Frequently Asked Mill Questions

The actual machine weighs about 950 lbs or so.

The crate measures 4' wide x 4' tall x 3' deep an is made of packing grade plywood.

If you want to take the table off (takes about 10 minutes) you can get it through a 20" wide door.  If not, you need a door about 36" wide (go through sideways).  If you're moving the machine up or down stairs we recommend that you take off the table and use an appliance dolly (rated for at least 1000#'s).

Yes, it comes with a few wrenches and some other small tooling.  They come with a drill chuck.

We like to think we are in the top tier.  We've dissected a number of different types of mills and I'm VERY comfortable saying that we have a solid well build machine. If you're looking for size and an all around good machine we've got you covered with a working envelope twice that of most of our competitors.

Another thing you have to realize about us is WHY we import our mill. We manufacture and sell Turnkey CNC Mills and CNC conversions for square column mills, we had to find the best mill so we designed and engineered a bed mill that could handle the loads that our CNC  systems can generate  and be very accurate and repeatable.  That's why we sell the best possible machine that we can get.

I actual get this question quite a bit.  And I always laugh.  There is an old adage that says "A good machinist can make a poor machine perform well, a bad machinist can make a good machine perform poorly."  The long and short of it is simple, the machine is a solid well performing machine that is above the standard quality of most import square column mills. 

Assuming you're working alone, It can be done if you that the mill down piece by piece, Start with the head, then the table, column, and finally the base.  The hardest parts are the head, 200+ lbs and awkward, followed by the column, every bit of 275+ lbs.  The table and base are easy after those.

Keep in mind, having a helper is a MUCH better idea.  Having someone who can carry some of the weight is best, but just having someone there to open doors (or call 911) is a good idea too.

No we do not, and we will probably never order them, a good percentage of our customers CNC their mill so it's not an option that most of our customers want and with our new DRO's the spindle scale as a 4th axis, the hand spindle feed is much more accurate and easier to use.

If you've looked at a few square column mills you know that we have some pretty big travel numbers, and a working envelope over twice that of our competitors.  So a few customers actually asked straight out if we were lying, long and short our travel numbers are true, we simply walked out with a tape measure and run the machine stop to stop to get measurements.

When we take pictures for the site we open a normal mill (we use the same products we sell), hose it down with brake cleaner, wipe it down with few rags, and hose it down with WD40.  Occasionally, we steel wool a spot or two, but that's it.  The entire cleaning process takes about 1-2 hours.

Also, keep in mind that the cast iron is new, you want to keep the surfaces oiled a fair amount, over time the oil soaks into the iron and provides improved rust protection.

NO, We specifically asked the manufacturer NOT to include a 110V wiring chart, this is because we have seen MANY mills that have the cordage that meets UL ratings for 220V, but will exceed the current rating of the cordage at 110V.  This is because the mill will draw twice as many amps when run under 110V versus 220V.  We were also concerned that if it could run on 110V some folks would just change the breaker and plug it in to a normal outlet.  We would hate to see someone's house burn down because of our product 

There is nothing on the end of the cord  (pigtailed).  We recommend that you hard wire the mill in a junction box on its own dedicated circuit.

Mill Measurements

The bottom of the base to the top of the column is 47".  When the head is at the highest point the head will extend above the top of the column. When the head is flush with the top, there is 9.75" from the spindle nose to the table.

16" wide x 27.5" deep and the holes are based on 12.875" x 24.875" rectangle.

To the Z Axis way cover it is 9.75" and to the actual ways (remove the cover) 10.5.  At table height their is a gain of a little more than an inch because the Z axis ways do not go completely down to the bottom of the column.

Mill Freight Questions:

Usually not.  For the most part we use Daylight transport for everything east of the Rockies and Saia for everything west.  The trucking company gets it to their terminal which is as close to the destination as possible.  Asking them to deliver it to another terminal is like asking FedEx to deliver your UPS packages, it just doesn't happen.

Yes, the freight company will call you when the mill arrives at the destination terminal

Yes, they will do this free of charge as long as they can do it easily and quickly with a fork lift.

The freight company will call you and set up final delivery options with you when the mill gets to delivering terminal.  They will arrive with a pallet jack, unload the mill and move it to where every you tell them to put it.  This is of course within reason.  They pretty much wheel it to where ever they can get to easily.  They will not go on walkways, off the pavement, up or down stairs. But the will wheel it to a nice spot in the garage.  If you really want to be nice, put some gloves on and give them a hand.  The nicer you are to them, the nicer they are to you (plus they have the pallet jack).

Well, yes and no.  It all comes down to how the freight company sees you.  The biggest thing they would look at is how your taxed.  If your property is taxed residential, well.... But some folks tax their residence as commercial property.  If you do this, you 'by law' are commercial property.

Now, if you have a forklift we can reduce the delivery charge to $75  because they will not need a special truck with a lift gate.  If this is the case you will need to call us, so we can process your freight properly.

BIG, it is usually a very large truck that is not a tractor/trailer setup.  It the truck cannot get onto you driveway, or at least in front of your house you will need to pick it up at the terminal.

If you have an engine hoist that might work (I've done it, but I haven't seen your hoist).
Actually a lot of folks break the crate right in the back of the truck and tear down the mill a little right there.  Removing the table (about 10 minutes) and the head (another 15) lightens the mill by about 400 pounds and makes it a lot more stable.  With the mill base and column still attached to the base of the crate you can slide it off with the help of a couple of ramps.

Now, of course moving 950 pounds of iron is not easy, and common sense can easily go out the window.   TAKE YOUR TIME, get some friends to come over and put many hands to work.  No mater what, thinking about what your doing can save a lot of effort, and prevent an injury.

After Purchase Questions

The top of the head is held on by 6 bolts and tapered dowel pins.  After removing the 6 bolts you tighten this bolt to separate the top of the head enough to get a few small pry bars in there and remove the top.  Without that bolt you would never bee able to remove the top of the head.

It wouldn't be a bad idea after running the mill for a few hours (12), just fire it up and let it run in each of the speeds for about 2 hours, checking it frequently during operation.  After this 'break in period' change the oil to one suitable for your application (see Selecting the Correct Oil for Your Industrial Hobbies Square Column Mill). 

I like to Enco (www.Use-Enco.com) or KBC Tools (www.KBCTools.com) those are good places to start.  There are hundreds off tool suppliers and each carry some great tools.  Once you get the hang of things you might want to look at Travers (www.Travers.com) and for all the really weird stuff McMaster Carr (www.Mcmaster.com).

Call a few places, get some catalogs and put them in the head, best reading in town.

Places like Grizzly are ok, but they sell many things in sets only, and owning a set of end mills is fine, but you will eventually find you just like a few end mills (I like 3/8 and 1/2) and you'll need to get those by the box.  Not to mention drill bits, getting bits by the dozen is really nice (KBC, Enco).

Tip:  If you don't need the extra length on drill bits, get machine (sometimes called screw) length bits, they are about 1/2 the length of regular jobber length bits and don't flex nearly as much.

Just put the mill in the lowest gear and use the drag from the gear train to loosen the tool.  Every gear head machine we've seen does it the same way.