This press has worked like a charm for my projects th-cam.com/users/postUgkxajoEbapTfqWaadnqb04h6U576yxXp-FE . I didn't even secure it to my table top, mainly due to the fact that I was using a 15 lbs drill vise. It's not flimsy at all as to what others have claimed it to be. Make sure the locking nuts and levers are secured and there won't be any issues with light pressure and patience. I was able to drill through aluminum, plastic, and steel (steel took a while) with no problems at all. Yeah it took a little longer than a regular drill press, but I don't have the space OR the money for one.The instruction manual was worthless, but luckily assembling the press was intuitive. However, the manual would be good for ordering replacement parts if needed. There is a nice breakdown of the parts that are included in the kit. Before ordering, make sure it is compatible with your unit, it is clearly stated what models the press is compatible with.This was an excellent purchase for $40!!
Yeah I too got really surprised. I first thought he was merely going to make a small 1mm cut to the surface but he just cut right through it, and doing so very fast.
This video popped up in my feed at a good time, thank you for making and posting it. I have a South Bend Lathe and an old Taiwan made mini lathe, and have been looking at getting a milling machine. I was a machinist years ago, and ran Bridgeports, engine lates, turret lathes, CNC lathes and whatever paid the bills. Your video showed what the machine can do, and what to expect. It will fit in my garage or basement easily, and I'm up to the task of upgrading it as needed. The comments section is brutal, I guess some people just can't let you be. Thanks again, Joe.
Thanks for the video. I get so sick and tired of people commenting on these types of videos how a Bridgeport would be better, or you need a much higher grade model for this and that. That is a given! But not everyone can afford a higher end model. Sure, if you buy it for me I will take it! I would rather spend $400 and learn to do some things than to spend $2000 and do more. Purists, give us a break!! Hobbyist means exactly that...hobbyist!
+eStrangeSun Thank you for the kind comment. Yes it's an excellent little machine, worth every penny! Like you said it would be nice to have a Bridgeport, but depending on the size of your project this machine can most likely get it done.
+eStrangeSun yah, and apparently hobbyist in this instance means only being able to cut plastic and aluminum and avoiding steel at all costs, because THAT is the deal with this super light duty machine.
eStrangeSun thanks , and I did not even get around to telling you how to make one these machines 10 times more effective so you could actually make a cut on steel.
Great to see it in action. I was considering buying one of these to build small gun parts or pistol frames. Seems it would work well for that purpose being a pistol frame would be the most complex thing. Was making them for personal use and not on a wide scale. I also have certain times I need a small engine part that may be difficult to find but this would allow me to mill a custom one from scratch. Thanks for the video it helped a lot. I will be converting mine to CNC. Oh and use a cutting oil next time it will save you tons in milling ends.
I watched both , your lathe video and this one on the milling. Just wanted to say Thanks,, I'm really thinking about both of these for my hobby shop. With all of the things i've purchased in the past from HF these two looks to fit the bill. Once again thanks for the video.
If you leave the drawbar threaded into the collet and just loosen it a bit, you can tap the drawbar to break the taper free, then you just finish unthreading the drawbar and the chuck/collet will drop free. This will prevent the threads from peening over.
Sandman Actual Yep I found that out the hard way. when I replace my malled draw bar i'm upgrading to a TTS manual mill quick change collet system. That way I only have to install one collet ever and only have to change adapters. no more tapping on the draw bar with a mallet.
When removing the chuck/collet, I found it good practice to unscrew the drawbar just a couple turns and then tap it. This keeps a large amount of the threads (surface area) in the chuck/collet and then unscrew the rest of the way. This way you'll never strip/bend the tip of the drawbar.
So glad you placed this video here. I have wanted one of these machines for quite some time, never used one before. This video truly helps, Perfect for making knife guard slots. How about mill supplies etc, any suggestions?
They do make a belt/pulley conversion that replaces all the plastic gears. Much quieter and no worry of breaking gears. Ive been doing my homework on this been thinking of one for myself. Thanks for the vid it looks like it will serve me well for what I will be doing. Take Care.
Thx for gettin back to me i am goin with the bridgeport, I know i can get a cnc put on that and it will take the load i give it. Thx again my friend Michael
+michael hopp While you can just slap motors on a manual mill and convert it to CNC, that is not actually how it is done professionally. To do it right you need to replace the lead screws with ball style lead screws. The devil is always in the details.
Paul Frederick Given your experience, what minimum price range and/or model would you recommend as a machine with digital readout for very occasional fabrication of simple but accurate small parts. I only need to make one-off prototypes of inventions, but my regular machinist, who advised me that owning my own mill would be a great advantage for my design/testing process, instructed that digital readout would be a must. I do not have three phase power. Thanks.
