bench top height question for mini-mill

I did a search on ebay just now. Here is what is available for MT collets:

Mike

Harbor Freight has a $199.99 bandsaw, plus $8.99 shipping:

I like that HF one as it also converts to an upright. I don't think the Jet brand one did. I'm only 75 miles from Sioux Falls, I'll have to check Mac's out too. Mike

Hi Peter, I built my bench on Saturday and went with the 40" height. Actually the bench is 38-1/2" high, but I allowed for two sheets of 3/4" particle board on top.

Just out of curiosity, what is the table height distance (from mill table surface to bench top)? That is probably the question I should have asked to begin with.

Mike

I don't have my RF30 any more so I can't tell you what it was. I'm thinking it was about 6-ish inches. Someone with an RF 30 or 45 could chime in hear, but since you've already built your bench, I'm sure you'll figure out for yourself what's comfortable.

Peter

...

mj [Mike] referred to mini-mill in original post, rather than RF30. The Homier mini-mill table surface is about 5.2" above bench top.

The $400-$500 mini-mill (as shown from several vendors in

-jiw

Rex, WOW! A $99.99 bandsaw! For my little brass hobby machine shop, that would be uptown. But they (I think it was the Homiers) are out of stock until the middle of Dec and there was not a shipping price listed.

I have a bunch of stuff on ebay and once it sells, I'm picking up a bandsaw.

Thanks Mike

I tried that. That puts the bench height at about 40". I should be good to go! Thanks Mike

On Wed, 26 Oct 2005 14:17:59 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "E. Walter Le Roy" quickly quoth:

My prehensile front tail (equivalent to a third hand) doesn't like to get dirty on the floor. Is there any other way, Walt?

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Be aware that Homier has some lousy shipping rates last i looked. If thee is not a tent sale coming up near you (get on the Homier email notification list) then factor in shipping. HF is cheap shipping, as does Enco, so look at the whole package.

- - Rex Burkheimer WM Automotive Fort Worth TX

mj wrote:

What, you lost your sling??

Hi Rex, Yeah...I was going to take the shipping into consideration. I checked the one on Homiers site for $199.99 (which is in stock) and the shipping is $90.00. That one weights 190 lbs or so. The $99.99 one weights 130 lbs. So I suspect shipping would be $60-70...

If I had the cash in hand today (waiting for some stuff on ebay to sell), I would probably order the HF one. I really do not want to wait for a month and a half for Homier to get the $99 one in stock. Although I am going to go back and look at the other ones again.

Thanks for all the links.

Mike

Saran Wrap?????

Mark Rand RTFM

I can tell you the 03111 is well worth the extra $100. Same saw Grizzle gets $400 for.

But the small "sawhorse" model works great. It also has a vertical mode which I've used several times. The 03111 does not, although I understand it's an easy and worthwhile mod.

- - Rex Burkheimer WM Automotive Fort Worth TX

mj wrote:

Rex, Thanks for the advice so far.

My largest stock that I would cut on a regular basis is around 2-1/2" brass with most of the cutting in the 1/2" to 2" categories. I have a chunk of 3" that I would eventually need to cut and I am getting a project lined up that is going to call for 3-1/2 to 4" diameter brass rod (wheels for a 1:8 scale HEMMT military truck). That project would need eight slices and I'm done. But if that is getting a little big for the HF bandsaw, I could get them sliced at work on our big machine.

I may end up cutting some aluminum in the same sizes eventually too.

What do you think? I'm thinking of ordering it either tomorrow (Friday) or Monday.

Mike

The work envelope is 4x6, and you can even stretch that a bit with creative positioning. Brass or AL is like butter. Biggest I've cut is about 2.5"x2.5". Just takes a little longer. Large unwield pieces can be cut in the vertical position, but you have to hand-feed it. Very tedious. Last thing I cut this was was an Atlas change gear cover, the tear-drop cast iron thing. I basically made a vertical cut about 4 inches in from the front (to clear a QC box). It worked very well.

with 4" diameter a straight cut is essential. Get a good bimetal blade immediately, and tweak the blade alignment so the cut is straight laterally and vertically. Properly adjusted, they say you can cut a .030 wafer.

But sure, go for it.

HF has their bandsaw marked down to $169.99 now with the $8.99 shipping. Quite a deal until I looked at the motor size. 1/3 hp! The $99.99 Homier has a 3/4 hp. I suspect that these might not be completely accurate descriptions though and it might not be "true" hp ratings. So...not sure what I am going to do. I might run over to Sioux Falls and see what I can find at the Mac Hardware store or wait until Dec for Homier to get theirs in.

Rex, what hp motor does your bandsaw have? I'm just a little hesitant to buy this because of the motor. 1/3 hp does not seem like much even just cutting aluminum and brass... Mike