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Homebrew Milling Machine


bishbosh

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Having spent months getting fed up watching any milling machine that appeared on ebay go for £100's or even £1,000's I decided I needed to set my sights a bit lower.

I already owned a 240V die grinder so I decided to make a frame for it to turn it into a milling head.

I also had an X-Y table that I was going to use with my drill press to convert that into a mill but decided I didn't want to wreck a very handy piece of kit that I will use far more frequently than a mill.

Anyhow, last weekend, SWMBO was away so I go to spend some quality time in the garage. After a few false starts and cock ups, this is what I ended up with:

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I know it looks a bit rough around the edges, but the aim was a functional machine, not a pretty one! Seems to work OK too, although I think I was a bit out on the height of the head - it has about 60mm of vertical movement so small pieces need to be packed up, but other than that, for less than £100 for everything, I am pretty pleased. smile.gif

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Progress pics as promised:

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I am really pleased how it has worked out - I can mill about 4mm in a single pass using about 1/2 of the width of a 6mm cutter. The table traverses smoothly on both axes and leaves a very smooth surface under the cutter.

I do have a slight chip problem though!! They get everywhere so a budget vacuum is on the way to be built into the machine.

Oh, and milling is very addictive! :)

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Very nice Bish!

Lidl often have a good garage vacuum on offer, cheap, and also switches on/off automatically when you connect the power tool you are using through it -just a thought?

How long till the buggy is done then? :)

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Very nice Bish!

Lidl often have a good garage vacuum on offer, cheap, and also switches on/off automatically when you connect the power tool you are using through it -just a thought?

How long till the buggy is done then? smile.gif

I bave a 2200W Vax coming from ebay - was a bargain so why not :) The buggy? Well, er, the frame hasn't chaged since you last saw it. I have one complete wheel, one complete steering knuckle, two diff pans, two diff noses (incomplete) er, and that is about it. The great thing about this project is I am under no time constraints and can come and go as I please :) Could do with a source of UJ's though - I can only find them for silly money :(

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I do have a slight chip problem though!! They get everywhere so a budget vacuum is on the way to be built into the machine.

Oh, and milling is very addictive! :)

Why not rig up a suds pump to wash away the chips, use a cheapo pump (pond pump etc) and a bucket for brewing/filter/pipework. This will cool your cutter as well as wash the chips away for collection and prevent a fire :ph34r:

It will also stop you setting a cheap vac on fire with hot swarf and shavings :P

RDG tools (google) and a homebrew/aquatics shop should carry all the bits you need.

p.s homebrew/aquatics for those who like to drink like a fish. :D

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How big are you looking at Bish?

http://rc4wdstore.co...d644c672f0755c4

would 1/4" or 3/8" socket set UJs do? Not sure what loading/speed you are after :)

Farnell do them as well, (knew I had seem them in the past somewhere...):

http://uk.farnell.co...ored/dp/3467685

http://uk.farnell.co...12mm/dp/3467612

http://uk.farnell.co...0x10/dp/7077191

http://uk.farnell.co...-6x6/dp/7077142

http://uk.farnell.co...-pk2/dp/7077130

Thanks guys, but they all qualify as "silly money"!! I need two per axle and two per prop - so 8 total at nearly £30 a pop = silly money!! :blink::blink:

I think I will have to try and machine some on my new mill! Watch this space!! :ph34r:

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