Hobby mill

Hi I am interested in buying a hobby milling machine. I have only ever used toolroom mills such as Bridgeports etc. I do not have access to 3 phase and only have a workshop with a wooden floorboards so can not get a large machine. Does anyone have any ideas as to the best one to buy. I will be machineing mostly Aluminum and Brass. I am willing to buy secondhand but should be light enough for two people to move or be able to strip it down easily.

Keith

Keith, many people get along well with the X1 or X2 type mills which probably meet your criteria. I would suggest you look at Arc Euro Trade who advertise here and sell them as the SX 1 and 2 series which are improved relative to the original versions and may meet your criteria. But similar machines are widely available from various suppliers such as Chester, Warco, Axminster, Amadeal etc. If you are used to Bridgeports or bigger be prepared for culture shock.

People will have differing views on this, It also depends on what you intend to make with it, what your levels of patience are and what your budget is.

3 phase isnt really an issue these days as inverters are cheap, and give the advantage of soft start and infinite speed control etc. Which opens you up to many of the smaller semi industrial mills, Tom Senior, Boxford VM30 etc

Weight wise, something like a Tom Senior will happily sit on wooden floorboards. I once bought an 800kg universal mill from Liverpool, and when we got there , found it was in the front room of a terraced house with 2 steps up to the front door........was an interesting day for sure !

Wabeco are fantastic little mills, but pricey, many on here use seig, Warco etc, and if one f those is big enough you have the advantage of perhaps buying brand new..

So really it’s impossible to tell you what is ‘Best’ for you.

Also your budget Keith as that obviously points you to the range of machines that you can consider.

Ron

Keith, if you're used to a full size mill with a knee you may not like a bench top mill without one. I agonised over this myself and in the end I bought a Warco VMC which I've been very pleased with. It was over budget at the time but I'm so glad I got it. I moved house with mine and it was easily split into several pieces for transport.

Keith, Ive an eye on Optimum mill ! Also HBM. Chineesium imports fitted by German Engineers so fairly decent i reckon.

Speaking on my experience only; I have a Warco WM16 which I have found to be more than capable of what I've given it to do. It is small enough, but heavy enough for a fair amount of rigidity, easily lifted by two, although I used an engine hoist I'd bought as I also bought a WM250V-F lathe, having this made lifting both machines on to their respective stands a lot easier but again could be lifted by two.

Again it depends on your budget; you will need to get the basic tooling to get you going, just bear in mind as you go along you tend to collect extra tooling, 'I need one of them' or 'hmm that would be nice to have', we've all been there, & I'm still doing it, so you can consider budgeting as much again for tooling as your mill costs.

Happy hunting
George.

If your wooden floor is in a shed you can always cut a hole in the boards and put in a small concrete pad to sit the machine on of if the shed is on a concrete base putting solid wood up from that to the mill feet to maintain insulation.

It would be worth while getting along to the show at Ally Pally this weekend to see some import machines in the flesh and talking to some people on the club stands. Failing that perhaps visit Warco/Arc/Chester whichever is nearest. You might find someone in your nearby club who has one of the 14/16/18 size to give you a real feel for the relative size of each type.