Finally broke down and did it, got myself a mini mill

J S Machine said:
Well, turns out these things are not nearly as good as a decent machine from the factory. What do you expect with a small inexpensive machine though?

I went to tram it in the other night and found the nod out by about 1/16th of an inch. There is no nod adjustment on these machines, so the only thing you can do is take them completely apart, deburr all the edges and holes on the mating surfaces, shim it, and put it back together. The side to side movement will allow you to tram the X in relation to the table, but the Y has to be approached in the rebuilding and shimming way.

I'll admit I didn't know this before hand, but that's ok. It isn't anything I can't fix, it just means it will be a little bit before I can actually start using the machine. I full teardown and rebuild is needed to get it correct the way it should be, and then I will know for sure that it is ready to work with. Everything being correct to begin with is the name of the game here :cool:
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Not sure about a single thing you said, but I'm not sure I want to buy one any more... hahahah
 
The machines are cheaply made. They are good for what you use them for (within their capabilities) but beyond that is a little too much to ask. They are perfect for people like us who will just be doing small work on knives and such. In other words, these are not Bridgeports.

What I said in "lamens" terms is that the machine is basically made and put together at the factory without much attention to whether or not it is straight. everything has to be correct and square before the machine can make parts that turn out the same. The machine is not "in" by any means, and will take some TLC and patience to get it that way. No problem, just a little extra work. "Tramming" is the process of being sure the head is square with the table / bed. On mine it is not, and the area which connot be adjusted (the nod) is out. There is no adjustment for this, so my only option is to unbolt the mating surfaces between the column and the base and add shim stock to correct the issue.
 
I wish he had spent a little more and got me one. I have too many mouths to feed (including the bank which always seems to be hungry) to be able to buy such a luxury item.
I am jealous, but I am also excited for you. Times like these I bet most of us on this forum would come over and help out if we were all closer, just to see how it all works out.

Eric
 
Lagrange said:
I wish he had spent a little more and got me one. I have too many mouths to feed (including the bank which always seems to be hungry) to be able to buy such a luxury item.
I am jealous, but I am also excited for you. Times like these I bet most of us on this forum would come over and help out if we were all closer, just to see how it all works out.

Eric
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You know Eric, I was just thinking that, being John is just in the next County from me,......now to find the time, energy.....and swallow enough pride to go over there and look stupid! Should'nt take too much! Rex
 
Eric, I've wanted a mill since I got out of high school. That was 8 years ago, and I was finally sick of telling myself "one day"..I couldn't really afford this either, but maybe some of my work will start selling soon and I can offset the cost a little.

Rex, stop by any time. I'm not doing much at the moment, but I'll be glad to show you around the shop and talk knives :)

Update:. got the base, saddle, and table completely redone. Everything has been completely rebuilt and greased and adjusted correctly. Now I'll move on to the column and head. I may not get to it before we go on vacation though. We are leaving friday night headed towards Greene Co, VA to visit with family. We will be gone until the following weekend. If I don't get to mess with it before then, I will surely pick back up on it when we get back.
 
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"Eric, I've wanted a mill sense I got out of high school. That was 8 years ago, and I was finally sick of telling myself "one day"..I couldn't really afford this either, but maybe some of my work will start selling soon and I can offset the cost a little."


I completely understand what your saying...believe me I am happy for you. If I wanted one bad enough I would probably have it.
I'm cheering for you!
Eric
 
First off congrats on your new little machine. We have two little mini-mills at work I converted with the belt after one of them stripped the internal plastic gears.
I will admit they are robust little machines that get alot of use and abuse and always come out unscathed. Its mostly unskilled guys working on them though.
So when you say the nod is out, I take it the head needs to tilt fwd or backwards in order to tram it to the table. I know that you can sweep the head right/left easily by loosening the bolt in the back.
But I do seem to remember adjusting front/back is not an option.
Chris
 
Got the column and head assembly done. It has been done for a week or so now, but I've been busy and haven't been able to update the thread. I ended up putting about .003 worth of shims under my column/base flange. This brought the not to within .0005". When I mounted the head, I made sure it was straight up and down too, perpendicular with the table. The way you check to see if this is off is to drill a small hole down low with a a center drill or such, and then chuck up something with a long shaft where you can raise the head all the way up and check the location of the point on the end with the small hole you drilled. If it is off, your head is out and cocked slightly on the saddle which rides the dovestails of the column. There are four bolts behind the saddle that have to be loosened and the head adjusted on the saddle.