Loosen the drawbar only a turn or two and then use your hammer to tap the collet loose, then you won't be damaging the ends of your threads plus there is no chance the collet or endmill holder will drop out and hit the table.
This might already have been said below, but just in case, here goes: End mill holders are sized just like collets. So if you get a variety of sizes of end mills (the shaft size, not the cutting diameter), you will have to have a variety of sizes of either collets or end mill holders. The advantage of the end mill holders over the collets, from what I've heard, is that IF your end mill has a flat (not all do) then the holder is less susceptible to slippage than a collet. So far, I've only collected collets, so I can't speak from experience on the comparison. Great demo of this little machine. Right now, I have a Bridgeport, but if I need to downsize someday I'll be looking at these guys with great interest.
+Rick Rose I should've mentioned this in the video but your collet or end mill holder size will depend on the shank size of your end mill. I would suggest getting a 3/8" end mill holder or collet, and then order your end mills with a 3/8" shank if you can find them. There are a lot of suppliers that offer end mills of many different sizes with a 3/8" shank. If not, then you would need specific collet sizes for all your end mill sizes. McMaster-Carr is a great source for end mills.
on this size of a machine there is absolutely no reason to have an end mill holder there is no way this machine has enough snuff to spin an end mill in the collet
Good video. I purchased this machine last year as an entry model. It was well below the price of other machines. $400. VS 7 or $800. is a big difference for a hobby machinist. Accessories for this machine are easy to obtain on ebay and elsewhere. In addition, companies such as Little Machine Shop have products like the air shock to stop the head from dropping unexpectedly ($80.) or the pulley drive,($150.) to make the machine run more quietly and save you from broken gears which will happen sooner or later. With the notion of purchasing a machine that is initially less expensive and upgrading if I want to in the future when I can afford to spend more on an incremental basis later this machine is a good way to get into milling. In the end, you have to ask yourself can I live with some quirks from a machine that costs way less than the competition? Probably. One feature you can not readily do with other machines is the return policy. If you get it home and it is not working properly just bring it back within 90 days for a new machine no questions asked and get a new machine. Not an easy exchange with many other companies.
Very interesting video. I do heat treatments applications on machined parts at a shop (a small mom & pa shop) I do other menial tasks for machinist. Order and cut the mat’l they need and what not. I’m in on the ground floor. I’m hoping to get in on an apprenticeship. I look up tons of stuff on machining in hopes that this could work for me. I believe it’d be a happy career path. Interested in machining and considering getting one of these things to tinker with on MC Nylon or aluminum stock. Thanks for the upload.
Had no idea it would cut that "fast" & "easily"... I'm not a Harbor Fright fan. But I was impressed with your demo cut. I don't know how I would make that slot as cleanly with my current tools; drill press, metal band saw and hand tools. I know! I would take it to you :o)
Great video, succinct and yet thorough with a lot of good, straight-forward information provided. One question: do you not require cutting oil for aluminum?
About removing the tapered chuck/collet. Why don't you merely loosen the securing bolt a turn or two then tap it loose. Then you will never screw up the threads.
+David Pencyldyke That is what I do to release my draw bar. I just bring the bar up about an eighth of an inch, then I tap it, then I take the bar out after the holder is loose.
+David Pencyldyke I agree 100% , you should never fully loosen the draw bar and "tap it" !!! thats like throwing a car in reverse at 50. just loosening the draw bar 1 turn then tap. save the threads. that's taught in milling 101
riggerr1 A buddy of mine had a Bel Air he'd throw into reverse from drive. He called it doing J's, Because it'd leave a J shaped burn out mark on the pavement. He wouldn't quite do it at 50 MPH though. More like about 30 MPH, or so. Those old Powerglide transmissions sure could take a beating.
+David Pencyldyke ..That's the usual and correct way to loosen the drawbar to release the R-8 toolholders...use a soft metal hammer to tap the top of drawbar...brass or lead.. Drill chucks aren't designed for any side load.
An excellent little machine is capable of a lot of jobs. One downside is the plastic sacrificial gears. They do make a steel replacement and I would suggest a set is kept handy.
BRian R I haven’t seen a video of one yet. I used a 5D tactical jig with a router. It looks like I used a milling machine. I was impressed to say the least.
I could see using that as a second op machine, like cutting keyways, drilling, tapping and such. You can actually find really small milling machine vises, keep that vise for second op's like drilling, tapping and such.
