Recommendation? Basic Mill Tooling?

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AlaskanHunter

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Nov 23, 2013
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I recently inherited a Jet JMD-20VS mill. So with only 2 hours of mill time (all of it at trade school, none with this mill), I am about as green as can be when it comes to how to set up a mill. What do I need for basic tooling to get started, and what is the order of priority? Since the head had to be removed for shipping, I assume a good dial indicator and 1-2-3 blocks are a necessity for tramming before use. What else will I need/ wish I had when I get it set up?
 
Good set of collets if you don't have them. A .0001 indicator, vise, step blocks, various sizes of end mills and drills.
 
You need to types of Indicators....Dial Indicator relatively inexpensive and Dial TEST Indicator much more expensive BUT you need this because they are more accurate for Milling/Machining accuracy. Basic tooling consists of Mill Holders most common used is the R8 collets search around for deals on a set usually $100 a set or less. Buy the Best vise you can afford 5-6" jaws you don't necessarily need to buy a Kurt (Super Expensive) Check out online stores like Little Machine Shop or MSC Metal working supplies they will have most every thing you need to get started....Join Practical Machinist....Loads of information there and here is a link to Tubalcain Youtube channel Great Videos for beginners and intermediates....

You will need a Clamping Kit based on the size of the "T-Slots" on the table also a Parallel Set to support work in the Vise...These are a MUST Have!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBC69869E8CB708F2


https://littlemachineshop.com/
https://www.mscdirect.com/
 
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I forgot to mention that the mill came with about 20-30 collets and a 100 piece T slot set (I think that's the right term?). So both a dial indicator and a test indicator are needed? Or is the test indicator sufficient? What sort of cutters should I get? It seems like end mills are the most useful for knifemaking. What about fly cutters? Or is that a later addition to my tooling?
 
AlaskanHunter said:
I forgot to mention that the mill came with about 20-30 collets and a 100 piece T slot set (I think that's the right term?). So both a dial indicator and a test indicator are needed? Or is the test indicator sufficient? What sort of cutters should I get? It seems like end mills are the most useful for knifemaking. What about fly cutters? Or is that a later addition to my tooling?
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Well that is a good start for tool holding...and material holding to the table...A Vise and a set of Parallels would be my next additions. You want to tram the head the to table but also need to tram the head to the Vise in case the table is Wonky. You really need both Indicators...The Test indicator is Best used to make sure your Vise is square on the table left to right on the "X" axis you set the indicator in the Quill and run the vise on the X axis and adjust runout left to right and back to left and adjust vise to "0" runout.

How do you intend to use the mill....End Mills are most commonly used for Slotting and Trimming...I use fly cutters to Mill Handle material to thinner dimensions for scales.
 
depending on i use mostly HSS endmills but keep a few carbide around for just in case work. as to the vise just note kurt has a "scratch and dent" link with reduced prices. i fly cut soft stuff on my mini mill (wood and soft metals) i dont use them on the bridgeport tho (want a 2.5 inch 5 insert shell mill)
 
Busto said:
Well that is a good start for tool holding...and material holding to the table...A Vise and a set of Parallels would be my next additions. You want to tram the head the to table but also need to tram the head to the Vise in case the table is Wonky. You really need both Indicators...The Test indicator is Best used to make sure your Vise is square on the table left to right on the "X" axis you set the indicator in the Quill and run the vise on the X axis and adjust runout left to right and back to left and adjust vise to "0" runout.

How do you intend to use the mill....End Mills are most commonly used for Slotting and Trimming...I use fly cutters to Mill Handle material to thinner dimensions for scales.
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My current plan is to use it for slotting and ensuring parallel faces on guards, and the occasional dovetail insert/inlay into a handle, but I'm sure that is just scratching the surface of what it can do.
 
I make precision folders and just use good digital calipers for most stuff but do have several dial indicators/holders/etc. For tramming I do best with an ez tram type of device that has 2 indicators.

Get what you can get away with in my opinion... fresh carbide is where it is at.

Those expensive t-slot clamps that don't use a step are nice. Aluminum plate is nice to make fixtures. Mill a piece of angle iron to make a fixture to mill clips, lock recesses, etc. I am always finding new ways of clamping stuff down to mill...

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Get a good drill chuck if it doesn't have one. Don't try to mill with it though, it'll just want to keep falling off. ;)
A DRO, while not entirely necessary, really does speed things up and really helps with accuracy. Even one of the cheaper setups from iGaging would be a game changer.
Edge finders are a necessity in my opinion. There are things like coax indicators, center finders and wobblers and such, but you can get by pretty well with just a traditional .2" edge finder.
A good assortment of endmills is nice. I'd get at least 1 assorted set from 1/8" to 3/4" or so, then get a handful of the more common smaller sizes that you'll use for guards and what not.
Center drills are a good idea, as is a good countersink or two.
If you plan on doing a lot of tapping, a tap follower is nice to have.
Definitely get a decent vice and a parallels set. Some angle blocks and/or a sine bar (along with a gage block set) can be useful.

