Reply To: FINALLY Arrived

[david pierce]

Chris,
When you start cutting metal on your mill you will appreciate the mass and power of the machine. The machine should do what you expect it to do which is to push a cutter through the metal without the cutting force distorting the machine. Had you purchased a small hobby class machine with an extruded aluminum bed, this would cause difficulties with heavier side loads and harder tougher materials. My first machine was a Unimat that I purchased in 1971, which I still have, but the machine was too light duty and underpowered to do the work I wanted to do on it. Every time I took a cut with it in either the lathe or mill configuration, I would see the ways bend under the cutter load. Every once in a blue moon I will have something that the Unimat can do better than a larger machine, but it is not often. Any cutter larger than a dental drill causes problems. I think you should be happy with your mill.
david