This is a very good video indeed. I have been saving up for a bench top mill for about 7 months now. I have £380 to spend at the moment, but I'm waiting till I have about £450 as I have seen quite a few good looking deals, but any recomendations for that price would be welcome. Will we be seeing many more "how to" videos? I would enjoy them very much.
I have one of these. It was so rough that it was unusable until I lapped and cleaned everything up. The motor drive board died right after the warranty expired.I I blew up the drive gears by forgetting the spindle lock pin and turning it on. Little Machine Shop sells a spring loaded spindle lock and metal gears. A 7/16 NF bolt works better than the drawbar that comes with the machine. I've worked on it more than I've done work with it.
I started out with a "VERY" used Bench-top model of Mill ($150, if I could carry it away - which I did). Over the years, I "graduated" to Bridgeport Vari-Speed Mills and finally settled on a Lagun 10 x 48 - with CNC and XYZ readout and all tables motorized (over $25,000). I can tell you this much --- in the proper hands, they BOTH cut ...! Haha!
Wow that looks like it cuts pretty good? Thanks dude. I would just losen the screw for the tool hold one turn, get a soft hammer hit the top, then proceed to remove the tool.
Great video. I am about to buy one as well. I like the helpful tips too about the collets or end mill holder. I'm new to machining and need all the info I can get.
I prefer collets but that being said little advice when you break you set bolt to drop your collet or chuck... just loosen it a few turn and then bump it with your mallet.... never have to worry about threads and much easier to work with
Ha, so glad you told everyone to bolt it down.. saw the machine wobble and started thinking "good god man bolt that fucker down" then your message popped up lol.
I've been milling (cheap plastic toy stuff) using the drill chuck. Had no issues, even though I'm sure it's wrong...what's the difference? Chuck not designed for side pressure?
You can buy collet holders that unscrew at the end so you replace a small collet with any size you want instead of having to undo the draw bar ever time.
Easy way to prevent damaging thread when you knock out the chuck is to make sure the draw bar thread is still engaged in the chuck by two or three turns. Once the chuck is free from the interference of the taper, just undo those last 3 turns. :) xx
@@Demobius Go to little machineshop dot com. look at their base model. It is an upgraded version of this mill. It comes with a factory belt drive and a brushless motor. Its more expensive though, but you don't have to modify it and mess with your warrenty like I had to do with mine. littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3990&category=1387807683
Looking at buying one but a couple questions... First is the speed variable or no? Also are the collets just a standard size 56rc or do you have to buy one specifically OE to the machine? Thanks!
Nice review, It looks like a great Miller for the average Home owner's garage.. You're right about the end-mills, shop around and you can find some decent prices, Be careful of chineze cutters, or Asian cutter in general, They make good ones and garbage ones, if you are not familiar with cutter geometry just buy an American made cutter, and compare it to others online,, There's a lot to learn about machining, Proper speed and feed is *EVERYTHING* if ya want your cutters to last.. Cutting oil or coolant is a must, for tool longevity.. You can ruin a $30 end Mill in one cut, believe me,, I spent 3 years in trade school, nights, It's great..
Partner,Dont sweat those people.Ive been a machinist longer than I care to remember and yes a Bridgeport Is a solid machine and at one time the benchmark of mills.However in today's market it's all mostly CNC.So you hit the nail on the head with hobbies is just that.By your tools according to the application .That doesn't mean you cheap it means maximum your investment toward application .As your knowledge and needs change you'll know when you need bigger "better" machine tools
I was really thinking about getting one of these but didn't know if I should just say screw it and go for the next step up from harbor freight which is like 1800 (without any coupons, which I don't know if they'd apply anyway). Saw a couple of other videos on this mini mill and one of em said that he wouldn't buy it all over again if he had the choice. That made me hesitant. If I ask you the same question, what do you think your answer would be?
The stores in our state are NOT honoring the 20 percent off coupons on Central Machinery, as well as many of the other Harbor Freight house brands. It's clearly stated in the coupons if you have a magnifying glass or a microscope.
If I had a dime for every time someone in the comments here repeated the same exact thing about just loosening the screw and bumping the collet; well, I could probably go out and buy a new Bridgeport tomorrow, lol. Do people not read before they write?
Where do you buy the end mill holder and the cutting tools? I used to be a machinest for 13 years, but the company I worked for bought all the needed tools.
To prevent distorting the threads, tap the top end of the bar while it's still engaged a couple turns with the collet or chuck. When it's loose, unscrew the remaining two turns. That aside, a sharp tap with a lightweight tool on the side of the bottom end of the spindle is the best way to disengage a Morse taper.
