tramming a mini mill
 

left right is no brainer but in out or back and forth has got me
stumped.......shims is all i can think of but that can't be right
enlighten me please
thanks

tramming a mini mill
 

I don't know what type of mill you have, but when I had RF round column
mill, I used shims underneath the column. I never did get it right (the
thing had a twist in it that no amount of mount tweaking would cure), but I
got it better.

Regards,

Peter

"Wet Dog" wrote in message
...
left right is no brainer but in out or back and forth has got me
stumped.......shims is all i can think of but that can't be right
enlighten me please
thanks

tramming a mini mill
 

"Wet Dog" wrote in message
...
left right is no brainer but in out or back and forth has got me
stumped.......shims is all i can think of but that can't be right
enlighten me please
thanks

For us Brits, what is tramming?

tramming a mini mill
 

In article ,
"John Manders" wrote:

"Wet Dog" wrote in message
...
left right is no brainer but in out or back and forth has got me
stumped.......shims is all i can think of but that can't be right
enlighten me please
thanks

For us Brits, what is tramming?



Just Brits? Heck, for us Americans, what is tramming?

--
Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
I respond to Email as quick as humanly possible. If you Email me and get no
response, see http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html Short
form: I'm trashing EVERYTHING that doesn't contain a password in the subject.

tramming a mini mill
 

Don Bruder wrote:
In article ,
"John Manders" wrote:

"Wet Dog" wrote in message
...
left right is no brainer but in out or back and forth has got me
stumped.......shims is all i can think of but that can't be right
enlighten me please
thanks

For us Brits, what is tramming?



Just Brits? Heck, for us Americans, what is tramming?
The 'art' of adjusting the spindle truly square with the X/Y axis of the
table.
Ken.

--
http://www.rupert.net/~solar
Return address supplied by 'spammotel'
http://www.spammotel.com

tramming a mini mill
 

From: "John Manders"

For us Brits, what is tramming?


I'm not certain of the origin of the word but it probably comes from "trammel"
.. In this sense it means to align the spindle of the machine so it is normal
or perpendicular to the plane of the table movement.

Richard Coke

tramming a mini mill
 

It's the art of adjusting most anything "truly square, or parallel, or
properly spaced, etc" as called for by the application at hand. Tools
used to obtain this include surface plates, gage blocks, levels,
squares, plumb lines, etc., and today, lasers. The degree of accuray
needed to obtain a good 'tram' depends on the application.

One use of the word is in setting up a steam locomotive suspension ...
getting all the driving axles parallel and spaced the same as the holes
in the siderods, and everything centered in the frame so the rods will
all line up with the crossheads and cylinder/valve bores, etc. When it's
properly 'trammed' everything will work smoothly.

Dan Mitchell
==========

Ken Davey wrote:

Don Bruder wrote:
In article ,
"John Manders" wrote:

"Wet Dog" wrote in message
...
left right is no brainer but in out or back and forth has got me
stumped.......shims is all i can think of but that can't be right
enlighten me please
thanks

For us Brits, what is tramming?



Just Brits? Heck, for us Americans, what is tramming?
The 'art' of adjusting the spindle truly square with the X/Y axis of the
table.
Ken.

--
http://www.rupert.net/~solar
Return address supplied by 'spammotel'
http://www.spammotel.com

tramming a mini mill
 

"John Manders" wrote in message
...

"Wet Dog" wrote in message
...
left right is no brainer but in out or back and forth has got me
stumped.......shims is all i can think of but that can't be right
enlighten me please
thanks

For us Brits, what is tramming?

John,

You're question is valid, not only in the UK, but here in the States as
well. Tramming, as far as I know, is an archaic term that was applied to
the application of a tramming tool to time motion on steam locomotives and
other steam engines. How in hell it became the term for truing machinery
is a mystery to me. I've worked in the shop (commercially) since 1957 and
had never heard the term used. Only when I got online, talking with a huge
number of people that run machines for pleasure, did I hear the term used.
Everywhere I worked, dialing in, or sweeping, was the term used. I guess
it doesn't really matter what terminology is used so long as everyone is on
the same page. It appears in this instance that is not the case.

Sort of reminds me of how the word " swarf" is being used. If you buy a
new machine, if it's CNC and produces a lot of chips, they sell you a chip
removal system, not a swarf removal system. A lathe comes with a CHIP
pan, not a swarf pan. Swarf, by definition, is fine residue created by
abrasion or machining. Grinding machines create swarf, lathes and mills
create chips.

