small mill for machining steel. Max spend £500 including computer

[Andrew Wilding]

It's alive!
Did my first tests and it seemed to go ok. Machined some pockets in some scrap mild steel.



the pocket was 30mm x 20 mm and all dimensions seemed to be within 0.01mm of nominal (although this was just a quick check with digi calipers). I will do some more serious machining and see how a bigger part measures.

Cost is a bit over budget as the electrical bits set me back more than expected but I recon the original machine, stock, hardware, motors, controller and computer cost me about £600. That does not include the extra tools I bought to do the job of course, they are an investment!

I have enjoyed the project and have learned a lot from it. I hope you have enjoyed it too.

Thanks

[jonnydeen]

hi andrew, the mill is looking great

im planning to convert my centec 2 soon and i was just wondering...

how do you find the screws? have they lived up to your expectations?
what motors are you using?
is there anything that you wish you had done differently?