/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.259277]

What's a cheap, decent mill for an amateur/hobbyist metalworker?

I don't really need anything super fancy or CNC, a manual mill is fine for me. Am I going to have to pay a fuckton of money no matter what, or can a decent mill be had for a fair-enough price? I'm kind of wary about spending 500-1500 dollars on a hobby I might not even get much enjoyment out of.

Pic unrelated.

[Radiofag No.259281]

What all do you want to make?

Bridgeport Series 1s can be had for under $1k these days.

[Anonymous No.259296]

>>259277
Bridgeport is synonymous with vertical mills for a reason.

[Anonymous No.259306]

>>259281

Dat DRO.

[Anonymous No.259364]

>>259281
I keep hearing this, but I've never seen it. Where should I be looking? also, how much concrete should I have beneath a bridgeport?

[Anonymous No.259370]

>>259281
$1k + 99999$ shipping, lol.

[Anonymous No.259409]

what about them sherline or micromark mini-mills?

how big a work volume do you need op?

[None !!b1y795nhfDZ No.259434]

>>259296
because they're cheap and there's lot's of them (because they were cheap). As far as a machine tool goes, they're pretty sub standard in terms of fit, accuracy and rigidity.

The Japanese have been making the best machine tools in the world for a while now. Although there's not many around, a used japanese machine is likely the best. Failing that, huron, deckel maho are decent european mills for cheap 2nd hand. if you're buying cheap stuff new, generally speaking taiwan>china>india

And go as big as possible. On used mills especially the increased mass helps compensate for wear that reduces rigidity in damping chatter etc. And get a self releasing taper- preferably iso- spindle.

[Anonymous No.260516]

>>259434
woah dude, hold on, take a step back for me.You just spit 2 facts that I've always assumed were false.

First is that bridgeport is sub-mediocre tier. Are you sure about that? Would you still say they are a good value for the price? Everyone I talk to agrees that you can't go wrong if you get a bridgeport. What's not so great about them? What brands are you comparing them to?

Second about used Japanese stuff being good. What years are you talking about? Just after WWII, nearly everything made in Japan was shit, but each of their manufacturing markets progressed in quality at a different rate. Lenses got better in the 60s. Cars got better in the 70s. And electronics got better in the 80s/90s (depending on brands). When would you say their tools got better? And what brands are you talking about?

[None !!b1y795nhfDZ No.260583]

>>260516
>Everyone I talk to agrees that you can't go wrong if you get a bridgeport

it sounds like everyone you talk to is a hobbyist. chances are, they are comparing a bridgeport mill to a small, generic chinese made machine they bought as their first mill or something. In reality, these are massively over hyped- especially on the internet where hobbyists declare to the world they are the best mills ever (comparing to aforementioned chinese stuff) . Similarly, one level up, small engineering firms purchase their first HAAS or similar quality cnc, or toolroom lathe, and think they're great compared to everything else, when in reality they're cheap entry level. They might work fine for what is required, and can decent value, but certainly not the best.

>When would you say their tools got better? And what brands are you talking about?

start of 80's. Of course they've always been ahead for motion control to begin with- pretty much every cnc made worldwide uses japanese electronics -except a few cases where its ABB or siemens (e.g. think fanuc.) Best brands (expensive) Mori Seiki, Yamazaki Mazak (largest machine tool producer in the world atm I think) and Okuma.

of course given your budget, "best machine tools in the world" is fairly irrelevant. pretty much you're limiting yourself to "cheapest machine tools in the world" at less than $1500. Realistically any beat up old 2nd hand mill will work if you don't have certain requirements for accuracy/capacity/performance. A deckel/maho/ most other european machines would be better than an old j-head type bridgeport though.