Suggestions for a mini-mill

Dennis Morland

Dennis Morland

KNIFE MAKER
I am thinking about buying a mini-mill. I would like to stay under $1,000.00, if at all possible. I have looked online and it seems feasible, except for all the accessories you may need.

I am, at best, a part-time maker (maybe 30 knives per year). I do not need a huge machine or a really complicated machine.

I just need an easy machine to understand and use. Milling material flat, Making slots for guards, Perhaps relieving pivot edges on slip joints. Nothing out of the ordinary and nothing too extensive will be needed by myself.

Anybody have one they would like to share some information and knowledge.

Or perhaps give me a suggestion which ones to look at and which ones to avoid.

Accessories suggestions would be appreciated also.

Thank you in advance to all that reply.

DeMo
 
Anxious for replies myself.

I have looked at sherline mini mills, but I honestly have no idea where to begin.
 
Timy - - -

I started here. The more I looked around, the more I got confused.

http://littlemachineshop.com/Info/minimill_compare.php

I'll admit, I am an idiot when it comes to mills. I have very little, if any, real knowledge about them. I have never used one in my life. From what I have seen/found on the internet they can be a great help with many knife making tasks. At least worth looking into from this beginners perspective.

I used the same type of thorough investigation in choosing a grinder. I looked around, a lot. I asked a lot of questions from more knowledgable makers. I decided on the KMG grinder. Other grinders would have worked just as well, but, I chose the KMG. It has helped to make me a better knife maker.

I hope the same holds true with a mill. I'm waiting for the revelation to hit me. I just need a little bit of convincing.

I also did a search here on KD and spent a couple of hours going over old threads on mills. Again, lots of information, lots of suggestions, and really no consensus that I could locate on which one is the "best".

I'm hoping that some members that have actual knowledge and use of the mills post up some great advice on this thread. I would appreciate the knowledge and direction.

DeMo
 
I have a Shearline mill and lathe,I love them both.They are top quality and a mill and minimal tooling probably won't bust your budget too bad.
 
+1 to DeMo's suggestion.
I've been researching Mill's for a while now and have looked up everything. The smaller ones are what they are. They're not Bridgeport's, they are not finely tuned NASA grade machines. They aren't targeting that market and you'll find far to many know-it-all's that will argue that you should get a 4 ton Bridgeport, used, just so you can join the real mans club. Most of the machines you're going to look at are all coming out of a few factories overseas. The name brands will spec them all slightly different so they can claim theirs is unique. Fare enough. Find the one that has the features you are looking for. From all sources I've read, tooling is as much or more, than the Mill. Personally, I'm getting a King Industrial KC-20. It's the next size up from those that are the focus of littlemachineshop.com. They are commonly thought of as the "g0704" Mills. That is Grizzly's designation for theirs of this type. I'm in Canada, so I have the King or the Busy Bee CX 600. Both are paternal twins of the g0704, with a fore mentioned variations. For me, I'm going with the King as I can get it here on the Island plus the X table is longer that the CX600.
Read through littlemachineshop and it will give you your best tool, knowledge from those with real knowledge. You will run into the haters that got a bad machine, but that can happen with anything. Lot's of them haven't even touched one. They just like draping a flag over their heads and complaining about Made in China. For those guys, newsflash, it's the brands, from North America that design and spec the product, Asia just makes what they are told to make.
It's quite informative reading up on Mill's and youtube is packed with videos. LOTS of info. Good luck and let us know whatcha get. :35:
+1 to what Mr. Robinson said, if it's big enough for you're needs.
 
+1 to DeMo's suggestion.

I'll second that. My research let me to the same place. The LMS mini-mill seems to be just right for the small shop. If one simply understands it is a MINI-mill, and operates it with that design limitation in mind I believe it would be a fantastic addition.
 
Thank you for all the replies. The more I dig, the more I find. Lots and lots and lots and lots of information out there. I spent a little bit of time on the Grizzly site. I will look at the other sites as time permits. This is what I found so far.

A smaller mill from grizzly cost $635.00 (shipping weight is 149 lbs.)
http://www.grizzly.com/products/G8689

A little bit larger mill from grizzly – on sale for $850.00 regularly $995.00 (shipping weight is 435 lbs.)
Table top model that was suggested by several makers to me. This one looks very promising just for the price alone.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/G1005Z

Another larger mill from grizzly as suggested by George - $1,195.00 (shipping weight 363 lbs)
It comes with a stand. This one looks very promising.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0704

A really nice feature that Grizzly has on their website is the ability to do side by side by side comparisons. Very helpful.
 
