# Tilting mill head



## robwilk (Oct 11, 2010)

I was driving through my local town today when i noticed a new shop front with a big sign on the roof (*MACHINE MART*) A big smile appeared on my face . My wife saw it at the same time as me and noticed the big grin on my face she let out a big sigh and said "OHH NO" ;D :big:
So i turned around and went in .
I found myself walking around like a kid in a sweat shop but my main attention was taken by the milling machines.
What i would like to ask you is 
1. How important and useful is a tilting mill head
2. The mills were all Clarke machines although i have heard of Clarke tools i have not heard this make mentioned before in mills.
Does any body own one or no if they are any good. ???

Thank you 
Rob.......


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## 1Kenny (Oct 11, 2010)

Hi Rob,

Tilting head mills have saved me a lot of time when cutting and drilling angles. For me, the ability to angle the head is easier than shimming the work on the table and getting the right angle I want. Spending some time at the start to make a fixture and dial indicator will make re-tramming easy to do and will cause a lot less frustration getting the head back to true. I had a old Test mill that was a universal, horizontal and vertical with a tilting head that I loved. Then had a mill/drill, it was ok. Now I have a Wells Index that the head will tilt forward, back and side to side. For me, I like them.

Kenny


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## Blogwitch (Oct 11, 2010)

Rob,

If it has a tilting head, it invariably means it has a dovetail column. That is good. Round column machines are really very heavy duty drilling machines, and can cause untold grief to the uninitiated.

Machine Mart is not for machine tools. They are box shifters, and as such know nothing or very little about what they sell. Go in there and see what they have and play about a bit, then buy your machine from a reliable machine factor, usually at a much lower price, or more freebies included for the same price.

Don't get me wrong, Machine Mart is good for a lot of items, but not major cutting machinery.


Bogs


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## robwilk (Oct 11, 2010)

Thank you both Kenny and Bogs you have cleared my doubts up.
I think i will give the Machine Mart machines a miss but look out for a tilting head machine.
I got my lathe from Chester Machine Tools and was very pleased with the service they gave so might give them another look.
Thanks again.

Rob......


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## John Rudd (Oct 11, 2010)

robwilk  said:
			
		

> Thank you both Kenny and Bogs you have cleared my doubts up.
> I think i will give the Machine Mart machines a miss but look out for a tilting head machine.
> I got my lathe from Chester Machine Tools and was very pleased with the service they gave so might give them another look.
> Thanks again.
> ...



Rob,

I would endorse the service from Chester...

I've had two machines from them and good service too..

I'm sure they do a mill that meets with your approval.......



I have no connection with Chester other than a satisfied customer...Oh and I'm a helper on their website


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## SignalFailure (Oct 11, 2010)

Bogstandard  said:
			
		

> If it has a tilting head, it invariably means it has a dovetail column. That is good. Round column machines are really very heavy duty drilling machines, and can cause untold grief to the uninitiated.



Their micro mill has a dovetail column (but not a tilting head ) It's ok if you just take very very light cuts but the gib strips need constant attention to stop the table 'waddling' as it travels. I'd probably have been as happy with a vertical slide for my lathe in retrospect although I do sometimes use the micro mill for drilling holes at an exact distance apart


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## pete (Oct 23, 2010)

Well everyone is entitled to their own thoughts, But IMHO a milling head that can be angled is handy for tramming but think about it, After spending the time to accurately tram in the head do you really want to disturb those carefull settings? If you need an accurate angle then the scales on the head are only approximate so you still need to set the head using a dial indicator against a known accurate angled referance surface. If you already have that then you may as well set up your part to that surface and leave the head tram alone. Admittedly there may be times due to part size/shape that this might be usefull but really there is generaly a work around. They don't make those high end real expensive sine and compound sine tables without a reason. Industry aligns the equipment dead on and then leaves things alone as much as possible. If you had a job that was large enough to justify the time spent to retram the head then yes it's worth while but for one offs then not so much. A fairly cheap chinese built sine bar and guage blocks will give you about all the required accuracy you'll ever need to set parts to accurate angles. 

Pete


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## Tin Falcon (Oct 23, 2010)

I have an X-2 with a tilting head the tilting head will get aroud things , actualy the whole column tilts. 
For most model work a tilting vise will work fine as will the afore mentioned sine bar. 
I did use it for a job one time boring holes in a couple of 6 foot long pieces for a hand rail it would have been a challenge to tlilt the work for that one. 

I would think that the clark machines are just another label and possibly paint color on the 
Seig imports out of china. 
Tractor supply used to sell clark machines here in the states as well. 

LMS has a comparison chart on the American label varients here. 
http://littlemachineshop.com/Info/minimill_compare.php
the most popular mills are the X-2 and the larger big brother the x-3 
Tin


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## MachineTom (Oct 23, 2010)

When you need it there is little that comes close. re: a guy wants to replace the exhaust system on his 250 Rebel. So with his handy socket set he twists off the exhaust mounting studs, so he drills an off center hole in the stud, sticks in a EZ out, and twist that off as well, a new head $450, plus R & R gaskets etc. Or give me $375,in total and I'll drill out the ez and broken studs, and reassemble. To drill out a broken EZ or tap is a carbide spade job, and lots of down force is needed to cut. All angles unknown, strong holding required, mount head on tilting table at max 45°, turn a short length of round to fit flush against the exhaust mounting surface, tram mill to round stock, by tilting and skewing the BP head, drill out broken ez, drill stud, reassemble bike.


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## doc1955 (Oct 23, 2010)

You can not beat the versatility of a head that tilts and as far as tramming in the head it only takes about 5 minutes to get it right on. You will find tramming in a head is no big deal after you have done it a few times. 
That was one of the deciding factors in the choice of the mill I selected for me it was a must that the head tilted both on the x axis and the y axis. This is just my opinion I know you can get the same things done to a certain extent but imagine working on a piece say 25 inches long and having to mill a 20 degree angle on the end you may have a problem without a head that tilts. Anyway if you have a budget for it I would suggest a mill with a head capable of tilting.


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