Opinions on Mill/Drill machine

i hardly use my hold down set btu when its needed there is no way around it. im slowly upgrading my collets to better ones but my import set has worked well for over 10 years
i have an interrstate 4 inch kurt type vice and a 6 inch bridgeport vise. kurt has blem vises at reduced cost so thats what will replace my BP vise on my brigeport
im keeping my eyes open for a rotary table
tooling never ends
 
butcher_block said:
i hardly use my hold down set btu when its needed there is no way around it. im slowly upgrading my collets to better ones but my import set has worked well for over 10 years
i have an interrstate 4 inch kurt type vice and a 6 inch bridgeport vise. kurt has blem vises at reduced cost so thats what will replace my BP vise on my brigeport
im keeping my eyes open for a rotary table
tooling never ends
Click to expand...

I agree with the hold downs... 99% of holding will be done in a vise for sure, but every now and then you get an odd piece and need just a little different approach. The t-nuts and studs that come in the sets are also useful for mounting fixtures, tables and vises too, not just work pieces.

I just upgraded my vise to a 6" "kurt clone". It doesn't have a name on it, but it's your typical angle lock style, and seems to be pretty decent. I fought an old (really old) 6" Stevens vise for the longest time. Had to make my own jaws and handle, and the the acme threads were all boogered up and missing pieces.
A good vise and a set of decent parallels are worth their weight in gold.

And you'll NEVER have enough tooling. I'm always looking at or buying something for measuring, positioning, holding, cutting, etc..... In fact, I hope to order a 3 axis DRO tomorrow. Part of me wishes I would have held out for a mill that came with one, but everything is give and take.

Oh, and that's all just for the mill. Never mind the lathe.... or the 2x72 grinder... or the surface grinder....etc.....
 
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