Innocraftsman Mill

[kgstakes]

Has anyone used any of the Innocraftsman tools?  I am looking at replacing my dremel drill press with a mill and the only mini mill I seen that has a "hand crank" like a drill press is from Innocraftsman.  The only part that I'm a little concerned about is the table they are using.  No T slots.  Wonder why.

 

Seems all others you have to turn the top wheel for the Z axis.  Which for milling is fine but for drilling a hole, would take forever.  Bridgeport mills have a hand crank for moving the Z axis (which is a full size machine) I question why the smaller machines don't offer that.

 

Anyway, if anyone has used or even has seen one in person, what's your thoughts on the Innocraftsman products.  Good? Bad? Stay Away?

 

Here is a picture of what I'm looking at buying.  Thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 13 hours ago by kgstakes

[ChrisLBren]

Looks like a toy to me - thats one of the reasons I exchanged the Proxxon MF70 for the TAIG Mill.  I wanted something sturdy and accurate.  I supposed it depends on what sort of work you will be doing on it

[Some Idea]

45 minutes ago, ChrisLBren said:

Looks like a toy to me - thats one of the reasons I exchanged the Proxxon MF70 for the TAIG Mill.  I wanted something sturdy and accurate.  I supposed it depends on what sort of work you will be doing on it

I'm with Chris on this but everyone has a budget and maybe you could make it work for you.  I have a couple of Innocraftmans products and the vice I have is very nicely made.  However it's not that strong and like the other item I have its a little rough around the edges.  I knew this when I bought them and they do exactly what I require them to do.  I would search wider on the net for reviews but if you want a serious mill my instincts are to stay away and save for something better. 

[Toolmaker]

5 hours ago, kgstakes said:

Which for milling is fine but for drilling a hole, would take forever.

If it helps, I just tried this. Using the hand wheel method on the Sherline I drilled a .1875 (3/16) hole to a depth of .375 (3/8) in under 4 seconds. Probably the worst aspect is not the drilling, but the retraction. That always feels a little annoying but on the plus side the control aspect is very good.

[gjdale]

The Sherline Mill has a Sensitive Drilling Attachment available as an accessory, which is perfect for most of our (modelling) requirements. That is, if you have the budget for a Sherline…….. 😊

[Dziadeczek]

It looks like a beefier vertical drill press to me, rather than a mill, otherwise how do you attach your workpiece to the flat table, to mill it?

I have once bought from the Sherline factory for my Sherline mill, this "sensitive drilling attachment" to drill hundreds of holes in my blocks I made for my "Frenchie", because I was already developing early signs of carpal tunnel syndrome constantly cranking the mill up and down manually.   😏

The attachment works like a charm, BTW!!!

(Pity, because in the meantime, I had already drilled most of my holes before getting this attachment...)

Thomas

PS: You can buy such an attachment not just for the Sherline mill, but there exist many drilling attachments designed for many different mills, just search the net!

Edited 3 hours ago by Dziadeczek

[grsjax]

All or at least most of these tools are available from Aliexpress for a lot less money.

[Some Idea]

9 minutes ago, grsjax said:

All or at least most of these tools are available from Aliexpress for a lot less money.

Yes they are but just like model kits they are pirated from the genuine manufacturers.  

[kgstakes]

Thanks for all the comments.  What I would probably be using the mill for is to replace my Dremel drill press set up.  I would like to do some "milling" which would be for my miniature furniture and so I would be using it basically as a shaper sorta speak to do dovetails and dadoes that are to small in with for my table saw that I use now for dadoes (1/16" wide).  Also, to do mortise and tenon joinery like I do in my wood shop with a mortising machine.

 

And the one thing that I did like was that it looks to be belt driven verses the plastic gears that you see on other mini mills.  Hopefully run quieter too.

 

Someone said it looks like a beefier drill press, I guess that is what I'm looking for that can take the side pressure like a mill can.  Most larger drill presses are not designed to have side pressure, they can only handle (really well) vertical pressure.  Hence the reason I'm looking at a small mill verses a benchtop drill press.

 

 

 

 

 

I would be using dental tooling for all my applications and I would see myself doing some metal work with a mill but mostly I would with wood.  Same as my Taig lathe.  I've done some metal turning on it but mostly wood.  I know then why not get a wood lathe?  I like the accuracy I get with the Taig that I could not get with a regular wood lathe.

 

Again thanks for the comments and as far as holding things I think (not sure) the holes on the table would work for making an accessory holding jig and bolt to those thread holes (I think they are threaded).  I don't think they are countersunk screws for just holding the top plate 🤔🤔.

 

Edited 6 hours ago by kgstakes

[Tony Hunt]

I bought one of their drill presses a little while ago. I haven't used it much so far, so no in depth experiences to share yet! First impressions - it's true, it's a bit of a toy, but it is well-made and works quite precisely. For small work I think these machines probably work quite well, for the money. But don't expect to be milling steel with it! Wood and plastic, sure, small cuts. Aluminium maybe. 

[kgstakes]

1 hour ago, Tony Hunt said:

I bought one of their drill presses a little while ago. I haven't used it much so far, so no in depth experiences to share yet! First impressions - it's true, it's a bit of a toy, but it is well-made and works quite precisely. For small work I think these machines probably work quite well, for the money. But don't expect to be milling steel with it! Wood and plastic, sure, small cuts. Aluminium maybe. 

 

 

It kinda sounds like I should be looking at the Taig Mill or the Sherline Mill for any "real milling".  Whether it be metal or wood.  Currently, I'm building a lot of miniature furniture.  But I also enjoy building horse drawn vehicles, railroad equipment, boats and ships (not so much the last two but did enjoy it).

 

So, next question, if you had to choose a small mini mill (for model work) what would you purchase?  You've pretty much talked me out of the Innocraftsman mill so give me some ideas.

 

My thoughts are I have a taig lathe so go with a taig but, I know sherline has good products too.  I was also looking at the proxxon mill but I don't like the gears that so many other mini mills have.  I like my shop to be quite.  Well, music playing but no loud gears!! LOL

 

Let me know your thoughts please, I'm in no hurry to purchase anything so waiting until I can purchase a better machine is not a problem.

 

As I stated before, I'll be working mainly in wood but milling out parts for a carriage or a wagon out of brass would be nice as well.

 

Thank you for your time and patience and looking forward to any and all suggestions.