Do I need both????

[Kent]

If you want something drilling well a mill is an excellent choice. If you want to bang a few holes in a frame, bit of bar held in mole grips etc etc they are nothing but hassle
So depends

I suggest respectfully you consider a bigger
shop. Too many home workshops become to full to work well and most importantly safely. A decent mill is not a decent mill unless it's on a good base

 

[Richard.]

I won't be moving any time soon as much as I'd like more space.
Tbh I have things quite well laid out and I have lots of space to work and be safe as you say. The reason for the thread is Id like to keep it that way lol.

 

[Henrik]

I had a little rubbish pillar drill for a while, and then replaced it with a large centec milling machine with a vertical head, quill etc etc, and then I regretted getting rid of the drill.

I now have a horizontal milling machine and another pillar drill, and out of the two the drill press is used far more often and it's nicer to drill with than the faff of the centec

If it was me and I couldn't have both a milling machine and a drill, I'd go for a decent drill.

 

[anjum]

Just a reminder....He with the most toys, wins!

 

[Richard.]

I had a little rubbish pillar drill for a while, and then replaced it with a large centec milling machine with a vertical head, quill etc etc, and then I regretted getting rid of the drill.

I now have a horizontal milling machine and another pillar drill, and out of the two the drill press is used far more often and it's nicer to drill with than the faff of the centec

If it was me and I couldn't have both a milling machine and a drill, I'd go for a decent drill.

Thanks Henrik.
The drill is staying. You all make perfect sense. Plus the fact I have had that pillar drill apart down to the last bolt and built back up to perfection so it owes me a good bit more labour yet.
As for the milling. It would be lovely to complement the baby lathe with a baby mill but a bit of reorganisation is needed first.

 

[Richard.]

Make a section of your bench with a flip top - mount the drill on one side and tabletop mill on the other.

Then, just flip to whichever you need

(Not be entirely silly btw, I made a fliptop trolley with planer/thicknesser one side and chopsaw in the other - neither of those have oil in though...)

A bit like the book shelf to the bat cave.

 

[octo0072000]

Here you are richard a mill for you

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/6x26-knee-mill-with-accessories-single-phase.64745/

 

[addjunkie]

That would fit the bill quite nicely Richard, or consider something like this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMA25LV-M...179952?hash=item3cff3c4df0:g:z1oAAOSwD0lUkZgJ


But if bench mounting check you also have enough height, some of the biggest are surprisingly tall when right up being used as a drill press.

 

[Bill Edwards]

Provided it has a quill what's the problem with using a mill as a drill? No need to dial anything in every time on a small machine, surely you can just use a standard drilling vice loose on the table and work to a centre punched mark exactly as you do on a pillar drill? I'm not sure you would safely do that on a powerful machine in case the drill snatched but I'd think a small machine would be similarly powered to a pillar drill?

Unless there's something I don't know about smaller/hobby sized machines (I was using a decent sized Bridgeport) it doesn't take long to pull the cutter and swap to a (keyless ) drill chuck for drilling, it's done in a matter of moments. Plus it sounds like it would be spending nearly all of its time as a drill and would only really mill for a relatively smaller proportion of the work?

 

[Mr shiney]

Takes me seconds to put a drill chuck in my mill and drill a hole.

 

[Kram]

Small bench mills have weak flexible columns and the max rpm seems very low - not good for small cutters, and mill too weak for big cutters.

Bigger lathe Get rid of pillar drill anyway, lathe can do it. Centre height and cross slide travel make a good mill
What sort of work and size would you be milling?

 

[slim_boy_fat]

neither of those have oil in though...

Or weigh as much......