Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Research for home shop: Iron Workers, Presses, Mills and Welders

My general list of brands of mills/presses/iron workers  and research info is currently at:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WApJOZUBsJ_a8FNN6cx69BuRYD10-3Zvb_Z0Z2iWw0w/edit

I would really like to put together a nice home shop (need a little more space though).  Maybe a nice enough setup to do small jobs for $.  Could be a nice post retirement activity if retirement is ever possible.

Other than the space issue, it is somewhat hard to define what is the appropriate machine capacity for a home shop.  This is especially true without some experience with this type of equipment and a good understanding of what types of projects I may want to tackle.

Still thinking about the types of possible projects - ranging from mundane carts/storage, large rebar type trellises all the way up to aluminum greenhouse frames, etc. 

Cost is also a factor.  What features on a mill would I regret not having if I either have a desire to do lots of hobby work or decide to try and make a few dollars with it?  What features are easily added later?  What is best purchased versus self-built?  I believe I could safely construct a press but I am less sure whether I can do it cost effectively - less mechanical engineering knowledge will translate into overbuilding to stay safe.  I do think it would be a fun project though.

There is also the risk with used equipment.  Without a knowledgeable friend, it seems somewhat difficult to determine the state of used mills.  I did see a few blog posts with some good practical advice - listen to your intuition and remember a "too good deal" is likely not a deal type things.  I don't have experience tramming a mill or working with DTI equipment so I would agree with some blogs stating it would be a mistake trying to sort that out when checking out a potential mill for purchase.

An interesting reference regarding checking out a used mill.
http://www.mermac.com/freemill2.html

It may turn out to be an adventure.

The below lists are by no way complete but these are the most common sites I have looked at for much of the larger equipment I have an interest in.

Some metal working tool, equipment and accessory manufacturers:
  1. http://www.aceronline.net/acergroup/mills.htm
  2. http://www.americanmachinetools.com/milling_machines.htm
  3. http://metal.baileighindustrial.com/
  4. http://www.birminghammillingmachines.com/
  5. http://www.bpt.com/
  6. http://www.boltonhardware.com/category/bolton-tools/
  7. http://www.grizzly.com/
  8. www.harborfreight.com/
  9. http://www.jettools.com/us/en/home/ 
  10. http://kbctoolsandmachinery.com/category/show/Milling+Machines/Manual/
  11. http://www.kentusa.com/mills/
  12. http://www.lagun.com/vertical-milling-machines.php
  13. http://www.littlemachineshop.com/
  14. http://www.manford-usa.com/
  15. http://www.mscdirect.com/ 
  16. http://www.micromark.com/machine-tools.html
  17. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_metal-fabrication
  18. http://www.proxxontools.com/store/pc/home.asp
  19. http://www.robotshop.com/en/tabletop-milling-machines.html
  20. http://www.rongfu.com/en/milling-drilling-machine.html
  21. http://www.sharp-industries.com/mills.html
  22. http://www.sherline.com/tools.htm
  23. http://www.siegind.com/products.html
  24. http://www.smithy.com/
  25. http://www.southern-tool.com/store/metalworking_mills.php
  26. http://www.taigtools.com/
  27. www.use-enco.com
  28. http://www.wells-index.com/
  29. http://tool.wttool.com/tools/Milling%20Machine
Great resources I lurk at a lot.  Internet searches on metal working and welding help end up here for me a lot.
Some sites which handle used (and new lots of the time) equipment.  I have not bought anything from any of these sites but do a lot of window shopping.

2 comments:

  1. Great post. I read this post and must understand what you have read in order to know its use. Thanks for sharing. Iron workers in Missouri

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  2. US Shop Tools is the manufacturer, wholesaler & supplier of metalworking tools and machine parts supplies. Established in 1993, we have been committed to providing world-class services, technical support, fast & reliable shipping service to our customers.

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