New member in Fleet

[Jim Thompson 1Participant @jimthompson1]

Hello I am a new member in Fleet Hampshire and I need a mill. Space is a premium and funds are limited due to family committments! Any thoughts on what I should get for horology work would be gratefully received. I was thinking of a Dore Westbury or an Amolco for an ML10. Jim

[Jim Thompson 1Participant @jimthompson1]

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

Welcome along Jim, let us know which mill you get.

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

Hi Jim. I know nowt about horology but would have thought the two items you have listed would be far too cumbersome? What size items are you making…an atomic clock perhaps?

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Both items you have mentioned are not that common so your opportunities are limited. Have you built some clocks and now have a project with a specific need for a mill? It is hard to think of any part of a clock for which a mill is necessary. If you are new to it you will get better value from a vertical slide and home made cutter frame.

[RJWParticipant @rjw]

Jim, I've used almost exclusively either an 8mm Boley or Star watchmaker's lathe for all of my clock repairs and restorations, which has been for everything from timepiece carriage clocks to 8 day longcase and Comtoise types plus everything in between,
The only thing I struggled with on them were mainspring barrel or winding drum repairs due to diameter, but both a larger 3 and 4 jaw chuck plus an 8mm adapter sorted that issue,
I used the Star predominantly because it has a compound crosslide, I've got one for the Boley too, but it's not as nice to use,

Additionally I've a Sieg C1 with vertical mill attachment that gets and occasional airing, plus an ML7 which I've never used for clock stuff, but since acquiring a Cowells 90 lathe plus attachments, the Sieg will be going up the road shortly,

The Cowells and Myford are both equipped to do clock wheel cutting, but to be truthful, life's too short and I can't be faffed with doing it, so buy uncrossed wheels cut by pro's who are geared up for that work, then do the crossing out by hand myself,

Depends really what sort of work you intend doing, but I've never needed a mill for any clock work in 20+ years, that's not to say you might not of course.

John.

Edited By RJW on 25/01/2017 14:17:05

[Rod AshtonParticipant @rodashton53132]

Jim – If you would like to contact me. I am in Waterlooville and may have something of interest.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hello Jim,

Welcome to the forum.

You may be able to get a base for your C1 mill column, and still be able to sell the lathe part.

Neil

[RJWParticipant @rjw]

A shot of my Sieg C1 with M1 mill combo, the box on top of the headstock contains a British made control unit which replaced the original Chinese (Taiwanese?) electronics, it was modded that way before I bought the lathe, so I still need to reposition the box somewhere else because it gets in the way,
The wheel handles were a bit piddly for big hands, so they got changed for the larger C3 types.

I got lucky with a Warco Minor mill at a good price last year which came very well equipped and virtually new, so when the Myford's done and the Warco back together, they'll make this pretty much redundant, although to be honest, I'm finding the will to let it go a bit hard and will probably hang on to it for a while yet, it's too handy for knocking up clock bushes and the like which need a bit more meat chewing off faster than the Boley can cope with, where the Myford might be overkill,
For clock work though, it's just the job if limited for space, variable speed, screwcutting, attachments are cheap, think the imperial and metric changewheel sets (plastic) were around £20 for both sets, plus there's a taper turning topslide not shown, it wouldn't cost too much to rig it up for gear cutting, but I've never bothered going down that road (yet).

A similar rig might be worth Jim considering, but if a separate mill is a must, then perhaps something like a Clarke CL10 mill might do the job, small footprint, but the bed is a bit on the short side.
There's also the Potts milling attachment which might be worth looking at, should fit the ML10,

John.

[Jim Thompson 1Participant @jimthompson1]

Many thanks to you all for your advice. In the end I bought a Sharp machine. Jim

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by fizzy on 25/01/2017 13:05:24:

Hi Jim. I know nowt about horology but would have thought the two items you have listed would be far too cumbersome? What size items are you making…an atomic clock perhaps?

http://www.hodinkee.com/articles/introducing-the-bathys-cesium-133-atomic-clock-watch

Neil

[Jim Thompson 1Participant @jimthompson1]

Hello Neil, I use my myford ML10 for domestic clock repairs but when I repair public clocks (such as church clocks) I need something bigger. I use an 8mm WW type lathe for watches. jim

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hello Jim,

You must have a good head for heights then, from what I have heard church clocks are often in precarious places!

Neil

[Jim Thompson 1Participant @jimthompson1]

Hello everyone. I now have a Sharps mill with vertical and horizontal attachments. I am very happy with it especially as its MT2 like the Myford. Thank you all for your advice. Jim

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