Suggestions for a mill

[TheGreenMachine]

I currently have a series 1 style knee mill that is CNC. I am looking for a second mill but would like more travel on my Z then the ram of a knee mill provides. I looked at the IH mill they claim that it is comparable in performance to a knee mill, I send them a inquiry and never heard back, after that I checked out these forms and found that they are very hard to get a hold of a very slow to ship. That rules them out.

So what I am looking for is a mill that has travels of atleast 24"x, 12"y, 10"Z. I would like it to have a 30 taper spindle. 2+hp spindle, and it must be able to fit through my shop door which is 6'6" high. Oilier and coolant are pluses.

If I convert a manual mill it would need to be straight forward and quick. I dont want to spend time engineering brackets and whatnot, although I would be willing to make my own parts if their were plans already out there. Any suggestions?

[TarHeelTom]

That sounds like a tall order, and I wish you well. If you find something, be sure and let us know. I just bought a series 1 cnc, and that mother sure is tall. My garage door is 7' tall, and we had to lay the bp almost down on its face to get it in the door.

Tom

[TheGreenMachine]

Tom,

Were you not able to rotate the head to clear the door? Or if it was rigid you could remove the motor, thats what I did. The IH looks like it would work, I wouldn't be willing to send my money when I read posts of people waiting several months with no communication.

[TarHeelTom]

It's a rigid head. And on this particular machine, removing the motor doesn't buy any more space.

We removed the top cover and 1 pulley, but couldn't figure out how to get the rest of it apart. So, we stood it on its nose. (Good thing it didn't have a cold....)

Some pics are here: http://tomwade.me/tw/machinist/nm/

Tom

[eartaker]

Mot sure what you budget is, BUT if really interested in a 45 cloan. IH sells there mill already converted to CNC as well.http://www.ihcnc.com/pages/cnc-mill.php

[hoss2006]

This one's close to what you want, but R8 not 30 taper, maybe that's an option though.
Machine Travel: 24" x 15" Y 11.5"
Spindle: R8 Taper 500-4000 RPM Variable Speed Drive 2HP Max
http://www.turnkeymills.com/bobmill1175
Another.
http://www.mikinimech.com/1610L.html
Hoss