I need help with wood and metal milling

Steve knight · 2006-01-30T00:42:29+00:00

Ok I need a metalworking mill to drill accurate holes, mill wood andmill some metal. I figure why spend over ½ the cost on a drill press just to getlittle runout. There are things I would like to mill wood brass and steel. So I amthinking of this puppy it shoulddo what I need and be affordable. My biggest question is what are theaccessories I need. I know I need a vice and what one? I could seedoing 6" long items. What do I need to fasten it to the table? I see the endmill holdersbut what ones to get there are different types. I can see millingslots removing stock making curved slots. Knight-Toolworks handmade wooden planes

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John Martin 20 years ago

Steve:

Runout of 1/4" on that drill press is crazy - it should be within a few thousandths or not too much more, unless something is really buggered. My 50 year old 14" Delta shows only a few thousandths, although I'll admit it does have a new Albrecht chuck.

Get a steel dowel pin, say 1/2" diameter and 4" long. Chuck it in the chuck and measure the runout. Now take a hammer and hit it on the high side. Check the runout and, if it hasn't changed, hit it again with a bigger hammer. Sounds brutal, I know, but it should correct the runout problem. Check the archives on the OWWM site for some additional discussions on this.

If the quill travel on the mill drill is OK for you that's fine. Forget the knee mill.

The smaller surface grinders are cheap used. They may not have their original accuracy, but you don't really need it. I got the Delta for a $99 eBay bid. They usually go for more, but for $500 max you should be able to get exactly what you need. And it's nice to be able to work with hardened steel, and not just the annealed stuff.

John Martin

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ljaques 20 years ago

On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 09:22:38 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, Steve knight quickly quoth:

IANAM, but you could probably get by with less. Or jig it up on a flat table with full support. Or shim the vise with longer stock which holds the workpiece full-length.

(IANAM = I am not a machinist; but I've toyed with 'em)

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Steve knight 20 years ago

actually looking it is about 1/8" that's a guess but it is way too much for any accurate drilling. drill bits wander or you don't hit the mark. a couple of friends have old drill presses where you can't feel any slop.

there is not so much as a high side but that you can rock the quill back and forth about 1/8" or so.

I have not seen any small ones like that. I will have to look for sure. Knight-Toolworks

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handmade wooden planes

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John Martin 20 years ago

Got it. Loose quill, not bent spindle, misaligned or bad chuck, or bad bearings.

The better drill presses typically have a split head, with a bolt that you can tighten to take up any slop in the head/quill fit. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to work with one that doesn't.

Good luck finding a surface grinder, not that you'll need it - there are plenty around at decent prices. One nice thing about the grinders is that there's not too much tooling necessary to do the basic things. Magnetic chuck will probably come with it. Add a vise, and you'll probably want some sort of tilting table to grind bevels. A couple of wheels and a wheel dresser and you're set.

John Martin

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Steve knight 20 years ago

al the slop is in the quill and there is no way to adjust it. maybe new bearings but maybe just crappy castings.

I will keep my eye out for one. Knight-Toolworks

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handmade wooden planes

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Don Foreman 20 years ago

Get R-8 collets in 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" and maybe 5/8" and

3/4". They hold end mills just fine. I've not had one slip in a decade. You can also get a keyless chuck from Grizzley or others, with a 1/2" straight shank arbor that will slip into the 1/2" collet.

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Sharp HSS endmills work fine in wood at the spindle speeds this machine has. I think the US-made ones are sharper than the imports. Carbide is never nearly as sharp as HSS. HSS slices the stock off, carbide chews it off.

The 9-1/2 x 32 table is definitely large enough to accomodate a 6" Kurt vise or clone. Pricey, but highly recommended. The moving jaw in a Kurt-design vise doesn't rise up or tilt back when it's tightened; the jaws stay parallel. Makes a big difference in a mill. I can't recall the last time I milled anything not using the vise. I even clamp a small rotary table and/or indexing head in the vise, sitting on parallels, rather than remove the vise and have to dial it in again later.

For milling small work at an angle, I sometimes grab the work in a drillpress vise and grab the drillpress vise at an angle in the mill vise. Another approach would be to use an angle plate, or one of the tilting angle tables. I don't think much of the tilting drillpress vises with flimsy sideplates. They're not very rigid.

You'll need a few tee-nuts to clamp your vise or workpiece to the table. Enco sells a clamping kit fairly inexpensively.

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This has a selection of tee-nuts, 1/2-13 threaded studs, step blocks and clamping fingers that should fit your mill.

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Bill Schwab 20 years ago

Absolutely get R8 collets. They are cheap, work well, and are quite handy to have around, even if you follow my advice: if you can at all stomach the price, get an ER 32 chuck and collets. I've read they will hold any size in the range they span; my experience is not quite that rosey, but I still greatly enjoy using them. Most tool changes are quick, and perhaps more importantly, there is less of a gap between the end of an ER32 held end mill and an odd sized chucked drill bit. Since I do my own design, I use drill bits for which I have ER collets whenever possible.

For the chuck, I ended up with a Jacobs ball bearing chuck. I have not regretted it.

FWIW, I'm finding TiN coated HSS to work quite well for me. I bought a

20 piece starter set and have since purchased some extras in the sizes I use most often, though I'm still using the originals.

I have a Kurt clone, and it is certainly a must. I also do a fair number of table setups, and just lose the vise when appropriate. It's not that hard to align, and I need the practice (some days more than others!). So far, I find that indicating skills are kinda like a golf swing - some days it goes to hell for no apparent reason.

Check whether or not you get the kit with the mill. Whether or not you do, pick up some extra step blocks (I like the wide ones) and maybe some extra T nuts, and certainly some thick black coated washers for use with your vise.

Enco sells some inexpensive V blocks that are made in India - nice stuff. I use them for various setups

Bill

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