Harold

tramming a mini mill
 

A few years ago, a designer of a special machine was said to have
made the remark during testing that a few 'shims' would correct a
minor problem. The VP of that division overheard him and said
".... no shims!" So the designer immediately rephrased and said
"Okay, a couple of spacers..."

But seriously, what's wrong with using shims? Shim stock is sold in
a variety of materials ,thicknesses, and shapes.


"Wet Dog" wrote in message
...
left right is no brainer but in out or back and forth has got me
stumped.......shims is all i can think of but that can't be right
enlighten me please
thanks




-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
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-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

tramming a mini mill
 

Wet Dog wrote in message . ..
left right is no brainer but in out or back and forth has got me
stumped.......shims is all i can think of but that can't be right
enlighten me please
thanks

Shims are all you have unless you want to remachine the column mount
or base casting, or both. Unless the head is out of parallel with the
column, which could very well be also.

tramming a mini mill
 

Tramming is done with a co-axial indicator. It is common that many
Bridgeport clone mills are made with a slight tilt where the front of the
table is slightly higher than the back. This is done so that when the mill
wears in a bit, it will be square. This slight upward tilt will also
partially compensate for work loading on the table. In any case, it usually
doesn't matter.
Steve

"Ken Davey" wrote in message
...
Don Bruder wrote:
In article ,
"John Manders" wrote:

"Wet Dog" wrote in message
...
left right is no brainer but in out or back and forth has got me
stumped.......shims is all i can think of but that can't be right
enlighten me please
thanks

For us Brits, what is tramming?



Just Brits? Heck, for us Americans, what is tramming?
The 'art' of adjusting the spindle truly square with the X/Y axis of the
table.
Ken.

--
http://www.rupert.net/~solar
Return address supplied by 'spammotel'
http://www.spammotel.com

tramming a mini mill
 

"Lurker" wrote in message
...
A few years ago, a designer of a special machine was said to have
made the remark during testing that a few 'shims' would correct a
minor problem. The VP of that division overheard him and said
".... no shims!" So the designer immediately rephrased and said
"Okay, a couple of spacers..."

But seriously, what's wrong with using shims? Shim stock is sold in
a variety of materials ,thicknesses, and shapes.

The use of shims for machine tools is sort of bush league. One of the
problems of shims is if you dismantle the object, there's no guarantee the
shim will be replaced, nor that it will be replaced where needed. In
machine tools, you pay for precision, which can include scraping or
precision grinding. Shims are a dodge to avoid doing so. That's not to
say that a shim doesn't work. Of course it does. You just don't have as
much control over the end result that you might have by doing it "right".

Harold

tramming a mini mill
 

From: "Harold & Susan Vordos"

Tramming, as far as I know, is an archaic term

How in hell it became the term for truing machinery
is a mystery to me.

One definition of the word trammel is:
tram|mel «TRAM uhl», noun, verb, -meled, -mel|ing or -melled, -mel|ling.

€“n.
a gauge used in adjusting and aligning mechanical parts.

So, "tramming" probably came into common usage as a corruption of
"trammelling".
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.


Richard Coke

tramming a mini mill
 

I generally agree with your statements. The term is somewhat, but not
totally, archaic; and did indeed apply to steam locomotives. It may have
originated there, since an early term for railways was 'tram', and THAT
usage seems to have originated in Britian. The word 'tram' evolved,
becomming a widely used term for electric streetcars, both in Europe and
the USA. The word is still often used today as regards underground
mining and tunneling railroads.

However, it also appears frequently in MANY, especially older, machine
operating manuals, machine shop instruction manuals, etc.. These are not
at all just those involved in railroad practice. The word may well have
'migrated' from RR shops, among the earlier heavy industries, to more
general use. It still appears in such publications today, especially as
regards squaring and aligning various machine axes in mills, drill
presses, and the like.

And, it's still MUCH in use in the steam loco fraternity, both with
model locomotives and the preserved full sized ones.

Personally, I've encountered the word MANY times in many places, but I
will admit that I hang around with 'steam loco folks' a lot! :-)

A 'Google' search turned up MANY hits, in various contexts.

The word is certainly specialized, but it's FAR from 'dead'.

Dan Mitchell
==========

Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:

"John Manders" wrote in message
...

"Wet Dog" wrote in message
...
left right is no brainer but in out or back and forth has got me
stumped.......shims is all i can think of but that can't be right
enlighten me please
thanks

For us Brits, what is tramming?

