Anyone got any experience of these? Thinking about getting a small independent milling machine and these are the only ones I can see available.
Sealey Tools SM2502 Bench Mini Drilling Milling Machine Mill Drill Tilt Column
I have a very sturdy meddings drill with a high quality chuck, when I attached a sliding table and tried to use as a mill the tool kept dropping out
the chuck.
I struggle to see how this will hold tools in a better fashion unless it comes with a collet set and a means of pulling and holding the taper in
place, the description does not include any collets.
Regards Mark
unless you are very short of space or content to make models..... not in a million years. For real work buy a second hand machine. You could easily
buy a Tom Senior M1 for that money or a worn Bridgeport clone. Another 500 quid and you will have a machine that will last for life.
With milling machines big is best no matter what the wife may say.
quote:
Originally posted by Theshed
unless you are very short of space or content to make models..... not in a million years. For real work buy a second hand machine. You could easily buy a Tom Senior M1 for that money or a worn Bridgeport clone. Another 500 quid and you will have a machine that will last for life.
With milling machines big is best no matter what the wife may say.
Either that or if you just want to work small pieces buy a decent lathe.
I sold a horizontal mill maybe 18 months ago for £400, it just did not get any use so moved on.
[Edited on 23/12/12 by mark chandler]
Myke we bought a small vertical miller from Axminster tools a few years ago for simlar kind of money and it is much more substantial than the sealey
example- you arewelcome to come and have a look at it in January when we are back to work if it helps.
atb
Mike
Have a look at Axminster Tools their stuff is reasonable quality for the price
or Chester Machine Tools.
I have a Chester round column milling machine.
If the head needs to be moved (eg for deep hole boring greater than the 60mm quill travel) then alignment is lost as the head rotates about the
column.
I have found that taking more than 1mm cuts is nigh impossible so roughing out can require a lot of patience, I have just taken a 100mm long piece of
83mm dia alloy down to a 60 x 40 x 100mm rectangular bar 1mm at a time.
Having said this I have made a pair of alloy fork yokes for a bike I'm building.
Make sure the table travel and height under the quill is enough for the jobs you have in mind. Don't forget once the tool is in the spindle the
room left for the job height is much reduced. The cost of enough tooling to make the machine useful will add quite a bit to the total price.
I am not sure that my investment in the milling machine and tooling is really justified by the amount of use it gets and have considered selling it on
more than one occasion.
HTH
Neil
+1 for not buying a 'new' small toy type mill. Buy some thing such as second hand axminster or senior for not a lot more money and it will
last for ever (if serviced and cared for) I picked this up for £800 it makes a bridgeport look like a toy made in 1974 and has a horizontal as well,
ok not ideal to fit in a typical garage but you get the idea.
I had a clark version and took it back the next day. The gears where made of nylon and already stripped when I got it home. The quality of the machine meant I would only ever be able to do plastic and soft alloys. ie model making.
quote:
Originally posted by trikerneil
Have a look at Axminster Tools their stuff is reasonable quality for the price or Chester Machine Tools.
I have a Chester round column milling machine.
If the head needs to be moved (eg for deep hole boring greater than the 60mm quill travel) then alignment is lost as the head rotates about the column.
I have found that taking more than 1mm cuts is nigh impossible so roughing out can require a lot of patience, I have just taken a 100mm long piece of 83mm dia alloy down to a 60 x 40 x 100mm rectangular bar 1mm at a time.
Having said this I have made a pair of alloy fork yokes for a bike I'm building.
![]()
Snip
quote:
Originally posted by myke pocock
Anyone got any experience of these? Thinking about getting a small independent milling machine and these are the only ones I can see available.
Sealey Tools SM2502 Bench Mini Drilling Milling Machine Mill Drill Tilt Column![]()
You may find this site useful if you decide to shop around for an old machine:
lathes
I know it says "lathes" but they also cover milling machines & other stuff!
It's also a good place to get minor spares such as custom drive belts.
quote:
Originally posted by trikerneil
Have a look at Axminster Tools their stuff is reasonable quality for the price or Chester Machine Tools.
I have a Chester round column milling machine.
If the head needs to be moved (eg for deep hole boring greater than the 60mm quill travel) then alignment is lost as the head rotates about the column.
I have found that taking more than 1mm cuts is nigh impossible so roughing out can require a lot of patience, I have just taken a 100mm long piece of 83mm dia alloy down to a 60 x 40 x 100mm rectangular bar 1mm at a time.
Having said this I have made a pair of alloy fork yokes for a bike I'm building.
![]()
![]()
![]()
Make sure the table travel and height under the quill is enough for the jobs you have in mind. Don't forget once the tool is in the spindle the room left for the job height is much reduced. The cost of enough tooling to make the machine useful will add quite a bit to the total price.
I am not sure that my investment in the milling machine and tooling is really justified by the amount of use it gets and have considered selling it on more than one occasion.
HTH
Neil
Item Number
360496600931
These are a little more expensive but much better - very popular with the modelling community.
The sealey one is just a glorified drill and if its anything like any of the other sealey things I've owned an expensive disappointment.
quote:
Originally posted by Talon Motorsport
+1 for not buying a 'new' small toy type mill. Buy some thing such as second hand axminster or senior for not a lot more money and it will last for ever (if serviced and cared for) I picked this up for £800 it makes a bridgeport look like a toy made in 1974 and has a horizontal as well, ok not ideal to fit in a typical garage but you get the idea.
![]()
quote:
Originally posted by franky
quote:
Originally posted by trikerneil
Have a look at Axminster Tools their stuff is reasonable quality for the price or Chester Machine Tools.
I have a Chester round column milling machine.
If the head needs to be moved (eg for deep hole boring greater than the 60mm quill travel) then alignment is lost as the head rotates about the column.
I have found that taking more than 1mm cuts is nigh impossible so roughing out can require a lot of patience, I have just taken a 100mm long piece of 83mm dia alloy down to a 60 x 40 x 100mm rectangular bar 1mm at a time.
Having said this I have made a pair of alloy fork yokes for a bike I'm building.
![]()
![]()
![]()
Make sure the table travel and height under the quill is enough for the jobs you have in mind. Don't forget once the tool is in the spindle the room left for the job height is much reduced. The cost of enough tooling to make the machine useful will add quite a bit to the total price.
I am not sure that my investment in the milling machine and tooling is really justified by the amount of use it gets and have considered selling it on more than one occasion.
HTH
Neil
Do you fancy selling it?