Optimum BF20-L Vario Mill is finally home with me.

[George Greer]

Hi all,

Finally, my milling maching arrived. 

Once I get around to getting it mounted, and leveled. I'll post pic of my newest toy.

Now, before I go and start any bad habits that I should not start,  lemme know any tips for a newbie??

George 

PS...where's the download button? I would need some plans for model steam engines.

[Stilldrillin]

Hi all,

Finally, my milling maching arrived. 

Once I get around to getting it mounted, and leveled. I'll post pic of my newest toy.

Now, before I go and start any bad habits that I should not start,  lemme know any tips for a newbie??

George 

PS...where's the download button? I would need some plans for model steam engines.

George,

Find out what climb milling is....... And DON`T do it...... Until you know a lot more..... 

David D

[Divided he ad]

George,

What David said..... Broken cutters and flying workpieces are  not a good thing!



Check your PM too for plan related stuff 




Ralph.

[cidrontmg]

Hi George,
As soon as your finances allow, buy 3 digital scales, and mount them to your mill. And add also 2 remote readouts, especially the Y-axis will be just about impossible to read straight from the scale. I donīt think you will regret knowing where the quill is centered, to 0.01 mm / 0.0005".
Good luck with the mill, post many pictures 

[Miner]

Tram the spindle to the table before you make even the first cut.

Pete

[George Greer]

Hi all,

Well, I finally got the mill onto my bench last evening.......I had to remove the base from the coloume to get it down the stairs.

Got the mill put together, got to get some bolts for mounting it, and then tram the mill and I HOPE.... that I am off to a fun hobby...

I will post photos when finished setting up the mill and lathe so you can see my hobby room

George 

[Divided he ad]

I HOPE.... that I am off to a fun hobby...

(I think I can say this on behalf of others in the collective ) .....   so do we George   




I hope you have done a little homework and are happy with the start up and milling procedures?  Remember David's line about climb milling!!  This can cause  

I'd personally rather take 20 shallow cuts than 3 big ones (that make the earth rattle) and a finishing shallow cut*  But that's just me 



Then there is the possibly obvious but never overstated.... Wear safety glasses and definitely NO GLOVES or LONG SLEEVES!   



Have fun and don't be afraid to ask any questions about the machines, cutters and materials    (There's always someone on here who can help  )







Ralph.





(*slight exaggeration may have been used?!?!) 

[cidrontmg]

From Divided he ad:
"I'd personally rather take 20 shallow cuts than 3 big ones (that make the earth rattle) and a finishing shallow cut*  But that's just me"   
 

Not just you  Iīll second that opinion. I donīt need to make chips the size of meat hooks. Iīm not trying to set any speed/size records. This IS a hobby, to be enjoyed. But your mileage may vary 
Be safe, tram the mill, get the digit. readouts, and post many pictures! 

[George Greer]

Shallow cuts....Ok, I can go with that, I am not in a superhurry to do anything anymore...no climb milling...

Now, I have been looking around on the net...digital scales and remote readouts, for the X & Y axis....where would be a good place to find one for my mill, and brand name?

Thanks...

Been reading a lot, and I now have my lathe tuned up, and follow tips here and at other board.......geezzze what a difference!! Better finish's and overall a better "feel" to the lathe.

More to come.

George

[George Greer]

Ok...

Here goes the first look at my home shop...



George

[Stilldrillin]

ANOTHER neat & tidy shop! 

How does that happen George? 

Looks great.... And you`ve got heating too! 

David D

[cidrontmg]

George Greer,
"digital scales and remote readouts, for the X & Y axis....where would be a good place to find one for my mill, and brand name?"
Donīt really know about a good place, but a cheap (almost as good, IMHO...   ) would be Arc Euro Trade
http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Measurement/Digital-Readouts. No brand name (Chinese, of course). I have those, and so far (6 months, +/-) canīt complain, theyīve worked as expected. There are lots of alternatives, glass scales, far fancier readouts, FAR higher prices, etc.
Iīm in fact planning to get a Shumatech readout, as soon as they are available (maybe August), and then Iīll move these readouts to my lathe.
I donīt think you will easily find cheaper DROs, except maybe in ebay.de. Same scales appear there now and then.

P.S. Seems that Mr. Swali is out of remote readouts (Digital Display Unit) atm.  
P.P.S. Thatīs one tidy shop!

[zerodegreec]

Congrats! I got my BF20vL this spring... Its a GREAT mill. I had some issues with mine but I got it all sorted out now... Some things to look into on your mill that can save you some grief.

First thing I had a problem with that took me the longest to sort out was the tram of my head. I could get it set left to right, but it seemed to be tilting forward 0.1mm. At first I found the cover for the gears (between the Z axis slide and the head) had some screws keeping the head from being 100? true to the Z axis. later I found the TRUE problem. My mill only had 1 bolt locking the head swivel in place. This bolt essentially was pulling the heat out of true and causing my error and throwing my tram out....

Here is a link to the topic I had running over at another forum (http://www.cnczone.com/forums/benchtop_machines/109730-bf20_shim_column_solved.html)

Another item you may want to look into is to make up some adjustment screws to help you tram the head. Machinechick came up with these tram aids... work great...




I just installed a ShumaTech DRO and its WELL worth the money.. I cant believe how much it has helped me be dead nuts accurate and it has doubled my rate of production.

Another Mod that I came up with was to make a Power Draw bar... this is another massive speed savings. Here is a link to my vid on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0VK3lQwLwc


So this is just a taste of what is out there for the BF20 Mill. if you are searching around you will find that allot of manufactures are making these mills with a wide range of quality. Check for the Grizzly W0704 or the Weiss PM20 or PM25.... allot of these mills seem to be getting converted to CNC... Looks like you and I got a winner when it comes to the possibilities.... now if I can find or purchase some skill I will be set

 

[HS93]

Hi this looks so simple am I righ in thinking that it is just a drill used on hammer to remove the draw bar ?? My brain is even worse than normal due to things my doctor has forced down me so am not machining or thinking stright so sorry if it is a stuppid question.

Peter

[Bogstandard]

Peter,

A power drawbar would be just perfect for yourself, and they can be made up fairly cheaply. It all depends whether you want remote operating buttons, or whether you can cope with just the butterfly handle on the power driver. I bought a 3/8" drive version for helping me with hand tapping, and it was less than 20 squid.

I can't get the above link to work properly, so I can't see what ZD has set up, but seeing as you can't machine at this time, if you need brackets and stuff making, don't be afraid to ask.

This is the sort of thing I was on about.

John

[zerodegreec]

Hi this looks so simple am I righ in thinking that it is just a drill used on hammer to remove the draw bar ?? My brain is even worse than normal due to things my doctor has forced down me so am not machining or thinking stright so sorry if it is a stuppid question.

Peter

yes my power draw bar is just a cordless impact screw driver... I have been using the same battery for almost a month with regular use (3hrs a night 5 days a week)