Best Bench Top Mill???

Mirage_88 · Sep 27, 2016

Hey everyone,
Just recently signed up to the forum. Looking on some input as to what is a good quality bench top mill. Even considering a lathe/mill combo. Seems to be hard finding something of any decent quality. I have a contact on an Emco Compact 5 lathe, but needs the mill. After some searching, apparently the plastic gears are a real weak point, along with the motor wearing out. I was considering the much older Emco Unimat, but they are quite hard find. I know the combo machine can limit the use, but it can do more work than compared to a stand alone machine. The biggest problem at the moment is I'm really limited for space (no garage) so I can't go off and buy a Bridgeport or another industrial level machine. Yet I really need this as I ran into a problem recently and I'm not taking my stuff to another machine shop to have it destroyed. Trying to keep this under $800.

JRIowa · Sep 27, 2016

You probably should have read this first
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/machinery-discussion-guidelines-137724/
Thread will be locked soon.
JR

AndyF · Sep 27, 2016

Look for Rusnok, Burke or Hardinge. All made decent benchtop mills.

L Vanice · Sep 27, 2016

Servo made a very nice small mill based on their drill press head. I think they are made in USA. They can hold end mills with up to 5 mm (3/16") shank. I don't see them on their website.

Rusnok was a bit larger, but they are probably no longer made. Home

I will not discuss the hobby-grade machines, like the Unimat you mentioned or the two currently-made USA equivalents.

Probably you need to seek a used machine. But be prepared to teach yourself machine repair.

Larry

EPAIII · Sep 28, 2016

This is a more appropriate place to discuss this topic.

http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/forums/3-General

And many of the same people here will be there also so you will lose nothing by posting the question there.

Lumberjack · Sep 28, 2016

At 800 (with or without tooling?) chances are you get something that will mess up your things as well, caveat being not knowing what you´re doing.
Although maybe "a bit" out of your budget range, but maybe an eyeopener that there are other options, quality options, at least.
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...iki-lathes/weiler-primus-milling-head-324647/
This kind of machine can stay with you til end of days, rather than a quick fix with no second hand value.

steve-l · Sep 28, 2016

A little advice here. There is no such thing as inexpensive when entering this arena as a hobby. You get what you pay for. After acquiring small machines, you very quickly recognize how inadequate they are. Unfortunately, all acquired machines require tooling and accessories to be versatile. These tools and accessories are usually at least equal to the cost of the machines and this cost will have to be repeated for every machine you buy. Buying an inadequate machine is a very expensive error. You are far better off buying used professional equipment up front. You will save a great deal of money. You are far better off buying say a used South Bend lathe well tooled and a used Bridgeport well tooled mill.

trevj · Sep 28, 2016

Fehlmann.

Yer gonna need more money though. Lots more.

Cheers
Trev

Mark Rand · Sep 28, 2016

If you're still looking at this thread:-

Along with the others, you'll get better advice and a more understanding reception over at the HSM forum. But to your question, the compact 5 is a toy, albeit a well made one. The Emco FB2 and the various clones of it are more substantial, but still limited by design and rather uncommon and expensive. The Sieg X3 machines are substantially better and also available with an R8 spindle rather than Mt2 or 3. They are also 'bench top' format, but solidly made.

And yes, you will probably need substantially more money. :eek:

Chknives · Sep 28, 2016

I vote for rusnok, and I am pretty sure they're still made today in the USA. I own one and they're great but even for me doing smallish work I find it limiting really quick. I remember having to mill out a 5"x5/8x3/4 slot in cold rolled with it and it took forever. Now that I got the Maho mh-800 it would have taken 1/4 the time to make it at least. Don't get me wrong I love my rusnok as it's a very good and capable mill for its size, but if you have to take a lot of material be prepared for it to take a decent amount of time.

Scottl · Sep 28, 2016

Basically in your price range the only things worth considering are the two tiny U.S. made mills which can not be mentioned here. They are small, very lightweight, and can do decent small work IF YOU ARE PATIENT.

Any of the more capable small older mills (no longer made) will be way outside your budget as the more portable units are highly desired by hobbyists and command high prices.

Milacron · Sep 28, 2016

trevj said:
Fehlmann.

Yer gonna need more money though. Lots more.

Cheers
Trev

Plus the best ones, like the Picomax 50, are not really bench machines...they just look like it in photos. In reality the Fehlmann "bench" is absolute necessity as it contains the electronics and I think the column might go into the bench as well.

gwilson · Sep 28, 2016

many years ago I had a Burke #4 horizontal mill in my home shop. It could be put upon a LOW bench. 2 men can handle the mill by itself,but the motor and pulleys add quite a bit of weight. This is a real machine that can mill steel quite effectively. It has a smallish table about 4" x 18",with a single T slot. But,it is heavy enough to do real work. If you can find one,they made a vertical head for that model. I saw a guy buy a Burke #4 at Cabin Fever expo 3 or 4 years ago. He did not buy the vertical head for it,which was a SERIOUS mistake! I wished that I could have found a vertical head for mine. But,this was way before the internet.

michiganbuck · Sep 28, 2016

I have seen burkes and barkers that seemed heavy enough for medium milling, Anything with plastic gears might last a year IMHO.
Many drill press mills might be Ok for wood work.

tnmgcarbide · Sep 28, 2016

Adcock-Shipley made some fine little millers. good luck finding one (at all )for $800. how much does an HAAS om-1 'office mill'
go for these days..?

comstockfriend · Sep 28, 2016

About a year ago, I acquired a Diamond 22-M horizontal with a Rusnok vertical head. Came with a cabinet mounted South Bend 9A and tooling for $ 800. Rare to find such a deal, and some on this list will say it was a waste of $ 800 anyway, but the occasional deal still pops up.

Table is small, but does have power feed on the longitudinal axis, the Rusnok uses Univeral 'Y' collets, not impossible to find, but not R8's either. About 1000 pounds of iron in the mill.

traditional-tools · Sep 28, 2016

comstockfriend said:
the Rusnok uses Univeral 'Y' collets,

That's something I didn't know. Aren't Y collets hard (not spring) ?

I have some ZZ collets and they are quite the PITA to work with. I've been told you can only collapse hard collets about .001" before they deform.

Bill D · Sep 28, 2016

My father had a Childs horizontal mill. Was there ever a vertical head for that machine? I think his was the most common 0000 model
Bill D.

Spud · Sep 29, 2016

You could wait for an Aciera F1 to turn up but you are going to need atleast $2500 for that. I sold 1 with accessories and tooling for $2400 just over 2 years ago. There's always some on Ebay but prices are way more than $2400 and have less accessories , so they end up sitting and sitting and sitting...

The F1 is for small stuff, watchmaking. If you want bigger then look for a Wabeco bench-top machine ; it's a bit larger than an Emco mill-drill . It's German so way better than the ubiquitous Asian import.

PackardV8 · Sep 29, 2016

No love for the Johansen/Clausing? A true benchtop machine and within it's envelope, will do good work.

jack vines

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