I've been looking for a while too. One of the biggest boo-boos I've seen
with mini mills is that they usually have a round column. That coupled with
the short quill stroke makes it difficult to go from a spotting drill to a
jobber length drill. Look for one with the table dove-tailed into the column
or a square column so that the table can be raised or lowered without
turning. gl, John

"Peter Grey" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi all,

In researching mills, I'm stuck between the possible need for a larger
mill
and the convenience/size of a mini mill. I realize that I'll have to stay
within the limitations of a mini mill, but despite my searching the NG, I
can't find any post that quantifies the limitations. IOW, is it possible
to
say that for a certain mini mill that one will only be able to work on a
piece so big or take cuts so deep? Or are the capabilities entirely
dependant on what you're trying to do to the specific piece and type of
metal?

Obviously, I'm new to this and have a bunch of books coming. I'm just
trying to decide if I can get by with a mini mill or if I need to buy an
RF-30 machine. I have a very small garage into which this stuff will have
to fit, along with the car du jour.

I'd like to make pieces for automotive and motorcycle projects (brackets,
pillow blocks, component mounts,etc..) mostly out of aluminum but some out
of steel. Most of these pieces would FIT on a mini mill table but I'm
getting the feeling that the mill might be out matched. Are there any
general rules of thumb that suggest the maximum size (% of table, % of
X,Y,X
travel, HP x phase of the moon?) or capabilities of a mill?

Thanks,

Peter