Mill/Drill combo or go with just a Drill Press

Does anyone use a Mill/Drill (small to medium size, sorry I don't have the model # of the one I am looking at) Bridgeport type primarily as a Drill Press?

I am in the market for a good drill press and stumbled onto a mill/drill. I don't have any mill projects right now, but I am sure I could find something if I had the machine.

If you use your mill/drill primarily as a drill press, can you tell me if this is a hassle (setup/space limitations etc) or could you tell me a couple of the pros vs cons.

Thanks,
username

 

The mill will open alot of doors. I would not be without one! go for it
as far as voltage it is probably 3 phase you can buy a VFD (1phase in 3phase out) cheap under $150 that wll work great

 

go for the mill/drill. best part is if you're drilling a lot of holes in one piece you don't have to realign and reclamp the piece, just adjust the table. Secondly, if you just buy a drill, I guarantee you will find a job for which you wish you'd bought a mill about a week later...

 

The ability to turn really slow RPMs with the mill/drill you can use some big holesaws , not to mention slotting holes for brackets etc.

+ 1 for the mill drill

 

Mill/drills aren't the best for doing quality milling work because they aren't rigid enough and usually have some slop in the controls. That said, it is far better than a drill press for drilling holes accurately or in a pattern and will do a lot of fabrication of brackets and other pieces for your car project that just can't be done with other tools. You can also use it as a cheap and dirty CMM to identify hole patterns in an existing part like a header flange bolt pattern

 

i bought a cheap mill/drill brand new off ebay for 700 with shipping and dont know how i lived with out it

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=442351&showall=1

 

get the mill/drill. wish i had.

 

I have a mill/drill and love it. I'd be lost without it. Sure, a Bridgeport would be great, but I don't have the money or space.

 

Every time I try to mill on mine the chuck fall out of the spindle. Not ridgid enough for milling. Bridgeport mills are selling for scrap prices now. Buy one of each, your better off

 

A mill drill will do anything a drill press will do. It don't work the other way around. If you can try to find some old milling machine. It will also do anything the mill drill will do and do it better. I got mine from a machine shop that went broke and the IRS would have grabbed it if I didn;t

 

I'd look into the feasibility of getting a full-on mill like Rich says. They are selling for scrap prices these days, if you can get in the right place, at the right time.

 

-Assuming you're not joking, you don't ever use the drill chuck for holding milling cutters. Drill chucks are not designed to resist side cutting forces, and will, as you found out, separate at the taper.

Use a collet or endmill holder to hold endmills. Drill chucks are for drills.

Doc.

 

nice work how much time did it take to do all that work ?? i looked at the smaller machines yrs back when i started looking for equipment for home use and i had a small 9x20 mill drill but hated it , it,s really tough to go home and play with little toy style machines when you run the real deal all day at work LOL .

 

I love my mill/drill but always use a small-cheap drill press for the little jobs.

 

"I'd look into the feasibility of getting a full-on mill like Rich says. They are selling for scrap prices these days, if you can get in the right place, at the right time....."

Where are you guys finding these "dirt cheap/scrap prices" mills ,etc.... ??? I keep scouring CraigsList,newspaper ads,etc...but ,everything around here seems to be at near new prices..I know everybody's trying to make a buck these days,so where are the really good deals at???
I've vowed to never start another project without at least a mill/drill and a decent TIG outfit...

Stan

 

The only drawback to using the mill/drill for drilling is rather limited "daylight" when compared to a floor model drill press. For work within their size range, they are far superior. I have a floor model DP, maybe once every other year I will crank the table down more than half way.

The only Bridgeports selling for scrap prices are scrap machines. Problem is, a lot of scrap machines sell for good money.

Go for the mill/drill.

Bill

 

around here, bridgeport milling machines are still getting a minimum of $2500. even for the old used ones the need some rework and have no tooling. if you can find one for $1000, they are usually junk and need to be rebuilt.
mill/drills seem to be the way to go. and you can get some of the geared heads ones for under $1000 with a warranty.

 

I bought my bridgeport, series 2 ,9" x 42" bed, back in the 92' for $3500 and it was in perfect shape. Newall digital set me back $1500, financed it all , for $186 a month. Traded my turbo Kawasaki for a 18" x 60" Royal lathe and use the shit of them everyday. You can make more money accidentally than most people can on purpose with your new toys too!!!

 

If you want inexpensive Bridgeports look at Michigan auctions. Tho most places have gone out in the last few years. Machines are still available.

I have seen good tool shop machines loaded into dumpsters for scrap and also whole shops sold for a couple thousand bucks and shipped overseas.

The Bridgeport in my shop was bought at a school auction. Had absolutely no wear on ways. Scraping looked like new. Cross feeds are tight. Has a 6" riser and power downfeed. DRO and power cross motors came with it. $900.00.

Also I bought an ENCO mill-drill back in the seventies. I bought it with a MT3 taper head. Most of the tooling in this area is for or from General Motors and thats what they use. Used to use it for cylinder head work and light mill work. Still use it today. She's gettin loose, but I never use the drill press.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions as to good Mill/Drill brands? Is the Grizzly G1005Z any good?

 

mill drills don't do either real well drill or mill. they are time wasting toys. get a real mill then you can drill holes and mill with it. i picked up a nice used atlas 6x24 mill for half of what a new milldrill would have cost me.

