This thread is going to be a continuation of my trials and tribulations with a new
square column benchtop milling machine from BusyBee Tools in Canada. I had started to cover this mill in my oscillating I.C. engine thread, but I was getting so far off the original thread title that I have opened up a new thread to deal only with the mill. I have upgraded from a smaller version of the same mill, which served me faithfully for six years, but was beginning to show it's age. This new milling machine has more than double the motor power that my previous mill had, and has a Y axis travel of 8 1/2" and an X axis of a whopping great 23 1/2"---(Even though all the brochure and manuals with it claim a 16 1/2" X travel.) The first thing I discovered when I got it home, was that although my old mill moved .002" in X or Y for every graduation on the dials, this new mill moves 0.0025" for each graduation.---Try doing that in your head!!! I have been thinking of a DRO set up for a couple of years now, but didn't want to spend the money. This new mill with it's Bastard travel per graduation has made the purchase of a DRO kit a necessity. I purchased a 2 axis DRO set-up with glass scales from DROPROS in California, and will be installing it on the mill and documenting it here. The second thing I have discovered, is that the R8 shank on the chuck which comes with the mill has a very deep, unusual slot in it, and consequently the "alignment pin" which protrudes inside the spindle was sticking out so far that standard North American R8 shanks wouldn't fit into the spindle. After much hair tearing and screaming at various BusyBee administrative staff, I took matters into my own hands and removed the offending pin with my nasty little cold chisel and Dremel tool.---This was on the advice of some senior forum members who have much, much more machining background than I do. Stay tuned, and I will take you with me on the adventure of installing DRO's, relocating the hard to reach head height adjusting handwheel, and various other modifications in an effort to "Make a silk purse from a sow's ear!!" At this point in time, It has cost me roughly $3500 (Canadian)for the mill, the stand it sets on, a new boring head, and a couple of R8 endmill holders, and a heavy duty "machinery transportation cart" to move the machine around from my garage, thru my office, and into my machine shop. The two axis DRO kit has cost $1000 so far, but I have yet to hear from the taxation and customs people who will want their pound of flesh as well.
square column benchtop milling machine from BusyBee Tools in Canada. I had started to cover this mill in my oscillating I.C. engine thread, but I was getting so far off the original thread title that I have opened up a new thread to deal only with the mill. I have upgraded from a smaller version of the same mill, which served me faithfully for six years, but was beginning to show it's age. This new milling machine has more than double the motor power that my previous mill had, and has a Y axis travel of 8 1/2" and an X axis of a whopping great 23 1/2"---(Even though all the brochure and manuals with it claim a 16 1/2" X travel.) The first thing I discovered when I got it home, was that although my old mill moved .002" in X or Y for every graduation on the dials, this new mill moves 0.0025" for each graduation.---Try doing that in your head!!! I have been thinking of a DRO set up for a couple of years now, but didn't want to spend the money. This new mill with it's Bastard travel per graduation has made the purchase of a DRO kit a necessity. I purchased a 2 axis DRO set-up with glass scales from DROPROS in California, and will be installing it on the mill and documenting it here. The second thing I have discovered, is that the R8 shank on the chuck which comes with the mill has a very deep, unusual slot in it, and consequently the "alignment pin" which protrudes inside the spindle was sticking out so far that standard North American R8 shanks wouldn't fit into the spindle. After much hair tearing and screaming at various BusyBee administrative staff, I took matters into my own hands and removed the offending pin with my nasty little cold chisel and Dremel tool.---This was on the advice of some senior forum members who have much, much more machining background than I do. Stay tuned, and I will take you with me on the adventure of installing DRO's, relocating the hard to reach head height adjusting handwheel, and various other modifications in an effort to "Make a silk purse from a sow's ear!!" At this point in time, It has cost me roughly $3500 (Canadian)for the mill, the stand it sets on, a new boring head, and a couple of R8 endmill holders, and a heavy duty "machinery transportation cart" to move the machine around from my garage, thru my office, and into my machine shop. The two axis DRO kit has cost $1000 so far, but I have yet to hear from the taxation and customs people who will want their pound of flesh as well.
Last edited:
