I wouldn't say that the HF mini mill is a piece of junk. It is what it is. It's meant for doing very small work. I believe that if you tried to make a chassis on that thing, you'd find that you were better off making one by hand. The one that you linked to can only make very small and shallow cuts and lord help you if you are working with 7075, rather than 6061. The mill that is one size up is OK. I don't know about making a chassis on it. It might still be too small.

If all you are going to make is flat parts, you might also want to consider something like a 2x2 router, but of course, we're talking way more than $300.

I lost my mill in Katrina, so I'm just using a rather large drill press that I put an X-Y table on, but my drill press allows the use of an end mill holder because it has an MT2 spindle. I've been making my motor mounts on it, but I wouldn't even attempt a chassis.

Some people work miracles on that cheap mill.. I know three people who have got a certain type of what you call junk, and i can assure you that the work they make on it is stunning. Call it a piece of junk but i bet that any person who has got skills can make better parts on that 'piece of junk' than a person with lack of skills on the most expensive machine money can buy.

And chunks are easy to replace, as you probably know... That second link you showed as the best suited option has got a chunk too. (and on another pic the bit is positioned in the shaft.)

You really have to read the specs on the HF stuff. Although both mills are shown with a chuck, unless I'm mistaken, they do have at least an MT2 spindle, so they should accommodate an end mill holder.

I have a "cheap" Homier lathe that is the same as those sold by HF (although a bit longer) and I've turned some amazing pieces out on it. All it takes is a little patience and experience with the machine to overcome its short comings.

After having thought about it for a bit and considering your budget, the mini mill might not be bad. You could at least do some operations on it. I know that I don't regret getting my little made in china lathe. I actually like working on it because it's easy to chuck something up real quick and start turning. You might want to check around on ebay though, to see if you can get a deal. HF also has sales pretty often, so you might want to wait. If your budget expands a bit, you might want to check out the equipment sold by Micromark. It's pretty much the same stuff, but comes with invaluable accessories and all of their screws in the drive and compounds are true 1", rather than a rough approximation like you get with the HF models. It's not that big a deal, but with the metric conversions, you'll find yourself measuring a lot, like I do.

I had a mini mill, but didn't really get the chance to "know" it before Katrina hit. It was still sitting on the floor of my garage when I evacuated.

Amen Angel!

I have a harbor freight micro mill (which I no longer use )- and mike and i have spent some time on her - brand new table - also cnc controlled with servos on all 3 axis, reversible spindle - 4000 rpm spindle conversion, and a bunch of other stuff - and it worked quite well. I might put this on ebay - i could use the extra room for more aluminum stock - lol. She worked well when i used her - but i downgraded to a smaller lighter mill now - as long as you take your time and go easy - then this type of mill is not a bad investment - the money comes into play with the cnc controller and steppers or servo motors... Good luck on your quest....

I know they're a little pricier than what's being talked about here but anyone have opinions on the cnc taig mills that are always on ebay.??? Seems like they can be had for around $1500 for a 3 axis machine and occasionally see a 4 axis one for about $2000

Thanks in advance

Steve

I like mine - cnc 3 axis - cuts nice - pretty accurate also - mike likes his also -

I've read a bit about them lately. It seems they are one of the better micro CNC mills available for the $. Parts are readily available for them as well. You can do some more reading about them at microproto.com I'm really considering trying to talk my wife into letting my get one for my birthday this year. :027:

Yes, Taigs are a good unit, especially for someone getting their feet wet in metal cutting. You can also get the non CNC ones for a bit less.

keen observation AAngel....you are not mistaken...that drill chuck is pictured there coz it comes with the mill when you buy it..

JT: its not meant to hold end mills, just drill bits up to 13mm....they use collets like regular mills do.

yes....it can only do shallow cuts comfortably....but it's a good starter mill to begin with....

my first mill was a 3 in 1 that uses that same mill head, mated with a tiny lathe....as you can see, there hardly is any travel between the lathe chuck and tail stock(removable to free up just a little more travel)...but i did manage to build Draggular II with that piece of junk! :005: :005:

This is avery interesting thread. What is the learning curve on a mill/lathe? Is this something that can be self taught or do you really need to apprentice? I've been woodworking for 15 years and would definitely like to try my hand at metal working. So when you talk about "starter" set-ups, is this the way to get initiated?:032:

Metal is just like wood, only a bit harder. :) As I said I have a small 7X14 lathe, and I've turned out some really nice work on it. Actually, I've found it to be a handy thing to have around. In a way it's been kind of a PITA, because everytime something around the house needs to be fixed and I can't find the right part, my says something like, "can't you just make one?"

The learning curve really depends on the person. If you have a good understanding of power tools in general and have done some sort of do-it-yourself work, it doesn't take long to learn to use a lathe or mill. I was doing external threads on the second day that I had my lathe.

You can do some reading up at www.mini-lathe.com and there is also a link on that page to a similar page geared toward the mini mill. You can also check out www.littlemachineshop.com

I also order a lot of my stock from onlinemetals.com They will take the smallest of orders and ship pretty quickly. You might also want to get to know the Enco (and its parent comparny, can't remember the name) catalogue.

The important to know is that getting the piece of equipment is only the first step. I spent more than the cost of the mill on tooling. I'd suggest at least a decent set of indexable tooling for a lathe and a good set of collets and endmills for a mill, along with the necessary hold down hardware.

AA hit the nail on the head....metal is like wood..only harder.....:027:

i dare say if you have woodworking skills, this milling stuff will be a breeze for you.

before i got my machine, i only had some time during my schooldays to work on a full size lathe..milling was something totally new to me....proof that milling can be self taught. but if you do have someone willing to teach you from the start, then go that route, it'll save you some headaches along the way.

good millends are very important...they actually determine how good the "finishing" is...

patience is also very important...its very easy to get tempted to push the "cut" further than it should be...take it slow and you'll find the right speed and depth of cut very quickly.

so far, i find that "holding down" the job is the most difficult part of milling.
take your time to think through the processes coz if you get the sequence wrong and you'll be stuck with a piece that you can't finish:019: :005:

i find that store bought hold down clamps is a little to big for RC stuff...so you can make you own.

a good precision vise (that clamps in and down) is also very good to have....don't waste your money on a non-precision vise, i did and i regreted..in fact i think thats the only thing i regreted in this whole millng experience, the rest of it is just plain rewarding....

oh yes,.....my wife these days also always says "well,...can't you just make one?"....hahahaha