 

Here's my take. A mill is invaluable for any serious machining. If you don't have one your going to, sooner or later, farm out that type of work at $25-$70/hr (depending on where you are and what needs to be done). This might not be too bad for a one time build but gets cumbersome if multiple projects are anticipated. Every dollar you pay for machine work could go to purchasing a machine.
A drill press is a no brainer in my estimation. A mill/drill is just too limited to cover the range of drilling operations encountered in the building of a hot rod.
Similarly, a mill/drill is limited in it's milling capabilities to cover all of the possible scenerios your going to need so, again, your going to outsource some of this work.
i'm not saying DON'T buy a mill/drill I'm only saying that i've never known anyone who bought one that didn't either sell it and get a mill AND a drill press or let it sit collecting dust in the corner of the shop.

Frank

 

I've had my Cincinnati Toolmaster(basically a Bridgport) for many years, and have not used my drill press since. To me, there are soo many used mills available nowdays that I would not even think about buying anything else. Even an old mill with some wear would be much better than most any mill/drill or drill press. I'm not sure what you part of the country is like, but in Michigan, there is always a shop upgrading, downsizing, or going out of business and prices are very very respectable. If you are considering some mill/drill, then you might want to look around for a "real" mill, even if it costs a couple hundred more it will more than pay for itself with ability. One more thing to consider, there is no reason you have to have power feeds, digital readouts etc on your used mill...the mill/drill you are looking at probably doesn't have them either. Those are things you could always add later when you realise that there is just so many things you can do on a "real" mill.

 

I owned this for many years . When i shut down my shop and sold the equipment it was required in the deal. I know you will get a bunch who will poo pooh these machines. Most if not all who have never owned one but I will tell you . What you cant make on this machine you dont need. There is hardly a day goes by i dont wish i had it back even though I am now just a hobbiest. I have two lathes and a big Kearny Tracker mill but nothing compares to the versatility of the Smithy Lathe Mill Drill. Here it is reworking pistons for an experimental race engine.
Don

 

I have a mill/drill which is used almost daily for building brackets, tabs, etc. For slotting and other milling tasks it's not the best. I does the job, but axis's will move a bit even when locked down. I would never go back to a standard drill press, and the mill/drill is acceptable for most work, but a full on milling machine like a Bridgeport or Cincinnati would be far superior.

The problem with the large machines is the cost of shipping, moving, and set-up for a hobbiest.

The mill/drill machines are much smaller and can be set-up in much smaller spaces.

If you get a mill/drill, get collets for holding the end mills, they have a tendency to spin in a standard drill chuck.

 

Plus many milling machines have a long bolt hung from the top of the machine which screws into the top of the tapered toolholder, the bolt stops the toolholder from coming loose.

 

-That bolt is called a drawbar, and you're exactly right.

A drill press, at least the better ones, mount the chuck with a simple taper. Either a male arbor going into a socket in the spindle (a Morse taper) or a male taper on the end of the spindle that fits into a socket in the chuck (a Jacobs taper.)

This is fine for drilling, since the thrust is in line with the spindle- the force of cutting helps push the tapers further into their sockets. The harder you push the drill, the firmer the mate of the tapers.

On the other hand, a side load from an endmill wants to push the chuck sideways. Rock something side to side and twist? Heck, that's how most of us go about trying to free a stick part/shaft/bolt out of a hole.

Adding to that, the spiral of the endmill cutting flutes creates a downward pull- the harder you push the endmill into a cut, the more it tries to pull the chuck downward.

Now, since the chuck is mounted on a taper, it takes very little movement before the taper releases entirely. At that point, you have a two-pound steel ball with a knife blade on one end flying through the air and spinning at a thousand RPM.

If you're lucky, you'll avoid having it fall into your lap. If you're not...

A real mill or mill-drill firmly secures the tool (chuck or collet) by bolting it in place with the drawbar. A positive lock to keep the whirly blades o' death where they're supposed to be, and helps prevent tarnish of the workpiece when you leak blood all over it.

On the mill-drills, there's nothing wrong with a good one. I used one for years- it probably made me fifty grand before I wore it plumb out. A good machinist- or at least a careful workman- can work within the limitations of the machine.

And besides, there's very, very little the average rodder would be doing that would require better than several thou of accuracy. I mean, how precise does an alternator bracket or a carb spacer need to be?

I'm biased, of course but I have five drill presses, but I'm still likely as not to set a drilling project up in the mill first.

If you can afford it and have room for it- something to think about- a mill-drill makes a nice hefty drill press, even if all you do is drill with it. If you can't afford it, don't sweat it. You can do a lot with just a drill press, a band saw and some files, as Lil' John showed us all those years ago.

But if you can afford it, have room for it, and run across one for a good price, don't hesitate to grab a good 'real' mill if it crosses your path.

Just keep in mind the mill is the cheap part. Expect to spend twice the cost of the machine (that includes mill-drills) in tooling. Vise, table hold-downs, endmills and cutters, collets and holders, centerdrills, angle plates, you name it. Sure, it only costs $5 and $10 and $25 a pop, but it adds up in a hurry.

Doc.

 

Great advice Doc,Just to add a bit.
Garage sales are a good source for set up stuff,as far as indicators ,edge finders and 123 blocks.Spring is here and garage sales are all about and there are plenty of old timers who have a kennedy box laying around and they want to give it a good home.
I bought my starrett last word indicator at a yard sale for 10 bucks and use it every day.

 

That's what I did.

 

Bridgeport all day long for me, never known such a versatile tool for such little outlay and ideal if you got the space in your shop to site it. Make sure you get one with a Digital Read Out, Newall or Heidenhain they help to hide the wear and slack in the slides that can be tweaked and maybe even remedied by tightening of the strips. Their design has not really changed for 75 yrs and these are industry standards for our Armies and Navys whats that tell ya. Trust me I know. why? cos I'm Ex Bridgeport employee 26yrs built them every day all day and was proud to do so. just try to buy the best you can afford and school auction machines normally have less wear than ex machine shop machines ;-) Peace 8bb