Do i get what I pay for when it comes to mills?
 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47158

$260 is a damn low price. Is this mill just a drill press converted to be a mill? It says it can do brass, so it should work for copper. So would this work for making waterblocks?

Yes. I saw one of those at our local harbor freight and they are not great. the table was sloppy and generally cheesy parts. But if you think a $10 bilge pump from Wal Mart is "quality" then this is excellent equipment! ;) They would have to pay me to take that off their hands.

Also Brass is a hell of a lot easier to mill than Copper. Thats why they made it into brass so it could be worked with easier than copper but still maintain a good strength. Other reasons aswell.

alright then, so where do i start looking for a good mill?

You could look and read here to find out more on what is available and what others are using.........

suggestions on getting a mill?

Looking for a mill

Basically you do get what you pay for, and a mill worth having will not be cheap. Have a look at the review on my mill that I consider a minimum for any serious copper milling

Sip 30 mill Drill

If youre looking for a small, cheaper priced mill to do blocks, etc. with decent precision out of the box and small footprint then, by all means, look here for all the info on the subject youde want.....
small milling machine and lathe reviews and tips


Good luck

What else do you need with a mill. Blade's site said something about lubrication but I didn't really get it kinda. What else is needed to make a copper block with a mill?

Well, you'd need the mill to be able to be used when cooling liquid is being splashed onto some parts of it... though I'm not sure if all mills allow that...

Vise, collet set, endmill holder, endmills, clamp set, drill bits, measuring equipment (no not a tape measure, but a good micrometer), a fly cutter is nice, and misc. little things...

Umm I'm not sure how to make it clearer :shrug: but I thought it was pretty self explanatory IF the whole 3 page mill article was read through I also mention what I need to buy extra. You don't need to have a lubrication/cooling fluid system, but the milling bit and copper can overheat quite easily. If the copper gets hot it can get sticky and you will overheat or snap milling bits, good ones of which are not cheap. You can get by for the odd block with out a lubrication system but if you are seriously going to buy a mill with a view to using it more than a few times, it is something you will really need.

the mini-mill site author appears to like

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44991

as its the one he uses....any comments on it?

It is the same one. The bigger brother to the original one you linked to. That is a bear minumum of what you want to get.

Here is the link to the Grizzly version: http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...emnumber=G8689

ic...i wonder if HarborFreight will let me look at it in the store. This one should be up to milling copper shouldnt it?

I seen one at harbor Freight and a buddy of mine had one. I wasn't to impressed but they will do copper ok. Probably one of the best mills for the money. Be prepared for another few hundred $'s worth of accesories though to be able to mill anything.

THe accessorys are as expensive as the mill!

definately figure about 1000 dollars into your budget for one of these, dont skimp.

I would go witht he homier mill or harbor freight because R8 is usually easier to find than mt3.

Your gonna want a precision milling vice, Parallels, about 12 or so end mills, collet set, lube, grease, all the goods.

Im loving my homier mill, After tweaking it, its running like a dream! I only have a little backlash but thats gonna be GONE as soon as I convert it to ballscrews.

When you get it, they are full of nasty red grease that all needs to go, then grease up the dovetails and oil all the screws, then you have to tighten stuff just right, the gibs and all. The Z axis does not have very good ajustment, lots of backlash, people have been able to get it down to about 15 thousandts or so. Im just sticking a ballscrew up there.

After a lot of tweaking you can get this thing hogging copper without a problem. it sure does take time to learn it all and get it just how you want.


Jon

Good call Jon... Backlash is your enemy. :mad:

Ballscrew conversion is my next project when I get this out of storage this weekend.

It's pretty good... I'll have to mic it to see just how much backlash I have on it.
(It's been over two years since I had it out and working :cry: )

Things you need besides a mill: Cooling system (Read BladeRunner's article completely for more details.)Collet set, endmills, vice, micrometers, drillbits, parallels, T-bolts, flycutter(s), copper/brass/aluminum/acrylic stock and maybe a book on milling techniques. :dome:

If all this seems kind of overwhelming, it is at first. But, if you are serious about getting a mill and using it more than once or twice, then all of these things will help you. :D