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Mill arrived

Since you didn't blink at 10 grand, I'm not gunna hold back. Here is a starting suggested list. I listed the things I use regularly or that I consider essential. I'm sure I've forgotten a lot. I'm also sure others will disagree. That's ok by me. Especially if they add stuff!

All your tooling should be balanced to the size of your mill.

WORKHOLDING

Workholding is important. You say you have a vise already. I hope it's a good one. Not one of those they usually give you with the mill. Don't cheap out on the vise. Lots of guys love Kurt Vises. I have a Gerardi that I love. This is something to try and get used. @RobinHood got a Chinese Clone of the Gerardi that he liked. The workpiece must be secured to the mill's table to prevent movement during cutting. This isn't just about good finishes, it's also about safety. Please get a good vise.

A set of T-nuts, studs, step blocks, and clamps that fit the T-slots on your mill's table. This is used for securing irregularly shaped parts or when a vise isn't suitable.

A set of precision 123 blocks. These are precision-ground steel blocks used for setup, squaring work, and raising the workpiece to a specific height. A set of these with the appropriate sized machine screws is incredibly useful. I have several sets and I also have a set of 246 blocks. I use them ALL THE TIME!

Parallels - precision ground steel paired bars of equal height, used in a vise to raise the workpiece and keep it parallel to the vise's jaws. You can get thin, standard, thick, and wavy sets. At a minimum, get a 1/8 standard set. Next wavy, then 1/4, and lastly thin.

Soft Jaws or something similar are replaceable jaws for your vise, often made of a softer metal like aluminum. They are used to hold delicate or previously machined parts without damaging them. You can make them if you want.

CUTTING TOOLS

End Mills. Don't run out and get too many of these all at once. Just get a few to begin with. Say two each of 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2. (or 6, 8 10 & 12mm). You can get square end, bottom cutting, side cutting, and ball end. You will use combined bottom/side cutting most often. It won't take long to know what you need and then you can buy more. Don't bother with roughing mills till later - if ever.

You asked about a fly cutter. I'd suggest that you get three. Large, Med, and Small. Or you could consider a few sizes of facing mills with indexable inserts instead. But don't go too big. And be careful to get ones that all share the same inserts.

A collet set - say ER40 or 32. You can buy R8 collets too, but I prefer ER collets and a few standard R8 end mill holders - not R8 collets. The ER style and R8 Endmill Holders are better than R8 collets in my opinion.

You will also need 1 or 2 drill chucks. I'd suggest a small chuck and a half inch chuck. Again, buy good ones. They don't need to be Albrecht, but they need to be decent not junk. I'd suggest Jacobs Ball Bearing with keys. But there are other good ones too.

Get a small high quality drill set to begin with. You can buy individual drills as you need them. Don't buy those big 117 drill sets. If they cost less than $500 they are prolly junk.

Also think about a reamer set.

And think about annular cutters too.


METROLOGY

Precision is what a mill is all about, and you'll need the right tools to achieve it.

A good set of calipers is your primary tool for measuring dimensions. A micrometer is essential for more precise measurements, especially on smaller parts.

Dial Test Indicator (DTI) is used for a variety of tasks, such as tramming the head of the mill (making sure it is perfectly perpendicular to the table), indicating a part's surface, and finding a bore's center. I like Mitutoyo but they are pricey. DTIs are for measuring runout and relative displacement.

Lots of guys also like plain dial indicators. These are what I call plunge indicators. These measure in absolute terms and are used for measuring displacements.

A magnetic base for indicators of both kinds will allow you to mount them securely to the machine. Noga is a really good brand of base that you will be glad you bought. Make sure you get the right size clamp for your indicator(s).

A Center Punch is used to mark the location of a hole before drilling. And a few Center Drills will be useful to start a hole that doesn't wander.

A carbide scribe and some Dykem.

A nice 12" and 6" machinists ruler with metric and imperial is very useful.

An edge finder is used to accurately locate the edges of your workpiece, allowing you to set the X and Y zeros or references for your cuts. Both mechanical and electronic versions are available. I like the electronic ones. Accusize makes a really nice one.
Think about a spindle indicator. I use mine all the time but some guys don't.

Metric and Imperial Thread Gauges.


MISCELLANEOUS

A good book on milling.

