Wnts2Go10O

iTrader: (12)

Stuff comin my way
Seig X2

Little Machine Shop Tooling Kit (R8)

LS1MCSS

iTrader: (18)

I have a small mill/lathe combo. They are real handy for making small brackets and stuff.

chevroletfreak

iTrader: (6)

It looks like fun.

What else can it be used for other than drilling straight holes?

Wnts2Go10O

iTrader: (12)

its a mill... ill be able to make brackets, mill valve covers, y blocks, resurface my heads, and anything else i could want to do. i also got it to make a few of my own firearms.

CTSmechanic

iTrader: (2)

Im sure it will do alot of handy dandy things... But I wouldnt get my hopes up when it came time to do a set of heads or make ultra precise pieces.....

fast01

iTrader: (16)

I'm going to have to agree here. You've only got a 1" face mill capacity and I don't think there's enough X or Y travel to do a set of heads. With some work and tweaking the machine can be pretty accurate, but don't expect too much out of the box. I've got a Shoptask and an X1, so I've got some experience with the Chinese stuff. So far I've spent more time adjusting and tweaking than making chips, but I think that's just as much fun! Here's a couple pics of my set-up.

Wnts2Go10O

iTrader: (12)

i plan on a tru-inch conversion, belt drive or metal gears, and a couple others.

ill try it on a head i dont need first and ill go from there. dont to do anything more than clean up the deck.

livefast1

iTrader: (1)

how much you got in the set up so far? looking for something similair

BADD SS

iTrader: (4)

It wont come close to being able to surface a head... I would bet that it actually would leave a fairly rough surface, It's no bridgeport, Im sure it will be fine for brackets and stuff though.

FWIW, I have seen heads done on a surface grinder...

fast01

iTrader: (16)

Actually, if you're just looking to clean up the surface finish of the heads you can spread some lapping compound onto a surface plate and work the head's deck surface around on it for an hour or so and that'll clean it up pretty nice. If you're real careful you can do it on a piece of glass as well. Of course, the best finish will come from the surface grinder, but the smoothest finish is not always the best for gasket sealing. If you contact your gasket manufacturer they can tell you which surface finish is best. You can use a surface finish comparator or an electronic surface finish gage to measure the finish. The comparator is fairly cheap, but the electronic gage is into the $1000 plus range.

Wnts2Go10O

iTrader: (12)

in stock form, yes. in stock form it has too much vibration in the head stock and too much deflection. ill try and post up the base build im going to do and ill get some junk heads off here or ebay or something and do a before and after. if the machine proves me wrong then so be it, but i want to try it anyways.

f-bodyguy

iTrader: (9)

go for it man try it and if it works it work if not your out 50 buck or so and not your good heads

BADD SS

iTrader: (4)

I wont go nuts with this, but what is th point in modding a mini mill? It will always more than acceptable vibration and deflection because its not a ig $$$ mill. Honestly, what does it cost to have heads milled by a machine shop, $50? Why risk i with something that cant do it, and then spend tons of money on it to marginally increase is ability? I think what you have is the cats meow for non precision brackets and general mill/drill work. Try it on really cheap heads first, but I think you will be dissapointed.

fast01

iTrader: (16)

Tweaking and modding these machines is a hobby unto itself, so I'm certainly all for modding away. I'm also all for trying to cut every piece of metal you can find in the garage just to see what the machine will do, but to have expectations that some of this stuff might actually come out nice is a little far fetched. The machine can do nice work, but to ask it to go far beyond its capacity is just setting yourself up for disappointment.

Your biggest problem is going to be the lack of XY travel, even more so than chatter and vibration. In stock form the mill only has 8.7" of X travel and 3.9" of Y travel. Even with the LMS expanded base you're only going to have 11.8" X and 5.1" Y travel. The mill is simply not big enough to perform this task in 1 set up and I'm not sure what the column to spindle distance is of this machine, but I'm going to venture to say you may not even be able to reach the center of the head to take a cut at all.

fast01

iTrader: (16)

I was poking around the net today and found this machine http://www.grizzly.com/products/Dril...th-Stand/G0704
If you're looking to do bigger work, you might be happier with this. Just a thought. I know you already placed the order and this is a bit more money, but it's a much nicer machine and I think you'll be happier in the long run. Also, the tooling you ordered will work with this machine as well.

Wnts2Go10O

iTrader: (12)

i saw tht. its a lathemaster mill that grizzly now sells. dont want to do a lot of big work, i jus want it see if i can find a limit and then extend it