Would like advice for a very small mill?

There are several small mill/drills out there , at various prices/quality levels . I strongly suggest you pick one that uses R8 collets . BUY MORE MACHINE THAN YOU THINK YOU NEED ! It'll surprise you just how much you'll use it once you have one . Another desirable option is a dovetail column - many have and use the round column machines , I bought an RF45 clone with gear drive and dovetail column because I think it's the next best thing to a full size knee mill . Originally a hobby , I now use my machines for fun AND profit ...

I would consider this the bare minimum for useful work.

R8 collets, variable speed with two ranges, a square column which means you don't lose position when you move the head.

Also, enough to get you started and learn on while you think about something bigger.

Grizzly and others sell the same machine with different paint.

David

Little Machine Shop sells a fixed column version of that same mill, and also a solid (fixed) column conversion. Yes, once in a great while the tilt column is handy, but the fixed column version is much more rigid.

Or if you already have the tilt column mill:

I have been using an MT3 version for 7 years. It is OK. It has quirks you have to learn to deal with (sign up for one of the mini-mill fora, wealth of info there).

IMHO I would go for the extra rigidity rather than the tilting feature if I had a choice.

Michael Koblic, Campbell River, BC

When running for office, all the politicians proclaimed "nothing is too good for our veterans." Now that they are elected that's what they are giving them ;-(

Not even a proper burial

Identification problems? Have these doofuses never heard of fingerprints and DNA? Anyone that was ever in the armed forces in the last 90 or so years has their prints on file, and the newer vets have their DNA on file. Most VFW and American Legion posts are only too happy to provide burial details to sound Taps and fire the traditional salutes.

I have been doing amateur gunsmithing on a 1963 Rockwell 21-100 for 10 years. That is a good mill, but when I trade up, I am probably going to go from 600 pounds to 3000 pounds, just to get the DRO and front to back head tilt.