Mill

For a very long time I had it in mind to get a bench-top-size CNC mill/lathe combo unit, but when I became serious about actually getting one, I did a lot of research of candidate units, and I compared their specs, reviews and blogs.  My first (and best) resource is my son, John, and he seeded my research with suggestions and advice.  I decided that a combo unit was not the best choice for me because it wasn’t as versatile as separate machines, and that a operating a CNC-machine should be an extension of my manual-machine skills not a short-cut around them.   And another reason I ought to start by developing some skills and experience is to help me to decide what I would like (and not need) in an upgrade later.

I decided that (like everything) you get what you pay for, so don’t low-ball yourself into buying a piece of junk, but at the same time to avoid feature-overkill (as I am otherwise prone to do).  So as my researched developed, these are the criteria I adopted:

· Be sized for the scope of projects I expect to work on, which will be parts in size from pretty small to as large as a bread-box.

· Have precision sufficient to assure a decent level of quality in my workmanship.

· Buy from a vendor who can (and does) provide good customer support.

 I was happy to discover a very active user community and a large variety of after-market tool suppliers.  I was also happy to find that even the little hobby machines use the same standards and tools as the big boys.

I selected the Grizzly G0704 Drill/Mill.  After having used it for over a year now, I would say that if I had to replace it, I’d still probably get the same thing.  I can’t afford a machine that has all the features I’d like in it, and what the g0704 lacks, I can upgrade, if I figure I need it bad enough.

< [ mill picture ] >

I have made quite a few modifications and upgrades to my mill.  Some of them inspired by others, some I purchased, and some conceived, designed, and built myself.  Some of them are done and in use, some of them are still on the board (waiting for my wife to let me spend some more money on it J)

As mentioned before, I’ve spent a ton of money on tooling.  At first I just got kits, but now with a little more experience I’ve come to appreciate the benefits of the different sizes and styles of tools. I’m no expert (yet) but I’m getting better.

I’ve also broken some stuff, and have learned a few things not to do anymore.

I have also done a lot of studying, practicing, and learning by trial and error, and I’ve learned a few useful lessons.  I don’t claim expertise, or even special knowledge in any of this, because everyone else probably already knew it from their experience.  But these are useful to me nonetheless, and I thought they might be instructive to others as well.