I don't have a mill,been lookin at some but haven't made jump yet.These slides are made from a head/toe bolt like ya use to lock doors.
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I don't have a mill,been lookin at some but haven't made jump yet.These slides are made from a head/toe bolt like ya use to lock doors.
You can find milling attachemnts for drill presses that can work for small stuff but in the end you are probably still best picking up a small mill. If you plan to build a lot of small stuff check craigslist you never know what one person will have out grown in a workshop.
Wholesaletools.com you can get a mill and lathe set for about a $1000.00 and are very well made. I bought a full size from them and it is sweet for the money I spent.
hey..that mill/lathe combo is similar to what I have, but mine is a Smithy, and does what I need quite adequately.
-though it would definitely help to take a machining course before you started hogging on it. -you would save more time and money in the long run by doing so.
-using a small mill like that (IMO) requires more machining fundamental knowledge than using something like a bridgeport full size mill.
oh...you want to use delrin for your slider. it's a plastic that made for high friction applications, and is easily machined.
I'm no builder, but that multipurpose machine looks a fantastic investment at the price.
Another good place is minimachineshop.com they have videos on using the mini lathe and mill as well as tooling, cutters and materials. Another good book is Machine Shop Secrets. This gives you speedy was to get through multiple machining set ups. Grizzley Tools is another tool supplier that has everything under the sun for metal working. I have more money in tooling and accessories and very little space left in my shop to put it all. Its more addicting than tattoo machines.
Hey thanx for all the info guys.I have a lathe already,and a cross slide vise that I do some small milling on my drillpress,but that's very limited.I'm still shoping around for a mill,and @Dan,thanx for the tip on the delrin!I have some research to do.Much obliged fella's
When buying plastics see if you can buy off cuts from a plastics distributor first as well. This will help avoid meeting minimums. They are usually willing to dump offcuts for a song and sometimes you will end up getting Delrin in interesting colors. A good friend of mine is a full time millwright and machinist and prototypes many things in plastics that he gets from a supplier for a few dollars a piece. I worked a few weekends in his machine shop helping him out, plastics machine very differently then aluminum or brass and Delrin can be tricky but once you get zen with it you will find it great to work with.