John,

You're question is valid, not only in the UK, but here in the States as
well. Tramming, as far as I know, is an archaic term that was applied to
the application of a tramming tool to time motion on steam locomotives and
other steam engines. How in hell it became the term for truing machinery
is a mystery to me. I've worked in the shop (commercially) since 1957 and
had never heard the term used. Only when I got online, talking with a huge
number of people that run machines for pleasure, did I hear the term used.
Everywhere I worked, dialing in, or sweeping, was the term used. I guess
it doesn't really matter what terminology is used so long as everyone is on
the same page. It appears in this instance that is not the case.

Sort of reminds me of how the word " swarf" is being used. If you buy a
new machine, if it's CNC and produces a lot of chips, they sell you a chip
removal system, not a swarf removal system. A lathe comes with a CHIP
pan, not a swarf pan. Swarf, by definition, is fine residue created by
abrasion or machining. Grinding machines create swarf, lathes and mills
create chips.

Harold

tramming a mini mill
 

Harold & Susan Vordos writes:

Swarf, by definition, is fine residue created by
abrasion or machining. Grinding machines create swarf, lathes and mills
create chips.

But it sounds so cool to say, "swarf".

And the strings, corkscrews, and needles are not properly "chips".

tramming a mini mill
 

Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:
Swarf, by definition, is fine residue created by
abrasion or machining. Grinding machines create swarf, lathes and mills


About a thousand years ago, when I used to cut records, the acetate
gouged out by the stylus in the record lathe was refered to as "swarf".
The vacuum system and jar that sucked up the cuttings was the "swarf
collector". The other night I had to explain to my daughter what a "45"
was. Damn I'm old.

Kevin "Red Label" Gallimore


-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

tramming a mini mill
 

In article , Harold & Susan Vordos says...

The use of shims for machine tools is sort of bush league. One of the
problems of shims is if you dismantle the object, there's no guarantee the
shim will be replaced, nor that it will be replaced where needed. In
machine tools, you pay for precision, which can include scraping or
precision grinding. Shims are a dodge to avoid doing so. That's not to
say that a shim doesn't work. Of course it does. You just don't have as
much control over the end result that you might have by doing it "right".

It's more than just 'not right.'

In this case the issue is an angular mis-alignment of the
column with respect to the table. Placing a shim under *one*
side of the column base means that the contact area between
the two parts has been drastically reduced.

That's the whole idea with fitting parts by hand-scraping,
to obtain large, uniform contact areas to enhance stability
and rigidity.

And yes, I've personally seen asian mill-drills with just
such shims installed - right from the factory! The
interesting thing was, they were made of copper, and taped
in place under the column!! How's that for stability?

Jim

==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

tramming a mini mill
 

In article , Harold & Susan Vordos says...

Sort of reminds me of how the word " swarf" is being used.

That term has a great deal of varied use, depending on where
one is from. The instructor at the voc-tech school used it
all the time to describe machined chips. He was from the UK
and I think that was standard use there.

It is also a general term for any particulate by-product,
for example the fine debris that results from flint arrowhead
manufacture is indeed described as 'swarf.'

Jim

==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

tramming a mini mill
 

"Harold & Susan Vordos" wrote in message ...
"Lurker" wrote in message
...
A few years ago, a designer of a special machine was said to have
made the remark during testing that a few 'shims' would correct a
minor problem. The VP of that division overheard him and said
".... no shims!" So the designer immediately rephrased and said
"Okay, a couple of spacers..."

But seriously, what's wrong with using shims? Shim stock is sold in
a variety of materials ,thicknesses, and shapes.

The use of shims for machine tools is sort of bush league. One of the
problems of shims is if you dismantle the object, there's no guarantee the
shim will be replaced, nor that it will be replaced where needed. In
machine tools, you pay for precision, which can include scraping or
precision grinding. Shims are a dodge to avoid doing so. That's not to
say that a shim doesn't work. Of course it does. You just don't have as
much control over the end result that you might have by doing it "right".

