ngg_shortcode_0_placeholderI have been writing about small machine tools lately. I have said there is as much and actually more fun in making things with micro machine tools as the larger type. The Taig micro-mill and micro-lathe are a great example of the small size tools to which I refer. The Sherline products are just as capable and have a much larger product line. My preference is the Taig as the base hardware. I am not going to argue over tools. I own what I like, but know it is not a good over bad choice between either of those brands.<\/p>\n
I currently sit on the edge between micro-machining and mini-machining (Proxxon PD400), owning and using both size ranges. For me, I am in the perfect fit with these options as (within reason) it is better to be a bit larger than you need in a machine than to push a small machine beyond its inherent limitations. But small micro-machines are totally capable when used properly.<\/p>\n
I am well aware I am not the best micro machinist living on the block. I have seen some outstanding work produced on these tools and I know the time it takes to get to those levels of perfection. My honest excuse is I just don\u2019t spend the time at this point to reach ultimate perfection, but I try to do my best for the time involved.<\/p>\n
In micro machining, all the same moves are required as in making a big part. The touch and feel are a bit different but the level of fun and enjoyment of the work is in my opinion very much the same. A few big points of difference are the cost of materials and the working room and electrical power required.<\/p>\n
Micro machining usually falls into the model making arena, but not as much as one may think. If I were building a model airplane glow-plug engine, it might be considered working on full size work. Knobs and holders and all sorts of shop tool accessories can be made using micro-machine tools. So the machines should not be considered just toys for model builders. They are as honest a machine tool as their larger brethren, but a lot less massive and not designed for commercial\/industrial duty.<\/p>\n
There are some junk import machines in this size class. I also don\u2019t consider the tools in my price affordability range as commercial production machines. Mass is still important even in small machines. For example; I have a personal amateur radio friend, John Kizar K8AJR who\u2019s business is or was machining contact lenses from plastic using a number of small (but not mini) lathes. The lathes were purpose built for the work and were very massively heavy, and as I remember had a tremendously large bearing probably in the angstrom deviation or run-out range. Contact lens lathes are certainly very high cost. \u201cYou get what you pays for\u201d in accuracy. \u00a0I found a sample pix of an old contact lens lathe but probably not the brand John had.<\/p>\n
I get more than my cost in fun and enjoyment in my simple world of affordable small machine tools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have been writing about small machine tools lately. I have said there is as much and actually more fun in making things with micro machine tools as the larger type. The Taig micro-mill and micro-lathe are a great example of the small size tools to which I refer. The Sherline products are just as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77778,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[107,24,61,73],"class_list":["post-2651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-metalwork","tag-lathe","tag-machine","tag-micro-machine","tag-mini-tools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.thehobbyistmachineshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.thehobbyistmachineshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.thehobbyistmachineshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.thehobbyistmachineshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/77778"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.thehobbyistmachineshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.thehobbyistmachineshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.thehobbyistmachineshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.thehobbyistmachineshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.thehobbyistmachineshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}