Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 2.4. Sieg Super X3 HiTorque direct belt drive milling machine with brushless mo-
tor. This machine has a swivelling head and a digital readout to the Z axis, for ease
and versatility in use
Remember to budget for accessories such as a collet chuck and collets to
hold milling cutters, a drill chuck to take drills and reamers and, if you need
them, the cost of a rotary table and a dividing head. Yes, you will probably
need one of each. Cutters are not cheap but, with care, they can last a long
time before going blunt. Cutters can be sharpened but they would need to be
sent out to a specialist tool and cutter grinder unless you buy or make your
own cutter grinder and are prepared to invest some time in learning how to
sharpen them. You can buy a lot of new cutters on Ebay for the cost of a tool
and cutter grinder.
BUYING SECOND-HAND
The main problem buying second-hand will be the availability of spares, es-
pecially for the older milling machines. On the other hand, milling machines
do not tend to wear out as fast as lathes in the home workshop environment,
