JET 610 Hobby Mill?

[EarlyPorsche]

Is this any good for literal toying around? Like I would make unecessarily fine tuned parts for totally unimportant things around the house. Think billet parts for my kitchen sink faucet. It has one terrible review on amazon BUT I don't see why I can't work steel or harder metal with this machine and take bigger cuts. That is the biggest complaint down there. If I overdo the capacity couldn't I just put a bigger motor in it later on?

[Schumi]

Hadn't heard or seen of it, but from looking at pictures it seems as though it has a relatively sturdy head compared to a lot of "drill-press" mini-mills out there.

Interesting...

[TimT]

I have a Grizzly mini mill/lathe combo at home... IN the shop Bridgeport and some ancient lathe..

The mini mill is just ok..

[Schumi]

I would suggest checking craigslist periodically... it's amazing what stuff pops up- older equipment may look heavily used and dirty, but still high quality compared to these new cheap mini mills. If you've got the room for a larger mill, that is the way to go.

A friend once got two Pacemaker WWII era lathes from a government surplus for about $5K total- one was a 10" and the other a 14"! 60-70 inch rails. Amazing quality, those older machines.

[Tim Hancock]

The problem with small "hobby" mills is that they chatter when attempting heavier cuts. This is due to both inferior bearings coupled with less mass in the basic structure than a typical Bridgeport style mill. Putting a larger motor on them will not fix the chatter tendencies. A hobby mill is better than no mill, but I would rather have an old beat up used Bridgeport type mill over any brand new smaller hobby mill.

[EarlyPorsche]

Thanks guys. So Tim, is the hobby mill just ok as in its just fine or its nothing to write home about?

I cannot get a larger mill and I would love an older hobby sized mill. If I can have some more patience and take lighter cuts, will the JET still chatter or will that then be ok?

[Zeke]

So many of the older machines have 3 ph power.

[speedracing944]

So is it better to have an old mill with worn out ways, lead screws and 3 phase power or a new hobby mill for the same price?

Speedy

[nocarrier]

3 phase is no problem at all.

A VFD (variable frequency drive) is the way to go. I have one on my bridgeport and one on my lathe.

Some of the newer vfd's can even convert 115 to 220 3phase.

As for the mill, see if you can find a smaller American made mill such as a Rockwell or the like.

[pete3799]

I've got a 3 in 1 mill (Smithy), and as Tim said, they'll do in a pinch but don't try to do any heavy cutting with one. The lathe works OK but the mill is pretty whimpy.
That said, they're better than nothing.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by nocarrier

3 phase is no problem at all.

A VFD (variable frequency drive) is the way to go. I have one on my bridgeport and one on my lathe.

Some of the newer vfd's can even convert 115 to 220 3phase.

But, at what cost to install and overall performance? You might find an old Bridgeport for a few hundred dollars, but what will you have invested by the time you can use it at home?

I agree that shear mass has a lot to do with good work. That's true with a good table saw. (Which needs only a quality blade to be as smooth as silk.)

[RWebb]

but it's so CUTE!

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by speedracing944

So is it better to have an old mill with worn out ways, lead screws and 3 phase power or a new hobby mill for the same price?

Speedy

I would opt for the "worn out" mill every time (unless it was an inoperable piece of crap that had been sitting out in the rain for 5 years).

I bought my old Bridgeport with x-axis power feed, digital readouts, collets, variable speed 1.5 hp 3 phase motor and two vises for $500.

After buying a new phase converter on E-bay for about $70, I was making chips.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by EarlyPorsche

Thanks guys. So Tim, is the hobby mill just ok as in its just fine or its nothing to write home about?

I cannot get a larger mill and I would love an older hobby sized mill. If I can have some more patience and take lighter cuts, will the JET still chatter or will that then be ok?

I have no first hand experience with that particular Jet mill, but I am quite confident that it would require much lighter cuts. The mill WILL cut metal, but think of it this way... It will be better suited for milling 1/4 slots in an 1/8" aluminum bracket vs milling 1/2" slots in a 3/4" bar of steel.

[TimT]

If I had room at home I would buy another Bridgeport... I got the import mini mill so I could make things at home...

Made valve guides a few weeks ago ;-)

[EarlyPorsche]

Ok I guess I have two problems. No, make that three. I don't think I can fit a full bridgeport BUT I am a person that would rather old American than new ANYTHING. Second, I don't really know why I want this mill but I know I NEED IT. Third, assuming I can find an old American piece of machinery like the $500 model Tim shows above (I would prefer over this Jet or other mini things), there don't seem to be that many on craigslist.

Will buying a $400-$500 mill ruin the experience and make me think "I can't do this?" Or will a bridgeport just be faster? I have a couple machinist friends with tons of bridgeports so I know how nice the tools are but I don't really know how bad the little imports are and I also don't know if bridgeport even makes the smaller stuff?

[Jim2]

Look for a used Rusnok model #85 or #850. They sell for between $500 and $1500 used. I looked on ebay and was surprised to not see one at the moment, yet I see one advertised locally every few months. Same foot print as the Jet thing. Lab/instrumentation grade machine. 200lbs. No cast iron used at all, only cast steel, stiff=important. Made in USA.

edit: The Rusnok will be easy to re-sell and recover your investment if you decide to upgrade to the 3000+lb bridgeport.

[jim72911t]

EarlyPorsche,
Think of it this way: If you have never used a Bridgeport style mill than you will probably think the Jet is just fine. Once you do use a real (not hobby) mill, you will realize the limitations of the Jet and probably be in the market for a Bridgeport. (It is a slippery slope, much like our P-cars )

I have a 9 x 40 Webb (Bridgeport copy) with some crappy tooling in my garage that never gets used. The reason? At work, a couple of miles away, I've got a heavy duty 9 x 48 Sharp with thousands of dollars of top line tooling, so I use that whenever I have a personal project. (Lately though, I'll draw up a model and program one of the CNC mills to do the work. Yes, I have a weakness.)

Good luck,
Jim

[EarlyPorsche]

Ok I am going to continue to look for a small American machine. I can't even believe I was considering something else.

[nocarrier]

Originally Posted by milt

But, at what cost to install and overall performance? You might find an old Bridgeport for a few hundred dollars, but what will you have invested by the time you can use it at home?

I agree that shear mass has a lot to do with good work. That's true with a good table saw. (Which needs only a quality blade to be as smooth as silk.)

The cost is really not as bad as you might think.

I am powering my mill and lathe with hitachi sj200 vfd's. I get them for about $280 IIRC.

(this is uber cheap when you compare it to the cost of tooling up a mill and a lathe so you can actually make chips)

Using the VFD gives me 100% of the motors rated output while having the ability for variable speed, resistor braking, and fwd/rev control. They are fully programmable and have many options on how you want the machine to behave.

There are cheaper vfd's out there but I like having all the bells and whistles.

Machine tools like mills and lathes operate much better and produce better finishes with 3phase power as opposed to 1 phase.

The static phase converter that Tim posted is ok but they only reproduce about 2/3rds of the motors rated output.