Buying a Mill

[mr_splatter]

Hi,
I am looking to buy a milling machine and as I know a few of you on here know a bit about these things.....

I already have a small lathe which I really like messing with but have a few things I want to make that would be easier with a mill. I'm looking to spend about £1500 on the machine. (I know what the tooling can set me back too). I am not really interested in model engineering and make bits for push bikes, repairing things, making jigs etc. I can't really decide whether to go for a newish Chinese model or something like an old Bridgeport. The Chinese stuff would mean it would be new or nearly new but I don't know what the quality is like. The Bridgeport or clone appeals more but I am wary about getting a knackered one. Am I being realistic about getting something for my budget? I don't mind a bit of work but I want to use it not rebuild it. Also interested to know what tapers to go for and which to avoid.

Interested to know what people have and what suits them. Thanks in advance.

 

[zzr1200]

If you want quality at a senible price try here.

http://www.homeandworkshop.co.uk/

 

[FranV8]

I've got an SPG Chinese ones, it's the same as a Warco WM18. If you've got the space, Bridgeport is in range for the price. Personally I'd go for an R8 taper machine, but many prefer to get a Morse taper that suits their lathe for tool interchangability.

A Bridgeport will be R8, maybe gives a bit more in the way of options as it is a well accepted industrial fitment.

Chinese stuff okay, but they tend to have plastic fuse gears, and can need some fettling if you want the ultimate in accuracy. CNC DIY could be a fun future project too.

 

[astro_al]

If you want quality at a massively over-inflated price try here.

http://www.homeandworkshop.co.uk/

Fixed it for you.

Get a Bridgeport. Plenty of extras / tooling available for them for sensible money. Much better quality. Just take someone with you who knows how to check them over.

Good luck, Al.

 

[brightspark]

and if u buy a bridgie factor in the price of a decent 415v converter to run it if u havent a 3 phase supply

 

[mr_splatter]

Thanks for the advice. I must admit to leaning towards a Bridgeport but when I see them the prices vary a lot. My plan was to get a basic machine and then probably add stuff like DROs and maybe in the future CNC but right now I want some thing to do just basic facing as its a pain to do on a slide on the lathe and I get fed up swapping the tooling so two separate machines would suit me better. I have the space but would need a phase converter to run 3 phase. If I am going to the trouble to get something installed and transported I would rather get this right.
One thing I notice about a lot of the Bridgeports is that the powered cross feeds often is reported not to work. Is this usually an electrical problem? Electronics / electrical is something I can cope with as long as the parts are reasonable and easy to get hold of.

 

[mr_splatter]

Regarding the taper, my lathe is #2 MT which I understood was a bit small for a serious mill. The R8 seems to have a fair bit of tooling around but I have also seen INT30 and 40. So bridgeports are usually R8?

 

[Wedg1e]

Regarding the taper, my lathe is #2 MT which I understood was a bit small for a serious mill. The R8 seems to have a fair bit of tooling around but I have also seen INT30 and 40. So bridgeports are usually R8?

They are... but the 1ES horizontal is a 40INT. If you can find one with a vertical head it makes a great amateur machine... massive enough to do serious work but small enough to not rule the workshop. Can be converted to single-phase quite easily.

 

[FranV8]

Yes, exclusively R8 I believe. The INT stuff is quite a bit larger, bigger and heavier than a Bridgeport.

Big Warco on eBay at the moment. Knee mill. Just search on "Warco" - not far from the top.

 

[mr_splatter]

Thanks for pointing out the Warco. Looks a tidy machine. It's close to where I work so might go and take a look.

 

[Keith 66]

If you are pushed for space with something as large as a bridgeport you would not go wrong with an Arboga, I have an ex college U2508 model & its a superbly made piece of kit that is capable of excellent work.
Built in 3 phase motor means you have to run a phase converter if you dont have 3 phase.

 

[ronan]

I bought a tom senior mill a while ago and i have to say , its a nice machine , it is great quality that you just don't get with the far eastern stuff , its a nice size too , not as big as a bridgeport but not one of those silly little table top modellers machines either. And finally it is both horizontal and vertical mill in one making it versatile. it came from a community college and had never seen a days work in its life (until now).