I'll add a little here, Harold. With the particular mill in question,
the column tilts for angle milling, and there's no guarantee that the
shim will be correct for any other position other than with the column
square to the table. I just bought one similar but smaller, but
haven't had time to lay the base and column out to see if there's a
problem there, or where the head mounts to the column dovetails. I
have to say, I'm impressed that such a small machine has an R-8
spindle taper, and it seems to be quite rigid for it's size. For
something like model building, and with it's $279 price, it seems to
be a pretty good value at first glance. Time will tell the full
story.

tramming a mini mill
 

Ok - I'll bite - can you describe the method -

Martin

Steve Lusardi wrote:

Tramming is done with a co-axial indicator. It is common that many
Bridgeport clone mills are made with a slight tilt where the front of the
table is slightly higher than the back. This is done so that when the mill
wears in a bit, it will be square. This slight upward tilt will also
partially compensate for work loading on the table. In any case, it usually
doesn't matter.
Steve

"Ken Davey" wrote in message
...

Don Bruder wrote:

In article ,
"John Manders" wrote:


"Wet Dog" wrote in message
m...

left right is no brainer but in out or back and forth has got me
stumped.......shims is all i can think of but that can't be right
enlighten me please
thanks

For us Brits, what is tramming?



Just Brits? Heck, for us Americans, what is tramming?

The 'art' of adjusting the spindle truly square with the X/Y axis of the
table.
Ken.

--
http://www.rupert.net/~solar
Return address supplied by 'spammotel'
http://www.spammotel.com







--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

tramming a mini mill
 

axolotl wrote:

Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:
Swarf, by definition, is fine residue created by
abrasion or machining. Grinding machines create swarf, lathes and mills

About a thousand years ago, when I used to cut records, the acetate
gouged out by the stylus in the record lathe was refered to as "swarf".
The vacuum system and jar that sucked up the cuttings was the "swarf
collector". The other night I had to explain to my daughter what a "45"
was. Damn I'm old.

Kevin "Red Label" Gallimore

-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

Trick question, Old Kevin?

How many grooves are on a 45?


Richard

tramming a mini mill
 

"Lennie the Lurker" wrote in message
om...
"Harold & Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
"Lurker" wrote in message
...
A few years ago, a designer of a special machine was said to have
made the remark during testing that a few 'shims' would correct a
minor problem. The VP of that division overheard him and said
".... no shims!" So the designer immediately rephrased and said
"Okay, a couple of spacers..."

But seriously, what's wrong with using shims? Shim stock is sold in
a variety of materials ,thicknesses, and shapes.

The use of shims for machine tools is sort of bush league. One of
the
problems of shims is if you dismantle the object, there's no guarantee
the
shim will be replaced, nor that it will be replaced where needed.
In
machine tools, you pay for precision, which can include scraping or
precision grinding. Shims are a dodge to avoid doing so. That's
not to
say that a shim doesn't work. Of course it does. You just don't have
as
much control over the end result that you might have by doing it
"right".

I'll add a little here, Harold. With the particular mill in question,
the column tilts for angle milling, and there's no guarantee that the
shim will be correct for any other position other than with the column
square to the table.

Excellent point!

The bottom line is there's no substitute for making and assembling parts
properly. It is almost a given, if you start out wrong, every time you turn
your attention to fixing one problem, it tends to make another one worse.

I just bought one similar but smaller, but
haven't had time to lay the base and column out to see if there's a
problem there, or where the head mounts to the column dovetails. I
have to say, I'm impressed that such a small machine has an R-8
spindle taper, and it seems to be quite rigid for it's size. For
something like model building, and with it's $279 price, it seems to
be a pretty good value at first glance. Time will tell the full
story.

It would have to be a pretty bad story to not be worth the price. What
type machine are you talking about?

Harold

tramming a mini mill
 

Richard Lamb wrote in message ...
Trick question, Old Kevin?

How many grooves are on a 45?


Richard

That depends. Is it a new 45, or one that has been played, over and over, on
a portable record player with a five pound stylus, at one of my brother's
"twist til you puke" parties?

Paul K. Dickman

tramming a mini mill
 

"Harold & Susan Vordos" wrote in message ...

It would have to be a pretty bad story to not be worth the price. What
type machine are you talking about?

Harold

THis one

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47158

I'd like to see the rack on the column a little longer, but at the
price, I can't complain if it works at all. I've taken one cut with
it on a piece of scrap, and it seems to be pretty solid for small
cutters and small work. MY guess is that with the variable speed, a
1/2" endmill and a light cut are about where you're going to run out
of power in steel. Aluminum or brass, possibly a bit more.

