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Advice needed on buying a new or used Tormach CNC Mill

The Eagle has landed!
My Sharp SV-2412SX arrived Friday morning.
I had to pull off all the garage door trim and there was about 1/8" of clearance to get it in.

There's still a lot to do:
* The 30HP RPC arrives today.
* I pick up a 60 gallon 2 stage compressor tomorrow.
* I should receive the air dryer later this week.
* Lots of electrical wiring ahead of me.

THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! 😂
I wanted a simple, single phase Tormach. But noooo .... you all had to convince me to get a "real" machine. All joking aside, I appreciate all your comments, suggestions and advice. More to come!

t2mF1Ry.jpg


 
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dont forget for any machine, there are moving/rigging costs and installation. plus tooling that can easily be in the thousands.
there are good machines out there and deals to be had. a tormach isn't one of them. maybe ok for a hobbiest but even then might as well just throw it away.
I paid $7500 for my VMC and was about 15k into it when I made my first actual part, and that's to say nothing of the tooling and measurement gear I already had.
 
Random question, but what is up with what looks like storage bins inside the right access door? Isn't that usually access into the machine?
 
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Instead of pulling garage door trim because it's on forklift forks, it usually works well to cut up a few pieces of 1/2" cr bar into 4' pieces and roll the machine in. Atleats keep it in mind when you need to get it out.
 
Instead of pulling garage door trim because it's on forklift forks, it usually works well to cut up a few pieces of 1/2" cr bar into 4' pieces and roll the machine in. Atleats keep it in mind when you need to get it out.
Rolled my 4020 about 60' like this once. It's slow, but it's stable and easy.

Sharp says that machine is 5500lbs, right at the capacity of a pallet jack.
 
Instead of pulling garage door trim because it's on forklift forks, it usually works well to cut up a few pieces of 1/2" cr bar into 4' pieces and roll the machine in. Atleats keep it in mind when you need to get it out.
We would not have been able to get anything under the machine. My garage door entry with the trim on was 82 1/2" and the top of the tool changer was 82 1/2". There was 0" of clearance with the trim on. There was no pallet under. The machine base has fork slots built into it. The trim had to be removed to be able to lift the machine just enough to clear the slab.
 
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Random question, but what is up with what looks like storage bins inside the right access door? Isn't that usually access into the machine?
Yep it's a reflection. I have 36" of clearance on the back and right side of the machine. The storage bins do not block any access doors. I may move them, but for now I will keep them there.
 
Before you take delivery of your 60gal compressor, you may peek at my Eastwood QST30/60 thread in the general forum. It's expensive compared to a 5hp recip, but it's QUIET. You're going to have a pretty consistent air draw when the spindle is running, particularly if you're using it to clear chips, and a loud compressor will drive you fucking nuts and probably your wife too.
 
Before you take delivery of your 60gal compressor, you may peek at my Eastwood QST30/60 thread in the general forum. It's expensive compared to a 5hp recip, but it's QUIET. You're going to have a pretty consistent air draw when the spindle is running, particularly if you're using it to clear chips, and a loud compressor will drive you fucking nuts and probably your wife too.

A rotary screw will be much quieter. One complaint from the neighbors and things could go south quickly.
Good luck with your new toy, looks nice!!

Later,
Russ
 
The Eagle has landed!
My Sharp SV-2412SX arrived Friday morning.
I had to pull off all the garage door trim and there was about 1/8" of clearance to get it in.

There's still a lot to do:
* The 30HP RPC arrives today.
* I pick up a 60 gallon 2 stage compressor tomorrow.
* I should receive the air dryer later this week.
* Lots of electrical wiring ahead of me.

THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! 😂
I wanted a simple, single phase Tormach. But noooo .... you all had to convince me to get a "real" machine. All joking aside, I appreciate all your comments, suggestions and advice. More to come!

t2mF1Ry.jpg


Congrats on your purchase. You'll be totally glad you got the real thing. I'm about a year ahead of you. While working full time, I set up my Haas Mini mill one step at a time. I enjoyed it all. One thing I can tell you that kinda caught me off guard was the compressor noise. You will definitely want to suppress the noise. I built a plywood box (below) and ended up putting many layers of various kinds of insulation in it before I got it right. Attached below is the insulation that really sealed the deal. It's cotton like, easy to work with and absorbs sound nicely. Also fire resistant. I attached a radiator type gizmo to the compressor to help cool the compressed air before it goes into the tank. Works great. You'll also need to install a cooling fan that blows into the box. Also make sure you have an easy to reach drain valve on the tank and drain it often. I used PEX tubing to plumb the air. Another thing that caught me off guard was the communications software. I didn't want to pay big bucks for a package and ended up getting RemoDNC after doing a lot of searching. It's very basic, easy to use, inexpensive and a one time purchase. As you can see, I'm happily making parts on my mini mill now and all one month
before I retire. Enjoy.

compressor box resized.jpgCompressor Insulation resized.jpgHaas Mini Mill 9-26-2022 resized.JPGTrigger resized.JPG
 
Congrats on your purchase. You'll be totally glad you got the real thing. I'm about a year ahead of you. While working full time, I set up my Haas Mini mill one step at a time. I enjoyed it all. One thing I can tell you that kinda caught me off guard was the compressor noise ...
Thank @JasHarvey! Looks like you have a nice setup there. Thanks for the ideas to cool the compressor and reduce the noise, and also for the software advice. Very helpful.
 
That's great, should take you a hot minute to outgrow that. And you can smash a few end mills into work pieces and it straight up won't care (try not to and all, but it happens...).

After a month of running the Sharp you need to find someone with a Tormach, to really make you feel good about the decision.
 
Good job OP

Trust me, you will be way more happy with this than you would have been with a tormach.

Do you have toolholders figured out?

Personally I have had really good experience with china ebay tool holders and collets. Run a lot of them at work.

Obviously, they are not the same quality as the American ones but at 1/5 the price or less, I think it can't really be beat when starting off.

Just find a good seller with good reviews. Then use a dial indicator to check every single tool holder for runout once they arrive and if any of them aren't good (so far haven't had that happen) you can have the seller send you replacements.

Also for workholding, you can usually find used Kurt vises going for cheap locally on craigslist.
 
Don't buy Chinese tool holders, especially collets. I tried them, bought from 3 different venders and brands, they all went in the garbage can. The tapers were incorrect, and the collets have burrs in them.
if you want cheap tool holders and collets that are usable the cheapest will be made in Taiwan, Shars/Tegara to name a couple.
I have 3 Kurt DX6's I could parts with for $1000 used less than 1 year then I switched to Orange Dbl.
 
Don't buy Chinese tool holders, especially collets. I tried them, bought from 3 different venders and brands, they all went in the garbage can. The tapers were incorrect, and the collets have burrs in them.
if you want cheap tool holders and collets that are usable the cheapest will be made in Taiwan, Shars/Tegara to name a couple.
I have 3 Kurt DX6's I could parts with for $1000 used less than 1 year then I switched to Orange Dbl.
My remaining budget is super tight. After the phase converter, compressor, dryer and an AC/Heat mini-split for the garage, I have about $3,700 left to get started with tooling. Shars will probably be my "get started" source for tools and hopefully I'll find a few good used end mills and other cutting tools along the way.
 








 
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