A recent copy of Machinery's handbook.

A dead blow and wrench for the drawbar.

A dead blow hammer for the vise if you don't get a Gerardi (which doesn't need one).

A good set of Imperial and Metric Allen Keys. Maybe a set of ball end too but that's not required.

A few different sizes of machinists squares - maybe also a 45.

A good Tap & Die set or maybe buy them individually as needed. You won't go wrong splurging on Starrett Tap Wrenches.

Also a tap follower (or make one)

Cutting fluids for steel and aluminium.

All the oils needed to maintain the mill. Usually spindle oil and way oil.

A swarf brush & dust pan


OPTIONAL STUFF

A flat/vertical rotary table.

A 5C Spin Indexer and collets.

A slit saw set

Gauge Blocks

Pin Gauges

Hole Center Punches

Transfer Punches


SOME DAY - or maybe now.....

3 or 4 axis DRO

X-Y and maybe Z power drives
WOW,
Thank you so much for the long list and the time it took you to compose It, I really do appreciate it, honestly. Some I have with the purchase of my lathe with all the extras that came with it, a complete "score" in that department. Many end mills came with my lathe as the fella was a machinist for Madill I do believe here on the big island. Some of the tools you mention I do have but I am lacking the essentials, it will take some time to build ups to them, good news I I have your post to fall back on.
Cheers,,,,,MM,
 
I appreciate all the abuse and information, probably should have just kept the crate it came in and made a chicken coup and left the mill in the front yard with a 4sale sign on it.................NOT. 😉

One thing in life is, you can't take it with you, $$$$$ that is so enjoy it while you can, Father in laws motto, God rest his gap tooth grinning soul.
 
You won't regret some sort of DRO. Makes a world of difference on how easy it is to make something with precision. Especially if the DRO can talk to a touch probe to set zero locations or find the inside of a hole.
 
You won't regret some sort of DRO. Makes a world of difference on how easy it is to make something with precision. Especially if the DRO can talk to a touch probe to set zero locations or find the inside of a hole.
I did make a digital caliber magnetic dro for the lathe as a test of proof project, once I get some proper dial indicators and the mill trammed in the gloves will be off.
 
good news I I have your post to fall back on.

I'm certain there are things I forgot and I am certain that some of the members will disagree with a few things I suggested. The list reflects the things I use and the way I use my mill. I could have written a book about lots of things on the list. Pros and cons of different types and brands, how to use them, why you need them, things to avoid, etc etc. Instead, I recommend you research each one before you buy them. Lots of great info right here on this forum and you can also ask us. I just listed what I think you need and resisted the urge to write a book on them. I also bookmarked the post and will come back to update it as I think of other things.

I was going to add a lathe to the list of things you need for a mill but I see you already have one.......😉

I also agree with @jcdammeyer - a DRO is soooo nice on a mill. Waaaay more useful than on a lathe - in my opinion of course.

Don't forget that the optional stuff is optional..... LOL!

I think it's odd that nothing else has jumped into my head since I made the list. Crazy!
 
I know I asked previously - but if all I want to do is remove material- do I care how precise that is?

If there's no other requirement than to remove aluminum with zero adherence to standards for that particular step in that job..... FOR THAT STEP IN THAT JOB.... do I care how it's achieved?
As long as it fits what you need, then it is precise enough. E.g. as a hobby machinist I often make a hole, then turn the round thing to go in it to fit. Also transfer punches are a wonder tool IMHO when bolting things together.
 
SusQuatch has outline a pretty comprehensive list and one thing I'd add is to buy things like consumables (Endmills, drills) as you need them at first until you get an idea of what you use often for the work you do! If you can help it don't skimp on metrology, buy the best you can afford so you only need to spend once.

When I had my 603 I found it had a bit of an issue with tram in the "nod"! Since there is no adjustment for this on these machines I had to get fancy with shimming to correct it. You might want to check yours to see if it's out! Ideally you want less than .0005" over a 10" - 12" of you can.
 
I don't think that anybody else has mentioned this yet, but some of Susquatch's list would also make good starter projects. Vice soft jaws in particular seem like a good candidate to me.

