Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2016 9:30 AM
To: barryjyoung@yahoo.com [GrizHFMinimill]
Good morning Wyatt,
Mills come from a variety of sources and there are quality and pricing pitfalls in all of them. However, this will cover a few....
The HF mill you are looking at is a Seig mill, and is from the same factory as makes MicroMark and many others. They are nice mills and cover a variety of options and can perform much useful work. They met your conditions of movability and price range as long as a CAM (computer) option is not in your immediate travel plans. Depending on who you purchase from, there are various degrees of adjustments, alignments and tuning that needs to be performed. Support ranges from non-existant (Harbor Freight and box stores) to excellent (LittleMachineShop.com - specializes in this specific market).
Freight is an issue, but what happens to the mill during shipping can even be a bigger issue. Package companies seem to peak at around 60 pounds for what they will treat like a valuable product. The mill, rigged for shipping, is about twice that. A not insignificant amount of that is packing materials because of the way the shipping companies treat the packages. Its a vicious circle.
The "used but local at the same price" can actually be a blessing in disguise. In most cases, the unit belonged to a dad or family friend that has no further use due to health or eyesight issues and it is available for inspection. There is no freight and no packaging. Chances are all the alignment issues and basic issues have been resolved. Also, there are the 'extras.'
A mill will cost you a thousand.....and chances are the mill is going to end up being around half the bill. There are instruments to obtain, cutters that are needed, bits and pieces, indexing heads, rotary tables, clamp kits, vises, and a bunch of other things you didn't know you would want. Its not uncommon that a used mill will have at least a starter set of these items (collets, drill chuck, draw bolt, vise or clamp kits at a minimum) that may well allow you to get started with what you have included with the initial purchase. Those things add value - a good bit of value - and are what brings the used mill price up to almost new.
If you are really blessed, that used mill is coming from a person like one of the members on this list.... He is doing more will than the little mill will permit, or his shop floor is floating away and he just can't wait to get a 4,000 pound Bridgeport to hold it down. That little mill is now part of a space issue. That person can show you that it operates, how it operates, the many ways to keep your fingers and eyes while operating it, and is a well of information on what you need to get, what he is including, and hopefully he may turn into a reservoir of information as you get it set up and start making chips.
I bought mine in a basket for what I thought would be a bargain price from someone who 'just had to clean it up.' He got it apart, and it was never the same going back together. In the end, I didn't do badly price wise, but by the time I was done assembling it and getting it trammed close enough to do work (and finding a bunch of lost small parts he had lost), I had invested about 3/4 the price of a new mill and it was a work in progress for about a year. Also, at that point I was missing most mill supplies and accessories as I only had a lathe before.
Had I the opportunity to do it over I would do as I did with my metal bandsaw..... I watched for one to be available in my neighborhood and went over to get it myself. I saw it run, made it cut something, paid about 3/4 the current catalog Grizzly price (it is a current production Grizzly saw) and took it home with half a dozen new, spare blades (found out there is no such thing....spare blades are blades that just haven't broken as yet. Different story for a different time 8-) ) and made a new friend that I still see several times a year at the local live steam club (which I didn't know existed before then either). It was easy to see the machine had been well cared for by someone with the skill set. He was trading up do to throat capacity, not because he had worn it out. I have considered that one of my best deals to date.
Summary: know what you want to do with a mill first, then set your mill size and budget (the wrong mill, either too large or too small is a total waste of money). Don't budge much on either without thinking or doing creditable research. Don't be afraid of pre-loved machine tools. Do watch out for Craig list people that clean garages and do not seem to know where it came from (they probably also lost many of the needed accessories and have no idea if it ever worked). Know what comes with the unit stock so you can evaluate extras. Allow the price to be up a bit over what you would expect for the extras, materials, supplies, tools, cutters and so forth that may end up included.
Big thing - have fun with it!
Best of luck in your pursuits,
Warren L
I am looking for a mini mill. It seems like a <$1000 budget is where I want to be, and the ability to move it on my own is a must.
I have been looking for a used machine for months, but I've only seen one locally, and for the same cost as purchasing it new. I expanded my search range, but any potential savings are eaten by shipping.
Where do you guys get your machines? Are there reasonably priced used machines available with enough tooling to get started?
Going new it would appear that I get the HF mill, use a 20% coupon, and get some metal gears and tooling for it. I would also like the .050 dials if I can afford them.
Thanks guys!
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Posted by: <ckinzer@att.net>
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