Thread: Mill Dilemma

Originally Posted by Jon_77

G'day all,

I was originally looking at buying a new Hafco HM-48 for space reasons, or a entry level turret 50 or 52 series.

I have had access and used a BM-52V mill that a friend owns so when i compare the HM-48, 5x series, they feel somewhat 'cheap' in comparison.

The downside is, the mill will take up a rather large chunk of real estate in my shed (close to a quarter).

Part of me says go with it and deal with the loss of real estate, but the other part says you'll make working in your shed a pita.



Thoughts? opinions?

Cheers
Jon

I think you have all the facts. I have a HM-45 and they do not compare to the larger machines very well. I bought mine for space consideration and ease of relocating.( I can use an engine crane to move the HM-45.) I think a full sized machine would probably need a forklift to move around the place?
I miss having all the treats and the rigidity that the larger machines have and have been adding them as time and money allow. It would have been a lot easier just to buy a complete machine in the first place. You have used the bigger machine already so anything smaller will be a bit of a let down ,IMHO.
Bottom line: If you can handle to loss of room, buy the bigger machine.

A hard call for us looking in.

Good luck

Sterob

G'day Sterob,

Thanks for the feedback. Like you say, ease of relocation becomes a massive plus of the smaller mills along with how much (or little) space they take up compared to the turrets.

Cheers
Jon

Hi Jon,

I think everyone is going to advise you to go for the bigger machine, if you have the room. When it comes to machine tools mass and rigidity is a big factor in how well the machine performs.

However, it depends on what sort of things you want to do with it. I have the HM52, and while it's not in the same class as some of the european machines, there are a lot of them around and you'll get plenty of help if you strike problems.

It's a bit like buying a car, do you pick the 4 cylinder japanese compact, or the F150, of course there are also those who like the stylish european stuff Porsche, BMW...

The HM52, to me is like a 6cyl Commodore (or Ford if you must), whereas the Shaublin is like a Porsche... then sometimes when you really need a Mac Truck, nothing else will do the job.

Regards
Ray

Obvious answer ............ get a bigger shed !
:^)

You can roll the mills around on skates. From memory some people have them set up either on wheels all the time or wheels that can be screwed down easily. I have a turret mill the biggest plus for me is the Y movement. The Y axis on the 50-52 is about 220mm(I believe you can get a little more, or was it you have to mod them a little to get that much?) My mill has about 425mm Y. They aren't all that deep but they are very wide. My table is about 1200+handles+770 travel, so you really need at least 8ft.

How are you going to power a 5hp motor?

Stuart

Thanks lads, I ended up purchasing the BM-60 this morning.

Ray - You're right, and like cars, the more fancy you go the more it costs, one way or another. I'm not planning on doing massive jobs, but you never know, as they say you can machine a small job on a big mill, but not a big job on a small mill. This thing really is overkill, but you only live once right?

I ended up doing some re-jigging of the crap that's in my shed and i won't lose as much room as I first thought.

Mav - I'd love a bigger shed

Stuart - They would have to be some serious wheels, no? This things weighs in the vicinity of 1400kg.

I've got 3 phase going into the shed, so power is all sorted. I think a 3 phase 5hp motor only draws about 9-10amps or so under load? perhaps more on startup, somebody correct me if i'm wrong (I probably am).