Reddit reviews Tabletop Machining

There is one piece of wisdom regarding small mills that I see again and again: the first thing to look at is machine weight. Mass = rigidity. Rigidity is the basis for many virtues - primarily clean cuts and accuracy. Rigidity also equates to long tool life.

You will encounter lots of people telling you to buy an old knee mill (e.g. Bridgeport). I can say from experience that a worn-out Bridgeport is next to useless. We had one at my previous day-job that was horrible - everything chattered, tools broke, parts were out of spec, etc.

Of course, the ways on an old mill can be restored - but my point is that buying an old mill is not a guaranteed road to success.

It is said that a good machinist can make good parts on a bad machine. Take a look at Sherline mills and the online resources/community. I'm not endorsing the Sherlines, but they are a great example of a baby machine that can make good parts with the right techniques. I do highly recommend the book written by the late owner.

If all you want to do is slotting and light side milling, a little mill might be fine. When you get into face milling and heavy cutting - that is when you want a big beefy machine. The Taig mill is another micro machine similar to the Sherline.

Is it a taig machine?

You may find this book helpful:

https://www.amazon.ca/Tabletop-Machining-Approach-Miniature-Machine/dp/0966543300

Also subscribe to clickspring on YouTube.

This was the first book that I read a long time ago.

I thought it was pretty good explaining the parts of a desktop mill (and also lathe) and the various attachments.

Honestly though, watching youtube videos helped me learn much more. There were certain things I just didn't get (for example the purpose of parallel bars) that I had to see in use before I understood.