Miniature milling machine

This is my small mill. Like the lathe I posted a few months ago I’ve shown it here before but had only just completed the drive before putting it into storage. It combines features from several watchmaker-size mills, most obviously the Derbyshire micro mill, but is a little less robust, and a little more modular than many of those.

Like the Derbyshire the cross slide is bolted to the base, and the spindle is moved for the vertical axis. The vertical slide was originally for my small lathe and has a dovetail for attachments so different spindles can mount to it with room for about an inch of rough adjustment. The vertical slide can also be unbolted, to rotate it or to add a riser.

It works pretty good! But it’s tiny and wouldn’t be useful for a lot of projects - it has maybe 20 percent of the work envelope of the smallest Sherline mill and less than 10 percent of a Taig.

The table is about 8” x 2-1/2”, and travels are 4” x 3” x 2” - minus another inch with the lever attachment, or plus an inch with the quill lever. The countershaft it shares with the lathe allows speeds up to 7,000rpm. It weighs about 50lbs.

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Ball bearing quill with overarm, and Unimat quill

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Tilting minispindle

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Quill retracted and advanced

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Offset Z-axis and lever feeds

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Screw and lever feeds and ratcheting multistops

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Main and multistop drawings