New Milling Machine

[tbonesmith]

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.

Information

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[bigduke6]

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.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Can't wait to see what things of beauty you produce with it.

[Sarge1998]

A handy man's dream, at least one of them, congrats.

[tbonesmith]

badged to the importer or seller

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.

[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.

[jmoore]

I'll level it in the coming days and get a suitable vice, I'm thinking a 6" swiveling job.

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.

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.

[Aussie48]

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

[dman69]

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 ?

[jmoore]

Here's the 4" Kurt vice in action:





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!