Wedg1e
They call me Mr. Bodge-angles
- Messages
- 7,911
- Location
- Teesside, England
I have a Fobco Star 1/2" capacity desktop pillar drill that cost me nothing, and a Perrin jig borer that cost...er... not much 
The Perrin is almost, but not quite a 'proper' millling machine: it has 16 speeds (to about 10,000rpm if I recall right) a T-slotted X-Y table with about 7" of travel each way, with lockable leadscrew dials, vernier down-feed and a selection of interchangeable spindles, chucks, boring head, flycutter etc.. The drawback is that because the head is only clamped to the column (all 90mm diameter of it) in the same way as a pedestal drill, if you put too much sideways force on a milling cutter it tends to deflect the head around the column.
I have thought about having a slot milled down the column and have a matching peg or dowel fitted so it can't rotate but like so many projects it hasn't got past the thinking-about-it stage
On the plus side I worked out how to use those Chinese digital linear scales and a 3-axis readout reliably from a mains supply so despite the leadscrew nuts having a bit of wear I can still position it quickly for accurate drilling which I suppose does go some way to compensate for the light cuts you have to take when milling.
It dates from the 50s or 60s, weighs a ton (it's built on a cast-iron base cabinet with tooling cupboard) and will probably get chopped-in for a full-size Bridgeport at some stage...
The Perrin is almost, but not quite a 'proper' millling machine: it has 16 speeds (to about 10,000rpm if I recall right) a T-slotted X-Y table with about 7" of travel each way, with lockable leadscrew dials, vernier down-feed and a selection of interchangeable spindles, chucks, boring head, flycutter etc.. The drawback is that because the head is only clamped to the column (all 90mm diameter of it) in the same way as a pedestal drill, if you put too much sideways force on a milling cutter it tends to deflect the head around the column.
I have thought about having a slot milled down the column and have a matching peg or dowel fitted so it can't rotate but like so many projects it hasn't got past the thinking-about-it stage
On the plus side I worked out how to use those Chinese digital linear scales and a 3-axis readout reliably from a mains supply so despite the leadscrew nuts having a bit of wear I can still position it quickly for accurate drilling which I suppose does go some way to compensate for the light cuts you have to take when milling.
It dates from the 50s or 60s, weighs a ton (it's built on a cast-iron base cabinet with tooling cupboard) and will probably get chopped-in for a full-size Bridgeport at some stage...
