I'm a mill beginner

[LenVW]

The corrugated tile is supposed to have a polyester sock filter if installed in fine clay or silty loam soils as far as I can remember.
I designed production lines and machinery, contractors installed the product.

 

[Susquatch]

we know how to stop it blocking up. farmers can't afford the installation to do it properly

Ya, it's already way too expensive. I can't really see paying more than I have already.

 

[Susquatch]

The corrugated tile is supposed to have a polyester sock filter if installed in fine clay or silty loam soils as far as I can remember.
I designed production lines and machinery, contractors installed the product.

Mine has the sock already. It works for sand but not clay. Clay is uber fine and goes right through the sock

 

[Chicken lights]

Mine has the sock already. It works for sand but not clay. Clay is uber fine and goes right through the sock

sounds like a typical case of engineers not knowing Jack squat about actual real world conditions

those that drive a desk know not about real life, from what I’ve experienced

and of course the engineer blames the contractors

moving on

 

[LenVW]

Farm drainage is an expensive proposition and the application must be done properly to overcome variations in soil composition and traffic effects of the large agricultural machinery being used these days.
My father’s first tractor was a IH Super C that was the size of a present day large lawn mower.
Present day, the farm tractors are the size of military tanks and easily costs $400k +.

My brother was a company farm supervisor the last 5 years and they operated 20,000 acres of crop land while travelling 20 miles a day to get to the fields they had to plant and harvest.

Farming has changed to match the scale of feasible operations.

 

[Susquatch]

My brother was a company farm supervisor the last 5 years and they operated 20,000 acres of crop land while travelling 20 miles a day to get to the fields they had to plant and harvest.

This reality makes me sad. It seems to be the way of the future though.

Small family farms are slowly disappearing. Large corporations are slowly taking over. Government laws are favouring the big corporations, and so are the supply chains. The big guys get HEAVY discounts on supplies like seed, fertilizer, chemicals, and even machinery. Me? I gotta pay full pop for everything. Word on the farm laneway is that fertilizer is gunna double this year. If that happens, it will put me out of business. Used to be that you could join a coop to get volume discounts for members. Now the coops are their own corporations that rape you just as much.

What is the point of a family farm if they have a board room in an office tower and they need to hire a farm supervisor to manage field operations?

Ya, IMHO, it's all very very sad.

 

[ducdon]

Take some time to get you mill setup on a sturdy and secure support.
. . . Then add as much ballast as you have available, anything heavy in your shop.
Weight will dampen the vibration that is generated during machining . . . That is why industrial mills are setup on cast iron columns and bases.
Only buy cutters & tools when you need them, unless you find a deal, it is too easy to spend a lot on thing you will rarely use.
Get to know some other ‘hobby’ machinists that will share tooling with you.

I agree, buy cutters and tools as you need them. Avoid the cheap kits from Busy Bee and Amazon. My experience is their quality ranges from mediocre to garbage. I have sets and find I use the same 2 or 3 of the kit and the rest never get used. I do quite a bit of motorcycle work and 6 and 8 mm tap drills and taps do 80 percent of the work. Get to know your local industrial supply or open a online KBC account. Their stuff isn't cheap but your level of frustration will be lower. Have fun.

 

[Former Member]

Get to know your tools and tooling, the same suppliers that supply KBC supply Busy Bee and Amazon. So yes shop by price at start. FYI while KBC staff knows me by name, they are not the cheapest or the best supplier out there, they are a good beginner source and a good have it stock source.

As a new machinist, start slow, get only what you need as you need it. You'll invest less to start.

One other thing learn one word Carbide, cost more short term costs less long term unless break constantly.