Mill advice needed

[Espeefan]

If I could have, I would have bought a Bridgeport knee mill too, but I did not have a good place for it. It's best to keep them in a climate controlled environment, otherwise they will rust. An insolated garage will do. Drastic changes in temperature will cause the machine to sweat, and the moisture will cause rust.

If you have a means to do so, by all rights buy the biggest mill you can. You will be glad when you need the extra x, y, and z axis working envelope. A smaller mill can still do larger parts, but it means repositioning your work a lot more, and that's a pain. Your throat height, however, will be something you cannot overcome.

That said, I am more then pleased with my bench top milling machine. It has it's limitations, but for what I do, it has been the best tool purchase I have ever made. I use it almost daily. My thought is any milling machine is better then no milling machine.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Espeefan

If I could have, I would have bought a Bridgeport knee mill too, but I did not have a good place for it. It's best to keep them in a climate controlled environment, otherwise they will rust. An insolated garage will do. Drastic changes in temperature will cause the machine to sweat, and the moisture will cause rust.

If you have a means to do so, by all rights buy the biggest mill you can. You will be glad when you need the extra x, y, and z axis working envelope. A smaller mill can still do larger parts, but it means repositioning your work a lot more, and that's a pain. Your throat height, however, will be something you cannot overcome.

That said, I am more then pleased with my bench top milling machine. It has it's limitations, but for what I do, it has been the best tool purchase I have ever made. I use it almost daily. My thought is any milling machine is better then no milling machine.

Very constructive, thankyou,

I have a similar problem with surface rust on my cast woodworking machines, I usually coat them with an anti-rust after use.

Iv'e looked at bench top machines but second hand they go for way more than a full sized, more demand I guess and new is out of my budget.

Stu

[tc1cat]

Used Bridgeports can be rebuilt but it may cost more than what you pay for the mill. I wish that I had the room for a full size machine of any type. That is why I have Sherline machines. I have 6 of them right now that get almost daily use. A couple of them are dedicated lathes for making my bezels.

I would go look at the mill and ask to see it run if possible. Check to see how much the hand wheels move before the table moves. This will tell you how much 'slop' is in the machine.

Good luck in your dealings