To avoid stripping the draw bar threads, i strongly recommend hand loosening it about 2 full turns then lightly tap the top with a brass hammer until it breaks free then loosen it the rest of the way
Mine is the solid column Sieg branded X2 and came with a larger table and a factory installed airspring so I paid a little more. Either way these are some work horse machines for what the are. I added an igaging DRO for my x axis. Igaging stuff is accurate and not expensive. Look into Tormach manual mill quick change kit. At 190 dollars, Its expensive but well worth the money.
+marshal standley Nonsense. HF sells some good tools. Their problem is consistency in quality control. One tool will be solidly assembled and work well and last for years while the next tool of the very same make and model will be a complete lemon. Most of the people who complain about the quality of HF tools have unrealistic expectations. They forget what it is that they are buying and why it costs so much less than other brands. HF has saved my bacon more than once and didn't break the bank in the process. That said, HF is usually not my first choice when buying power tools.
depends what you buy from them... there is good grade thing and then there is complete shit. anything that has no name is instantly garbage, also i would not recommend their powertools so much but again they are less then 30USD so its ok for doing a few jobs around the house. anything labeled PittburgPRO is very good, there Jacks both floor and bottle are an absolute buy.
Hi Minimachineshop. I just purchased the same Mill and I have had bad luck finding good end mills. I am also wanting to cut 1/4 slot as you did in the video but I am not getting a clean getting through the 1/4 thick aluminum. If you can give me a model and where you got your end mills any info would help. Thanks
The proper way to remove a chuck is to back the draw bar out ~1 turn and then tap it with the mallet, otherwise you do risk damage to the threads (still kind of unlikely though, unless you slam it for some reason).
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This press has worked like a charm for my projects th-cam.com/users/postUgkxajoEbapTfqWaadnqb04h6U576yxXp-FE . I didn't even secure it to my table top, mainly due to the fact that I was using a 15 lbs drill vise. It's not flimsy at all as to what others have claimed it to be. Make sure the locking nuts and levers are secured and there won't be any issues with light pressure and patience. I was able to drill through aluminum, plastic, and steel (steel took a while) with no problems at all. Yeah it took a little longer than a regular drill press, but I don't have the space OR the money for one.The instruction manual was worthless, but luckily assembling the press was intuitive. However, the manual would be good for ordering replacement parts if needed. There is a nice breakdown of the parts that are included in the kit. Before ordering, make sure it is compatible with your unit, it is clearly stated what models the press is compatible with.This was an excellent purchase for $40!!
I love how you immediately went straight for the heaviest cut you could take with material and endmill you had. Thumbs up!
Yeah I too got really surprised. I first thought he was merely going to make a small 1mm cut to the surface but he just cut right through it, and doing so very fast.
This video popped up in my feed at a good time, thank you for making and posting it. I have a South Bend Lathe and an old Taiwan made mini lathe, and have been looking at getting a milling machine. I was a machinist years ago, and ran Bridgeports, engine lates, turret lathes, CNC lathes and whatever paid the bills. Your video showed what the machine can do, and what to expect. It will fit in my garage or basement easily, and I'm up to the task of upgrading it as needed. The comments section is brutal, I guess some people just can't let you be. Thanks again, Joe.
Thanks for the video. I get so sick and tired of people commenting on these types of videos how a Bridgeport would be better, or you need a much higher grade model for this and that. That is a given! But not everyone can afford a higher end model. Sure, if you buy it for me I will take it! I would rather spend $400 and learn to do some things than to spend $2000 and do more. Purists, give us a break!! Hobbyist means exactly that...hobbyist!
+eStrangeSun Thank you for the kind comment. Yes it's an excellent little machine, worth every penny! Like you said it would be nice to have a Bridgeport, but depending on the size of your project this machine can most likely get it done.
+therealnightwriter Ever move a Bridgeport? I'd rather move this little machine. Because I have moved Bridgeports.
+eStrangeSun yah, and apparently hobbyist in this instance means only being able to cut plastic and aluminum and avoiding steel at all costs, because THAT is the deal with this super light duty machine.
Genexrollins, luv ya, man. Merry Christmas!
eStrangeSun thanks , and I did not even get around to telling you how to make one these machines 10 times more effective so you could actually make a cut on steel.
Thanks I’ve never used one before but I want to start modifying old fishing reels with slots and was looking at this machine and found your video👍🏻
Perfectly made video. Informative, to the point and, explains each part/tool/prices. Thank you.
Great introduction video, thanks for sharing. You answered several questions I had about that mill.
This video has been extremely helpful for me! Thanks.
