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Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

Home built CNC Mill - Gonna make a 1911


StraightUp_OG

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StraightUp OG,

I've been a member for just at a year, but haven't felt the need to post once. 'Til now.

I was directed to tis thread by my son, (t1nm4n). I am most impressed... tho' to be honest, I know nothing about machining except what my buddy tries to impress me with... as it flies over my head... put it this way, I ditched math in HS... and only took what was absolutely the minimum in college... as in, "would you like fries with your burger" or HS history teacher were my career choices... ... blah!

Anyway... every step of the way, I was more and more impressed... And taking nothing away from any of the other builders that shared their projects on this thread, all equally impressive; but... when I read the section where you built the "Seal" gun, I felt the need to comment on an aspect, IMO, has been sorely overlooked:

post-45858-0-30674700-1396292675_thumb.j

1st, I love the look & style of that gun, 2ndly, and so much more importantly, as a VN veteran... been there and done that..., ex-cop, and one who has worked just about every other job in the alphabet, to be the type of friend that would build such a masterpiece for a obviously deserving friend... I feel your action is deserving of far more recognition. So in brief: Right Hand Salute!

Edited by Griff93
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Thanks very much Griff! And Thank You for your service!

It was an honor to be able to build that for my oldest friend who has done nothing but serve. First his nation as an operator and now his community as a LEO.

If I could afford to give that gift to all of our service men and woman I surely would because without their service I would not have the freedom to engage in such a great hobby and sport!

Edited by StraightUp_OG
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I have been using a BF20L knockoff from Lathemaster its about the same as the G0704 and not bad for a mini mill (don't have room for a full size mill), but you kind of need to treat the machines from China like a kit in that you will need to do a bunch of tweaking and modifications to get them working well. The biggest problem I have is running out of height adjustment. It will get most jobs done but you need to take you time as the vertical column isn't very stiff.

Once I move into my new home and get a knee mill I was planning on converting this one to CNC as there are a lot of kits out for it. But I am thinking it would be better to spend the money and move up to a bigger mill such as the RF45 to convert like Jared did. Basically because I don't think the BF20 type is rigid enough for fast CNC cutting.

Mill.jpg

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As far as the Z on a G0704 goes, you can flilp the head around and gain some. No other change is required. You'll get about 18.5 inches of spindle to table clearance. I did this on my still manual 0704 and couldn't be happier with it.

Take care,

Kevin

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Here is the first project I have completed on the CNC mill. It came with no work done.

Tri topped it
Cut rear serrations
Cut the front scallops
Cut the front and rear dovetails

Looks pretty darn good.

This thread was truly instrumental in pushing me over the edge to get a mill and go for it. Thanks StraightUp!

post-4152-0-44870600-1397684369_thumb.jp

Edited by ajg308
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Great job 308! And kudos to straightup OG and everyone else who jumped in and got some machinery! I think you guys are doing great. :cheers:

I have stayed in the background, but if anyone has questions I will try to help.

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Here is the first project I have completed on the CNC mill. It came with no work done.

Tri topped it

Cut rear serrations

Cut the front scallops

Cute the front and rear dovetails

Looks pretty darn good.

This thread was truly instrumental in pushing me over the edge to get a mill and go for it. Thanks StraightUp!

20140416_1516401.jpg

Nice work! What brand and model mill do you have?

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Here is the first project I have completed on the CNC mill. It came with no work done.

Tri topped it

Cut rear serrations

Cut the front scallops

Cute the front and rear dovetails

Looks pretty darn good.

This thread was truly instrumental in pushing me over the edge to get a mill and go for it. Thanks StraightUp!

attachicon.gif20140416_1516401.jpg

Nice Job -- I want to add another question -- Any background in machining or CNC before you bought your own?

I'm this close to buying a 0704 -- just need a little push over the edge...

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Thanks everyone, it has been a challenge to do this, but very satisfying.

Yes OG, the freedom is amazing. You know they say when you have a hammer everything looks like a nail. Well, when you have a mill, all you want to do is cut on stuff. I have guns now that I have to restrain myself from cutting on.

The mill is a PM45-CNC, a clone of an RF45.

I have zero experience in machining. There have been several heart pounding moments when doing stuff for the first time, like the dovetails. I did everything via CNC programs except the sights, I used the hand pendant and DRO to do those. I keep the Emergency stop button close at hand!

If you are close to getting a mill, do it, very satisfying. I would highly recommend you start learning software ASAP. I should have started months before the mill got here.

Edited by ajg308
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Now I'm officially worried lol.

Is there a face mill that can be used with this machine?

Most likely. Check www.shars.com for it. You probably want to stay at 2" diameter or less.

Oh yeah - congrats on the mill! Yay! :cheers:

Edited by Toolguy
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