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Hi guys, I picked this up yesterday, and I'm wrapped. It came with a brand new DRO all hooked up, an autofeed on the X axis, and a coolant pump and hoses, plus a small amount of tooling. It's a VM1, about 20 years old, and weighs in at about 500kgs.
It seems in great condition, and it was a bargain! One big step up from my old X2. I look forward to doing many jobs on it.
Looks good Tom, not heard of the make, is it an Australian make or one that gets badged to the importer or seller?
The weather looks good too, I cant remember ever being this miserable during a winter, constant rain grinds me down, I,m looking foreward to snow we are due to get will make a change.
Can't wait to see what things of beauty you produce with it.
A handy man's dream, at least one of them, congrats.:cheers:
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigduke6
That's the one! Taiwanese manufactured. I'll level it in the coming days and get a suitable vice, I'm thinking a 6" swiveling job.
It looks very similar to a model over here, some of them are an import but under the label of Warco, have heard good stuff about them, nearly got one myself but a Tom Senior come up for a very decent price, its a duel machine but was only kitted out for Horizontal.Quote:
Originally Posted by tbonesmith
We have found that using a 4x4" timber on the front and on the back works wonders for a stable footprint. (It also usually reduces back strain!) The machine compresses the wood locally but then it acts as a good damping contact. Shim under the timber to suit your leveling requirements. This set-up also allows for easy movement of the machine when required as a pallet jack will run in between the timbers quite nicely.Quote:
Originally Posted by tbonesmith
As for good holding gear, Kurt vices are among the finest you can buy. (if they're available in Australia.) I have one 4" and three 6" Kurts currently for personal use. At work they hugely dominate as well, both for conventional and CNC use.
Nice pick up Tom, the No 4 has been scrubbed and BLO and has come up a treat, off to Warnambool for a Military Rifle Club shoot on the 18th will let you know the results
Hi Tom, idiots weekly question - this is for wood, or metal working ? Being an accountant, I don't know much about such things, but I'm happy to nod my head approvingly, having benefited from your handiwork before! What sort of applications does it have ?
Here's the 4" Kurt vice in action:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff040-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff007-1.jpg
Purchased it used. All it needed was some new jaws. (The "crash" marks are what happens when you let friends use your gear...) One lovely thing about the Kurts (aside from the designed in minimal moving jaw lift) is that the jaws can be moved to the outer faces of the body, greatly increasing the capacity. A 4" Kurt can hold some things that other 6" or 8" brands won't!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dman69
Ill use it for steel and wood, but it's meant for steel. I can see myself making and modifying parts, like illustrated by Jmoore, inletting stocks, cutting barrel channels, cutting extractor slots in newly threaded and chambered barrels, making tools, making bedding blocks, fitting sights to rifles/pistols, drilling and tapping tasks. I sold my drill press to help cover the cost, so it will do all my drilling. I think I'll be using this all the time.
That mill looks solid but compact. Even large shops seem to get crowded over time so for me that is a plus. DRO and auto X feed are nice additions too. A Kurt vice would be the cherry on top... if you can find one that is reasonably priced.
May your mill track true and your chips break clean. :cheers:
The old 4" awaiting it's return to action:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...cd27fbe3-1.jpg
Here's a 6" Kurt at work with some quick change jaws:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...259da383-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...fd4373f8-1.jpg
And a sample shop-made jaw that attaches to the "Snap Jaws" QD posts:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...1c489a5b-1.jpg
Back face and bottom above. Clamping face below:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...6271c516-1.jpg
One lovely thing about Kurts is that they are made to tight tolerances, so if you have a really long part you can gang up several without shimming. The long bar perched on top helps to do a quick alignment during set-up:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...4571f95e-1.jpg
Your new mill is the easy part! Tooling, that is where the real expense tends to be. Either in funds or time.
:wave:
(My job is a hobby gone out of control if you haven't guessed yet.)
I ended up getting 5" vice, as the 6" was just too massive, maybe on the next upgrade, but I think this is adequate for a good long while. I levelled it up with a precision level using some M10 rod and nuts and washers for jacks, keeping them as short as possible (10-15mm of protrusion), and is seems to be pretty happy. All the extras seem to work well, coolant pump, DRO and autofeed. I adjusted the gibs and I couldn't get all the play out of the table in the Y axis, but on reflection I think what I'm feeling is the backlash. I'm pretty sure the leadscrew nut can be spread to accomodate this... I'll have a look today.
Faced off some stock and its pretty stable, adequately powerful and nice and quite. All good so far.