Fly cutters are nice to have if you need them, but I don't know that it'd be first on my list. A lot of your tooling will be stuff you buy when you learn that you need it, and it may not be specifically for a mill. Stuff like surface plates, calipers and micrometers, transfer punches, v-block sets, etc...
 
Good vise (don't skimp)

dial test indicator

parallels

I have found that the best fly cutter is often just a face mill running one insert. You can use a different insert for aluminum and steel for the best results.

You should have a drill chuck

Cutting tools obviously. Other than drills I run only carbide. My situation might be different than yours but I have found that anything other than carbide ends up being a waste of time and money.

Edge finder

people consider a good coaxial indicator maybe a luxury item but I use mine a lot

Complete drill set, quality USA made

Over/under reamer set

Digital calipers

^ these are all the basic things that I would need to go with a mill for basic projects. your needs may vary, for example you might use a rotary table or a tilt table or a boring head etc. for your particular projects.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Good vise (don't skimp)

dial test indicator

parallels

I have found that the best fly cutter is often just a face mill running one insert. You can use a different insert for aluminum and steel for the best results.

You should have a drill chuck

Cutting tools obviously. Other than drills I run only carbide. My situation might be different than yours but I have found that anything other than carbide ends up being a waste of time and money.

Edge finder

people consider a good coaxial indicator maybe a luxury item but I use mine a lot

Complete drill set, quality USA made

Over/under reamer set

Digital calipers

^ these are all the basic things that I would need to go with a mill for basic projects. your needs may vary, for example you might use a rotary table or a tilt table or a boring head etc. for your particular projects.
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Thank you Mr. Carothers. Are these in a rough order of importance? Some of these I already have, and I won't be able to afford all the rest at once. So I'd like to get the most needed items first, and get the rest as I can afford reasonable quality. Other than what you already mentioned (vise & drill set) is there anywhere I can go with mid-range quality without quickly regretting it? I usually adhere to the "buy once, cry once" philosophy, but after some searching on mill tooling I could easily drop 5-10K (yes, I have a addiction to quality tools) in tooling and still not have everything.
 
You might check out the Glacern Vise's....I worked for the Government and all purchases require competitive bids and usually it's the lowest bidder not necessarily the lowest quality would show up in the Machine Shop...Well they purchased some Glacern 5" and 6" vises double vises the whole line up and I was mildly skeptical at first comparing to Kurt's we still had around. I purchased 3 of them for my own personal shop and they are holding up well...You can save some money on these but again it's always best to shop around for high ticket tooling....

https://www.glacern.com/vises
 
I'll add to this thread a little differently since most of the basics have been covered.
A milling machine is a bit of a money pit in terms of the added hardware support.

Depending on what you do on the mill, you will find yourself needing specialized holding fixtures/plates/tooling.
A quill indicator is a huge timesaver I think, and the XY DRO is big in my book.
Gage blocks and pins are a big help as well.

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AlaskanHunter said:
Thank you Mr. Carothers. Are these in a rough order of importance? Some of these I already have, and I won't be able to afford all the rest at once. So I'd like to get the most needed items first, and get the rest as I can afford reasonable quality. Other than what you already mentioned (vise & drill set) is there anywhere I can go with mid-range quality without quickly regretting it? I usually adhere to the "buy once, cry once" philosophy, but after some searching on mill tooling I could easily drop 5-10K (yes, I have a addiction to quality tools) in tooling and still not have everything.
Click to expand...

Not in any particular order.

Yeah you need a good vise and drills. Cheap imports can have a negative value there. I don't use import carbide either, but we're running production here. Import calipers, parallels, test indicator, collets, drill chuck will probably be okay for most folks.

A drill chuck from Maritool is as good as my "better" chucks and much less expensive. But we're not talking about $50 ebay China junk either.


We do have one Chinese mill vise here. It's on our cut bench used to hold the vertical 2X4 for cutting competitions. It's out in the rain. Seemed a shame to use a Kurt there...
 
Something I'll add: An indicator is only as good as its holder. I like the articulated style holders as they're a lot quicker and easier to adjust exactly where you need them. Noga probably makes the best, though you're gonna pay about $100-$150 or so for it. I have one from Grizzly that's less than half the price, but seems to hold up very well for the money, and especially for home/hobby use.

FWIW, most of the stuff I've purchased from Shars and Grizzly are usually pretty decent, especially for the home shop. As you get into some more, you'll start to see where you need to upgrade quality, but for a round column benchtop mill, I'd say that most of the better known import brand tools and accessories will be just fine for what you'll be able to do on your machine.
 
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