• Scam Alert. Members are reminded to NOT send money to buy anything. Don't buy things remote and have it shipped - go get it yourself, pay in person, and take your equipment with you. Scammers have burned people on this forum. Urgency, secrecy, excuses, selling for friend, newish members, FUD, are RED FLAGS. A video conference call is not adequate assurance. Face to face interactions are required. Please report suspicions to the forum admins. Stay Safe - anyone can get scammed.

New Member Ontario GTA

C

code-guy

New Member
I just signed up before asking some questions about getting a bench mill.

I'm a retired software developer. I started out as a CNC programmer in a mould shop. Then I moved on to developing CAD/CAM software. I drifted away from manufacturing later in my career.

I've also got a little manual machining experience. I'm thinking about getting a bench mill with the intention of converting it to CNC at some point.

I've been reading some of the posts here, on and off over the years. There is some great information to be found, so thanks for that.

That's all for now.
 
Welcome aboard and enjoy the ride. I joined for the same reason. The Forum was very helpful and I ended up with a RF45 clone (1,000 lb bench top mill). I’m very satisfied with my choice. Keep a close eye on the classified section - members often spot a good deal and let other know.
 
CWret said:
Welcome aboard and enjoy the ride. I joined for the same reason. The Forum was very helpful and I ended up with a RF45 clone (1,000 lb bench top mill). I’m very satisfied with my choice. Keep a close eye on the classified section - members often spot a good deal and let other know.
Click to expand...
Thanks!

A RF45 clone is one of the options I am considering. I know that more mass generally gives better results. But I am intimidated by the size.

Rather than insulating my garage, I'd like to get a machine down stairs to my basement. I plan on disassembling whatever I get for the trip downstairs. But I'd like to keep the chunks less than 200 lbs.

Do you have any sense of the heaviest part of a RF45 clone?
 
code-guy said:
Do you have any sense of the heaviest part of a RF45 clone?
Click to expand...
Sure do, I actually tore it all apart to do my granite pour in the base.
Broken down, nothing is more then 200 lbs. The table seemed close to it, but that's probably my memory failing. I think it was past 200lb with the X and Y axis table together.

If you have it apart I highly suggest a epoxy granite pour in the base, and a bit in the column it self.
And you may not want to hear it, but an equally heavy or rigid base will help a lot. I used 1/2" plate and made 3 levels plus used 3"x3" HSS with 3/8" wall for the legs. That base it self helped tremendously to deaden vibrations and sound. I have no clue what it weighs, but I am unable to kick move it or even flip it up or wiggle it around.

Food for thought.

Welcome to the forums
Gluck
 
Like @Proxule - i ditched the 100 lb stand (base) my mill came with and welded up a much heavier and much more ridged stand. It has storage drawers- but empty it is about 350 pounds.
I did a lot of modifications to my mill. You are welcome to come have a look at mine - that may help you decide if it is the right mill for you and / or if you get a similar mill you might want to copy or modify my modifications.
I did a short video of my mill modifications for our Forum meetup 6 months ago. I’ll try and send it to you in a PM (sending it might require some help from my techie son, so don’t hold you breath.)

Also - have a look at Precision Matthews (www.precisionmatthews.com) they have several sizes of bench top mills and very good descriptions of each. I’m sure that will be helpful when deciding which size you want to look for.

New machine? If you have some excess $ and don’t want to wait for the right mill to come up for sale - then Precision Matthews is a great option. On this side of the border look for King Canada or Craftex. I got mine from Modern Tool in Newmarket, which was great but if doing it again (or if I decide to buy a new in the box lathe) it would be from Precision Matthews.

PS - I’m in Burlington
 
Last edited:
code-guy said:
Rather than insulating my garage,
Click to expand...
It’s not just insulating - you have to give up a lot of garage space.
That’s a life still choice. A car can still fit but it may be very tight.
My garage ie large for a 2 car garage - there hasn’t been a car in there for about 8 years.
I only installed the garage ceiling. That was easy and not expensive (easy because my son helped and did most of the work).
A 1500 watt heater is plenty to keep it about 40 degrees. Then I use a couple of extra heaters to quickly boost the temp when working out there. It’s important to keep large machines (lathe or mill) above freezing to avoid them sweating.
 
CWret said:
Like @Proxule - You are welcome to come have a look at mine -
Click to expand...


CWret said:
then Precision Matthews is a great option.
Click to expand...

Thanks for opening your doors for others to view and play with your mill, When I was on the hunt for a lathe, Everett on here offered the same for his 12x36 king. And it helped me square some questions away.

And I would like to add. The precision Matthew's machines are the crem de la crem. But $$$$

Food for thought I suppose.
 
CWret said:
Like @Proxule - i ditched the 100 lb stand (base) my mill came with and welded up a much heavier and much more ridged stand. It has storage drawers- but empty it is about 350 pounds.
Click to expand...

I've pondered what @Proxule mentioned concerning the base. And you also leveraging that highlights the benefit. It makes a lot of sense, but at the same time makes me wonder about a basement setup. My first thought was a bolt together base design rather than welding with the intention of keeping the option of disassembly and moving. (Ironically I started looking at the forum years ago with the idea of getting a TIG welder.)

CWret said:
I did a lot of modifications to my mill. You are welcome to come have a look at mine - that may help you decide if it is the right mill for you and / or if you get a similar mill you might want to copy or modify my modifications.
I did a short video of my mill modifications for our Forum meetup 6 months ago. I’ll try and send it to you in a PM (sending it might require some help from my techie son, so don’t hold you breath.
Click to expand...

Yes, I definitely would like to have a look at your setup and appreciate your kind offer. I haven’t had the opportunity to check out these benchtop mills in person. I got the video, thank you. Nice enhancements for sure.

CWret said:
Also - have a look at Precision Matthews (www.precisionmatthews.com) they have several sizes of bench top mills and very good descriptions of each. I’m sure that will be helpful when deciding which size you want to look for.

New machine? If you have some excess $ and don’t want to wait for the right mill to come up for sale - then Precision Matthews is a great option.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Precision Matthews machines have definitely caught my attention. Especially the PM-728VT. It has the CNC ballscrew package as an option. Also the reputation of Precision Mathews is very positive on this forum and elsewhere. With the exchange rate and customs the price does add up though. Lately I have been tending towards less time but more cost to get to CNC. At times I feel pulled towards the CNC conversion as a project as opposed to using CNC to help with other projects. I’ll converge to a course of action in time.

CWret said:
On this side of the border look for King Canada or Craftex. I got mine from Modern Tool in Newmarket, which was great but if doing it again (or if I decide to buy a new in the box lathe) it would be from Precision Matthews.
Click to expand...

Yes, I've been looking at Craftex and King as well. The plus is cost and proximity, negatives are quality and support compared to PM.

CWret said:
PS - I’m in Burlington
Click to expand...

That's convenient then. The GTA area I live in is Burlington :)

I'll reply to the PM so as to set up a good time for you.
 
code-guy said:
I started looking at the forum years ago with the idea of getting a TIG welder.
Click to expand...

Re: bolted mill stand

Welded joints are generally more rigid than bolted connections. But IMO - multiple bolts with gussets plates can match the rigidity of a welded connection.
Also - you could fabricate (TIG or MIG) most of the stand in the garage and then TIG weld it together in the basement. If doing this: don’t do it when your wife is home and design the welds so that a you can easily cut them with a grinder cut off wheel if necessary.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top