Mini milling machine for prop making

[Honus]

I just finished making this and I figured a few of you guys might like to build one like it so I posted a tutorial here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make_a_mini_milling_machine/

 

[wannab]

Neat idea!

Doug

 

[OdiWan72]

ingenius!!!

Markus

 

[Burge]

Very cool, thanks for sharing Honus. :thumbsup

 

[Honus]

Thanks guys! I still need to add an exploded view drawing later today. Then I'll make the stepper motor mounts so I can convert it to CNC.

 

[FettFanatic]

Very neat idea. That is a great project.

 

[OB10]

Very cool! I've always been kind of surprised that there haven't been more DIY lathe and mill projects on Instructables. I keep thinking of building one of those old home-made "model" lathes like they'd used to publish in Popular Science and Popular Mechanics.

I'll have to look at it closer later. Looks great!

 

[Honus]

I'm kind of surprised as well. I posted a link to a site that has all kinds of cool homebuilt tools in the Instructables community forum. Have a look here:
http://www.vintageprojects.com/lathe-milling-plans.html

There's a ton of cool projects on that site. My next tool project will most likely be a lathe or bandsaw.

I also just updated my tutorial so now my stepper motors are mounted- just need a CNC controller and I'm good to go.

 

[OB10]

I freaking love that site! :love I've downloaded probably everything there. Haven't actually done anything with it yet.... :lol There's another cool site that has loads of neat stuff.
http://www.green-trust.org/junkyardprojects/FreeHomeWorkshopPlans.html

There are also some Yahoo Groups that have scans of some of the old Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, Science & Mechanics, etc. plans and articles. I think one of the Groups is called Plans and Blueprints, or some such. Some of the machines are copied several times across the many websites, but there's some great frakking projects out there!

Even though I have access to a couple different lathes, I'd kinda like to build my own "old school" hobby lathe, like some in those plans. Not sure what would be best for a motor. My old Hoover vacuum cleaner should have been replaced years ago, but the motor might have enough power to be cannibalized. Also thought about gutting a small wood lathe, but if I go for that, I might just as well adapt that for cutting metal. I know real machinists will laugh (or cry), but it can be done.

Google Books has also scanned every Popular Science ever, and most (or all) Popular Mechanics, so there are some fanfreakingtasic articles from the 30's and 40s Unfortunately, they don't have them as downloadable .pdfs. I've found a couple ways to download individal pages, but it's pretty tedious.

 

[Honus]

Thanks for the link- I was trying to remember that site! For a little hobby lathe sewing machine motors work pretty well- that's what most watchmaker's lathes use. I'm working on plans for a miniature lathe right now and I'll definitely do another tutorial when I'm done.

As for my milling machine, I still need to get a CNC controller and I also need to make a rotary table, indexing fixture and milling vise. Right now I'm building a variable speed control for the motor.

 

[ScooterinAB]

That's pretty cool. I love homemade tools. Makes me feel good about tackling the upper end of this hobby.

How much did building this set you back? I'm at work right now, so I can't sit down and read the instructions.