# Which mill??



## Expertpartscrapper (Nov 24, 2011)

I'm trying to decide which mini mill I should buy. I'm leaning heavily toward the Taig 2018. the Sherline is a close second. The Taig looks more durable.I'm a beginner, albeit a late one,57 yrs old. I've always had the "want" to build small engines, both steam and IC. The workmanship i've seen in this forum is nothing short of AMAZING. Wish I had just a Touch of the skills displayed here. My lathe is a 6x24"Craftsman. It's old too. Maybe someone could give me some pros &cons, or maybe point me in the right direction. Thanks, L. McKee


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## bezalel2000 (Nov 25, 2011)

Hi Expertpartscrapper 

 wEc1 to HMEM

I think size is more important than power.

coz you can always take lighter cuts but its a real bummer if table won't move far enough to finish a cut end to end of the job your milling or worse, you cant fit the job under the quill.  

my 2c worth

Bez

PS An intro in the Welcome section will usually pull a few more friendly welcome posts out of the guys here.  ;D


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## picclock (Nov 25, 2011)

Must second that. You need to know the size of the engines you wish to construct. Important measurement is Z clearance, the height of the spindle above the bed. Time you add in an ER25/32 collett plus the length of the mill you should allow at least an extra 3" over the height of the thickest part you wish to mill. Holding that part in a vice as opposed to clamping to the table will add another 1 1/2". So if the part you are milling is 4" thick you need to look at a minimum Z of 8.5".

One thing to think about is the quality of the mill. For me, taper roller spindle bearings were a must, as was tapered gibs for easy adjustment of table play. If you go for a cheaper mill you will likely spend a lot of time trying to sort it out. Also if you want accuracy you will need to have some sort of DRO display for table position. I bought two digital scales and milled some brackets to fix them. Cost about £40, but worth every penny. My mill came with a Z axis DRO pre installed. 

Good luck with your purchase.

Best Regards

picclock





At 57 your a youngster, wish I could see that age again.


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## Sshire (Nov 25, 2011)

I had the same decision to make as a beginner. Bought the Sherline. Beautifully made machine. After about a month I realized the size limitations (for me) when I decided to duplicate a small bracket for some patio furniture (about 3"x3"). I was able to do it but it took many, many passes and some serious figuring to come up with a clamping scheme to overcome the mill size. took about an hour
I bought a Precision Matthews PM20 (in reality a Weiss BF20) with a DRO. does everything I need and more. R8 spindle, variable speed, etc. I made the same part for the patio furniture in about 5 minutes. 
That said, if I didn't have the space in the basement shop, I probably would have stayed with the Sherline and not made "large parts"
Best
Stan


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## Dr Jo (Nov 27, 2011)

Size Movement matters: I have three mills and for small work under 25mm would use my BCA any day (6" movement in all directions) . But interestingly whilst my other two machines are substantially different in physical size the Y axis movement is the same (6"), the X axis bed movement and Z axis did not increase in relation to the vast increase in the size/weight of the other machines. But don't forget that it is permissible to do machining in two passes and remount the work if your table does not provide enough movement. 

DROs: Digital scales are useful but they don't provide the functions you get on a DRO console. 

Z axis spindle movement: quill feeds are handy, but make sure when clamped up it is rigid enough to take the stresses of milling. 

If the mill has a round column you need to consider how well the head retains it position when you loosen off the clamping bolts: some wobble from side to side, others front to back. 

Availability of tooling: In the UK R8 tooling is hard to come by (second hand) and very expensive. My 30INT tooling is even worse to find! If your lathe has a 2mt tailstock then you may wish to consider the possibilities for a mill that takes the same tooling. Normally you can get adapters to fit smaller tooling to larger equipment, e.g. 1mt into 2mt, 2mt into 30INT etc. 

Before you order one: try to find someone with one and go and try it out. And don't forget to ask them if they had to modify the machine to meet their needs.

Jo


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## Jeremy_BP (Nov 27, 2011)

The taig is a very nice mill. And as far as tooling is concerned, it comes with an ER headstock, so you just need tooling with a straight shank.
I don't own one, but have spent some time using one. The machine is very rigid for its size, and very accurate (for a mill of any size).
It's a quality machine, and I would certainly say that if it fist your size requirements, go for it!
As far as Z-Axis requirements are concerned: The collets don't stick out of the headstock. Assuming a drill chuck is mounted (~1.5" for a taig-sized model), and you have a jobber-length 3/8" drill (~3" sticking out of the chuck, but I could be off on that number), and the part is mounted in the taig vise (~0.75" max off the table), you have room for a 3.75" high piece, but that's an extreme case. The taig has 9" of room under the spindle.
So... If the mill fits, use it!


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## kuhncw (Nov 27, 2011)

The Sherline is a fine mill as are all Sherline machines. I have a Sherline lathe and would not want to part with it. The Taig mill gives you more capacity and should be a good compliment to the lathe you have now.

I bought a Taig 2019CR-ER several years ago and added steppers, etc. It is my CNC mill and it does a fine job on small engine (0.750 to 1.000 inch bore) parts for me. The CR version gives you a better motor and adjustable nuts on the lead screws. You can add handles rather than steppers and have a manual machine that can be CNC'd later if you wish. 

You probably know about the Taig group on Yahoo, but if not:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/taigtools/
There is lots of Taig support on this group.

Good luck.

Regards,

Chuck Kuhn


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## thayer (Nov 27, 2011)

Another mill option is the A2Z CNC Monster Mill. It is fully compatible with all things Sherline and offers significantly more capacity. X 14 in, Y 11in, Z 16 in.

http://www.a2zcnc.com/a2zcncmonstermill.htm

Thayer


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