Need something for the knife shop.

PS....I'm scared to death of any precision machines that harbor Freight sells. I've seen two in person that were brand new with run out in the 0.100"...not to say they are junk but well.....they kinda are.
 
If you convert to CNC you won't need the DRO - will you? Since the CNC has it's own digital readout
 
I put the iGaging DROs on mine and have been very happy.

You need DRO. Don’t even entertain the idea of a mill without DRO. If the one you buy doesn’t have it, plan on adding it.

If you go CNC obviously there’s no need. But if we’re talking the same 1200 bucks, buy a used mill with DRO and a vise.
 
Gliden07 said:
What Grizzly one should I look at?? Thy have a bunch of them.
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The one I will be getting here shortly is the G0704. It's Right in your price range and it's a dang nice machine. Ed has one in his shop that I was using to make a titanium folder. It's a nice general purpose that has the fine control you'll need and it's a quality piece of machinery. I'm telling you I'm buying one and I HAVE a large milling machine already. It's capable of doing all the fine process work that you would ever need to do and mounts to a bench top. If you hunt around a little you can find someone offering free shipping on it.
 
$800 for the CNC kit - not bad, but then there's the computer to add to it and a BIG learning curve for Gcode. I've got a desktop CNC that's been very useful and fun. I have the G0619 Grizzly mill (http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-x-21-Mill-Drill/G0619) I purchased when it was around $1800 or so shipped. Ya'll are correct about a DRO, I added one ordered from China for around $200, liked it so well I added one to the 10X22 (G0609) Grizzly lathe I've got.

I use both the lathe and mill MUCH more often than I ever thought I would before getting them.

Ken H>
 
A lot of guys got started on those benchtop round column mills, and they're certainly better than nothing, but I'm not sure I'd buy one brand new. If I were wanting to spend the money on a new in box bench top, I'd at the very least want a square column, and I do agree that a DRO is VERY useful, and yes, probably even necessary. I bought a used knee mill that did not have a DRO, and I got by for a year or so without it, but when I did finally get one slapped on, it basically became a brand new (and much more capable) machine for me. I could't imagine not having a DRO now, and you can get some very capable Chinese DROs for less than $100 per axis, which is a no brainer, IMO.

For any mill you buy from HF (and even Grizzly), you should plan on needing to make some adjustments right out of the crate. I'm not sure if things have improved over the years, but it used to be that the HF mills needed disassembled, deburred and possibly even scraped, and some of the more fragile parts would benefit from upgrades. Precision Matthews used to offer some different upgraded versions of the Grizzly G704 mill, though I'm not sure what they have now. They used to come with better motors, and tighter tolerances out of the box, IIRC, though you do pay a little more.

I'd still encourage you to consider a used knee mill if you can find a reasonable deal on one. You can do small work on a bigger machine, but you can't do big work on a bench top machine. A bigger machine will hold much tighter tolerances due to its mass, and it will work faster and take larger tooling as well. I have a full sized knee mill, and there are times that I still wish it were bigger. :D

Another benefit is that you can put multiple vises, jigs, and work holding setups on the same table if you're batching a lot of smaller work, where you don't need a lot of x travel per part.

Again, if it comes down to getting a mini mill or nothing at all, I'd take the mini for sure, but if you're like most of us, you'll very quickly out grow it, and be looking for a used bridgeport within a year. :D
 
I would either buy a furnace or spend 1/2 on little stuff and make the other 1/2 my operating budget for the rest of the year. by little stuff i mean good quality drill bits and saw blades, improved shop lighting and ventilation, shop vac that sort of stuff.
you need a high temperature furnace to heat treat. it can have the catalog label of lab furnace, burn-out furnace, front door kiln, or heat treat furnace. it does not have to be new. unless you plan to make swords or machetes, do you need 24" of heated length? a 12" blade and 4" tang will heat treat just fine in a furnace with 16" heated length.
 
