I have absolutely no idea what I'm really doing but I think I want to buy a mill. I have a shop and lots of tools so I'm not completely unfamiliar with building stuff but I don't know shit about mills. I'm looking for something I can mount on a workbenche. Where is a good place to start or what is a good mill to start with. Also, what would it allow me to do? Like, what is the technical limits with a benchtop mill? What are some of the things most people do with them?
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Good stuff. Thank you.
What about this setup?
https://seattle.craigslist.org/est/tls/d/kirkland-benchtop-mill-drill-machine/7193434021.html
I know it's probably not the best but just want to know what you think about it.
Stay away or not a bad way to start?
Thank you.
Thanks man. I think I'm going to get it. Like j said I have no idea what I'm doing or if I'll even actually use the thing all that much. I usually really hate buying cheap shit because I always end up buying it twice with the 2nd time buying something good. But I think for this I'm going to do it. I've owned guns my whole like and lots of ARs but I've never built one from an 80% lower up. Last month I ordered 3 ar lowers and a glock lower from 5D along with their jig. I haven't got them yet but just doing some shopping in the meantime I thought it would be fun to buy a blank 17 slide and do my own milling on it. That and maybe doing some dimpling or fluting on a bbl.
For removing lots of material with small machines, use roughing end mills. They're effectively serrated so they leave the work piece looking like crap but they cut aluminum like a hot knife through butter. You'll have to make another pass at the final dimension to give a nice finish.
https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-4-x-16-Mini-Milling-Machine/G8689?iparcelcountry=US&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlNeGm5fk6wIVEPDACh0_EA_5EAQYASABEgLmfvD_BwE
I’ve had this one for a couple of years now and it’s been pretty good under light use. Good size for milling 80% lowers and handy for some other things around the house too. I have it bolted to the workbench and it’s been great so far.
Could you mill out some serrations on a glock slide or a cut out for an rmr with it? What about dimpling a bbl or fluting it?
Would work fine for any of that as long as it’s a straight line. Anything diagonal or with any kind of contour would be very difficult with any hand operated mill.
I was going to say anything made by Grizzly. Probably the best reputation in the machining industry there is for light use milling setups.
This is the best choice OP
Rigidity is super important when milling, don't think "oh it just holds the part" chatter will break your bits real quick and ruin parts and you'll be paying more in the long run for a cheap ass vise
The key is a machine that uses R8 collets, they're the industry standard. Any collet design other than that will be a pain in the rear, and a machine that only uses a chuck is a toy.
DROs are also a huge step up in precision, you won't believe how you lived without them.