Newbie buying a mill

[LindenH]

Ok, so 304 or 303 stainless may have to wait until I can afford to upgrade. Let's stick with 1017/1018 mild steel and possibly aluminium bronze/silicone bronze and/or possibly copper - unless those are unsuitable as well.

I'd love to start a hunt for a Bridgeport, but I don't have a suitable place to put it (would probably drop straight through the floor of my shed) and I don't want to go down the route of installing three phase power.

So I've been looking at Warco GH and Chester 626..... still needing some input or recommendations.

Thanks

[irving2008]

Ok, so 304 or 303 stainless may have to wait until I can afford to upgrade. Let's stick with 1017/1018 mild steel and possibly aluminium bronze/silicone bronze and/or possibly copper - unless those are unsuitable as well.

I'd love to start a hunt for a Bridgeport, but I don't have a suitable place to put it (would probably drop straight through the floor of my shed) and I don't want to go down the route of installing three phase power.

So I've been looking at Warco GH and Chester 626..... still needing some input or recommendations.

Thanks

Well the Warco would do the job, but even they weigh in at 280kg+ so need a decent concrete base, no wooden flooring is really going to be suitable. I have a Warco Minor and a few here have the Major in both belt and GH versions.

If buying new or nearly new some would argue to avoid the round column mills and go for the rectangular column as this gives better registration if you need to move the head up and down and is arguably easier to CNC. The Chester 626 is outside your budget new (about £1300) but you might get one nearly new inside that, but at 410kg its closer to the Bridgeport in weight (1100kg). To be honest by the time you've got a floor that can take 410kg its going to take the ton no problem and with the Bridgeport even secondhand you'll get a lot more mill for your money.

Three phase power isn't needed, you can either get a single to 3phase inverter (as I have on my lathe, which has the advantage of giving continuous speed control) or convert to a single phase motor. Personally I'd go the former route.. I plan to install 3-phase motor on the mill wired to the same inverter (mine has switchable settings for 2 motors).