| Author | Message | ||
     Loki |
far and away, I am no machinist. I chase runaway electrons. Looking more for a spare time killer and I aint into the wood based toys. How would this be rated as a tool for a beginner with some aspirations. | ||
| Lgpch |
I have the same mill and I have been able to make some pretty cool stuff with it. I have made some trick fork braces, turn signal mounts, and tons of other stuff. Another good thing about the mill is that you can always use the drill press applications around the house for all types of materials. I have even made a tactical navigation dive board for work. The down side to the mill is that because it is not a high dollar item, you may run into shimming issues with the axes'. If you are handy with tools then this is easily overcome. The limitations of the mill lie in the chuck size and bed travel. However, if you are only trying to make things like shifters, levers and so forth this is not a bad investment. Get some good two flute facemill bits for aluminum and learn the correct speeds for the material you are machining. Be patient and make small passes rather than large bites. When things go wrong with these types of tools, there is no warning at all. A piece of metal will fly off these things like it was shot from a gun. One other thing. Tooling is IMPORTANT. How you set up your piece as in clamping, finding centers, layout, and so forth is crucial. If you cannot clamp a piece properly you run into deviations from your layout and safety issues. Good luck with it. I say get it. Once you master this machine, you will know if you need to move up to a higher quality machine with more options or not. Mine suits me fine. | ||
| Loki |
Thanks Paul. On the mark with doing the small stuff. Just looking to find a more non-destructive hobby. One that will not settle me in front a tv..... Always been a tinkerer and a thinkerer. |