Yeah, ya gotta like being able to do the side by sides. I open multiple windows with different manufacturers and shrink them down to see all them on the screen.
The g0704 is pretty much identical to the King I'm looking to get. I like the non-round column. Have read some places that the round ones can be less stable, BUT, I've no first hand with them so could be just bad assembly on those persons part.
It's getting to be a thick slog getting to non-CNC Milling info. SO many people going CNC, on all machine sizes. I'd love to have a CNC set up. Lets you do curvy shapes. But alas, the dyslexia doesn't go well with learning computer stuff. Plan to try Milling the rough grind bevels when I get mine. Just to see if I can. Unlikely to be as fast as by hand with good jigs and fixtures, but for fun.....
Try not to get too sucked into the "for a bit more $....." thinking. I agree with what was said, you could wait a bit more and save. But if that's taking money away from more important things, then it's a bad idea. "Sorry Kids, you'll have to go bare foot.......but come see Dad's new......" :lol:
 
Finding the right mill can and was daunting.
Having gone through it myself over 10 years ago...here's what I found.

*Stay away from any geared head machine that has plastic drive gears, which at the time was most smaller machines. Belt conversions are available for these for a reason. Why fix a brand new product ? Even the metal geared machines have their problems shearing gears or pins.

*Regardless of what you think....step it up a notch. Once I had it, I found uses for it that I'd never considered before....like making my own discs for the disc sander and even on occasion a vertical lathe. Think hard before you try these things....it's scary but doable. If you're thinking of flatening stock, a larger machine will be more stable with large cutters.

Luckily I procrastinated for about a year and a round collum machine fell in my lap still in crate for $300 bucks, but don't hold your breath. They are kind of a pain to zero if you do different operations frequently. I may move the head around a couple times a year so it's not so bad. Space and versatilty wise, I'd consider an older mill/lathe combo now. You'll need some aspirin before you're done looking, happy hunting.

Rudy
 
Also remember that you'll wind up spending at least as much on tooling as you do on the mill. I didn't really believe that when I got mine...
 
I have done a great deal more research. I went to this website and looked around a bunch. The website was kind of hard to navigate and find stuff but it was pretty packed with knowledge. It had a product sheet with lots of helpful tips.

http://littlemachineshop.com/default.php

This machine looks pretty interesting and shows some hope.

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3960&category=1387807683

I have to admit, just on the cursory search Dan Pierson is right about the cost of the tools for the machine. Rather pricey.

Rudy Joly is right about wanting to power up a few machines. Again, the more I read and learn the more I want a little bit more power.

I'll keep researching. Any more tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated.

DeMo
 
I could of bought another full size mill with the money spent on tooling so far.
The two indespensable things I got was a good vise and collets. You can't afford any wiggle room in the vise which translates to busted end mills and milling with a drill chuck will give you the same results because of run out.

Rudy
 
Dan Pierson said:
Also remember that you'll wind up spending at least as much on tooling as you do on the mill. I didn't really believe that when I got mine...
Click to expand...

This is the ABSOLUTE truth! I got a good deal on my mill, the RF-31 from Enco, with free shipping but after all the tooling, my bill was up around $2800. Just the vise alone cost a fortune.
 
I have a Unimat SL that converts from a lathe to a mill. I got it 30 years ago with the intention of using it for making wax models but it ended up sitting on a shelf all this time. It has all the tooling and even the original instruction manual. I am on the fence on whether I should sell it or keep it if it is useful in knifemaking. I am a VERY inexperienced knife maker. Anyone have an opinion?

As always, TIA for any help. Teddy
 
Teddy, I have the same Unimat SL. I have used it for many years for sizing pivot pins and etc. the milling feature just won't work for knife making. It just isn't a big enough machine. As well that particular Unimat has a very poor quality motor that is considered to be unreliable and with a short life. Frank
 
Keep in mind as well that a smaller Mill can do a lot of the same jobs as a bigger Mill, just slower. Shallower cuts and slower feed rates are required due to less power. The X,Y and Z axis are limiting the size of the piece you can work on.
 
Gentleman,
I purchased one of these last fall and i'm interested in doing some light mill work like putting serrations and a few other things on a new design. http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/m...mpaignId=T9A&gclid=CL_EmIv5hbwCFUXZQgodmjAAmg

Now, Does anyone here know if I purchase a X Y table and a whatever else I need,
is the head/spindel strong enough on this machine to do some light mill work? I payed a lot for this nice big drill press and I don't want to cause run out on the spindle prematurely.

Thanks.
 
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