One of my earliest projects on my mill was making a set of 4 strap clamps. I don't think I'd recommend this as it took me an ungodly amount of time for something that really wouldn't have been very expensive, however it was a fun project and even though I've since bought an assortment of commercial ones my shopmade set are my goto.

Another thing, which nobody has mentioned so far are machinist jacks. They definitely aren't the first piece of tooling you should buy (indeed I still haven't bothered making the set that I drew up a while ago), but they do look handy.
 
Now that you have a mill...you can definitely make some of the tools you'll use...
One of my next projects is a fly cutter...and the best part is you're using your tools to make tools!
Screenshot_20250810_130931_AliExpress.jpg
 
Great advice ALL and thank you,
I think the first order of business is to make sure the machine is trammed in the best I can do it and then pick a small project and tool up for that. I can build a online shopping cart and watch the dollars add up. One thing I could not find about this mill is the thread pitch of the draw bar, I was assuming it is an industry standard as it has an R8 spindle, maybe it's just common knowledge and not outlined in the manual.

ps
I went and got the Grizzly manual and it's way better than the BusyBee one, the info is all listed there. (draw bar thread)
 
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One thing I could not find about this mill is the thread pitch of the draw bar, I was assuming it is an industry standard as it has an R8 spindle, maybe it's just common knowledge and not outlined in the manual.
it can be either 7/16 NF or M12...if you're shopping places like Aliexpress...pay very close attention to the descriptions...
My 1970's Induma didn't have a drawbar when I picked it up. So I made the decision to go with 7/16...
 
7/16 x 20 from the Grizz manual, it's 50 pages long and the BB one is 10 ish, same machine.
Just be sure to read the fine print and confirm the tooling you are buying is in fact 7/16x20 and not m12, or one of your first Lathe projects will involve metric threading. 😉
...... nothing wrong in that, it's just that most guys start with something a little bit less involved. 😛. But, we have a soft spot around here for guys that like to jump in with both feet..😉😎
 
Great advice ALL and thank you,
I think the first order of business is to make sure the machine is trammed in the best I can do it and then pick a small project and tool up for that. I can build a online shopping cart and watch the dollars add up. One thing I could not find about this mill is the thread pitch of the draw bar, I was assuming it is an industry standard as it has an R8 spindle, maybe it's just common knowledge and not outlined in the manual.

ps
I went and got the Grizzly manual and it's way better than the BusyBee one, the info is all listed there. (draw bar thread)
Don’t be in too big a hurry to buy the whole list of tooling ‘above’.
You will start getting into machining that will ‘require’ some of the tooling.
Some of the rotary tables and gauge block sets can really add up ($$$).
Buy tools as you need them and they will be more valuable to you.
 
Just be sure to read the fine print and confirm the tooling you are buying is in fact 7/16x20 and not m12, or one of your first Lathe projects will involve metric threading. 😉
...... nothing wrong in that, it's just that most guys start with something a little bit less involved. 😛. But, we have a soft spot around here for guys that like to jump in with both feet..😉😎
You'll need both 7/16 and 12mm drawbars.
 
R8 spindle nose is nice - gives lots of options for tool holding. I saw mention of ER32 or ER40 - my choice is ER32 simply due to the collets being a bit cheaper and easier to find, as well as the ER40 collet being rather big when trying to use smaller tools (been there done that). You may even consider an ER20 or ER16 collet for small stuff.
You can also later on consider some TTS tooling. Basically - its a tool holder that fits into a 19.05mm (3/4") R8 collet that is slightly modified. It lets you relatively quickly swap out tools that are used alot. More a benefit for CNC guys like me but if you got into a job where you needed to swap between 2 or more tools alot it could be a benefit.

+1 on a DRO on a mill (XY axis min but get a display that will show Z and can add the scale later), such a must have in my opinion, beats forgetting where you are and how many turns you cranked...

And a boring head. The number of times you need to make a nice round hole in a part that won't fit on your lathe is quite surprising (was for me!). Boring head to the rescue. But that needs boring bars. You can use lathe boring bars with replaceable carbide inserts, really opens up a world of possibilities in terms of usefulness of the boring head over the standard brazed carbide boring bars on offer at Busybee. (if you get a metric head that takes metric bars it gets a lot cheaper - always my concern as a hobbyist but not everyone's - some like to buy high quality and I respect that - I choose not to with my hobby bucks).
 
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