My Manual small mill project

[ZipSnipe]

The side plates came in today http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...id=20076&stc=1
Side plates.JPG http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...id=20077&stc=1
Side plates2.JPG

Now just got to drill holes and tear the mill down and slap 'em on.

[ZipSnipe]

Well here is what I,ll be doing this weekend (after the wifes B-day). I already drilled the holes in the plates in the above post. They will go at the bottom of the mill and up the column. The z-axis handle is coming off and mitered gear going on and I,ll have to play around with bracket ideas and the right angle for the handle( it has to be clear of the controller box) http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...id=20116&stc=1
Mill(stripped to base and column, circle on bracket and z axis handle).JPG

[pminmo]

Was it not rigid enough?

[ZipSnipe]

Well even before I turned it on , one of the other members here mention something about he didn,t think it would be rigid enough. And after looking at it I could see that there is room for flexing in the column. I,ve also used it to drill and mill the plates and there was some considerable chatter. So once the plates are on and the handle on the z-axis is made into an right angle ( this will allow the removal of 1" thick bars that are behind the z-axis) I think this will improve rigidness , I also will fill the hollow parts with a cement type mixture. My only bummer is I planned to have it finished this weekend but I forgot to get down to the only place in town(that is closed on weekends) that has the clamping bolts and cap nuts that I want.

[ZipSnipe]

Well the plates are painted, the mill is tore down and is in the process of being painstakingly put back together. Hers a pic of the plates that I added to the column http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...id=20267&stc=1
column&sideplates.JPG

More to come.....

[ZipSnipe]

Well I would like to say that I,m finished but I know I want to do more. Heres the results so far. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...id=20443&stc=1
Mill front.JPG
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...id=20444&stc=1
Mill leftside.JPG
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...id=20445&stc=1
Mill rightside.JPG
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...id=20446&stc=1
right angle handle.JPG

The right angle handle was a challenge and lots of hard work went to get it almost complete, I still need to get some 1/4 aluminum plate to replace the 1/4 nut spacers I,m temporarily using. And the side plates I added make a huge difference in rigidness and I,m able to make deeper cuts. But I see two areas that I could improve (1) replace the 1/4 side plates on the mill head with 1/2 (2) replace the 2x3x1/8 column with 2x3x 1/4
I also need to make axis locks, I already figured the z axis lock but x & y might be a little more of a challenge.

[villas]

Very well !! ... nice job you do !!

You draw all the pieces in a CAD with dimentions? ... hehhe ... could you please and share to us ?

[pminmo]

Are you satisfied with the result?

[ZipSnipe]

Sorry no cad, it was " design as build" and some drawing on graph notebook. I,m satisfied with what I,ve done so far. I have currently taken all back apart and reassembling with top precision in mind. I,m also going to use 1/2 steel plate under the mill as a flat base for the mill to bolt down. I noticed when I bolted it to my wooden bench the mill got tweaked a little. Tomorrow i should have it put back together and fine tuned to within .001. Then all the little add ons I will be able to use the mill to make. I,ve really enjoyed making this mill, its been alot of sweat and hardwork. But in the end its been worth it. Total cost to date $726.61. I know a couple of hundred more and I could of bought an X3 but I really needed the learning expierence. Plus when ever I save a large amount of money the government or mortgage man takes it from me.

[villas]

Originally Posted by ZipSnipe Sorry no cad, it was " design as build" and some drawing on graph notebook. I,m satisfied with what I,ve done so far. I have currently taken all back apart and reassembling with top precision in mind. I,m also going to use 1/2 steel plate under the mill as a flat base for the mill to bolt down. I noticed when I bolted it to my wooden bench the mill got tweaked a little. Tomorrow i should have it put back together and fine tuned to within .001. Then all the little add ons I will be able to use the mill to make. I,ve really enjoyed making this mill, its been alot of sweat and hardwork. But in the end its been worth it. Total cost to date $726.61. I know a couple of hundred more and I could of bought an X3 but I really needed the learning expierence. Plus when ever I save a large amount of money the government or mortgage man takes it from me.

Mini mill head $89.00
dc controller $79.00
x y table $139.00
BUILD YOUR OWN CNC: ...NO PRICE ...

[ZipSnipe]

Well theres other costs too, metal,pulleys ,bolts,$180 I paid to a machine shop to fab the side plates. I mean if I really wanted to have done it cheaper then I,m pretty sure I would not be as happy with a cheaper built one than the one that I,ve built.

[rhino]

Hi zip,
first of all i would also like to say you have done a nice job!

a small question secondly, is that spindle a morse taper spindle? in one of your photos you have a rack next to your machine that looks like its full of morse tapers. am i wrong?

Originally Posted by ZipSnipe I also need to make axis locks, I already figured the z axis lock but x & y might be a little more of a challenge.

axis locks for x and y should be already on the cross table (atleast i think thats what you mean) they should only need an allen key or square drive to lock the table.

also, what projects do you have lined up to make with this beast?

regards,

rhino.