KenH said:
$800 for the CNC kit - not bad, but then there's the computer to add to it and a BIG learning curve for Gcode. I've got a desktop CNC that's been very useful and fun. I have the G0619 Grizzly mill (http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-x-21-Mill-Drill/G0619) I purchased when it was around $1800 or so shipped. Ya'll are correct about a DRO, I added one ordered from China for around $200, liked it so well I added one to the 10X22 (G0609) Grizzly lathe I've got.

I use both the lathe and mill MUCH more often than I ever thought I would before getting them.

Ken H>
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scott.livesey said:
I would either buy a furnace or spend 1/2 on little stuff and make the other 1/2 my operating budget for the rest of the year. by little stuff i mean good quality drill bits and saw blades, improved shop lighting and ventilation, shop vac that sort of stuff.
you need a high temperature furnace to heat treat. it can have the catalog label of lab furnace, burn-out furnace, front door kiln, or heat treat furnace. it does not have to be new. unless you plan to make swords or machetes, do you need 24" of heated length? a 12" blade and 4" tang will heat treat just fine in a furnace with 16" heated length.
Click to expand...

I live in a relatively rural area. I've been looking for months for a HT oven, NOTHING! Wish I could find something. I definitely don't have to have new! It's just a matter of how long you want to wait. I was even willing to travel a little to get it.
 
I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with milling machine. I just dont know which one. I've never owned or used them so knowing what I want and need is difficult.
 
i was in the same boat. i went with a mini mill from Little Machine Shop because I wasn’t even sure I’d use it much. I wanted the cheapest way to learn.

Turns out I use the everloving snot out of it. Basic milling is not the least bit complicated. (Not anything I need to do, anyway.) YouTube is a godsend.

AR is right. It took no time at all to wish I had a bigger mill. By the time I put the bench top mill on top of a rolling toolbox it takes up the same amount of room as a knee mill.

However- I would never give up my mill after having one. A mini-mill is still one hell of a handy machine, it’s just slow because you have to make several passes on everything because it isn’t powerful or rigid enough to hog off a lot of material at once. Still, it will do what nothing else will do. If nothing else a mini mill will he the best and most accurate drill press you ever had.

Making guards without a mill will make you want to slap strangers on the street. Having a mill makes them child’s play.

My big conundrum was that I wanted a mill, a lathe, and an oven. I got the mill first, then a lathe, and last came the oven. If I could go back in time I’d have gotten the oven before the lathe, but I’d still buy a mill first every time. Even a mini mill.
 
John Wilson said:
i was in the same boat. i went with a mini mill from Little Machine Shop because I wasn’t even sure I’d use it much. I wanted the cheapest way to learn.

Turns out I use the everloving snot out of it. Basic milling is not the least bit complicated. (Not anything I need to do, anyway.) YouTube is a godsend.

AR is right. It took no time at all to wish I had a bigger mill. By the time I put the bench top mill on top of a rolling toolbox it takes up the same amount of room as a knee mill.

However- I would never give up my mill after having one. A mini-mill is still one hell of a handy machine, it’s just slow because you have to make several passes on everything because it isn’t powerful or rigid enough to hog off a lot of material at once. Still, it will do what nothing else will do. If nothing else a mini mill will he the best and most accurate drill press you ever had.

Making guards without a mill will make you want to slap strangers on the street. Having a mill makes them child’s play.

My big conundrum was that I wanted a mill, a lathe, and an oven. I got the mill first, then a lathe, and last came the oven. If I could go back in time I’d have gotten the oven before the lathe, but I’d still buy a mill first every time. Even a mini mill.
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Which mill did you get from little machine shop. I've been drooling over them a little. Lol. Seems like you get the best value with those but I could be wrong.
 
I got the Sieg X2D which is the cheapest one they offer. The LMS one comes with some upgrades already.

I dearly love this little mill. Like I said- I’d LIKE a full size mill but I don’t need one. I can do everything I need to do with this.
 
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