One other item I've picked up and found useful, MicroMark sells a tool
post grinder for the 7 X mini lathes for $100. Replaces the compound
slide, so no taper grinding, and has the base machined so you can't
swivel it on the compound. Took five minutes in the surface grinder
to remove the step on the base, still won't grind tapers, but it works
well. Taking off the step lets the belt guard clear the tailstock,
wheel ends up dressed with an angle, but that's of no consequence.
Not something if you're in a hurry, but for my use, it works well.

tramming a mini mill
 

"Lennie the Lurker" wrote in message
om...
"Harold & Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...

It would have to be a pretty bad story to not be worth the price.
What
type machine are you talking about?

Harold

THis one

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47158

I'd like to see the rack on the column a little longer, but at the
price, I can't complain if it works at all. I've taken one cut with
it on a piece of scrap, and it seems to be pretty solid for small
cutters and small work. MY guess is that with the variable speed, a
1/2" endmill and a light cut are about where you're going to run out
of power in steel. Aluminum or brass, possibly a bit more.

One other item I've picked up and found useful, MicroMark sells a tool
post grinder for the 7 X mini lathes for $100. Replaces the compound
slide, so no taper grinding, and has the base machined so you can't
swivel it on the compound. Took five minutes in the surface grinder
to remove the step on the base, still won't grind tapers, but it works
well. Taking off the step lets the belt guard clear the tailstock,
wheel ends up dressed with an angle, but that's of no consequence.
Not something if you're in a hurry, but for my use, it works well.

Hey, not a bad looking machine for the bucks. Mind you, I'm not a fan of
round column machines, but at that price, it lets the guy in that otherwise
may not have a shot at a small machine. I can see where a hobbyist that
has limited funds could be well served by that little sucker! Just don't
expect the performance of a Gorton from it.

Harold

tramming a mini mill
 

Richard Lamb wrote:

Trick question, Old Kevin?

How many grooves are on a 45?


Not sure what the trick is- one per side just like an LP. If you mean
what is the pitch, it varies. The leadscrew servo speed is controlled by
the signal from the preview head on the tape deck- if the music is
louder, the deviation is greater and the groove pitch is wider.

Kevin Gallimore


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-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

tramming a mini mill
 

"Harold & Susan Vordos" wrote in message ...

Hey, not a bad looking machine for the bucks. Mind you, I'm not a fan of
round column machines, but at that price, it lets the guy in that otherwise
may not have a shot at a small machine. I can see where a hobbyist that
has limited funds could be well served by that little sucker! Just don't
expect the performance of a Gorton from it.

Harold

OOOOOPS! my mistake, or their catalog is screwed up. The price is
right but the mill looks like:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44991

Either it was on sale, or they goofed and gave me the next one bigger,
either way, I won't say anything.

They're both dovetail columns, but I'm pretty sure I'll find something
out of square that will have to be taken care of. Not sure how I'll
square it up yet, probably either grind or scrape it square. It looks
more rigid than it really is, the column has one nut on about a 1"
stud to hold it, but all I want it for is small stuff anyhow. Kinda
interesting, on a bench 30" by 5 feet, one could have a pretty good
small machining facility, with the small mill, one of the 7 X 12
lathes and a small drill press and bench grinder. And for less than
$1000 to boot.

THinking about it, it might have been mislabeled right from the
factory, but I'm still not going to cry.

tramming a mini mill
 

"Lennie the Lurker" wrote in message
om...
"Harold & Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...

Hey, not a bad looking machine for the bucks. Mind you, I'm not a fan
of
round column machines, but at that price, it lets the guy in that
otherwise
may not have a shot at a small machine. I can see where a hobbyist
that
has limited funds could be well served by that little sucker! Just
don't
expect the performance of a Gorton from it.

Harold

OOOOOPS! my mistake, or their catalog is screwed up. The price is
right but the mill looks like:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44991

Either it was on sale, or they goofed and gave me the next one bigger,
either way, I won't say anything.

They're both dovetail columns, but I'm pretty sure I'll find something
out of square that will have to be taken care of. Not sure how I'll
square it up yet, probably either grind or scrape it square. It looks
more rigid than it really is, the column has one nut on about a 1"
stud to hold it, but all I want it for is small stuff anyhow. Kinda
interesting, on a bench 30" by 5 feet, one could have a pretty good
small machining facility, with the small mill, one of the 7 X 12
lathes and a small drill press and bench grinder. And for less than
$1000 to boot.

THinking about it, it might have been mislabeled right from the
factory, but I'm still not going to cry.

