Drill Mill Lathe
My old man is cleaning his shop out. Sad, but he's happy to give his sons his tools. One of these is a Smithy Drill Mill. It ain't a Bridgeport, but I can't resist getting a toe into the milling world. I have dug into Franks' archives. I was wondering if anyone else has found some useful lutherie related uses for such a machine? I like the idea of the work piece being fixed rather than feeding pieces into fixed machines.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Paul Verticchio on
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Tom,
You lucky dog.
If I could afford just one high ticket device for my shop, it would be a milling machine.
I know nothing about operating one but the possibility of fabricating impossible to find parts or using better metal stock to improve on the originals, would be just a few applications. Y'know, like...a milled TOM or Strat/Tele bridge as opposed to a zinc casting, bridge saddles, tuner buttons, tailpieces...get my drift?
Best of luck (-:
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Permalink Reply by Mike Kolb on
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Grizzly Tools used-to sell a fairly large mill, dedicated to woodworking... (a large table, relatively slow speeds, etc.) If memory serves, Frank Ford had bought one and was very happy with what it could do.
Like Thomas, I'm sold on the idea of workpieces being fixed in place vs. feeding the work. I've got a relatively small mill-drill, the downside being that it was constructed with metal-work in mind, so the table is undersized for the pieces we'd like to hold.
Still got yours, Frank? What's the report on it after a few years? Any idea why Grizzly ceased selling 'em?
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Permalink Reply by Frank Ford on
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Indeed, we still have and use the Grizzly Wood Mill. It has about the size and range of a Bridgeport, but far less weight. SO, it's great for wood, not so good for metal (except aluminum, I suppose). Speed isn't all that low - up to 5000 rpm. Would never want to be without milling capability in the shop, especially with a machine big enough to wrestle an entire electric guitar under the spindle for routing pickup cavities, etc.
All in all, I'd rather have an old retired Bridgeport, which, with some looking, could be had for about the same $$, but I know so much more about those kinds of tools than I did back then.
We us the Wood mill all the time, and have been thinking about moving out the drill press to save space. . .
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Do not fail to get that tool into your shop if you have space! You WILL find it indispensable before long!
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Permalink Reply by Thomas James on
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Yes, I have dreamed on that a bit while deep in the Grizzly catalog. My Dad's machine is a couple hours away, so I haven't had much time to check it out. Luckily, I have a brother who is into milling. I think my first project is gonna be this little tool:
The ideas are rapidly stacking up.... I can see some late nights coming.
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