Hi,
For your new mill you will need to get a fair amount of stuff. A lot can be gotten over time, but much is needed pretty quickly to get use out of it.
First you will need a set of collets to hold tooling. No, a drill chuck isn't suitable for milling cutters like end mills. Fortunetly, you don't need a lot of them. End mills come on standard shank sizes. So 6 pieces will generally cover all your needs. Not up on your costs in Australia, but I do know they are more costly than here in the US. Maybe $50 or so for an OK set?
A vise is needed right away too. For the Mini mill, maybe 80mm(3") or so. Again, drill press vises will not work. It needs to be a milling type vise. Buy a good one because it's the foundation of good, accurate work. A parallel set is often purchased at the same time. But in a pinch, they can be faked with other things. Though eventually you will want a set.
Cutters are needed of course. And as consumables, will be an on going expense. CCC, (Cheap Cheerful Chinese), can be OK. But there are better. If buying Chinese, look for ones advertised as being M2Al. These tend to last longer than the usual plain M2 from China. Otheirwise look for Japanese, Korean, US, or European made tooling. Just be ready to pay for the extra quality. Remember to calculate proper spindle rpms every time. Your cutters will last so much longer and your finish will be so much better.
You will also need a dial indicator to "dial in" your vise and parts. 25mm(1") travel one will suffice to start. At some time a dial test indicator will be needed. But you can put that purchase off for a bit. The longer traveled AGD style is more versitile and cheaper to buy. A magnetic holder can be bought, or you can make a holder yourself. You got a machine shop, right?
You will also need a few basic measuring tools to start. But you know that. What I will recommend is buying a good 150mm(6") pocket ruler. I recommend Mitutoyo myself. Even being an old bifocal wearing coot, I still expect to be able to see down to .12mm accurately. Just got to clean my glasses first.
There are a lot more things you will buy as time goes by. Mills are stupidly expensive to operate. A lot more so than a lathe. But you can space out purchases a bit.
Dale
On Sat, Nov 7, 2015 at 12:55 AM, troppolad@yahoo.com.au [GrizHFMinimill] <GrizHFMinimill@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
G`day John
Yes i`m in Australia, so good spotting lol, i probably wont contact Barry as i feel its rude to contact a total stranger by email (we all hate spam, right?) but i will be going through the file section of this page and the posts so i can actually learn to use this strange piece of equipment lol. Thanks for the welcome, as for tooling and parts its going to be ebay until i can afford better quality.
Cheers mate
Troppo
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Posted by: Dale E <dalee1002000@gmail.com>
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