Great to see it in action. I was considering buying one of these to build small gun parts or pistol frames. Seems it would work well for that purpose being a pistol frame would be the most complex thing. Was making them for personal use and not on a wide scale. I also have certain times I need a small engine part that may be difficult to find but this would allow me to mill a custom one from scratch.
Thanks for the video it helped a lot.
I will be converting mine to CNC.
Oh and use a cutting oil next time it will save you tons in milling ends.
I watched both , your lathe video and this one on the milling. Just wanted to say Thanks,, I'm really thinking about both of these for my hobby shop.
With all of the things i've purchased in the past from HF these two looks to fit the bill.
Once again thanks for the video.
+MrBriggs51 Thanks, I'm glad they were helpful!
If you leave the drawbar threaded into the collet and just loosen it a bit, you can tap the drawbar to break the taper free, then you just finish unthreading the drawbar and the chuck/collet will drop free. This will prevent the threads from peening over.
Sandman Actual Yep I found that out the hard way. when I replace my malled draw bar i'm upgrading to a TTS manual mill quick change collet system. That way I only have to install one collet ever and only have to change adapters. no more tapping on the draw bar with a mallet.
Great demonstration. Not a bad little mIll for tinkering with small parts. I like it, going to look into one.
Kind regards, Eric Dee
pound for pound, it is worth every dollar that it cost you, thanks for the demo!
Thanks, good demonstration. Did not know what a milling machine does. Now I know.
ken bosco Santosh Habib
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When removing the chuck/collet, I found it good practice to unscrew the drawbar just a couple turns and then tap it. This keeps a large amount of the threads (surface area) in the chuck/collet and then unscrew the rest of the way. This way you'll never strip/bend the tip of the drawbar.
And it won't bounce off your part.
So glad you placed this video here. I have wanted one of these machines for quite some time, never used one before.
This video truly helps, Perfect for making knife guard slots. How about mill supplies etc, any suggestions?
They do make a belt/pulley conversion that replaces all the plastic gears. Much quieter and no worry of breaking gears.
Ive been doing my homework on this been thinking of one for myself. Thanks for the vid it looks like it will serve me well for what I will be doing.
Take Care.
I have this machine. It has worked quite well for my purposes. Thanks for the video.
Thx for gettin back to me i am goin with the bridgeport, I know i can get a cnc put on that and it will take the load i give it. Thx again my friend Michael
+michael hopp While you can just slap motors on a manual mill and convert it to CNC, that is not actually how it is done professionally. To do it right you need to replace the lead screws with ball style lead screws. The devil is always in the details.
Paul Frederick Given your experience, what minimum price range and/or model would you recommend as a machine with digital readout for very occasional fabrication of simple but accurate small parts. I only need to make one-off prototypes of inventions, but my regular machinist, who advised me that owning my own mill would be a great advantage for my design/testing process, instructed that digital readout would be a must. I do not have three phase power. Thanks.
Loosen the drawbar only a turn or two and then use your hammer to tap the collet loose, then you won't be damaging the ends of your threads plus there is no chance the collet or endmill holder will drop out and hit the table.
Shawn Lund Great tip, thanks
Shawn Lund I give you my thanks as well.
Shawn Lund yep my same feeling been a machinist for over 28 years never loosen draw bar all the way and hit it will ruin it over time
I use a lead hammer when doing that- 10 years worth, no damage. Shawn Lund
I use a brass hammer that I made specifically for the job : )
Wow Perfect to finish 80% Lowers!! Great video. thanks
Too expensive for that, and too small to do any real machining
@@bodiewest9202 Not if you're doing a bunch of them and plan to do more.
Well u can't get it that cheap anymore there 700 + now
@@bodiewest9202 they may surprise you a person can do a lot with one of those mini mill's
lmaoooo ur god tier
thanks for showing us the mill operation and reveiw i have a mini lathe now i need a mill cool thanks again for the heads up
Great little video and a neat little mill. Hft may not have top quality all the time but for the price it's worth a shot.
This might already have been said below, but just in case, here goes: End mill holders are sized just like collets. So if you get a variety of sizes of end mills (the shaft size, not the cutting diameter), you will have to have a variety of sizes of either collets or end mill holders. The advantage of the end mill holders over the collets, from what I've heard, is that IF your end mill has a flat (not all do) then the holder is less susceptible to slippage than a collet. So far, I've only collected collets, so I can't speak from experience on the comparison. Great demo of this little machine. Right now, I have a Bridgeport, but if I need to downsize someday I'll be looking at these guys with great interest.
