>>1020520
They are crap. Our machine shop bought one and it took the greasy rags in the shop weeks to get it dialed in. They had to make some of their own parts on the old lathe to replace the crap it was made out of. They are sloppy and inaccurate. Lots of aluminum in them. It flexes. And none of the indicators on it were accurate even after being set. They do work and for the price they can't be beat but you get what you pay for.

Buy a used, decent one and skip the Chinese junk.

>>1020411

I only have a small outdoor shed to work in so anything huge is out of the question.

Have any recommendations on a decently small mill that can actually do something useful?

>>1020520
sherline? what exactly are you planning on using a mill for?

>>1020538
Keep finding myself needing things like brackets to fit bearings and things like that for one off projects.

Usually have to hit up the hardware store and just make something work.

Lots of projects I find myself saying "damn I wish I had something that would fit just that size and this would work perfect."

Plus,I'm sure there are a million things I would be ABLE to do that I can't even think of yet.

Pretty much I just want to flexibility to machine some decent parts to fairly good tolorences. I don't want to start like a mini machine shop, it's just for hobby stuff.

>>1020520
Don't trust anything from harbor freight you can't see in person and put your hands on. These are made to order so you won't find one in stores.

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I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I have a related question. I want a mill, but I don't know if i should save up to buy a mini mill(like op's) or if I should buy a table like pic related. I have a spare drill press that I could mount it on. This won't be for long term use, only a few years until I'm through college and have an actual mill. Advice?

>>1020613
unless that drill press has a square column don't bother. when you mill with a regular drill press the forces will make the head swing. also a quick way to pop the chuck off a jacobs taper spindle is to mill with it.


also is that entire table made out of aluminum. i guess you could use it for milling cheese or something.

>>1020619
Ah. Thanks. I wasn't planning on using that specific take, I just grabbed the first one off of Google.

>>1020613
Have that one, it kinda shit, but if you only need to work on soft small stuff and finish is not really critical it gets the job done, if you just need to fuck something up with a endmill in a drill press they are cheap on http://www.aliexpress.com/

>>1020589
OP here, normally I wouldn't. There are a LOT of youtube videos and websites about that exact mill though.

Some people say it's the greatest thing after you upgrade shit on it, other people say it's never worth the effort.

That's why I was just getting some word of mouth advice.

I'm looking at the Taig line now, it gets petty good reviews.

>>1020520
(since you mentioned Harbor Freight, I'm assuming you are in the USA?)

IMO, the best mini machines (in the USA) are Jet and Grizzly. They cost more tho... I have a Grizzly mill myself.

The HF mill:
--has a R8 spindle, which is good. You only really need to be able to hold 3/8"-shank and 1/2"-shank mill bits, and it comes with a drill chuck
--continuously-variable speed, which is good. You'll prolly never run it at more than 400 or 500 RPMs, and usually <200 RPMs.

It's not the worst one out there.

>>1020613
>I want a mill, but I don't know if i should save up to buy a mini mill(like op's) or if I should buy a table like pic related.
If all you have is a drill press, you can plunge mill with small bits on an X-Y table, but you can't side-mill at all.
Plunge-milling with small bits is slow but it works.

>>1020645
>>1020775
I probably should have mentioned, I have a ton(like, around $500 worth) of mills from my grandfather's machine shop when he died. Unfortunately, the mill itself was left at his house when my grandmother moved out, so I didn't get that, which is annoying now that I'm starting to get into machining. So I'm not trying to use drill bits (I'm not THAT stupid), but I don't have any form of mill to use them on.

>>1020520
I've had one for about 6 years now; I got it when it was on sale for $450. People will shit-talk it a lot, but it's perfectly usable if you're willing to spend time figuring out how to use/adjust/repair it. The only issue I had was when the plastic gears exploded, but that was under a ridiculous load (fly-cutting the top of a piece of railroad track to use as an anvil). Replaced them with metal gears from littlemachineshop and was able to finish the job. Overall they're completely usable, but $700 is a little steep for what you're getting. Wait for a sale.

>>1020532
What kind of retard takes weeks to tram a mini mill? The accuracy is fine if you have enough sense to make a finish pass, and the only aluminum is in the handwheels and the motor mount. Not everyone needs a two-ton bridgeport in their garage.

>>1020796
Thanks for the honest review.

I'll keep looking, I've honestly got more money than time but not a ton of money either...

