Help me buy a Mini Mill - Spindle Taper: MT #3 or R8?

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R

RMS

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Hey Guys,

I can only afford a mini mill, and all I am doing its small aluminum or brass parts. I know there are only about 4 choices on the market in my price range of under $800 including shipping. So I am looking at two right now the Grizzly G8689 with an MT#3 spindle taper at $570 or the Harbor Freight one with the R8 at $613.......

2,500rpm:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Mini-Milling-Machine/G8689
http://www.harborfreight.com/two-speed-variable-bench-mill-drill-machine-44991.html

-or-

+300 rpm extra .......

Then I found this one for $521 having 2,800 rpm with an Spindle tape: #1 Morse copy of a Shirline.
http://www.micromark.com/MICROLUX-MICRO-MILLING-MACHINE,9683.html

What do you guys feel is the best one?

Thanks,
Rob

 
I have the mini mill and the X3. The mini has the MT3 and the X3 has the R8. As far as what I do there is not any difference in how the collets/holders work, but I would say that if I had to do it over again I would have went with an R8 on the mini due to the fact that when I moved up in size the bigger mills typically have R8 spindles and I had to re buy a bunch of tooling. If the mini had been R8 I would have been way ahead in the game.

Now with all that said, if there is anyway possible you can scrounge up enough money for an X3 I highly recommend the X3 over the mini. There is no comparison in what the bigger mill will do. I have kept my mini just as a precision drill press and on occasion I have to use it because of the MT3 tooling I already have.

Just my two cents and I wish you the best of luck with whatever you get.
 
I have the X2 mini mill with the larger motor and extended x axis from Warco.I am very pleased with it and treated with respect does all I ask of it,in fact I would go as far as to say I am over the moon with it.
Don
 
Go with R8. More selection of tooling available. And when you move to a larger machine (you KNOW you will! ;)) chances are it will be R8 also.
 
I have the miromark version of the X-2 with the mt 3 taper. Like others have said r-8 is a better mill taper.
I also have grizzly tools .
the price difference between the MM x-1 and the grizzly x-2 is only $ 50. This money gets you almost 3 times the cast iron and a motor with twice the power.
If you need the portability the the little x-1 has the advantage. and it appears to be belt driven =quieter.
As far as MT-3 IRRC as set of collets is about $70 from lIttlemachineshop. and there is a kit that you can change to an r-8 but again added cost.
Many of us here with x-2 have added a belt drive system .
Tin
 
One advantage of MT3 over R8 on the X2 mills is that the MT3 takes up less of your Z-Axis height. That said, if you're only building small parts that may not be a factor and having R8 will be good for switching to a bigger machine. If you can go bigger than an X2 then do it now. I would if it weren't for space constraints in my garage.
 
You can increase the Z axis height on the X2 by converting to an inexpensive air lift setup (LMS, $40) instead of the spring arm assembly it comes with. This also takes care of the head dropping issue when adjusting the Z height as you mill.

As for the desire to move up to a larger mill eventually, never even considered it, probably never will. You'll see very few complaints about the X2 here.
 
don't forget harborfreight has 20% off coupons in most magazines so that's 120 bucks off ;D ;D
 
rcmadness said:
I have the mini mill and the X3. The mini has the MT3 and the X3 has the R8. As far as what I do there is not any difference in how the collets/holders work, but I would say that if I had to do it over again I would have went with an R8 on the mini due to the fact that when I moved up in size the bigger mills typically have R8 spindles and I had to re buy a bunch of tooling. If the mini had been R8 I would have been way ahead in the game.

Now with all that said, if there is anyway possible you can scrounge up enough money for an X3 I highly recommend the X3 over the mini. There is no comparison in what the bigger mill will do. I have kept my mini just as a precision drill press and on occasion I have to use it because of the MT3 tooling I already have.

Just my two cents and I wish you the best of luck with whatever you get.
Click to expand...

I think the mini mill from Harbor Freight has the R8 now, maybe this is a new feature not sure BUT I get a bit confused because then it says "Spindle taper: R8 with JT33 chuck taper" ?? This being said, I will consider the X3 BUT it looks as if only Grizzly has the X3.......can anyone confirm this?

Thanks,
Rob
 
don-tucker said:
I have the X2 mini mill with the larger motor and extended x axis from Warco.I am very pleased with it and treated with respect does all I ask of it,in fact I would go as far as to say I am over the moon with it.
Don
Click to expand...

Hi Don,

Are there Warco dealers in the States? How much do these go for?