+Rick Rose I should've mentioned this in the video but your collet or end mill
holder size will depend on the shank size of your end mill. I would
suggest getting a 3/8" end mill holder or collet, and then order your
end mills with a 3/8" shank if you can find them. There are a lot of
suppliers that offer end mills of many different sizes with a 3/8"
shank. If not, then you would need specific collet sizes for all your
end mill sizes. McMaster-Carr is a great source for end mills.
on this size of a machine there is absolutely no reason to have an end mill holder there is no way this machine has enough snuff to spin an end mill in the collet
Good demo presentation. Thank you for sharing.
Good video. I purchased this machine last year as an entry model. It was well below the price of other machines. $400. VS 7 or $800. is a big difference for a hobby machinist. Accessories for this machine are easy to obtain on ebay and elsewhere. In addition, companies such as Little Machine Shop have products like the air shock to stop the head from dropping unexpectedly ($80.) or the pulley drive,($150.) to make the machine run more quietly and save you from broken gears which will happen sooner or later. With the notion of purchasing a machine that is initially less expensive and upgrading if I want to in the future when I can afford to spend more on an incremental basis later this machine is a good way to get into milling. In the end, you have to ask yourself can I live with some quirks from a machine that costs way less than the competition? Probably. One feature you can not readily do with other machines is the return policy. If you get it home and it is not working properly just bring it back within 90 days for a new machine no questions asked and get a new machine. Not an easy exchange with many other companies.
Looks fun, and useful for small projects. And portable.
Thanks, this is a very well done video.
Nice - this was what I was looking for...thank you.
Pretty impressive slot. You have made a good advertisement for Harbour Freight.
Very interesting video. I do heat treatments applications on machined parts at a shop (a small mom & pa shop) I do other menial tasks for machinist. Order and cut the mat’l they need and what not. I’m in on the ground floor. I’m hoping to get in on an apprenticeship. I look up tons of stuff on machining in hopes that this could work for me. I believe it’d be a happy career path. Interested in machining and considering getting one of these things to tinker with on MC Nylon or aluminum stock. Thanks for the upload.
Good review, thanks for sharing!
Wow, pretty freakin’ awesome! Plenty of horsepower and accuracy for my needs, and for $400-$500?! SOLD!
Had no idea it would cut that "fast" & "easily"... I'm not a Harbor Fright fan. But I was impressed with your demo cut. I don't know how I would make that slot as cleanly with my current tools; drill press, metal band saw and hand tools. I know! I would take it to you :o)
Thanks for posting, didnt know this was at H.F.
Great video, succinct and yet thorough with a lot of good, straight-forward information provided. One question: do you not require cutting oil for aluminum?
I like think I'll go to harbor freight tomorrow its not far from where I live good video feel like working on some lower AR blocks
I found this video very informative; thanks.
Great video!
About removing the tapered chuck/collet. Why don't you merely loosen the securing bolt a turn or two then tap it loose. Then you will never screw up the threads.
+David Pencyldyke That is what I do to release my draw bar. I just bring the bar up about an eighth of an inch, then I tap it, then I take the bar out after the holder is loose.
+David Pencyldyke I agree 100% , you should never fully loosen the draw bar and "tap it" !!! thats like throwing a car in reverse at 50. just loosening the draw bar 1 turn then tap. save the threads. that's taught in milling 101
riggerr1
A buddy of mine had a Bel Air he'd throw into reverse from drive. He called it doing J's, Because it'd leave a J shaped burn out mark on the pavement. He wouldn't quite do it at 50 MPH though. More like about 30 MPH, or so. Those old Powerglide transmissions sure could take a beating.
+David Pencyldyke ..That's the usual and correct way to loosen the drawbar to release the R-8 toolholders...use a soft metal hammer to tap the top of drawbar...brass or lead..
Drill chucks aren't designed for any side load.
i use those old power glides for my drag racing cars we put better parts in them but the cases hole over 1000 hp they are good transmisions bro lol
An excellent little machine is capable of a lot of jobs. One downside is the plastic sacrificial gears. They do make a steel replacement and I would suggest a set is kept handy.
🙂👍☕ Great job on your video
works great on an 80% AR15 lower...
BRian R I haven’t seen a video of one yet. I used a 5D tactical jig with a router. It looks like I used a milling machine. I was impressed to say the least.
Upper?.........you mean lower,right?
Got a couple lowers for AR 10 I need to finish.
You mean lower? Milling an upper on your own would be stupid and not cost effective in any way.
@@aeoo371 I'm looking at that same one. Do you like it? And if so would you recommend it.
looks like a decent machine .. Thank you
I could see using that as a second op machine, like cutting keyways, drilling, tapping and such. You can actually find really small milling machine vises, keep that vise for second op's like drilling, tapping and such.
