Stand for milling machine

[Compulsive purchaserParticipant @compulsivepurchaser]

I recently purchased a Warco WM14 off a friend who had purchased it new but never used it. He kept the Warco stand himself for use as storage so I need to build a stand for the machine; I looked at buying a new stand from Warco however they are out of stock of them, and once delivered would cost more than I paid for the machine itself.

I still have the swarf tray so was going to fabricate an open sided steel box section stand around the same dimensions as the original stand but try and firm it up a bit and bolt it to the floor (the original stand is to be honest, a rather flimsy affair).

Are there any do’s and dont’s for building a stand I need to take into account before I start?

Thanks.

[Compulsive purchaserParticipant @compulsivepurchaser]

[Jon LawesParticipant @jonlawes51698]

Rigid, Level, easy to brush down, and with the ability to put extra lighting in would help! Also if you are planning to run coolant that is worth thinking about now, I don't personally.

I know it seems basic but I have spoken to someone who has made this mistake so it's worth mentioning; the total width required is not just the width of the bed, but the width of the bed at the extremes of its travel! It's worth noting if you are planning to bolt it to the floor in a corner.

Incorporating some storage would also be really helpful. Again, probably basic stuff you have already considered.

[Thor 🇳🇴Participant @thor]

Congratulations with your new milling machine. I built a stand for my lathe using mild box steel sections. A friend welded the parts together and it is stiffer than the original stand and half the price. Mine isn't bolted to the floor as the lathe weighs over 200kg.

Thor

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Do – base your new stand on the Warco one and it should be satisfactory.

Don’t – make its footprint any smaller than the original Warco one.

Do – make it as least as robust as the original warco one, preferably a larger footprint and more suitable for your height. If necessary.

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

As Jon said make it the width of the table at both ends of its travel. Not just for stability but the commercial ones seem to have wasted space below them on either side which could be utilised as extra cupboard or draw space

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

You haven't said if you tend towards a metal or wood construction. If wood rather than a traditional timber leg construction think of a kitchen cabinet but made from decent ply not chipboard. Then the total cross section of the material will be the same as legs but have much more rigidity while making installation of shelves easy. Pop a 2×2 paving slab on top to give mass and a flat surface.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Expanding on NDIY's advice

• Stand has to be strong enough to take the weight ( 60kg ), and,

• Because, milling machines are top heavy, the stand must stable enough to not topple over when bumped, or if the table is fully wound out with a heavy weight on it, and,

• Stiff enough not to flex when the mill is used, and,

• About the right height for comfy operating

None of this is difficult.

60kg is about the same weight as a slim youth, so anything an adult man could safely prance about on would do, from home made via a kitchen table, to a folding DIY horse (not too cheap – check the rating. B&D are good for 200kg, but a basic horse could be max 50kg).

For stability the feet need to be noticeably wider than the base of the mill. Heavy steel stands can be narrower than light wooden ones and stability guaranteed by bolting them to the floor. Putting a heavy weight at the bottom of a stand helps (storage!). A stand fixed to the wall can be much narrower. Again the build isn't particularly critical: the feet just need to be spread wider and deeper than the mill itself. The Warco stand dimensions are the minimum I'd trust, so anything with a larger base should do. Bigger is better.

Flex is reduced by over-engineering the frame and adding diagonal struts or panels. A 2 by 4" wooden frame will be much stronger than needed to take the weight, but 2 by 4 makes it easy to make a free-standing structure rigid. Others will explain 2 by 4 is OTT, but I like a sturdy bench! Fixing to the wall makes everything solid if the workshop layout permits,

Right height is whatever suits you. I'm about 1800mm tall ( 5' 11" ). My WM18 has the front to back handle at crotch height, which is too low for me, but the left-right handles are reasonable. I have to stretch to wind the head up and down. I suspect the WM18 is about as big as this style of milling machine can be without annoying the operator because the controls are so far apart. Being a bit smaller, the WM14 will be more ergonomic than big brother, and it's exact height probably doesn't matter much.

Dave

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

I have my WM14 bench mounted. The bench is extremely sturdy built many years ago 4"x2" frame with 18mm chipboard across the whole back and sides. The top is 2 9"x1.5" timber topped with 18mm chipboard. Would take several people to lift it. Bench bolted to concrete floor and the mill on it's tray bolted firmly to the bench.

When constructing your stand bear in mind operator access, particularly the height. The Z hand-wheel is on top of the column at the rear. If the stand is too high it can be very difficult to turn. I am 6ft tall and the hand-wheel on mine is only just within the comfort zone the bench being some 35" high. I would prefer it a little lower but the bench came a long time before the mill!

John

[Anonymous]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 28/04/2021 09:08:51:

Flex is reduced by over-engineering the frame and adding diagonal struts or panels.

If you're going to do it you might as well do it right. This is the stand I built for my CNC mill, complete with coolant tank:

Made from 2" square ERW tube gas welded. The top is 6mm plate and the mill sits on 18mm thick machined blocks. The verticals were checked for buckling and diagonals added for rigidity. I'd disagree with SoD that it's over-engineered, it's called proper engineering. Mind you my CNC mill does weigh 500kg.

