I'll bite, we know who lives in Taft so who beats Gunner for scrounging?

Grant Erwin wrote:
Jon R. Pickens wrote:

Hi all. This is my first post on this group.

I'm about to enter the world of metalworking. I've designed a few
pieces and need to cut them. I also don't want the expense of
contracting all my work out to a shop. I feel that getting my own mill
will pay off quickly as I won't be paying anyone for labor.

The pieces I need to mill are small--the biggest section is less than 4
inches in length. One piece of 6061 3/8" in diameter will need to be
turned on a lathe to get the ends down to an acceptable diameter.

I'm definitely one of those people that tries to choose quality first
and foremost. I don't need something big--yet. I just need something
small to get my parts into production. If I need to expand to bigger
tools, it'll be because my product is selling well, and I should be
able to afford it then :-)


I enjoy hearing these flights of hyperbolic self-justification. I
remember back when I used to think like this before I gave in and just
spent all my money on my shop. I'm sure that your $5k investment in your
milling machine will pay back Any Day Now. Mine's about to, No Really. :-)

Are there any small mills available that are considered to be good
accurate tools? Which brands/models would you suggest?


Accuracy is possible on the most miserable of machines. What you
describe could be done on a milling attachment in a lathe, and a small
lathe can coexist with a car in a one-car garage. I recommend 9-12"
engine lathes made by South Bend, Logan or Sheldon, but lots of guys
give up in frustration when one doesn't fall in their laps, and wind up
buying Asian imports. Watch craigslist like a hawk.

And post your location. If you live near Taft, California, your machine
sourcing problems are nil, because you would have direct access to the
worlds second best scrounger.

GWE