$400 milling machine? [Archive] - MX-5 Miata Forum (2024)

Steve Jackson

1st April 2006, 09:54

I realize this piece won't be the quality of the pricier machines but does anybody have any experience with this model? These Cummins Tool guys bring a couple of truckloads of stuff to the local VFW parking lot a couple of times a year and I thought I'd check out this little milling machine this weekend. I'd use it for wood and some aluminum, brass and nickel silver, probably not steel and I'm not making precision machine parts, mostly knife guards and handles that I do by hand with files and sandpaper now. I just wonder if this Chinese thing will even work or last more than a week?
http://www.cumminstools.com/browse.cfm/4,1485.htm

I guess I could spend the big bucks and get a Taig but it looks like $625 is about the cheapest their basic mill sells for.
http://www.taigtools.com/internetspecial2.html

gto7419

1st April 2006, 15:23

I have been researching mills for the past few months and sometime in the near future, will be buying the rf-45 clone made by top tech (penntoolco).

The mill you linked to is available from various different vendors. You can probably pick it up a lot cheaper from harbor freight if you use a 20% off coupon. They are the same mill. I believe that is the X2 made by sieg.

If you chose not to source the absolute best price, you might want to look at www.grizzly.com. Relatively cheap prices, cheap shipping, and supposedly AMAZING customer service.

A VERY useful site for "mini" machines.
http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_mill/Versions/versions.htm

I hope you are fully aware, that this machine is NO bridgeport. It will do VERY light work only. The quality is decent, but from what I have read, the machine does not like to be run too hard. There are countless X2s out there, and if you do any research on "sieg X2" you can read up all you want. It sounds like this machine will be fine for what you are doing, and it should last much longer than a week.

Danny

Steve Jackson

1st April 2006, 19:50

Thanks for the info. That's a very nice mini-mill website that leads to lots of good info around the 'net. I downloaded the 28 page "user's guide" from this site (http://www.littlemachineshop.com/Info/minimill.php) and printed it off since the instructions that came in the crate are pretty sparse on info.

The price on Harbor Freight's website is $60 more than the Cummins Tool price of $399 and these guys are set up about 5 miles from my house. I checked out the demo model they had sitting out at the VFW and it looks like a pretty solid unit. It's bigger than I thought it would be from the online pics. There is definitely some play in the mechanisms for travel in all directions but it's still way better than the drill press and cross slide table I'm using now. I decided to get one, and after paying, they pulled a plywood crate containing the machine off their trailer and set it in my pickup. I figured the shipping I saved by picking it up at the truck sale more than offsets having to pay local sales tax.
It's all covered in nasty packing grease, I guess for the boat ride from China. I'm going to take it all apart and clean it up and put it back together with some clean new grease and see how she works.
Man, with replacing my little welder and now this thing, I've pretty much blown my tool budget for the year and then some.

Anthony

1st April 2006, 21:26

gto7419

2nd April 2006, 01:55

Stay away from grizzly for metal machining tools. They arrive covered in gunk and tons of grease, and don't use common tool fixtures and spindle tapers.

First, congrats on the purchase Steve, and use in good health - remember EYE protection - VERY important.

Anthony, any serious metal working machine that is new and imported from overseas will have packing grease. Unless you buy a "prepared" machine, you are supposed to tear down and rebuild the machine anyway. Especially because you should technically lap the ways, and, tram the head, table, and column.

"Prepared" machines are considerably more expensive and not that easy to obtain. If you want to mill, you should know how the machine works. Tear down and reassembly are part of a fundamental process of becoming one with your machine.

Danny

markp

2nd April 2006, 10:39

You might be interested in this site.

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_mill/Main/mini-mill.htm

Mark