Yep, I can see by the new link that they are dovetailed columns. The first
link, at a glance, was easy to miss. A friend, years ago, bought a little
tabletop CNC mill that was built much like these little guys are. I'm
thinking they're leaps and bounds ahead of the round column machines. If
you got the larger model for the price you said, you'd have been nuts to
turn it down. I think both of us know the difficulty of doing small work
on large machines. The setup you described could make a hobbyist doing
small work quite pleased. I'd be interested in hearing what you have to
go through to get yours up and running properly.

Harold

tramming a mini mill
 

Hey Harold--
I purchased the same machine the 15th of this month. after about 6 hours
the muffin fan on the power supply conked out.
Called Harbor Freight and instead of just sending the fan they are sending
the whole power supply assy.
In the meantime I purchased a small $6.98 fan and tied it to the power
supply with the cover removed so could still use the mill until the power
supply arrives.
Otherwise no gripes yet.
Been using router bits on wood and yesterday I received the end mills and
other hardware that I had ordered from grizzley.
So now can try it out on metal.


"Harold & Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...

"Lennie the Lurker" wrote in message
om...
"Harold & Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...

Hey, not a bad looking machine for the bucks. Mind you, I'm not a
fan
of
round column machines, but at that price, it lets the guy in that
otherwise
may not have a shot at a small machine. I can see where a
hobbyist
that
has limited funds could be well served by that little sucker! Just
don't
expect the performance of a Gorton from it.

Harold

OOOOOPS! my mistake, or their catalog is screwed up. The price is
right but the mill looks like:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44991

Either it was on sale, or they goofed and gave me the next one bigger,
either way, I won't say anything.

They're both dovetail columns, but I'm pretty sure I'll find something
out of square that will have to be taken care of. Not sure how I'll
square it up yet, probably either grind or scrape it square. It looks
more rigid than it really is, the column has one nut on about a 1"
stud to hold it, but all I want it for is small stuff anyhow. Kinda
interesting, on a bench 30" by 5 feet, one could have a pretty good
small machining facility, with the small mill, one of the 7 X 12
lathes and a small drill press and bench grinder. And for less than
$1000 to boot.

THinking about it, it might have been mislabeled right from the
factory, but I'm still not going to cry.

Yep, I can see by the new link that they are dovetailed columns. The
first
link, at a glance, was easy to miss. A friend, years ago, bought a
little
tabletop CNC mill that was built much like these little guys are. I'm
thinking they're leaps and bounds ahead of the round column machines.
If
you got the larger model for the price you said, you'd have been nuts to
turn it down. I think both of us know the difficulty of doing small
work
on large machines. The setup you described could make a hobbyist doing
small work quite pleased. I'd be interested in hearing what you have
to
go through to get yours up and running properly.

Harold

tramming a mini mill
 

"Roger" wrote in message
news:Tu9ic.11951$c%3.8782@okepread02...
Hey Harold--
I purchased the same machine the 15th of this month. after about 6 hours
the muffin fan on the power supply conked out.
Called Harbor Freight and instead of just sending the fan they are sending
the whole power supply assy.
In the meantime I purchased a small $6.98 fan and tied it to the power
supply with the cover removed so could still use the mill until the power
supply arrives.
Otherwise no gripes yet.
Been using router bits on wood and yesterday I received the end mills and
other hardware that I had ordered from grizzley.
So now can try it out on metal.


Cool! I'll be interested in hearing how well it handles metals, too.

A comment on HF. Lots of guys tend to bad mouth the place, and many
refuse to go there. While I'm far from enamored with the bulk of their
products, I've found that they fill a very important role in my life.
Example. I purchased a set of combination wrenches from 1-1/2" up to 2"
in size. Cost a whole $20. They appear to be well heat treated and
chrome plated, and have already bailed me out one time when I needed a
larger sized wrench that I otherwise would not have possessed. At this
point I consider they were free. I couldn't have purchased the size needed
for that amount, not even from Sears.

One trip to the store in Portland, OR, I found 50 pound boxes of glass bead
for blasting, surplus American made stuff, for only $20/box. Roughly
half retail, with no shipping fee or sales tax.

I strongly suggest guys check the place. They have many products that,
while often inferior in quality and performance, work well enough to get you
through in a pinch, that one time you need a given tool and will never use
it again, and the price as compared to Made in USA is often but a small
fraction. Americans have effectively killed their place in the
manufacturing world by outlandish demands in wages and benefits, so we might
just as well benefit by the results when we can. My motto is, when
appropriate, buy Chinese. The key word is "when appropriate". You'll
notice my Gerstner is filled with Starrett.

Harold