Drill Press or Drill/Mill ?

jake98 · Mar 12, 2012

Taylortractornut said:
I have another friend that deals in surplus machinery he has several mills in stock and a few lathes to. If you want I can give yall his number.

Jake that Logan sounds nice I have the one Granfather picked up after ww2. it neeads a new belt and a few of the change gears are chipped. THe logan had ballbearings inthe head stock that are easy to replace if theres any runout. Lots of parts still available from Logan actuator. I had them run the numbers on his machine and it was made on February 7th 1942.

I may be taking a look at that lathe tomorrow, will be down that way. Found this page tonight while I was googling milling: Home Shop Tips
it's got a gizzillion little shop tips..

toxicjeeper · Mar 23, 2012

I didnt read the entire thread but..

I had the same problem as you..needed to drill some 5/8 inch holes in one inch thick plate. And was having a hard time with it so I added a third pulley..i didnt know at the time that you can buy them like this but here is how mine looks..I am guessing an rpm around the 200 range.. Got the job done but the damage was done cause it started the machine tool gathering addiction

drilling some pipe

I too bought a lathe because i had always wanted to run one and am now finding the need to for a proper milling machine..Either a BP or larger more ridgid machine is what i am after now..

Dont settle for a small less ridgid table top mill when you can get a full size for cheaper..

lostcause · Mar 23, 2012

toxicjeeper said:
Dont settle for a small less ridgid table top mill when you can get a full size for cheaper..

that's all a function of availability where you live. a couple years ago i took a 3 hour drive and came home with a used rf-30 mill/drill for $550. that price included the stand, 50+ good shape us made end mills, and a few other odds and ends. i still regularly look at craigslist and a few other places for a decent deal on a knee mill, but they are few and far between at under $2000 around here, and virtually all of them are bare mills with no tooling included to get started. at least half of the ones i see might have been sitting unused for 20 years and the person selling it inherited it and has no clue how to use it, but they are sure it's worth a fortune.

there are shortcomings with a mill/drill, but it beats having no mill at all. at 650 lbs, it's not a total lightweight - it's got plenty of power to drill 3/4"-1" holes without having to step through multiple sizes. i had to drill some 7/8" holes recently for 3ph lower pins, and all i did was start the hole with a center drill and then went right to the 7/8 bit. that's not even including the milling capabilities which you don't have with a drill press.