Finally, I shimmed the rack gear out too. I ended up putting .027" of shims here. This brings the rack closer to the pinion gear, which is the shaft that raises and lowers the head. There is a serious problem with backlash and slack here, and it can really bite you in the @ss if you aren't careful. Sucks to fine feed the head down to what you think will be .010" and it drops .100"..These shims bring the rack forward and completely mesh the rack and pinion, and just about eliminate the slack. It helps alot.

I also made my own way covers and made the one behind the saddle a new attachment point under the head. This way, when the head is raised, it protects the rack gear from chips. It is working fine; I made some parts out of plastic the other night. Ready for knife work now :)
 
John,
If I was to ever get another one of these how much would you charge me to do all of this to it and give me a couple of lessons??? Just curious, there are things I will want to do eventually and a mill will probably be a necessity, that is unless I discover another creative way to do the things I need to, mainly relieving liners and I'd love to be able to slot guards with a mill. Mine was so out of whack that I wasted more material than I used. Pretty discouraging when your (meaning me) ignorant! I have a pretty good record for figuring things out, but this was so far over my head I didn't have a chance! Seriously, let me know, Rex
 
Here's mine, well, rather the one I had. It was a HF mini mill, which I totally broke downm stripped, and modified from the ground up with better bearings, and drive belt mod. I hand-dressed the ways and installed new worm screws so it moves like butter. I also reworked the electrics, and painted it a nice machinery grey instead of the hideous red color. I got it all complete then I got into a funk and sold it. It sure is hard to recover and get back into knifemaking.

SiegX2001.jpg
 
McClellan Made Blades said:
John,
If I was to ever get another one of these how much would you charge me to do all of this to it and give me a couple of lessons??? Just curious, there are things I will want to do eventually and a mill will probably be a necessity, that is unless I discover another creative way to do the things I need to, mainly relieving liners and I'd love to be able to slot guards with a mill. Mine was so out of whack that I wasted more material than I used. Pretty discouraging when your (meaning me) ignorant! I have a pretty good record for figuring things out, but this was so far over my head I didn't have a chance! Seriously, let me know, Rex
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Rex, If you ever pick up another one, just let me know and I'll be glad to do it for you. No big deal. I may have to keep it a few weeks, but I don't mind helping a fellow maker out :)

Just be sure you invest in a mill other than the harbor freight version. I suggest you check out the LMS version which has the longer table and R8 head in it. I was just fixing to drop you a line and see if you would mind if I spun up there and checked out your blade grinder. I'm in the process of building mine, and it is a KMG clone, but it will be powered by a treadmill motor. I'm gonna have to buy a contact wheel and a few belts, but I can build everything else. I'll tell you more about the mill then.
 
J.Higgins said:
Here's mine, well, rather the one I had. It was a HF mini mill, which I totally broke downm stripped, and modified from the ground up with better bearings, and drive belt mod. I hand-dressed the ways and installed new worm screws so it moves like butter. I also reworked the electrics, and painted it a nice machinery grey instead of the hideous red color. I got it all complete then I got into a funk and sold it. It sure is hard to recover and get back into knifemaking.

SiegX2001.jpg
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That is a nice job, hate you had to get rid of it. I considered painting mine, but I was really anxious to use it.
 
John.
You know the answer to that question already! If you don't, I haven't been as nice as I thought I was being, you know you can come over any time, just give me a little notice, I like to run around in the buff, and... I fear you would NEVER recover from that!!!!!

It's a good time too, I have a W-2 blade I wanted to show you, I haven't finished it just yet, but the hamon aint' bad, not great either, W-2 is a PITA!!!! Not near as simple as 1084! But definitley some great steel!
Let me know when you're ready, Rex
 
Rex,

What ya got goin on tomorrow? I may be able to spin up there. We are taking Haleigh to the fair tonight and going to see Luke Bryan, and I have to work until later today, so maybe tomorrow.
 
Awesome, have fun with it. I just put in an order for a Brother TC-S2D-O CNC machine, can't wait to get it.
 
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