Round Column Mill

[justinlmartin07]

I don't have a milling machine yet, and I just found one on craigslist. However, it's a round column mill (Enco gl 30b) and I'm a bit suspicious of round column mills. Does anyone know anything about this particular machine, or round column mills in general?
I would be glad to hear from somebody who has experience with these machines.

Justin

 

[justinlmartin07]

I have looked at the machine again and done a bit more research and I decided I don't want it.
I am going to keep looking.

Justin

 

[kwoodhands]

I have a round column mill. When adjusting the height the accuracy is lost. No problem, Install a point or a
wiggler and re-position the X & Y axis. I use a point , takes under 30 seconds to install the point and re-position the axis. This works for center finding. If the work is off center then install the point and mark the work before adjusting the height. Then re-position the point mark after adjusting the height.
Points are sometimes referred to as locating pins and another name I cannot recall.
Turn a round to a long taper and sharp point. the longer the taper the easier to see your layout marks.
I turned 3/8" , 1/2" and 5/8" rounds to a 1 or 2 ° taper. Gives a long sharp point. Three sizes usually will suffice for my endmill holders.
mike

 

[SmithDoor]

I don't have a milling machine yet, and I just found one on craigslist. However, it's a round column mill (Enco gl 30b) and I'm a bit suspicious of round column mills. Does anyone know anything about this particular machine, or round column mills in general?
I would be glad to hear from somebody who has experience with these machines.

Justin

I have round column mill and stop torque and it is very accurate too.

My drawing on this in the download section.

Dave

 

[oliomio]

Solution. Do NOT buy a round column mill drill. But, if like me, you came to that conclusion too late, here is my fix.... (and I have tried laser pointers, etc etc., none of which were satisfactory)
https://wordpress.com/post/johnsmachines.com/14693It was costly and time consuming, but it does work. See the johnsmachines.com link for full details.

 

[gbritnell]

I made many hundreds of parts on a round column Enco mill. I bought mine in the 70's when the only other option was a Bridgeport mill. Over the years I read about all the fixes and modifications people had done to be able to move the head up and down accurately but decided it wasn't worth the time because it wasn't dead accurate. I just moved the head and re-wiggled my setup point. Yes it was inconvenient but then again it was a lot less expensive than a knee mill. If your budget allows then buy a mill with a square column where the head goes up and down. Many different types on the market.

 

[SmithDoor]

Solution. Do NOT buy a round column mill drill. But, if like me, you came to that conclusion too late, here is my fix.... (and I have tried laser pointers, etc etc., none of which were satisfactory)
https://wordpress.com/post/johnsmachines.com/14693It was costly and time consuming, but it does work. See the johnsmachines.com link for full details.

The round column can be fix and work just like dove tail.
You also buy on use market round at lower cost.

See left side

Dave

 

[justinlmartin07]

Thanks guys
I am keeping my eye out for a good used dovetail column mill on craigslist, but it seems like there are a lot more round column than dovetail column so I was deciding if I want one of those instead. I just bought a used PM1022 lathe though so I will probably have to wait awhile before I get another toy.

I have a round column mill. When adjusting the height the accuracy is lost. No problem, Install a point or a
wiggler and re-position the X & Y axis. I use a point , takes under 30 seconds to install the point and re-position the axis. This works for center finding. If the work is off center then install the point and mark the work before adjusting the height. Then re-position the point mark after adjusting the height.
Points are sometimes referred to as locating pins and another name I cannot recall.
Turn a round to a long taper and sharp point. the longer the taper the easier to see your layout marks.
I turned 3/8" , 1/2" and 5/8" rounds to a 1 or 2 ° taper. Gives a long sharp point. Three sizes usually will suffice for my endmill holders.
mike

That sounds like a good idea, Mike. I will keep that in mind.

 

[Shopgeezer]

I have had a round column mill for years and am finally able to get rid of it. For work that involves and lot of up and down movement like drilling holes and then tapping them it is a pain in the neck. It is fine to say “just reposition the head” but try and drill and tap an eight hole bolt circle and it will drive you to tears. Don’t even consider a round column mill drill. There are all kinds of real mills on the market for the same price.

