donnyglock Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Guys Im buying a mill for some 1911 gunsmithing. It will be going into my garage. I want to do slide lightening,barrel fitting,sight cuts....etc. I was looking at the shop fox m1001 6x26 with power feed and adding a dro or the shop fox m1004 9x49 with 2 axis dro and power feed. Both theese machines come with a 1 1/2 hp 220 single phase motor. Thats perfect for my garage. Heres my question for the guys doing this work. Enough machine? Also how important is the z axis dro. I would have to add that to the 1004. One more thing. I am concerned about the wieght of the 1004. 2400lbs is alot and not sure about getting that beast in my garage. I have no fork lift to unload and set it in place. Thoughts? Thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gino_aki Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 If you can afford to have it delivered...do so, the delivery guys may have a forklift they will send out with the trucker (you may have to pay extra). As for setting up in the garage you should be able to rent a pallet jack from your local rental place. Getting it off the pallet will essentially mean two or three buddies or a shop crane...the crane will pay for it's rental when you're leveling it and have to keep lifting/tilting it to get the shims under it. Sure sounds heavy enough for enough machine. Can you add the z axis later (like bolt on?) or would it have to be professionally done? That should clue your answer. Good luck with it, and be sure to post pics of your projects. Oh, and......JEALOUS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ormondopen Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I hope you have lots of friends, getting on the ground was the toughest when I had mine delivered. I used some steel pipes to roll it around once it was on the ground, moved pretty easy. I am no expert (I did stayed at a holiday inn express last night) by any means but I don't think the Z axis is needed, all I have is a 2-axis and its all I need. I think most of the Z work is in relatively small increments anyway. here is mine right after DRO installation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIIID Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 You might want to check out "Lost Creek Machine", they are just north of Ottawa. They have some nice used Bridgeports now and then with read outs and power feeds at reasonable prices. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnyglock Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 Guys. Thanks for all the replies. Ormondopen Good call on the pipes to move it around and thanks for the input on the z axis. Rich. I will check them out. Want to teach me how to use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ormondopen Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I lucked into mine. I had been looking for months and was about to give up and found it less then a mile from my house on craigslist for $2000 w/ a 6" kurt vise. rollback tow truck, 2 friends and it was in the garage in a couple hours. the cleaning and repainting is a different story, took about 2-weeks getting it looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 All you need on the readout is X and Y. You can do the Z axis accurately with the dial on the knee because gravity always keeps all the backlash out of that leadscrew. From what I've seen you can get more machine for the same money with other brands. Jet and Shop Fox are usually way overpriced. Look up Grizzly, Taig, Precision Matthews, Enco, Shars, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnyglock Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 I just looked at the web site for the place rich suggested. I am going to pay them a visit next week. I agree buying local would be the best bet If I can find what Im looking for. Repainting one might be a fun project in itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnyglock Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 Toolguy The smaller shop fox with the options and extra warranty did not seem to bad on the price. I looked at grizzly(same machine) and they were about the same with the options. I will check out the rest you suggested. Thanks for the other brand names to check out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ormondopen Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I just looked at the web site for the place rich suggested. I am going to pay them a visit next week. I agree buying local would be the best bet If I can find what Im looking for. Repainting one might be a fun project in itself. mine was made in 1968, I learned alot cleaning and re-painting it. I took a chip to my local auto paint store and had them mix me up some to match. instead of spraying it and keeping my wife from killing me by painting her car green I used a thinning agent and brushed it on. came out just fine. When I was researching almost all in the know said I was better off buying an older bridgeport or clone than buying a new Chinese unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireant Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I am going to disagree with the others on the z axis DRO. I used a buddies mill with just the dials for over a year and thought it was fine. Then I bought my own machine with a 3 axis DRO. I would not go back to just using the dials ever again. This may not be a must have item, but it really is nice. If it does not break the bank, go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
addicted Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Another +1 on the z axis dro. It's one of those things that you won't think you need until you use a mill with one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrrhic3gun Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 (edited) After looking at the specs on the thing, I've got to say you need more mill. Trust me, you're gonna want more cowbell, er mill. :^) That one only has about 16" x 6" of travel. The first time you want to put sights on a long gun, you'll wish you had more. And once your friends know you have a mill, you'll have plenty of projects longer than that. I've had a slightly bigger one in my garage for 20 years and have had plenty of times I wanted more. The specs I see say it weighs 936 pounds...you can wrestle it around pretty easily. If you think you might use a lot of cutting fluid, you might consider a big drip pan for it. With that said, it is such a joy to have the resource, when you want it...have fun. Edit: Speaking of the smaller one, of course. Edited March 3, 2013 by pyrrhic3gun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnyglock Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 Thanks again for all the replies. It seems the more I research the more I have to learn(which is kinda cool). Also the more i learn the more confused on which machine I want. I have time so its all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnyglock Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 Well I made my purchase. I went with the grizzly g0678 and I am putting a 3 axis DRO and x axis power feed as well. For carbide cutters whats the best aprox rpm and feed rates. Thanks again to all that helped out with solid advise. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croomrider Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Well I made my purchase. I went with the grizzly g0678 and I am putting a 3 axis DRO and x axis power feed as well. For carbide cutters whats the best aprox rpm and feed rates. Thanks again to all that helped out with solid advise. Don Speed depends on the cutter diameter/material, and the material you are cutting. Learn to calculate SFM (surface feet/minute) and what numbers are reasonable for what materials. There is no one speed to use, which is why all mills have more than one speed! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Run your carbide tooling the same as HSS. Don't listen to people that say "it's carbide so you have to rum 10.,000 RPM". Quality High Speed Steel cutters are still a viable choice for most things. That mill is a good choice. Make sure to tram the head in and indicate the vise in before you start cutting. You need a dial test indicator for that. You will never regret spending the money for the DRO. It is much harder to do accurate work without it. I was running Bridgeports for a living before there was such a thing as DRO. I was really happy when those came along! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Digital readouts and an X axis power feed are the only way to go. As has been said, the Z axis can be taken care of with a good DTI. A Bridgeport is so freekin much fun to have in your shop. The uses are almost endless. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnyglock Posted March 12, 2013 Author Share Posted March 12, 2013 Im stoked.... It arrives tomorrow. Let the learning begin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightUp_OG Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 That Grizzly looks like it will do the trick congrats! Let's see a gun already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandman76 Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 I run Cnc machines all day long. You need the z axis for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnyglock Posted March 12, 2013 Author Share Posted March 12, 2013 Thanks for the comments and tips guys. Straightup Im sure I will have some pictures of it in the next 6 months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croomrider Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 I run Cnc machines all day long. You need the z axis for sure I own 12 CNC's. Yes you definitely need the z axis on a CNC. I have never found it necessary when using a Bridgeport for gunsmithing work! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunCat Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Is anyone using a 110V 1ph in / 220V 3ph out VFD to power their equipment? Any downside to doing so? (I started a new thread to ask about this also) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 (edited) A better way to go would probably be 220v single phase in and 220v 3 phase out. That's what I'm doing with my 2 full size CNCs and it works very well. They came from the factory with VFDs for that very setup. I'm working full time at home and can't get 220 3 phase to the home shop. You will draw a lot less amps from the 220 in config. which should lower the electric bill and put a lot less stress on the wiring. Edited March 13, 2013 by Toolguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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