Any machining (Lathe / Milling) tool recommendations?

[BGCarrera32]

Hey Rick-

Just something to bear in mind, before you dive into a big garage endeavor of machine tools...budget yourself $500-1k for some tooling to go with whatever you pick up for a lathe and a mill. I run a small development lab for my employer and the bucks for the cutters/end mills/inserts/drills/facing tools/etc. can add up quick...

It would really kinda stink to put a few g's into your neat stuff for the garage, and then find out that for every project you want to try, it requires more tools. Of course this tapers off after a while, but you'll want to consider a full set of collets and a drawbar for your lathe, as well as a good chuck, some cutting tools with replaceable cutting inserts, and a boring bar.

As for your mill, a set of R8 collets and a drill chuck, a good table vise, some double fluted/double ended mills, and an edge finder will get you going. Check out www.mcmaster.com for pretty much anything you need.

More thoughts...I've found Taiwanese machines are the best bang for the buck...maybe a "gap" bed lathe (has a removable section on the ways to allow a bigger swing for big pieces), stay away from combo machines (they don't do anything well or of any size IMO), DRO's (digital readouts) are way nice if you can do it), my mill and lathe are spendier but have "inverter drives" which allow them to be run on 110v, if ya don't have 230 in the garage you might have problems, I could go on but I gotta get to bed...

BTW Jared, Bridgeport filed for bankruptcy, they got the wee sued out of them over controllers on their CNC's...and a HAAS will run circles around those things...

-BG

[turbo6bar]

1) If you can, get a milling machine with R8 collet. Some of the combo machines have weird size, and require non-standard collets. That was advice I received when I was shopping.

2) The best way to learn how to use the machine is to do it. The books are just a guide. The book won't tell you what to expect when your cutter is turning 4500 rpm, and you think the whole kaboodle is about to explode.

3) I vote for a full size milling machine. I have a Newport, which is an American-made Bridgeport knockoff. The machine has backlash like mad, but the DRO allows for some precision. I would never try to achieve .001" accuracy with this milling machine, but for what I do, it is not necessary.

My brother and I do occasional fabrication, and the milling machine has more than paid itself off. A simple task like drilling a piece of angle iron is trivial with a 2000 lb. milling machine. I think you can find a good used American-made machine for no more than $1000-2000. Try to buy a collection of tools from a retired machinist or shop. That's your best bang for the buck. Then, suppliment the basic tools with new bits from a place like Enco (Mueller gave a link earlier). Enco sells Import and USA tools, so you have a choice. For tools I rarely use, I buy Imported (dirt cheap). For heavily used, go USA. The other place to find tools is Ebay. When you can buy a new USA-made tool for the price of Enco's Import, you can't lose.

Any machinist could go on and on with advice.

Jurgen

[BGCarrera32]

I agree with turbo6bar's comments all the way. Another thing to think about is moving the equipment. You'll need to line someone up that can offload it from a truck to your garage, and then shuttle it in to tight quarters through the garage door...

"Throwing chips" is addictive...once you have the equipment you'll wonder how you did without it...!

[RickM]

BG & Jurgen: Good advice. Ideally I'll locate a retired machinist or similar locally.....try to go for a package deal. Maybe I'll put a "Wanted to Buy" ad in the local paper. Almost always works.

[5axis]

A little overkill for home use, but one we are looking at.
http://interactive.fptindustrie.com/fpt/FPT.nsf/ProductsEn/026BCFF3064E581BC12569F3004D19F6?OpenDocument

I think it's still a little small for our needs.

[turbo6bar]

I dunno. I'm partial to the Dino. The red paint looks nice and 3 milling heads is a nice feature.

Rick, another thing I forgot to mention:

For aluminum stock, get Fortal from http://www.mousebar.com/fhome.html Good bar stock really cheap.

The other place for aluminum is Aircraft Spruce, http://www.aircraftspruce.com

For steel stock, I buy locally.


Jurgen

[5axis]

Thanks for the good link for the fortal. I find that most of my little projects are fine in 6061. Speaking of which, if you are in a area with plenty of shops you should make friends with them. A lot of cut offs go out in the chip barrels because they are too hard to keep track of for cert reasons.

I'm partial to the Dino. The red paint looks nice and 3 milling heads is a nice feature.

The dino is pretty, but too small. The automated changing of the heads is a nice touch. We currently swap manually and it's a 45min job to get everything cleaned up and done neatly.

[JohnC]

Hey 5axis,

Is there a PPI service that one could purchase for used machine tools?

[Porsche_monkey]

You want to talk to the guy that used to run the machine, not the guy selling it

[JohnC]

You're right..... I'd probably find him at the local unemployment office.

Alot of machine tools coming onto the market now seems to be from failed manufacturing businesses.

[Porsche_monkey]

I've bought several machines from auction, the operators always seem to be around to see where their old machines end up. They also know the machines inside and out.

[JohnC]

how do the prices at auction compare to the prices from a reseller or ebay? they're probably less but how much less? are they really worth taking a day off from work to go to?

[Porsche_monkey]

I have seen really low prices on big machines, anything that is small business/garage size tends to be less of a bargain, as there are always more bidders. Small Taiwanese mills often got for 75% of the new price, that is way too high.

[5axis]

Originally posted by JohnC
Hey 5axis,

Is there a PPI service that one could purchase for used machine tools?

For a Bridgeport there is not much geometry you couldn't check with a indicator and good reference square. The head should sound good. Meaning the bearings and gears are okay. Try the handles and feel the backlash or lack of it and that's about it. All of these issues can be rebuilt/ repaired but with so many machines on the market you should be able to find a nice young tight one. Good work can be done with a older looser one too. Adjusting the gibs and using the table locks can overcome a lot of probelms. Add a DRO and you can do a lot of very nice accurate work.

CNC's get more complicated. There are companies that can run tests and calibrations for you.

If you need nore info on service/ setup tech try tracking down Machintek on pelican. This is more his specialty.

[RickM]

Here's my update:

Went to the library and took a couple of books...they were marginal and old but served well for some of the basics. I found another excellent website that covers the history of many lathe manufacturers and excellent novice information, including a "what to look for when you buy" guide. http://www.lathes.co.uk/index.html

Just put a Wanted to Buy ad in a local "Want Ad Press" paper...waiting to see the results of that.

Going tomorrow to look at a Clausing lathe that a friend has at his shop.... he said he'll give to me cheap as it's too small for his needs...could be a good find.

I'll continue to update, hopefully with pics.