Andrew

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

If you are going down the more 'flimsy' route then shape is a consideration. A 4 sided frustrum or truncated pyramid will resist twist better than a straight sided box.

regards Martin

[AdrianRParticipant @adrianr18614]

Depending on your workshop construction, tieing to a wall can work wonders for rigidity.

My mill is 160Kg. I made my stand from 12mm ply sides and 50×50 mm timber for the corners, with the top 2 layers of 18mm ply. I left the front open for draws and shelves, so it did need the wall tie to stop rotation.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, I agree with Andrew Johnston, and here's my stand I made for my Warco Major, it has adjustable feet and is not bolted to anything and hasn't moved during use.

I also agree that the footprint on the floor is better when it is wider in both directions, than the machine base.

Regards Nick.

P.S. yes, make the height comfortable for your own use.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 28/04/2021 10:29:13

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Andrew Johnston on 28/04/2021 09:24:05:

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 28/04/2021 09:08:51:

Flex is reduced by over-engineering the frame and adding diagonal struts or panels.

If you're going to do it you might as well do it right. This is the stand I built for my CNC mill, complete with coolant tank:

Made from 2" square ERW tube gas welded. The top is 6mm plate and the mill sits on 18mm thick machined blocks. The verticals were checked for buckling and diagonals added for rigidity. I'd disagree with SoD that it's over-engineered, it's called proper engineering. Mind you my CNC mill does weigh 500kg.

Andrew

Woof woof, I want one.

Wonder how much weight that would take before breaking? Looks stronger than this truss bridge!

Dave

[Anonymous]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 28/04/2021 10:31:05:

Looks stronger than this truss bridge!

It does look a bit sparse in places. I don't know if it's still the case but designing and building a 4ft truss bridge using aluminium angle and rectangular section used to be part of the Cambridge University first year engineering course. Once built and assessed all the bridges were taken to the inner court yard and tested. It attracted a fair crowd. First each bridge was tested to the design load – loss of marks, and red faces, if the bridge failed at this stage. Those that survived were then tested to the specified safety factor load. Finally any remaining bridges were tested to destruction. A safety factor way above and beyond was also bad – equals waste of material.

Andrew

[JAParticipant @ja]

Andrew

How heavy is your stand (about)? My guess is that it is not as heavy as it looks.

I would make a stand out of wood since I cannot weld (I was told I could not weld as an apprentice). If I could weld things would be different

JA

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

I bolted my Centec 2a on one of these keeps all the tooling in one place.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Posted by Dave Halford on 28/04/2021 12:47:17:

I bolted my Centec 2a on one of these keeps all the tooling in one place.

Interesting dimensions: "26 Inch and an overall size of 680 x 458 x 772mm"

[EmgeeParticipant @emgee]

I think Andrew's stand is well up to the task but it would IMO look so much better if the corner joints had been mitre joints, that really would be a proper job.

Emgee

[Anonymous]

Posted by JA on 28/04/2021 11:40:17:

How heavy is your stand (about)? My guess is that it is not as heavy as it looks.

I don't remember ever weighing it, but don't recall having any problems moving it. So probably 10-20kg.

Andrew

[SamsarandaParticipant @samsaranda]

Go for a sturdy bench or fabricated stand, I have a Champion V20 mill, a tad bigger than the WM14, I purchased the stand supplied by Chester for the mill, it is rubbish and wobbled like a proverbial jelly, I have temporarily fitted bracing to fasten it to a solid block wall but it still moves, nowhere near as much as it did, a more substantial stand is on my list of todo’s. Dave W

[Simon Williams 3Participant @simonwilliams3]

Persuade your friend that the storage cupboard you make is better for his purposes, and swap it for the real thing?

[JAParticipant @ja]

Posted by Andrew Johnston on 28/04/2021 14:32:43:

Posted by JA on 28/04/2021 11:40:17:

How heavy is your stand (about)? My guess is that it is not as heavy as it looks.

I don't remember ever weighing it, but don't recall having any problems moving it. So probably 10-20kg.

Andrew

Thanks. I wish I could weld.

JA

[Rod RenshawParticipant @rodrenshaw28584]

Milling produces vibration, much more than that produced by turning, and a solid, heavy stand can help to reduce this. Milling needs lots of accesories, vices, angle plates, cutters and jigs and everything else, again much more than turning, so lots of storage space is very useful. And if the storage of these many and heavy items is in the stand then that tends to solve 2 problems at once.

Rod

[Compulsive purchaserParticipant @compulsivepurchaser]

Thank you for all the replies.

I am lucky enough to own a large workshop fully equipped with MIG and TIG, so will be a welded steel box section stand, probably 1.5” section, taking into account all of the above.

The mill is currently sat on a steel workbench but I would rather relocate it onto its own stand and reclaim part of the bench back!

[Author]

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