Yay! I have a Milling machine now! (What do I need to do now?)

[ScatterPlot]

Hey everyone! I just got a milling machine a few weeks ago!</noob tool speak>
OK seriously though, I just got a mini-mill the other day from Homier, for about $400 (I avoided shipping cause I got it at a show). You can see it here . I know it's a mini-mill, and that it's capacity is very limited compared to the cool mills, but 400 is a lot cheaper than 2000 or so. But anyway, I really like this one, from the limited stuff I've been doing so far with it. However, for all you mill veterans out there, I was wondering what tools I would need to start with. I will be doing some small paintball stuff, nothing too big (like bodies or anything) but maybe some detail milling, or whatever I feel like (since it's my machine ( )). So here's what I have so far:

• 110 piece drill bit set, all diff. sizes
• A cheap vise, until I figure out what I really need

Here's what's on the ole shopping cart:

• Center drill $4
• Clamping kit 30
• 6-piece starter end mill set, 3/8" shank 13
• 3/8" collet 5
• Layout dye 4
• Surface gauge 13
• Ball end mill (just one small one to fiddle with) 1/8" shank 6
• Corner rounding end mill (again, to play with)- also 1/8" shank, 1/16" radius 5
• 1/8" collet 5
• Wiggler set 12
• 2" Boring head/6 bars/adapter 70
• 2 Dial indicators 9 apiece
• Parallel set ???

So, what do you think I shoud add/remove? I know the boring head and all isn't a huge issue, buut since it's paintball I need to be able to make some big holes. Am I forgetting anything? Getting something I don't need? Thanks in advance.
Bert McMahan

[CoolHand]

Re: Yay! I have a Milling machine now! (What do I need to do now?)

My replies will be in red inside your quoted post.

Originally posted by bertmcmahan
Hey everyone! I just got a milling machine a few weeks ago!</noob tool speak>
OK seriously though, I just got a mini-mill the other day from Homier, for about $400 (I avoided shipping cause I got it at a show). You can see it here . I know it's a mini-mill, and that it's capacity is very limited compared to the cool mills, but 400 is a lot cheaper than 2000 or so. But anyway, I really like this one, from the limited stuff I've been doing so far with it. However, for all you mill veterans out there, I was wondering what tools I would need to start with. I will be doing some small paintball stuff, nothing too big (like bodies or anything) but maybe some detail milling, or whatever I feel like (since it's my machine ( )). So here's what I have so far:

• 110 piece drill bit set, all diff. sizes
• A cheap vise, until I figure out what I really need

Here's what's on the ole shopping cart:

• Center drill $4 I'd skip this one, and invest in some good stubby 1/8" drill bits.
• Clamping kit 30 These are useful if you plan to machine funny shaped stuff.
• 6-piece starter end mill set, 3/8" shank 13 These are a good place to start for End Mills, but don't expect too much longevity out of the Chinese HSS. When you wear them out, you will want to look at M42 Cobalt HSS mills (spanish ones are pretty good, and still cheap). Whatever you do, stay away from M2 Al HSS, as tools made from it are pretty much useless (IMO)
• 3/8" collet 5 If your machine has an R8 spindel, I'd suggest getting a whole collet set, as it will be cheaper than buying them one at a time.
• Layout dye 4 You'll need this, good call.
• Surface gauge 13 I'd skip this one, its really not that useful.
• Ball end mill (just one small one to fiddle with) 1/8" shank 6 Ball Mills are very handy, especially for beauty marks on PB markers, however, I would suggest going for a 1/4" diameter one to start, as anything smaller will be VERY easy to break.
• Corner rounding end mill (again, to play with)- also 1/8" shank, 1/16" radius 5 I'd suggest going with an 1/8" radius (with a bigger shank), for the above reason. Also, a 1/16" radius corner rounder is kinda pointless, as you can get the same effect much quicker with a file (no joke).
• 1/8" collet 5 See above about the whole collet set.
• Wiggler set 12 These things are pretty hard to use, I'd suggest that you find an electronic edge finder instead. They work the same way, but instead of wiggling, they light up an LED when the finder touches the edge. They can be found for less than $50 if you look. The time you save will be well worthe the extra cost.
• 2" Boring head/6 bars/adapter 70 I'd skip this one, until you really have a need for it, then buck up and buy a good one (~$150). A cheap boring head will give you so many fits, and end up costing you more money in billets, bars, and time, than the difference in initial cost.
• 2 Dial indicators 9 apiece I'd get a good 0-1" dial indicator with a 0.001" resolution, and a magnetic stand.
• Parallel set ??? These are a must. Go for 1/8' wide sets, for max clearance. They can be had for less than $75 a set.

