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Cliff Beer · 10-23-07, 07:03 AM

Chris, take a good look at the Grizzy stuff. I have a Grizzly combination lathe and mill. The lathe bed is about 48 inches and the mill head and bed is sufficiently sized to do some decent sized work.

It's true that a Bridgeport is more precise and smoother (less chatter) in operation but they are generally quite large and heavy (like, 1,500lbs-2,000lbs+) which potentially causes problems if you don't have a proper placement for it.

One tip for good use of a smaller (smaller than a bridgeport) mill is that you need a solid mounting for it. You'll find that you get chatter if the mill is not properly located to a base of sufficient mass and structure. Chewing through aluminum is pretty easy with carbon bits but if you want to mill some steel then having the mill mounted and squared up properly makes a big difference.

I find that I use the lathe as much or more than the mill - if you don't already have a metal lathe you might find that the lathe is as essential as the mill in producing nice custom pieces, hence, worth taking a look at the combo machines as these are space efficient and less expensive than buying one of each.

Good luck and have fun with the metal work, it's really enjoyable and relaxing. Most importantly, be safe - you want to keep all your fingers!

10-23-07, 07:03 AM	#11 (permalink)
Cliff Beer Cliffbeer2 3 Tenths Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sand Point, WA GT40: CAV Posts: 393 Rep Power: 5	Re: Mills Chris, take a good look at the Grizzy stuff. I have a Grizzly combination lathe and mill. The lathe bed is about 48 inches and the mill head and bed is sufficiently sized to do some decent sized work. It's true that a Bridgeport is more precise and smoother (less chatter) in operation but they are generally quite large and heavy (like, 1,500lbs-2,000lbs+) which potentially causes problems if you don't have a proper placement for it. One tip for good use of a smaller (smaller than a bridgeport) mill is that you need a solid mounting for it. You'll find that you get chatter if the mill is not properly located to a base of sufficient mass and structure. Chewing through aluminum is pretty easy with carbon bits but if you want to mill some steel then having the mill mounted and squared up properly makes a big difference. I find that I use the lathe as much or more than the mill - if you don't already have a metal lathe you might find that the lathe is as essential as the mill in producing nice custom pieces, hence, worth taking a look at the combo machines as these are space efficient and less expensive than buying one of each. Good luck and have fun with the metal work, it's really enjoyable and relaxing. Most importantly, be safe - you want to keep all your fingers!