Thanks,
Rob
 
Twmaster said:
Go with R8. More selection of tooling available. And when you move to a larger machine (you KNOW you will! ;)) chances are it will be R8 also.
Click to expand...

The R8 is winning here.......am I right to assume that the R8 use a draw bar and the MT3 use a Collet? So an R8 is better because the draw bar and also they are more common on larger machines.


 
rlo1 said:
Being new myself I am very glad I went with R8
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info..........the R8 seems the way to go.
 
Tin Falcon said:
I have the miromark version of the X-2 with the mt 3 taper. Like others have said r-8 is a better mill taper.
I also have grizzly tools .
the price difference between the MM x-1 and the grizzly x-2 is only $ 50. This money gets you almost 3 times the cast iron and a motor with twice the power.
If you need the portability the the little x-1 has the advantage. and it appears to be belt driven =quieter.
As far as MT-3 IRRC as set of collets is about $70 from lIttlemachineshop. and there is a kit that you can change to an r-8 but again added cost.
Many of us here with x-2 have added a belt drive system .
Tin
Click to expand...

Hi Tin,

I like the Micro-Mark stuff and I have their 7x14 mini lathe, but what justifies the much higher price for the x2 mill of $134 over the Harbor Freight x2 one; both have R8.?? Is it that the Micro-Mark has true inch lead screws is this why?

Thanks,
Rob

 
winklmj said:
One advantage of MT3 over R8 on the X2 mills is that the MT3 takes up less of your Z-Axis height. That said, if you're only building small parts that may not be a factor and having R8 will be good for switching to a bigger machine. If you can go bigger than an X2 then do it now. I would if it weren't for space constraints in my garage.
Click to expand...

I think the x1 is out, so its most likely going to be the x2.......would like the x3 but don't think I can afford it. So now I just have to consider tooling costs over Mt3 vs R8. I think R8 tooling is cheaper..... am I correct?

 
Troutsqueezer said:
You can increase the Z axis height on the X2 by converting to an inexpensive air lift setup (LMS, $40) instead of the spring arm assembly it comes with. This also takes care of the head dropping issue when adjusting the Z height as you mill.

As for the desire to move up to a larger mill eventually, never even considered it, probably never will. You'll see very few complaints about the X2 here.
Click to expand...

Well I do think I am going with the X2.......now I am not totally thrilled with HF (not sure) but I think its because they don't seem to support replacements parts as well as maybe Grizzly or Micro-Mark might. But this is probably a null point since I can by parts from the others.

 
GOOFY063 said:
don't forget harborfreight has 20% off coupons in most magazines so that's 120 bucks off ;D ;D
Click to expand...

I signed up for the news letter, so I hope to get that coupon! If you see a magazine with one for the mini mill let me know!!

Thanks!
 
R-8 and MT-3 are both collet tapers both use draw bars. R-8 is a more common mill collet.
The j33 is the taper on the other end that holds the drill chuck.
Warco is a dealer of SIEG machines much like Harbor freight , Grizzly, Micromark, Clark and others.
The grizzly G0463 is the X-3 it is a 445 lb machine and will run you over a $1000 plus tooling. Travers tools has the super x-3 not sure about the standard one.
Tin
 
RMS said:
Well I do think I am going with the X2.......now I am not totally thrilled with HF (not sure) but I think its because they don't seem to support replacements parts as well as maybe Grizzly or Micro-Mark might. But this is probably a null point since I can by parts from the others.
Click to expand...

Perhaps the most-purchased replacement part for the X2 would be the plastic gears driving the spindle. Eventually you'll turn on the mill with the locking pin (holds the spindle while you tighten) still in place and the plastic gears will break. The belt drive modification takes care of this problem. The plastic gears also contribute to most of the noise the mill makes when it is running. Bypassing the gears with the belt drive system quiets it down to almost a whisper. Every part for the X2 is sold by Little Machine Shop, as well as most of the modification hardware.
 
Tin Falcon said:
R-8 and MT-3 are both collet tapers both use draw bars. R-8 is a more common mill collet.
The j33 is the taper on the other end that holds the drill chuck.
Warco is a dealer of SIEG machines much like Harbor freight , Grizzly, Micromark, Clark and others.
The grizzly G0463 is the X-3 it is a 445 lb machine and will run you over a $1000 plus tooling. Travers tools has the super x-3 not sure about the standard one.
Tin
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification on this, and I am thinking my milling will be limited to the very basics and that maybe MT3 will not be an issue for me since I will not need a whole lot of tooling. But I think the x3 is a bit out of my price range and abilities for at least a few years.

Rob
 
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