milling machine selection

Hi, I am looking for some advice on buying a milling machine. I am fairly new to the machining world and currently use my rebuilt South Bend 9A with milling attachment.

I mostly do small work (model steam engines) but am finding that a separate milling machine would be a great addition to my limited shop. Ideally, If I had the room, I would like to find an older Bridgeport. Unfortunately there is no room for such a machine.

Are there smaller American made machines available? If not, are the small Chinese models such as Sieg worth the expense? Thanks, John.

I would be interested in other people's experience , but I was disappointed in my mill/drill . The down feed is not positive . it's not like to up feed on a proper mill . I have a Raglan now and that's much better , the other is a great drill though .

regards Phil

I saw a Benchmaster MV1 on Craigslist with no tooling for 1,200. I have never heard of this mill and wonder if any one has any experience with them? It looks like a pretty solid little mill, but the price seems high.

I am like Phil and think the Raglan is a superb little milling machine I looked for something bigger and settled on really old iron - I have found a Centec 2B which doubles as a vertical and horizontal in a size suitable for a hobbyist and with no compromises. It is far better value than a modern chinese offering, IMO, even though over 50 years old.

Round column mill / drills are a bit wobbly and more drill than mill.

Just get something with a knee.

Benchmaster looks a bit small

Please do some research on Chinese mills before you commit - some don't like the damp .

I started wth a Warco round column mill, a pain to keep vertical register. Progressed to an X3 clone ,fine apart from the variable speed board and finally a Warco VMC. Build quality is OK , accuarcy good enough for anythig I have made , 3" Burrell , Stuart Beam , Sweet Pea. I like the proper knee design and reasonably small footprint . So far I have felt no kneed for a riser block

Brian C

Hi john. I have just stepped down from a Harrison vertical milling machine which was excellent but too big for my retirement home plans. I have a Warco wm 18 machine now and I quite like it. I will have to fit a drive on the cross slide as winding plays havoc with my arthritis.

It has a factory fitted dro and this works well and helps with accuracy.

The drive is dc which some members of this forum have had problems with but they seem to be overcome easily.

I hope this helps with your selection

Brian

I've a Warco round column mill (the "Minor". It's really a very solid drilling machine, but it's done a fair amount of hobby miiling. It sits on the bench as is big enough for the small engines I have made eg Stuart Victoria, the Nemett four stroke. I've used it to make bevel gears perfectly well.

I found the lack of vertical register, not a huge problem at all, just an inconvenience for having bought a cheaper mill, which didn't crop up much, but you do have to bear it in mind if you need to swap cutters/drills for a specific set up. The backlash on the fine feed gear is awful and demands that a vertical scale is fitted, makes a massive difference to the machine. The other problem is that the quill can stick within the 'span' of the backlash and then let go into the work! The antidote is to ensure the quill friction lock is always at least partially engaged. It's a cheapo (not so cheap these days) early generation chinese mill/drill and you get what you pay for. Purely for drilling it's hard to fault.

If I was to buy a mill now with the same requirements and small workshop constraints (ie it's got to go on a bench), it would be the Super Sieg X3.

The Sieg is c£1500 and a round column equivalent is c £900 - £1000 ish. My mill is probably worth about £200? So it does come down to budget.

For hobbyist's like me - new chinese machines (my opinion) are a better option than so called 'old iron'. Unless you have a time served machinist close by who can help you sort out the good stuff from the dogs and help with set up and alignment etc...

Steve

Yes, I've got a Warco VMC and it's been fine as well. A riser would be nice for drilling sometimes but I've never needed any extra Z for milling.

About to add my bit then I see that Steve got there before me! I am in the same position as he is and fully endorse his comments on the Warco.

I have made a few "improvements" to my machine - electronic scales to all axes and longitudinal power feed to the table. The round column is not ideal but you learn to plan around the problem of raising the head and losing alignment. It is a solid machine and I doubt that I will change it now. As far as losing alignment when raising the head I recall an article in one of the mags where a hardened, tapered, tongue was fixed to the head and located between two ball races fixed to the column. The idea being that the head could be raised for tool changes then lowered with the tongue giving re- alignment. ( I've made most of the bits for this but not yet got round to fitting them!).

If I was starting out now I think I would go for a more conventional machine but if you can get a mill/ drill at the right price then it may be a good bet.

Norman

I would surmise that the OP resides in the USA, judging by the contents of his query, so advocating Warco machines is probably not going to help much. He has, like so many forum members, no public profile, which often makes the giving of advice on suppliers, for example, difficult, if not useless! Can I appeal to posters who require this sort of advice/information to at least give a country of residence in that request, it could save a lot of redundant replies.

End of sermon.

John.

Having got that off my chest, I've recently bought a Warco VMC, too. Highly delighted with it, especially the DRO set up. Pictures in one of my albums show it installed in a single garage. (No car!)

If the OP is from the US, the equivalent of the Warco VMC is available from Grizzly as the G0801.
I am also a happy VMC owner.

I have the Warco WM 16 bought at Harrogate exhib' in 2012; am quite satisfied with it so far, would have preferred the WM18 but having bought a WM250V-f as well plus some tooling, I had to juggle finances to get the total package so had to drop down to the WM16. I have fitted a 'X' travel feed & X & Y digi' readouts. Both have done what I've given them without too much effort so I wouldn't disparage 'Chinese' equipment.

George.

The Sieg stuff works for me, I have done quite a lot on my X3 as you can see here. From a 2" scale traction engine, large hit & miss and steam engines as well as small aero engines.

Only gave it a quick check over on arrival rather than a full strip & rebuild that people seem to think they need. In 9 years I have only had to replace the drive belt twice so £10 outlay in that time is OK with me.

J

You've done a lot better than I have with my West German equivalent. I won't put in print what I think of it except to advise others not to waste their money like I did.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

I should just add that Dave's machine is not a Sieg product, just a similar sized mill.

Dave I assume you are not talking about your German Theil but the other one.

J

You have it in one JB.

Dave
The Emerald Isle