Had to watch this at 2 times speed...because it's intolerably slow. At that speed though, I loved this!
Impressive! Sounds like it could use ways, leadscrews, etc. lubing.
Great video. Thanks..
the machine did pretty good
This is a very good video indeed. I have been saving up for a bench top mill for about 7 months now. I have £380 to spend at the moment, but I'm waiting till I have about £450 as I have seen quite a few good looking deals, but any recomendations for that price would be welcome. Will we be seeing many more "how to" videos? I would enjoy them very much.
I have one of these. It was so rough that it was unusable until I lapped and cleaned everything up. The motor drive board died right after the warranty expired.I I blew up the drive gears by forgetting the spindle lock pin and turning it on. Little Machine Shop sells a spring loaded spindle lock and metal gears. A 7/16 NF bolt works better than the drawbar that comes with the machine. I've worked on it more than I've done work with it.
I started out with a "VERY" used Bench-top model of Mill ($150, if I could carry it away - which I did). Over the years, I "graduated" to Bridgeport Vari-Speed Mills and finally settled on a Lagun 10 x 48 - with CNC and XYZ readout and all tables motorized (over $25,000).
I can tell you this much --- in the proper hands, they BOTH cut ...! Haha!
Wow that looks like it cuts pretty good? Thanks dude. I would just losen the screw for the tool hold one turn, get a soft hammer hit the top, then proceed to remove the tool.
Good video,thanks!
That thing sounds like a god damn RC car! Hilarious!
Great video. I am about to buy one as well. I like the helpful tips too about the collets or end mill holder. I'm new to machining and need all the info I can get.
Don't buy one get a grizzly
had one of those in '04 and converted it to 3 axis CNC! worked great!
I prefer collets but that being said little advice when you break you set bolt to drop your collet or chuck... just loosen it a few turn and then bump it with your mallet.... never have to worry about threads and much easier to work with
S was my time to get to my year in year
Ive done machinist work myself. In fact I have a few shop equipment, but not a mill, would love to have one.
Thanks for sharing subscribed
Ha, so glad you told everyone to bolt it down.. saw the machine wobble and started thinking "good god man bolt that fucker down" then your message popped up lol.
Appreciate the nice picture and sound, which is not real common on TH-cam.
when you loosen the hold down nut before you remove it tap it then
all is good thank you for the vid
I've been milling (cheap plastic toy stuff) using the drill chuck. Had no issues, even though I'm sure it's wrong...what's the difference? Chuck not designed for side pressure?
You can buy collet holders that unscrew at the end so you replace a small collet with any size you want instead of having to undo the draw bar ever time.
Great video thanks, I was sold when you showed the stop for the depth... Do you know if there are stops you can get for the x,and y? thanks
+Jacob “Jacobus67gt” Martin There aren't stops for x and y but there is a built in ruler so you know how far to go.
Easy way to prevent damaging thread when you knock out the chuck is to make sure the draw bar thread is still engaged in the chuck by two or three turns. Once the chuck is free from the interference of the taper, just undo those last 3 turns. :) xx
From iraq well done
Hello. Very nice video. One question. Can you work with metal? Or only with soft material? Thank you. And, the gears are made of metal or plastic?
I like you slot mr.
thanks a lot for this video! Have you tried to max out the capacity? I need to drill 7/16" slotted holes in 3/16" aluminum flat bar. thanks!
good job
I forgot to mention, look into a belt drive kit. It will save you down the road, You will break a plastic gear.
rdsii64 yup will happen first time fly cut or do a interrupted cut...upgrade kit is around 100..160$ flea bay
That was my question, if it had plastic gears like the HF mini lathe.
@@Demobius Go to little machineshop dot com. look at their base model. It is an upgraded version of this mill. It comes with a factory belt drive and a brushless motor. Its more expensive though, but you don't have to modify it and mess with your warrenty like I had to do with mine.
littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3990&category=1387807683
wow, now there's a tool!
Looking at buying one but a couple questions... First is the speed variable or no? Also are the collets just a standard size 56rc or do you have to buy one specifically OE to the machine? Thanks!
Nice review, It looks like a great Miller for the average Home owner's garage.. You're right about the end-mills, shop around and you can find some decent prices, Be careful of chineze cutters, or Asian cutter in general, They make good ones and garbage ones, if you are not familiar with cutter geometry just buy an American made cutter, and compare it to others online,, There's a lot to learn about machining, Proper speed and feed is *EVERYTHING* if ya want your cutters to last.. Cutting oil or coolant is a must, for tool longevity.. You can ruin a $30 end Mill in one cut, believe me,, I spent 3 years in trade school, nights, It's great..
