canadian mill

[miropio]

hi everyone

i'm a newbi and i want to buy a mill,but it seem the canada isn't a good place to find a mill, but after a long search i find 2 canadian online shop (for low cost shipping) :
- busy bee tools (CT129)
- house of tools (FRV 30-MD-25)
and after some other search i find :
-the Rong Fu RF-31,30
- the sieg x3
- MD002 (RF45 clone)

which is better ? or if you know a better one that cost around 0-1500$ and who can work with all kind of soft and hard metal.

thanks

[JustSomeGuy]

Where in Canada are you?
Your profile says Paris so I assume that you are in Quebec. If so, check out http://www.garantmachinerie.com/en/index.php
or
http://www.syil.ca/

Also, What are you planning to do with your mill?

Keep in mind that tooling will eat up a good chunk of your budget. Some say that tooling will cost you as much as the mill...
My wife can't stop buying purses and British DVD's and I can't stop buying tools...

Cheers

[miropio]

hi
yeah good one i'm in quebec , thanks for the answer!! i like the WSM20V , syil too but its out of my budget sniff they looked realy nice ...

_Also, What are you planning to do with your mill?
i don't realy know, i would use it for cnc on aluminium and some time make simple piece of steel , the probb is that i'm afraid the mill can be use just for small piece and only with aluminium ,

i was searching for a mill that has a good space to travel and rigide (can cut in steel without shaking or lose precision) something like that

[JustSomeGuy]

Originally Posted by miropio hi yeah good one i'm in quebec , thanks for the answer!! i like the WSM20V , syil too but its out of my budget sniff they looked realy nice ... _Also, What are you planning to do with your mill? i don't realy know, i would use it for cnc on aluminium and some time make simple piece of steel , the probb is that i'm afraid the mill can be use just for small piece and only with aluminium , i was searching for a mill that has a good space to travel and rigide (can cut in steel without shaking or lose precision) something like that

Ok, now the fun begins...

The WSM20 is either a BF20 or BF16. There is a bit of info on these mills out there. Try these two for a start:
http://www.students.tut.fi/~kontkant/bf20.php.html
OPTIMUM BF 20 Vario Mill Made in Germany

As for a mill strong enough to do metals and large enough for all of your intended projects... Well, I have given up looking for such a mill that would also cost less then a new car and fit in a reasonable hobby workshop.
Most people will say you can always do small projects on a large mill but not large projects on a small mill.
I have an X2 and have done small projects in mild steel, Carbon fibre, aluminum and plastics without any problem. I just take multiple smaller passes. Most of my projects have been for my radio control cars, boats and helis (yeah, I have a lot of hobbies and they all cost too much).
Without knowing what you will be milling and how big, it's kinda hard to say if any of these mills would be big enough. The largest part I have yet done was an aluminum part for a modded computer (see what I mean about expensive hobbies?) and it was about 10cm x 21cm x 4cm. My X2 handled it fine.
Just stay away from round column mills if you value rigidity.
Another thing to keep in mind is the CNC parts to convert your mill. The X2/X3 mills are very common and a lot of conversions have been done by various people on this forum. You may want to check what would be involved in the conversions of the other models before you spend your money.

Cheers

[ataxy]

i have a wsm20v from garant and its a wonderfull machine

[miropio]

thanks again

as you say i think i will go with the wsm20v , seem a fine mill, or if i find a used mill for half price maybe ( dreams too much)

for the tools ??? the same price for the mill ???

is it because there a lot of tools ( use for just one thing like the T flute) or is it because it get too much use that you need a new one ? and is it better to buy a lot of cheap tools than one good tool?

[ataxy]

were are you in quebec i am in montreal so if you would like to see one before you buy!?

[miropio]

i'm in sherbrooke ..

good thing you are from montreal because i was searching if there are shop who sell mini mill new or used !! in sherbrooke i can only find a king canada mill or else it's just big 2000kg mill

[ataxy]

no i havent found any in montreal aside from store selling just as you king product such as the rf45 and rf30 the only place i know of in quebec are garant machinery if you want something like the superx3 might want to call syil.ca and ask if they can get you a manual x4 i know syil said the would or they are making a manual version of there cnc mill

[miropio]

super x3 could be nice but i thinks syil's price are a little off ... for the wsm20v at garantmachinery did you go take the mill or they shipped it ??





sniff why does it need to cost this much, for now i will just dream about it

[ataxy]

Originally Posted by miropio super x3 could be nice but i thinks syil's price are a little off ... for the wsm20v at garantmachinery did you go take the mill or they shipped it ?? sniff why does it need to cost this much, for now i will just dream about it

i dont know whats the price for the manual x4 is as for the wsm20v i got it shipped and it was, if i remember well, around 200$ there after sale service is superb and i mean that! to give you an idea the mill (wsm20v) is alot smaller in volume compared to the superX3 but the capacity machining wise is quite similar for instance the X3/SX3/X4/X4+ use a bigger u shaped column while the bf20 clone uses a smaler box shape column that from what i heard as thicker wall also the lenght of the dove tail of the z axis saddle is longer then the one of the SX3 familly but it is narrower you can also get on special order the wsm20lv from garant wich will give you around 18" in x travel

[miropio]

hi
some one make me a offer: a new MD002 (clone rf45),for arround the same price as the wsm20v and she seem bigger for the table and the column..
if it was you which would you choose ?.

thanks