"Gunner Asch" wrote in message
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On Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:46:30 -0700, "Bob La Londe"
wrote:
"Gunner Asch" wrote in message
. ..
On Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:37:25 -0700, "Bob La Londe"
wrote:
"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
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"Ignoramus12820" wrote in
message
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On 2010-08-19, Bob La Londe wrote:
"Ignoramus12820" wrote in
message
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On 2010-08-19, Larry Jaques wrote:
On Thu, 19 Aug 2010 05:15:57 -0700, Gunner Asch
wrote:
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/tls/1902372658.html
Run Away! Run Away!
That first picture tells you all you need to know.
First impression: crack or meth head?
(buying a new substandard mill
What other alternatives are there in a small mill?
What alternatives are there that do not cost a lot more?
I have a Taig because I was told it's a decent quality mill for its
size
and
price. To be quite frank I disagree. It requires constant
adjustment,
and
the Z axis is horrible in my opinion. When I talked to Taig about
the
clamp
on ways they told me its should be within a hundredth along its
length.
You
have got to be kidding me. That is 0.01" No wonder it binds up
sometimes.
Yeah I know its made right here, and that was another draw, but if I
had
bought a cheap Chinese mill instead of cheap American mill I would
atleast
have expected to spend a lot of time tweaking and adjusting to get
decent
work out of it. The Sieg mills are atleast heavier and more robust,
although I have really only looked at the SX4 which is a little
larger
machine than the SX1.
Don't say Grizzly. A lot of their machines are identical to the
Sieg
machines and made in the same factory. Just have a different label.
Same
with the HF machines and several other companies. Even Jet and Enco
machines (for a large step up in price) can be found under other
labels
with
different color paint.
Whether you have any respect for that poster is not the question to
me,
but
rather what other alternatives are there in small machines?
Sherline?
They
are smaller than the Taig mills.
Not everybody can afford to chunk out 6 to 40 grand for a brand new
big
name
machine, and not everybody has the ability to spend months
retrofitting
a
used clapped out machine or the time. Guys like Gunner do not
count.
I
am
sure he could refit a clapped out machine to like new in a day, but
that
is
what he does for a living. The rest of us have to learn every
single
thing
one issue at a time and hope guys like him will be kind enough to
guide
us
in the right direction., Nor do most of us have the ability to look
at
a
used machine and know if it can be fixed up for a reasonable amount
of
time
or money. It's a lot safer to buy a small new mill to do small
projects.
It may not be great, but it will run.
I asked recently on the ZONE what a good slightly larger step up
machine
would be from my Taig. Something not too much more money and I
specifically
said, not the Sieg machines because their working envelope was not
much
bigger if at all. I did not get one single response. So I'll ask
here.
What is a decent quality small step up from my Taig.
Bob, I am not a big expert on this stuff, but Tormach seems to be the
next step up in quality above that Taig and similar machines.
Yes, it costs a lot more, but that's what you get if you want to buy
new quality goods (as opposed to spending months retrofitting using
parts from ebay).
I saw Mike Henry's Tormach and I was impressed with it.
I'll have to look again. I thought Tormach made gantry router
machines.
Ahh! I see the The PCNC770 is a really nice looking machine, and its
"almost" complete. At $6.5K its not in the budget. The Tormach is a
very
nice polished looking machine, but $6.5K will not get you cutting.
I'm actually a little step up now from that as a user. I would like to
find
a better quality small mill and convert it to CNC myself.
One can pickup full sized or half sized industrial machine tools for
under $1000 and work from there. Sometimes WELL under a grand.
However..this does..does require you to have a garage or area to work.
I've actually got a pretty big shop. I would just need to do some cleanup
and make some room to put in a bigger machine. Actually I like benchtop
machines, except right now I need more benches. The other side is I just
don't seem to find those machines you mention I suspect you have a talent
for finding them. Maybe I need to take a few days off and come see you.
Sure..mi casa su casa.
On the other hand..tell me what you are looking for and Ill see what I
can find.
Well, ultimately something bigger and better than what I have. Precision
and accuracy do not need to be aerospace quality, but something consistently
repeatable around or under a thousandth. Run out comparable or cheaply
repairable to that. Since I will want to immediately CNC the machine it
might be nice to start with something that already has ball screws. One of
those stupidly expensive water cooled 80K spindles that will go right into
the spindle might be nice too as long as we are dreaming. All for about a
dollar ninety five.
P.S. My brother in-law runs one of those aerospace quality CNC shops, and
many of their machines wouldn't even fit in my shop. My 16' ceiling just
isn't high enough, and I would need a lot wider overhead doors.