Hey great video can you provide a link to the mill holder chuck you purchased
Thanks
when breaking chuck loose or collet loose leave draw bar engaged in threads 1 to 2 turns just to break loose..
.
A question if you are still around. Is it possible to have your old end mills sharpened, or do you have to toss them when they get dull?
Partner,Dont sweat those people.Ive been a machinist longer than I care to remember and yes a Bridgeport Is a solid machine and at one time the benchmark of mills.However in today's market it's all mostly CNC.So you hit the nail on the head with hobbies is just that.By your tools according to the application .That doesn't mean you cheap it means maximum your investment toward application .As your knowledge and needs change you'll know when you need bigger "better" machine tools
It may have been mentioned and I missed it but did you have to purchase the vise separately?
I was really thinking about getting one of these but didn't know if I should just say screw it and go for the next step up from harbor freight which is like 1800 (without any coupons, which I don't know if they'd apply anyway). Saw a couple of other videos on this mini mill and one of em said that he wouldn't buy it all over again if he had the choice. That made me hesitant. If I ask you the same question, what do you think your answer would be?
The stores in our state are NOT honoring the 20 percent off coupons on Central Machinery, as well as many of the other Harbor Freight house brands. It's clearly stated in the coupons if you have a magnifying glass or a microscope.
If I had a dime for every time someone in the comments here repeated the same exact thing about just loosening the screw and bumping the collet; well, I could probably go out and buy a new Bridgeport tomorrow, lol.
Do people not read before they write?
DWC Nope, they definitely don’t. :(
Make sure to just loosen it a few turns then whack it, then take it the rest of the way out
Nice video I sure could have used that back in the nineties when I was racing to fly cut my Pistons just saying
Are you planning to acquire/use parallels?
I wish I had one!!!!
Do you need different size endmill holders? Seems like they have the same issue as collets... or am I missing something? Thanks.
How is this holding up since initial purchase? I tend to think of harbor freight tools as disposable tools?
Where do you buy the end mill holder and the cutting tools? I used to be a machinest for 13 years, but the company I worked for bought all the needed tools.
To prevent distorting the threads, tap the top end of the bar while it's still engaged a couple turns with the collet or chuck. When it's loose, unscrew the remaining two turns. That aside, a sharp tap with a lightweight tool on the side of the bottom end of the spindle is the best way to disengage a Morse taper.
David Perich youre 100% correct! I'm surprised this didn't state what you've said.
Is the spindle speed adjustable?seems to be running a little fast and you were also feeding to fast
To avoid stripping the draw bar threads, i strongly recommend hand loosening it about 2 full turns then lightly tap the top with a brass hammer until it breaks free then loosen it the rest of the way
Mine is the solid column Sieg branded X2 and came with a larger table and a factory installed airspring so I paid a little more. Either way these are some work horse machines for what the are. I added an igaging DRO for my x axis. Igaging stuff is accurate and not expensive. Look into Tormach manual mill quick change kit. At 190 dollars, Its expensive but well worth the money.
this is the first harbor freight product iv ever seen work.
+marshal standley
Nonsense. HF sells some good tools.
Their problem is consistency in quality control.
One tool will be solidly assembled and work well and last for years while the next tool of the very same make and model will be a complete lemon.
Most of the people who complain about the quality of HF tools have unrealistic expectations. They forget what it is that they are buying and why it costs so much less than other brands.
HF has saved my bacon more than once and didn't break the bank in the process.
That said, HF is usually not my first choice when buying power tools.
depends what you buy from them... there is good grade thing and then there is complete shit. anything that has no name is instantly garbage, also i would not recommend their powertools so much but again they are less then 30USD so its ok for doing a few jobs around the house. anything labeled PittburgPRO is very good, there Jacks both floor and bottle are an absolute buy.
Can you drill through quartz with this, or only metal plastic and wood?
Would the collet hold the end mill more centered than the "holder" with the single allen bolt?
Thank you
Hi Minimachineshop. I just purchased the same Mill and I have had bad luck finding good end mills. I am also wanting to cut 1/4 slot as you did in the video but I am not getting a clean getting through the 1/4 thick aluminum. If you can give me a model and where you got your end mills any info would help. Thanks
The proper way to remove a chuck is to back the draw bar out ~1 turn and then tap it with the mallet, otherwise you do risk damage to the threads (still kind of unlikely though, unless you slam it for some reason).