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Mini Mill
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Author:  Alan [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 8:44 am ]
Post subject:  Mini Mill
A while back, someone mentioned using a mini mill for making jigs (may have been Chris P., but I'm not sure). I noticed that the Grizzly and Harbor Freight mini mill look the same and it appears that the only difference is that the Harbor Freight has a R8 spindle where the Grizzly is MT3. Since I have a 20% off coupon for Harbor Freight from the latest issue of Wood magazine, I've been thinking about getting one of these for some light metal working. Has anyone found these useful for other tasks, such as slotting bridges, drilling pin holes, etc.?
Author:  Tom West [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 9:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Mini Mill
Seems to me John Hall might be your man. Maybe touch base with him.
Tom
Author:  Burton LeGeyt [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Mini Mill
Alan,

As I understand it these mills are all made in the same place and then modified slightly by the person reselling them. The best sets of mods is through micro-mark who add .05 inch lead screws, an R8 spindle, make it belt driven, and clean all the goop off and put the whole thing together for you. There is an aftermarket kit also to upgrade the belt to increase the speed to closer to 5000 rpm on high. I believe that is available from littlemachineshop.com. The micro mark link is:

http://www.micromark.com/MICROLUX-HIGH- ... ,9616.html

It is definitely more expensive than some of the others and more so if you have a coupon. I was looking at these for a while but have never had the chance to actually see one in service.
Author:  bluescreek [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 1:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mini Mill
There are many types of mini mills. I found Harbor freight is hit and miss. One thing to check for is that the quill is tight without play. Also your can adjust the gibs. The units are great for making small things for jigs and bridge slotting.. You do need to avoid units that use a round tower under 4 inches. Dovetail towers are best for accuracy.
Also look at the micrometers for adjustment. I don't like using a drill chuck for milling so you do need to have some kind of collet .
I would say if you can afford one , get the best you can afford.
Author:  David Malicky [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 4:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mini Mill
The small dovetail machines are convenient, but very lightweight and only capable of very light metal work. But they are capable within their limitations.

Round column machines are less convenient if the spindle travel is exceeded, but there are clever solutions to maintain alignment when moving the head (e.g., http://homemetalshopclub.org/news/aug02/aug02.html). Look for 5" or more of spindle travel. For the same $, the round column machines tend to be better built with more mass (very important for metal work); CNC converters often start with these.

In my experience, Taiwan machines (for small mills, Rong-Fu) are a distinct step up from Chinese. The RF-31 is good at bang for buck.

The norm in China is to have a standard design that many factories produce, to slightly different specs based on the customer/importer. But I think Sieg makes most if not all the small dovetail machines, as Burton said.

An R8 spindle is the standard for tooling options, but isn't essential if your needs are limited; adapters are available for the most common tools.

For other info on these machines, try searching the archives here: http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/ http://www.cnczone.com/forums/index.php

If you have space, also consider a larger used mill; often not much more $.

I think the key is to ID your machining needs very clearly (material, type of parts, depth of cut, speeds, etc); then you can match to a machine.
Author:  Alan [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 7:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mini Mill
Thanks David. If I had the space, I would certainly get one of the larger machines, but I just don't have the space for one.

Burton...thanks for the Micromark link and the mention of littlemachineshop.com. I checked Little Machine Shop out and it appears that they also have a version that looks a lot like the one Micromark has. The leadscrew is .062 per turn instead of .050, but it has a larger table.

John...thanks. If I do go with the HF (about $200 less than others, with the 20% off), I'll check it out first at the local store. I haven't ruled out the Micromark or littlemachineshop.com version. Just need to think about it, given the extra 200 bucks.
Author:  Jeffrey L. Suits [ Mon Jul 05, 2010 10:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Mini Mill
I snagged a used one a couple of years ago, for virtually nothing, with a Palmgren vise, tooling, collets, etc. and use it pretty regularly. That said, my drillpress is what I use for quickie machining saddle/nut blanks to thickness, in an X-Y
vise, with notched jaws.

I plan to get the belt drive conversion kit for it soon, if for nothing else, the decrease in noise, from the plastic gears in the original. I saw a youtube video that impressed me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_6atCLtSWk

Not to mention this, converted to much higher speed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCqPyPLP ... re=related
Author:  Chris Paulick [ Mon Jul 05, 2010 6:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mini Mill
I have the HF . I use it for precision drilling and milling brass and aluminum. There's only a 4" Y travel though. I changed the screws out to the .050" with the kit from Little Machine Shop. Take the $200 you save and buy a vise and parallel bar set and indicators to set the vise and an edge finder or lazer center line finder and a mounting kit and a set of collets and a coolant mister and ..... :)
There is a lot of stuff to buy for it depending on what you are going to do with it. You could use it for a small pin router too.
I used it in the "Making A Centerline Finder" youtube also. I'm happy with it for it's purpose. I just wish I had the space and money for a larger one. Bridgeports are just about the right size. :D
I don't have any problem with noise. Maybe later if the gears wear.
Author:  Tai Fu [ Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Mini Mill
You know I see that the HF mini mill sells for like 350 or so but in Taiwan (even though all those machinery is made here) I can't find a mini mill that sells for less than 1000 dollars. I have no idea why they jack up the prices for domestically made stuff that are sold elsewhere for less.
Author:  Alan [ Fri Jul 09, 2010 6:35 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Mini Mill
Tai Fu wrote:
You know I see that the HF mini mill sells for like 350 or so but in Taiwan (even though all those machinery is made here) I can't find a mini mill that sells for less than 1000 dollars. I have no idea why they jack up the prices for domestically made stuff that are sold elsewhere for less.


Wow, that's a big difference. I haven't found one for $350....new, the HF is $560 regular price, but they have 20% off coupons that bring the price down to $448, not including delivery. Littlemachineshop.com has a really nice one priced at $650, but delivery was another $175, so the total would be $825. The Micro Mark mini mill is on sale for $635 (regular price is $675) and shipping was $96 ($731 total). I'm leaning toward the Micro Mark, but haven't decided for sure. I think the sale price is good for another month or so, so I've got some time to think it over.
Author:  Tai Fu [ Fri Jul 09, 2010 7:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Mini Mill
There are a lot of Taiwanese made stuff in the US that are made for export only it seems. They either don't have it in Taiwan or if they do have it the prices are very high. DIY market isn't mature in Taiwan so a lot of those things are made for export only...
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