Gary,

I wouldn't do anything to them. They are highly unlikely to have any
effect on the operation of the mill.

I tend to agree, but eventually I will need to clamp something over
them. Harold's draw filing idea is well taken, but I will blend the two
and get some practice first.

Having read two thoughtful responses I am willing to reveal the _real_
reason I asked: I wanted to see whether you agree that is largely
ignorable. The bandsaw I bought with the mill, that's another matter;
what a disaster I can't talk about it right now


One of the more interesting suggestions was to use a collet chuck. My
problem is that google returned so many hits as to be useless. Can
some kind soul who knows what is going on provide a link to the right
gizmo (or refute the idea)?

My (old Centec) mill came with a Clarkson chuck. I found it was a real
chore to have to remove it for drilling. I've now got an ER32 system
which can securely hold any diameter from 2-20mm. It can be used to hold
drills as well as milling cutters. Since you mention 'pounds'
somewhere else I assume you are in UK.

I have many friends on that side of the pond, but I am a few generations
away from a west-bound boat to the USA. Hopefully a search will reveal
that I mentioned pounds in the context of weight.


If so, take a look at RDG Tools'
website for reasonably priced ER sets. http://www.rdgtools.co.uk/

Found it. Sounds like $270 US or so, which I am more than willing to
consider, either from them (they apparently ship anywhere) or elsewhere.
Amazon's offerings include the "Hertel HR8ER32162 Er32 R8 1-5/8 Proj L
Collet Chuck". Somehow it looks like it's missing the collets
themselves, which probably explains the price difference.


An edge/center finder is on its way. For most things, layout lines
will probably be more than sufficient. Otherwise, I am thinking of
drilling a reference hole for "when" I get lost, and then working
relative to it.

Although pricey, consider installing a DRO system. Trying to compensate
for backlash on a mill can quickly destroy any pleasure derived from
making chips. If you take that route, don't skimp and settle for a
2-axis system - you will soon wish you had 3. I listened to the advice
of several model engineer friends, and they were definitely right.

Ok, I will admit that when I first read this I thought you were giving
me a bad steer, but being overwhelmed with the helpfullness of this
group, I figured it couldn't hurt to look. So are we talking pricey as
in $700 US? I agree that is a lot of money, but considerably less than
I expected.

The URL I have is

http://www.star-techno.com/order.htm

Any horror stories ordering from them? I won't be doing this in the
next week or so (trying to convince myself, not you).

I would argue that if I can't solve the registration problem (which I
fully expect to do within my tolerances, in both thousands of an inch
and patience), then a DRO would tell me little beyond the location of
the table. No offense intended gang: I am interested in your thoughts
on the matter.

Thanks for the advice; I will probably end up with a DRO. I think I
will take to life with a mill/drill, but figure I should use it for a
while before spending a lot more money on it. If I am "forced" to get a
knee mill, I'll wish I had saved the money for movers.

Besides, some dial reading will do me some good; it's been a long time.

Bill