So, what do you think I shoud add/remove? I know the boring head and all isn't a huge issue, buut since it's paintball I need to be able to make some big holes. Am I forgetting anything? Getting something I don't need? Thanks in advance.
Bert McMahan

I'd also add a few things:

Good dial caliper 0-6" 0.001" resolution ~$40
Decent vernier micrometer set 0-1", 1-2", and 2-3" sizes 0.0001" resolution ~$75
Nice set of Bastard cut files (one flat, one round, and one half round) ~$35
Triangular scraper, or deburring tool ~$10 or less
1/2" diameter 3 Flute 82 deg counter sink ~$15

You can never get everything bought, no matter how hard you try. Every two weeks, I'm making an MSC or McMaster order.

Good luck, and remember to be safe.

[ScatterPlot]

Wow, thanks, thats a lot of good info. I really appreciate it. I was wondering though, why no surface gauge? What will I use to mark the layout dye with? I'm not talking about the things you determine smoothness with, I mean the things that you scratch lines into the work with once you've dyed it. Like this: http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_mill/...m#Surface_gage
And about the boring head thing, I was wanting to use it to make feeding-sized holes for paintball bodies or whatever. Should I just get an appropriately-sized drill bit for it? There is a video/book/something I saw that told how to make one that's like a 1" for the mini-mill; do you think I should go with that maybe? Again, thanks for the help.
Bert McMahan

[CoolHand]

What that fellow has there, is a height guage, and when used in conjunction with a surface plate it is quite useful.

However, all you need to do decent layout work is a good machinist ruler, and a hand scribe (or even a nail ).

Add to that a circel scribe and your dial calipers, and you end up with all the tools you need to do a quality layout.

The jaws of the caliper are hardened, so all you need to do is set the opening, lock them down, and drag one jaw along your edge, and scribe the line with the other jaw. Works pretty well.

And about the boring head. When you use them, you have to start with a hole that is nearly the size you need anyway (like within .025" or so of your final diameter), and then use the boring bar to finish the opening. They cannot plunge into a plate to start a hole, you will just break the bar like that.

I'd suggest you buy a big HSS drill bit that is close, and see if it will work before you spend the big bucks on a boring head and bars.

Also, unless you have a power down feed on your machine, you won't be able to cut the threads for the feed neck anyway (the only reason I could think of to need a boring bar). If its just for a feed tube, the paintball doesn't car how big the hole is, just so long as its big enough to roll through. If you want to do press fit feednecks, you may need a boring bar, but I would try to size things so you can use standrd sized tools (can we say "design for manufacturing"? )

Later

[ScatterPlot]

OK thanks for the advice. I knew about not being able to plunge, but I didn't know it had to be that close. I was under the impression that a height gauge was this:

while a surface gauge was this:
. What are the names of these? Thanks again
Bert

[CoolHand]

The top one is a height guage, while the bottom one is also a height guage (albeit a less sophisticated one).

Just like these are both calipers:



and




You can bore out any hole big enough to get your smallest bar in, but you have to step the diameter out slowly, in tiny increments (which requires resetting the boring head after each pass = lots of time), so it behooves you to get as close as you can to the final diameter, before you break out the boring head.

Later

[ScatterPlot]

OK thanks again; I won't be getting a boring head anymore (you just saved a poor highschooler like $70). I hope I can do all this well. If I have any more questions I'll be sure to come to you; you give good advice. Much more helpful than most of the crummy websites out there. Thanks again!
Bert McMahan

[CoolHand]

No problem, have a good time.

[redlaser666]

WOW!

Very informative CoolHand!! I recently got a smithy and i have found your posts most usefull. One i get my machine hooked up i will also be asking a few questions.
Thanks!!