Hi Richard, You are doing a great job especially for you're level of experience. Using the grey matter between the ears is the most important tool you can use and it looks like you are using it well. Always tackle every project with a well thought out game plan. With the proper use of the grey matter you can learn as much from the failures as you can from the success which was clearly evident in this 2 part video. Great job on many levels! Steve
Thanks Steve, I have already picked up some steel to make the permanent set. Now that the vise is held down and I can put away the toe clamp contraption(s) LOL. It was a really fun project and I learned a lot. Now onto fixing other things this little mill needs. Thanks for the kind words and everyone should check out Steve's Solid Rock Channel....lots of great information there and coming from a person with vast knowledge and decades of experience ~ Richard
The pleasure was all mine, I could talk machining all day long...Love It! As soon as I get some of the fires put out here I look forward to a collaboration video with your channel Steve. I appreciate ya! ~ Richard
Spot drill your hole locations prior to drilling. Be sure your table is locked on the X & Y axis prior to drilling. I'm an amateur machinist myself on an old worn Bridgeport so I deal with slop and backlash all the time. I learned to work around it.
Great Job Richard. I have a new vice that attaches to the table the same way. I will also be making low profile clamps for it. I'm here to learn and have fun. I always look for creativity and keeping it real. You have done that. Thanks.
Hello Richard,this is a job well done....at least you tried to make the clamps and you did suceed........now that is Big,at least you tried and it came out well..congatulations ...looking forward to more of your videos.
Thanks Ray, for a first milling effort I thought I did ok. Wish I woulda had steel on hand the proper size but makin sumthin from nuthin is always fun :) ~ Richard
Thanks need to make some clamps for my milling vice also. I use a 3inch tool maker’s vice on my mini mill. It has holes for the hold downs clamps in the sides. So my clamp need to have pens to lock the vice down. Thanks for sharing
There ya go bud. Necessity and invention are our mainstay. You can hand sharpen the milling cutters. Maybe nor perfect but way better than dull eh.Don't be beating yourself up on things like this. They will certainly serve you well for life. Steel next if you need but only if these fail fella and I can't see that unless you grossly over torque these ones.all in all yer a winner. Next ones can be a bit wider too but no matter. These are fine as is.Well done fella !
Thanks Dean, these do hold really solid. These were supposed to be wider but I hacked them up pretty good when cutting them by hand with the bandsaw so lost width. Appreciate the kind words....my 1st milling project was actually successful 🤗
Nice milling Richard. On my little mill I consistently plunge mill rather than side mill. It goes faster and is easier on the machine. But on some end mills you must first drill a hole to get started. But it seems like on some, depending on the end mill you can plunge straight away. Try it on a piece of scrap you may be surprised, for me it is way faster than side cutting. Good to see you again, we are still working on storm damage down here. :-)
I hate to hear that Glenn, Irma was a nasty storm. Hopefully our last for a long time. As I gain experience I will get bolder...I just have to remember its not a Bridgeport 😊
Thanks Richard. No I don't have a Bridgeport either just a really cheap mini mill. But still it is stout enough of plunging quite nicely. Try it and you may like it too.
All my endmills are used and came with the mini mill. I need to buy new ones so I can start fresh with good tooling and see what I can get away with. I appreciate you checking out my milling vids, I am happy to have the little mill
Now that's progress buddy. Great video. Looks to me that your getting some practice milling and making improvements to the machine. What more can a guy ask for? Nice Job Richard. Joe
Thanks Joe, stopped by my steel supplier today and picked up material to make the new steel clamps and another piece of steel to fix another issue with the mill I hadnt discussed yet on the channel. I was super pleased the vise had no movement using the clamps featured in the vid. The X/Y table the milling head is attached to is super solid as well..that didnt budge either as seen by the indicator. A few more things to fix on it
There are center cutting mills that you can plunge with and there are end mills that you can not plunge with. I would suggest getting a proper milling vise or one of those grinder style vises like Steve Summers bought recently. That drill press style vise has in my experience been a work holding nightmare. They do ok for downward forces. but get some up force or heavy side loads and the parts like to move or come out of the vise.
Thanks for the input Brian, all the milling stuff is new to me. I watch a lot of milling vids but until you actually do it is a different animal. I learned alot on this first project and as funds permit I will be buying more tooling for the little mill. I am grateful for the vise I have now but I hear ya
@@MakinSumthinFromNuthin hes right the work in a normal vise tends to climb up when clamped so you need one with a downward mechanism like a screwless vise or a Kurt milling vise has...but with time you will find out by yourself about these things o don't worry about that...
Brian is always right, a great machinist and engineer. The vise was given to me and all I have to work with so make do. That tiny "mill" doesnt see much use, nothing critical anyway.
Not on this mill setup. Its an X,Y base from some unknown machine and cant lock either axis....its a real problem. This little thing has taught me what to look for on my "next mill" LOL
With milling you need to know the limits and push close to them, Or you won't get anything done. You need to break a few mills to get the hang of it. Playing it safe you'll always go too slow and too low quality. Consistency is KEY.
Give me time, I am sure I will break some soon but couldnt afford to bozo these parts. Holding the vise with toe clamps was getting old tramming every cut.
You probably could have figured out a way to hold the vice at the bottom and not had to re-tram every time. Some small pieces of steel flat bar with a hole in them, t-nuts, small studs (and nuts for them) and some spacers for the rear that were just a little higher than the slot in the vice. The back bottom of the clamps you made could have been just a little taller so the clamps slope down a little toward the vice.
You do realize that you have an addiction. Yes, machining is addictive and like all other hobbies quickly becomes very expensive. I speak from experience. The only advice I offer is learn on the cheap end mills then get the good stuff. and if you only have to redo a project once you are practically a professional. Good Luck and keep makin chips.
They were just temporary clamps until I could get to my steel supplier to buy the proper thickness steel flat bar. The mill is new and aluminum isnt a bad choice to practice with for a first milling job to try it out. I think I did pretty good for a newbie 😊