Try g and m tools , i bought a vice from them a while back and they are good to deal with.

http://www.gandmtools.co.uk/cat_branch.php?sub=6

 

[mr_splatter]

Got a Bridgeport

Hi, A quick update...
Taking the advice I carried on searching and widened the scope to look at other machines but found a place less than a mile from me had a Bridgeport they wanted to offload. Went to see it with a model shop guy who knows these machines and said there was hardly any wear in it, little backlash on the screws, quiet and smooth through travel on the ways. Made them an offer and they accepted later in the day.
Anyway only downside is that there is no tooling with it (apart from a big vice) so I need to get some basic R8 stuff. Wondered whether people recommend a Clarkson type chuck or the direct collets in the quill as the way forward?
I don't get it delivered for a few weeks and would also like to get the 3 phase inverter sorted. Apparently the motor is quite new but I don't know whether it can be configured as a star rather than delta as I see the inverters are cheaper. Does anybody now whether it is likely to be changeable and maybe recommend an inverter for 2hp at reasonable cost? I've also read (on here I think) that there can be leakage current through the RF filters which cause the ELCB to trip out. I want to avoid this if possible. Thanks in advance.

 

[brightspark]

Hi, A quick update...
Taking the advice I carried on searching and widened the scope to look at other machines but found a place less than a mile from me had a Bridgeport they wanted to offload. Went to see it with a model shop guy who knows these machines and said there was hardly any wear in it, little backlash on the screws, quiet and smooth through travel on the ways. Made them an offer and they accepted later in the day.
Anyway only downside is that there is no tooling with it (apart from a big vice) so I need to get some basic R8 stuff. Wondered whether people recommend a Clarkson type chuck or the direct collets in the quill as the way forward?
I don't get it delivered for a few weeks and would also like to get the 3 phase inverter sorted. Apparently the motor is quite new but I don't know whether it can be configured as a star rather than delta as I see the inverters are cheaper. Does anybody now whether it is likely to be changeable and maybe recommend an inverter for 2hp at reasonable cost? I've also read (on here I think) that there can be leakage current through the RF filters which cause the ELCB to trip out. I want to avoid this if possible. Thanks in advance.

u will need a 415 v converter to run a brigie turret mill it cant be run on a 240v 3 phase unit a static will run one but struggles to start on top speed

 

[stormin]

As Brightspark says. Bridgeport motors are dual speed so can't easily be configured to run off 240V like most single speed motors.

I've got a clarkson autolock chuck on my milling machine and I think they're the best for positive tool holding being sort of self tightening as long as you install them correctly. A lot quicker and easier to change tools than having to reach up to the drawbar everytime like you do with collets direct into the spindle.

If you look round on ebay you'll also find R8 to Morse Taper converters so you can use some of your lathe tooling, drill bits etc.

Looking out for a Bridgeport myself to replace my similar sized but fixed vertical only machine.

 

[mr_splatter]

Thanks both for the info on the inverter. I wondered about a taper converter but thought there would be a tendency for the tools to drop out. I have an auto lock chuck for the lathe which I use to mill on a slide. I also have some collets and a chuck although I never worked out what type and I could never tighten it enough to stop the cutters walking out. Hadn't thought about tightening the drawbar as its quite a stretch for me

 

[Luke]

I've a bridgeport running on 230v single phase. I picked the machine up with a broken motor (a phase was shorting to earth), so made an adapter to mount a standard IEC frame size 3ph motor, which is wired in Delta and happily running off 3phase 230v.

 

[brightspark]

I've a bridgeport running on 230v single phase. I picked the machine up with a broken motor (a phase was shorting to earth), so made an adapter to mount a standard IEC frame size 3ph motor, which is wired in Delta and happily running off 3phase 230v.

what sort bet it wasnt the turret mill. ive got a brigie horizontal mill with the vertical head model 1 es. it can be run of a converter or change the motor to 240v without bother

 

[FranV8]

Tooling wise I prefer R8 collets, they mean you maintain maximum clearance between the work and the bed. No problem with releasing tooling either.

Congratulations on your new purchase!

 

[mr_splatter]

Looks like I am looking at something like this then?
http:// pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=150927935631
Any idea whether I will get any problems with a standard 30mA ELCB tripping?