Wyatt,
I have a HF 981 Mill/Drill that does everything I've ask of it so far. The modern version is the #33686 at $1199.99. If you use a 20 or 25% off it is well within your budget. It weighs about 600 pounds, but if you take it apart it is easy enough to manage.
David Hair
Dalton, GA
----- Original Message -----Sent: Monday, March 28, 2016 5:35 PMSubject: Re: [GrizHFMinimill] Where to start
Wow, lots of replies! Thanks! Hopefully I don't miss anything.I am from northern Alabama, USA. There is a Harbor Freight locally, and it looks like without too much of a drive I can get to a Northern Tool. If there are other options locally that I should be aware of, please let me know :)I have looked on craigslist locally for almost a year. I saw one come up in that time. They were asking $25 less than what it would cost new (after shipping and tax). It came with no extras (upgrading mill, keeping everything else). The only real benefit would have been seeing it run and bringing it home same day. I have looked further, but shipping seems like it eats all savings, so local (<200 miles) it is.When I say "move it myself", it would be nice to be able to lift it myself, or with a friend (even if that means taking it apart into a few pieces), AND to be able to pack it up in a moving truck and move it cross country. I have seen a couple really smoking deals on large floor mills, but moving a multi-thousand pound machine is beyond me (plus, it won't fit in my garage). I would say anything in the sub-400 pound category would be game. I think that's X2 or X3 range.I like the idea of the .050 dials, but I have been looking into cheap DRO options. I'll have to look into the calipers idea mentioned, it sounds promising. CNC is not in the picture right now. At least initially, I want to "have to do the work". If I decide to go CNC later, well, I'll cross that bridge when I get there :) The .050 dials is something I thought about trying to tackle myself, get some threaded stock, and see if I can modify it to work. Not sure that it's feasible (but worth looking into).I really like the options on the LMS machine, it would just be that the mill it's self (after shipping) would break my budget, not to mention the extras...I like the X3 type of mills, bigger table, more power, etc. They just cost more. I would pay more for one, but it looks like after tax, I can get the HF X2 mill for under $600, and the bigger ones are double that. Plus, I have no real current need for something that big. I have also looked at the combo mill/lathes, but I thought I would just do one thing at a time.I also considered the belt drive, it just costs more, than metal gears. Actually, I have thought about skipping on the metal gears and trying to make my own pulleys and go that way. It just seems like it would be an easier project if I had a lathe (which I don't).I planned to figure things out online the best I can (but tech support or a local expert would be great).I think I will keep my eyes open locally for a while longer. I don't have a project that needs done, this is just something I have wanted to do for quite a while. If I get too impatient, I'll buy something, then come across exactly what I was looking for two weeks later (that's how it's always worked in the past).Thanks again guys!
On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 10:35 AM, John Mattis john.mattis@gmail.com [GrizHFMinimill] <GrizHFMinimill@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
When I got my mini mill about 13 years ago and wanted to locate it onto my work bench, I figured out how to do it myself.I first place wood blocks onto the saw table so they were the same height as the work bench.I then used a rope block and tackle to hoist it onto my table saw which was on wheels.It was then easy to slide the mill from the table saw onto the work bench and secure it in place.A few years ago when we epoxy coated our garage floor, I reverses the process.Having a small lathe and mill, kind of makes you think of creative ways to do things.John
On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 8:27 AM, kevin.quiggle@gmail.com [GrizHFMinimill] <GrizHFMinimill@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
A few comments:
Where are you located? There may be source not all that far from you that you are not aware of.
Patience is a virtue: I bought my mini-mill used, and I searched for nearly a year before I found what I was looking for.
Moving a mill: You say you want to be able to move it by yourself, and that is certainly possible, but I strongly recommend you get a friend or neighbor to lend a hand. Accidentally dropping your new purchase will not do it any good, and if it falls on you you could be severely injured.
Extras: You are going to need a good strong table for your mill, not to mention the tooling and other accessories you will require. Take a look at the link below to get some idea of what you may need to purchase:
https://sites.google.com/site/lagadoacademy/machining---lathes-mills-etc/advice-from-a-newbie
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