Looks like there are some good mini mills that come out of the box pretty accurate in the $900-$1200 range. I'll weigh the options on the best course of action.

I know I'll end up making it CNC either way.

>>1020701
The biggest problem is, when you upgrade the fuck out of it to make it usable you will then be pushing 2 maybe 3 grand into it.

At that point you can literally afford to buy a real vintage mill.

And yes I understand not everyone has the means to get a full size mill, but just understand that is the mindset when you hear those opinions.

>>1020960
Yeah, I've considered that too.

Believe me, I see decently priced vintage Bridgeports I could probably fix up all the time on Craigslist. My big issue with that is, my outside shop is something like 12'x16' and I already have a bandsaw and a full size tablesaw in there.

I MIGHT be able to fit a Bridgeport in there but then I wouldn't have room to do shit.

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>>1020991
I just got a tiny old weird ass one.

I like it. Its not "machinist perfect" but I work to dick in a bucket tolerances. Long as its about half a millimetre in, I'm good.

>>1020619
>milling cheese
Laughed way more than I should have

>>1020520
Hi OP, I started my machining hobby with both a mini-mill and a mini-lathe.

They do have some short-commings, but nothing that can't be overcome with patience.

My biggest complaint for the Mini-mill is one full rotation of a handwheel to move the table results in 0.0625" of table movement. This makes it tedious to move the table any sort of distance over 1". Doable, but tedious.

There is a wealth of knowledge online for these hobby machines, that's why I got them, I figured worse case scenario, I break it and there will probably be plenty of people to tell me how to fix it.

I learned a lot using them before upgrading to bigger Chinese junk. (I live in the southern midwest, so old American steel is harder to come by, unlike the US's northeast).

If you have the money and a use for it, go ahead and pick it up, it'll be a fun learning experience.

>>1021022
What's with the weird orientation of t-slots?

>>1021210
No bloody idea on that one. But so far I used it to fix my lathe. Next to take a carbuncle off a old vice.

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>>1020532
it's a chunk of iron that can be treated as a starting kit for a good mill. It takes work and money. If that sounds like fun, it's not such a bad thing.
But if you want a decent mill out of the box, oh hell no.

>>1020613
drill presses use thrust bearings. They can't handle side-side forces.

>>1020775
Grizzly, as in the guys that make the floor trucks for mills and presses, or basically anything? To make your equipment mobile? Didn't know they make equipment too.

I have a bug mill press with a Jet head on it that we bought one of the Grizzly trucks for. Makes it handy.

I have two Jet heads. Are they still quality? It's just for bowling balls so I dont need anything fancy. Just didn't know Grizzly made presses too

>>1020520
What is this used for? Metal or wood?

legit question because I don't work with my hands ever

>>1021312
>What is this used for? Metal or wood?
anything you need to shape/drill

>>1021267
>But if you want a decent mill out of the box, oh hell no.
A "decent" mini-mill would cost ten times what the China mills do.
It's not realistic for most hobbyists to buy a mini machine that is really capable of "industrial-grade precision", as the prices start in the tens of thousands of dollars.

>>1021283
>Grizzly, as in the guys that make the floor trucks for mills and presses, or basically anything?
Grizzly makes/sells all kinds of their own branded woodworking and metalworking tools and equipment. Have you looked around on the website?...
Some of it is pretty big and costs $30K - $40K - $50K, but it's still targeted at hobbyists or light-industry use. None of it is really "industrial-grade" either.

>>1021312
>What is this used for? Metal or wood?
>legit question because I don't work with my hands ever
Most mini-mills are built for cutting metal, though you have to be gentle with them and take light cuts.
And you can cut wood and plastic on them too--anything softer than metal really.

Some companies do make full-size mills that are intended mainly for machining wood.
The difference is that they use different bearings and a motor that can run higher spindle speeds (that is--higher than you would use on metal).
Wood mills don't have a cutting-fluid system mounted, they usually come with a sawdust-removal (vacuum) setup installed instead since you cut wood dry.
There is different vises and tooling for wood mills also, since the stuff used for metal will leave clamp-marks in wood.

>>1021153
>>1021267

Thanks guys, I'm thinking the same.

I've found several mini mill companies since I branched out and looked into it more. Weighing the benefit to cost ratio on them.

I've heard several people say they got the harbor freight one for $400 something on sale. If I see it at that price I'll damn sure pick it up. Otherwise I'll shop around.

>>1021268
Okay. I guess I'll go the "proper" route and buy the actual mill.