Advice on milling machine purchase

[David Keil 1Participant @davidkeil1]

Hi all

At the moment I have a proxxon MF70 milling machine, which I have used with some small success to make clock wheels etc. However it has limitations so I am looking to upgrade.

Unfortunately space is limited so the smaller mini/micro machines would be better.

Preferably cnc controlled or the ability to upgrade.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[David Keil 1Participant @davidkeil1]

[David Keil 1Participant @davidkeil1]

I should have added that its use would only be for small projects like clocks etc.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

If you definitely want CNC I would recommend getting a s/h Denford Novamill though they are hard to find and you may need to upgrade the electronics.

[Henry BrownParticipant @henrybrown95529]

Have you seen this thread on here David? Link

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

For small mini/micro sized machines capable of CNC work or a manual mill that can be converted then the Sherline would be worth looking at, they do them as CNC or sell kits of parts to convert the manual ones. I've seen some very good work done on them

[Stuart Munro 1Participant @stuartmunro1]

I have a Sheline mill, non CNC but with DRO., Lovely little machine with plenty of punch. Only one issue and that is consumable parts and spares/upgrades. The 'T' slots are smaller than most machines found in the UK. You either need to make a plate to put on the table that you clamp pieces to, or order Sherline bits from the only real UK importer (MillHill supplies of Basildon) or import from the US.

Similarly the spindle is MT1 and as such limited ranges of fittings in the UK.

But plenty of parts made by Sheline of excellent quality

[Stuart Munro 1Participant @stuartmunro1]

ps. dpp-engineering on e-bay is a US exporter of Sheline. You can call them or email them and they will quickly list the part you want and ship via international shipping. The result is that ebay quotes the all in price to you, shipping taxes etc and handles the settlement of all of these.

Found dpp very helpful as indeed is Kevin at MillHill. Just check MillHill prices with ebay, sometimes ebay is a lot cheaper, sometime not!

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