My Manual small mill project

[ZipSnipe]

Hey guys just wanted to start my manual milling project. I started of with a x+y table and some 2x2 and 2x3 steel tubing 1/8" wall thickness. Heres some pics




Just a little more drilling and grinding and I,ll have the base and column done. Now I,m searching for the dovetail ways. I,m also thinking of going with square ones but prefer dovetail. For the spindle assembly I plan on purchasing a mini mill head assembly. More to come......

[ZipSnipe]

Hey guys let me ask you this I found a THK ball screw that resides in a 1 X 2 1/2 x 20 steel case with a big aluminum bracket mounted to it. It looks like it was the z axis to a gantry mill. Similar to this that I found on EBAY

http://cgi.ebay.com/THK-Integral-Ver...QQcmdZViewItem
eBay: THK Integral Vertical Slide Rail with Accessories (item 7605535873 end time Apr-06-06 13:03:04 PDT)

Could I use this on my manual mill

[ZipSnipe]

Aaaah nothing like spending a beautuful Saturday afternoon fine tuning and redesigning my mill project. OK really I just spent all day re drilling and fixing all my goof ups. Ok if you see in the pics above that is not what it looks like now. I got the base and the column(also cut down a little shorter) perfectly square today( took nearly all day of just very minute movements until I got it right), I also extended the base so that I could get the full movement on my table. I also sat down and redrew the head mount(mini mill spindle head), so I think Its gonna go like this, to the column I,ll be attaching a 1x4x12 slab of iron plate then the Gilman Z axis slide will mount to this plate( I had to use 1" thick plate so that the z axis handle has plenty of room to turn) On the z axis is a 1/2 x 4 x 8 plate mounted to it , which in turn will have a 1x 3 1/2 x 4 5/16 plate,then on each side of this plate will be 1/4 x 3 5/8 x 4 5/16 plates attched to it and over to another 1 x 3 1/2 x 4 1/4 plate which is then mounted to the mini mill head. And for those who are seeking to build their own mill in hopes of saving money, FORGET ABOUT IT, CAN,T BE DONE!!!! Of course I could have really cut corners on this project and went with a skimpy ac motor, I could have really hunted down my metal for little cheaper than what I already paid, however after seeing some of these machines these MASTERS have built on this site, I said to myself " why not build one and make it look as professional and high quality as I can" So unfortunetly due to my pain in the ass oops I mean my wife taking my cam on her visit to her parents in the Philippines, I am unable to show you the current state of the project, but heres what I have so far

(1) Base and column squared with only 8 more drill holes to go( for the zaxis mount)
(2) x & y table from Grizzley( the big one)
(3) Z axis slide(Gilman) only 4 1/2" of vertical movement( my plan is when I,m finished with getting it all together and working, is to make a rack and pinion coarse slide and use the Gilman for fine feed as it has very fine thread also to make bevel gears so I can mount the Z axis handle horizontal to the right instead of the current vertical position)
(4) 1 1/2hp DC Motor Pacific Scientific has been paid for and is HOPEFULLY being delivered
(5) Reliance DC controller with reverse also paid for and HOPEFULLY delivered

And on Monday hopefully I can get the metal I need for mounting the head here locally if not I might have to drive to Orlando(1 hour away) and thats about it, thanx for reading all of this any suggestion please say so ALL are welcomed and yes I know I could have bought a mini mill but hopefully when I,m done with mine it will BLOW the mini mill away...... Plus it was MADE IN AMERICA !!!!!!!

[ZipSnipe]

Well making some progress after a week of drilling and cutting.

Well I still got to make a mounting plates for the motor, I also goofed on my spindle center to table center but I figured out what i have to do is remove the 1" mounting bars behind the z axis slide ( the bars are there so you can turn the handle with out rapping your knuckles) I,ll eventually make a 90 degree turn for the handle and then everything will be centered and straight.

And here,s the controller

Now I,m just waiting on the motor, should arrive on the 3rd.

[balsaman]

Pretty cool

[rhino]

So, how long till you retro-fit it?

[JFettig]

looks nice, heres the real questions, how does it perform?
how much did it cost?

I was skeptical at first, but it looks like it turned out good.

Jon

[ZipSnipe]

I,ll covert to cnc down the road when I get a new shop (3-4 months)that has power(right now I,m using a generator becuz I have a glass shop don,t really need much power to cut glass, SUCKS). I won,t know how it performs until I get the motor on and fired up. I will tell ya squaring the thing up took me the longest time and many many attempts, but its pretty damn square. 12"x,6"y 4 1/2" in the z( very fine thread for the z axis ) Cost I could of bought a x2 mini mill cheaper, but after seeing the x2 at Harbor Fright last week I was not impressed at all. Here,s a breakdown on cost

Metal for base,column and mounting plates $70.00

x y table $139.00

Mini mill head $89.00

1 1/2 hp dc motor $102.00

dc controller $79.00

Belt, pulleys $16.00

Paint, allen head screws and bolts $26.00

Broken drill bits and tap $14.00

Sub Total $535.00

Total hours into project 40 hrs

Would I do it again? Nope.....But it has been hard work and learning experience and somewhat relaxing.

[gbowne1]

Nice job! I like your ideas. I've already of on my to order list about $600 worth of parts and materials. THK is good stuff. They have some great info online, and available if you can call their, or find a local distributor.

I am already looking at a used mill table about 10x60 approx. which is blemish free and appears to be straight. This came off a similar sized machine that would normally have a 40 taper spindle. $275 and it's mine.

Anyhow have fun with your machine! Make some chips for us to see. :-)

[ZipSnipe]

Ok more progress..Motor is mounted

Another shot

A close up of the motor and belt

One of the tools I,ve used to make the mill

And another

Oh yeah and can,t forget these

Well hopefully tomorrow I should have the controller mounted, wired and ready to fire up!!!!

[Woodie1]

What are you useing for a spindle?
Thanks

[pminmo]

what kind of a blade are yo cutting steel with? (or is it AL)