! I'd recommend wrapping some bare copper electrical wire around the neck of the wrench and use that softened area to knock on the lock bar

- don't overtighten the lock bar.
 
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