 

[kwoodhands]

I have had a round column mill for years and am finally able to get rid of it. For work that involves and lot of up and down movement like drilling holes and then tapping them it is a pain in the neck. It is fine to say “just reposition the head” but try and drill and tap an eight hole bolt circle and it will drive you to tears. Don’t even consider a round column mill drill. There are all kinds of real mills on the market for the same price.

I use a rotary table for bolt circles.
mike

 

[trlvn]

I have had a round column mill for years and am finally able to get rid of it. For work that involves and lot of up and down movement like drilling holes and then tapping them it is a pain in the neck. It is fine to say “just reposition the head” but try and drill and tap an eight hole bolt circle and it will drive you to tears. Don’t even consider a round column mill drill. There are all kinds of real mills on the market for the same price.

Two words: stubby drills!

Craig

 

[awake]

I used a bottom-of-the-barrel round column mill-drill for many years, and did some work of surprising accuracy with it. Sometimes that involved making positioning jigs that let me extend beyond its limited envelope. For the most part, I did not find myself having to move the head up and down very often; careful advanced planning generally let me get things done within the scope of the quill movement. Of course, mileage will vary depending on the projects being machined ...

All that said, I had the chance to upgrade to a Bridgeport a few years ago. I had thought I would still use the mill-drill as a second-op machine or for drilling or such, but the BP is just so much more convenient that I found I never used the mill-drill at all, so in the past year I went ahead and sold it.

 

[Lloyd-ss]

A lot of good opinions, preferences, and some facts.
I bought my lathe and mill at the same time and the cash was a stretch. I opted for a smallish square column mill. The salesman said, "knowing what you are planning on doing, I don't think you are going to be happy with that small mill." I was back a week later exchanging it for the larger round column machine for the same price.

I agree with all the complaints about the round column mill. But I have workaround for the single major problem, which is loosing your zero when you move the head. As already mentioned, the points or an edge finder or dial indicator work fine and don't take too much time.
But the major trick for me is planning my work. Look at the longest and shortest tool you will be using, and like Craig said, stub drills, a few extensions, use a tall end stop for your vise, and move the part up and down in the vise when you can. If you can afford a dovetail column mill, great. If you can't, you can certainly make the round column one work for you. Just my opinion.
Lloyd

 

[Richard Hed]

A lot of good opinions, preferences, and some facts.
I bought my lathe and mill at the same time and the cash was a stretch. I opted for a smallish square column mill. The salesman said, "knowing what you are planning on doing, I don't think you are going to be happy with that small mill." I was back a week later exchanging it for the larger round column machine for the same price.

I agree with all the complaints about the round column mill. But I have workaround for the single major problem, which is loosing your zero when you move the head. As already mentioned, the points or an edge finder or dial indicator work fine and don't take too much time.
But the major trick for me is planning my work. Look at the longest and shortest tool you will be using, and like Craig said, stub drills, a few extensions, use a tall end stop for your vise, and move the part up and down in the vise when you can. If you can afford a dovetail column mill, great. If you can't, you can certainly make the round column one work for you. Just my opinion.
Lloyd

If you cannot afford a larger mill, then ANY mill is a good mill, you just need to know how to squeeze out the best it can do.

 

[lee webster]

Pardon my ignorance about mills, I've never used one. Is a round column mill adjustable for height? If I had one and wanted to machine a slot, how would I do it?

 

[Lloyd-ss]

Pardon my ignorance about mills, I've never used one. Is a round column mill adjustable for height? If I had one and wanted to machine a slot, how would I do it?

The round column is sometimes called a mill-drill. You Z-axis movement (up and down) is limited by the quill (spindle) travel. But you can move the entire head up and down as needed, but because the head rotates around the round column, the x and y needs to be re-set.

With the dovetail or square column, the head can be moved up and down (or the table moved up and down), but the x and y do not change.

Here are 2 examples.
https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-8-x-29-2-hp-mill-drill-with-stand/g0705
https://www.grizzly.com/products/gr...-variable-speed-knee-mill-with-ram-head/g0695

 

[Lloyd-ss]

Sorry. I somehow double-posted.

 

[lee webster]

Thanks Lloyd-ss. I can see how that works.

 

[swarf]

I picked a mill/drill practically brand new for 500$ Canadian six yrs ago. It has its short comings, but it does what I ask of it.
If it's good enuf for Keith Appleton, it's good enuf for me.

 

[lee webster]

I have never seen a round column in action, and I like what Keith does. I will check out his videos.