{"id":2595,"date":"2009-01-23T09:24:31","date_gmt":"2009-01-23T14:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/?p=2595"},"modified":"2009-01-23T09:24:59","modified_gmt":"2009-01-23T14:24:59","slug":"tool-escalation-via-rationalization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/?p=2595","title":{"rendered":"Tool Escalation via Rationalization"},"content":{"rendered":"

I Must Own All Tools<\/em><\/p>\n

Is this a beautiful day, or what? It’s too cold to sweat, it’s too dry for the mildew to grow, and the sun is out.<\/p>\n

I appreciate the information people have sent me on milling machines.<\/p>\n

It’s funny how my “needs” have changed. First, I thought I needed a drill press. Then I learned that a mill would do 98% of what a drill press would do, plus a whole lot more. And I learned what a good drill press costs; if you don’t spend at least $600, you are not buying a lifetime machine that will do metal and wood well. And $1000 is more realistic. That’s a lot, just for holes and sanding.<\/p>\n

So I started looking at mills. I was pretty excited about small “mill drills.” Then I learned that they cost roughly the same amount of money as huge mills that will do almost anything, because there are lots of used industrial milling machines out there. And I’d be willing to bet that a 40-year-old industrial mill will outlast a brand new Chaiwanese mill\/drill, and I know it has a better resale value.<\/p>\n

I thought a Millrite would be a good choice, because it’s big enough to do a lot, but you can fit it in a garage fairly easily. But then I learned that they don’t cost much less than Bridgeport Series I mills, which are better and probably easier to get parts for.<\/p>\n

It looks like there is a price envelope, including shipping and taxes, of $1500-$2500, no matter what I buy. You can spend more, but this seems to be what you should pay for a good used machine, if you’re willing to fix it up a little.<\/p>\n

One big problem: I am incompetent to evaluate a used milling machine. Jdunmyer sent a link to a helpful site, but even if I applied the information, I would probably make mistakes. Also, a lot of the deals out there are beyond my normal driving range, so I can’t really get to them to look them over.<\/p>\n

I keep reading about backlash. I’m not totally positive what this is, except that it introduces error into table movements. It sounds like you crank the table to a certain position, and then it backs up on its own. It’s supposed to be a problem on old machines. Can you correct it? I do not know. Can you work around it? I do not know.<\/p>\n

Maybe the best thing is to get a cheesy drill press and use it until I get a deal in which I can have confidence.<\/p>\n

Here’s an interesting buy. Someone in the Tampa area has a Bridgeport mill which can be had for $1250,<\/a> meaning it can be in my garage for maybe $1700. The ad has expired, but I have a feeling they would relist it. It’s 3-phase, which is good, but it has a 3-phase feed motor, too, which means I’d have to replace it and use 2 cords, or I would have to find a way to run both motors from a VFD, or I would need a VFD plus a converter for the feed motor. I guess that would be a problem with any 3-phase mill that has a second motor. Do I even want a feed motor? Can you use a mill as a drill press when it has a feed motor?<\/p>\n

There is a local dealer with a Millrite, but they want $1950, which seems very high. A lot of people pay two grand for these machines, but many people pay half of that, and the economy is not good, and it’s not going to get better for a very long time, if ever. Prices on used industrial equipment should be plummeting, unless the Chicoms and Indians are buying it for export. I very much doubt that they have any interest in it. They make their own equipment much cheaper. <\/p>\n

A guy in Texas has one for a grand, but when you add the other expenses, it’s $1700, and it appears to be pretty old, and I can’t inspect it.<\/p>\n

The nice thing about a mill is that it should be the last really big tool I’ll ever need. I could always add a lathe eventually, but I should be able to get by without it very well.<\/p>\n

I think I’m finally in a position to make a few things, or at least I will be when my bandsaw table pin arrives. I have been occupied with other stuff this week. I may run over to Shell Lumber and see what they charge for hardwood boards. I really need some metal for a bandsaw base. I think I’ll just make a frame with 2″ angle iron (not perforated) and then cut small pieces of angle iron for tabs through which I can run the bolts for casters. I assume angle iron this big would be sturdy enough. Each tab would have to support about 110 pounds, even with work on the table.<\/p>\n

I don’t understand how the stabilizing doodads on my table saw’s HTC3000 mobile base work. They are supposed to rotate little feet down onto the concrete to stabilize the saw, but when I screw the feet up as high as they will go, they are still so low they would raise the saw quite a bit if they were lowered. And that means there is tremendous resistance when I try to use them, so it appears to be impossible to make them work. The plastic levers that operate them would snap. I don’t really need them. The saw’s four other feet have brakes. But I wish they worked.<\/p>\n

A guy with a welder and some cutting tools (i.e. me) can make a nice mobile base with locking feet. A guy with a welder and some cutting tools and a mill can make little cammed things that lower the saw and stabilize it. Unfortunately, that guy is not me.<\/p>\n

Not sure how I’m supposed to get the saw off the ground to lower it onto the base. I think my hoist will do it, but there is always a possibility that 367 pounds will pull the garage roof down. Probably not. The saw has a weird eye in the top of it. Is that for lifting? I don’t know what else it could be for.<\/p>\n

My Incra V27 miter gauges arrived. My bandsaw had no gauge when I bought it, and the table saw had two really bad ones. These look good. They’re supposed to be very precise, and you can adjust the slop with a hex wrench. I can save the old ones for permanent jigs or something. The one on my portable saw is okay, but I don’t believe in moving accessories from one tool to another when it’s avoidable.<\/p>\n

Lots of stuff to think about today. Lots to do. But it sure beats thinking about how I can’t do anything because all of my tools are Chinese junk in a little Rubbermaid toolbox.<\/p>\n

Also, I have a great idea for a new book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I Must Own All Tools Is this a beautiful day, or what? It’s too cold to sweat, it’s too dry for the mildew to grow, and the sun is out. I appreciate the information people have sent me on milling machines. It’s funny how my “needs” have changed. First, I thought I needed a drill […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2595\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}