According to Don Foreman :
On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 00:21:37 +0000, (DoN.
Nichols) wrote:


Yes -- it is *possible* to redesign and manufacture a drill
press for use as a milling machine -- and this is exactly what you will
get if you purchase a "mill drill". And -- it will be to heavy to get
up your stairs. (And -- it will still not have the workpiece size
ability of a milling machine so designed from scratch.

A small mill-drill would be no problem to disassemble and move up a
residential staircase. No part of those is as bulky or heavy as,
say, a refrigerator.

But he has multiple floors of narrow staircases, and he has
suggested that an appliance dolly will not be practical on those stairs.

But -- he has also said that he has managed to move some pinball
games up those stairs, so I don't really know.

A really small mill drill, like a Sherline or Taig, could be carried
up intact by one person.

Sure -- but I would consider those to be miniature milling
machines, not small mill drills. Same for the little mills which
Harbour Freight (among others) seems to offer.

But since he wants to do a lot of work with stainless steels,
I'm not at all sure that any of these would prove satisfactory. I
really think that he needs a place at ground floor level for his
machines -- perhaps one of the garages which can be rented.

A small mill would at least let him get some experience, which
would enable him to make a somewhat better choice next time around.
Perhaps even to choose to find somewhere else to live which would adapt
to the machine tools which he really needs. (But then again -- living
in New York (Staten Island) is a different kind of life -- and one not
well fitted to hobby metalworking.

Enjoy,
DoN.
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