Sanding/Turning/Sawing/Wood Turning/Drilling/Milling tool

cwah

100 MW
Joined
Jul 24, 2011
Messages
4,256
Location
Between paris and london
Hello guys,

I've seen this multi-purpose tool for my ebike project:
6-in-1.jpg

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__22393__Hobbyking_6_in_1_Machine_Tool_Sanding_Turning_Sawing_Wood_Turning_Drilling_Milling.html

It looks like a compact multi-purpose tool. I live in a small apartment and I don't have much space.

Do you think this tool can replace my drill and be a good multi-purpose tool as advertised?
 
Interesting tool. I bet it works great on easy materials like plastic and wood, and likely works passable on aluminum.

What we tend to need though, is something for making steel torque plates. It says for soft metals, so likely you'd still be breaking out a drill, a vise, a hacksaw or grinder, and a hand file or dremel for the torque plates.
 
I dunno. I'm no metal fabricator. A lifelong house carpenter, my metal skills are minimal. I can hack stuff out with metal disk saws and do crap welding, that's it for me. Nowdays, the thing to do is pony up the money for having stuff c & c machined.
 
Looks like it's great for hobby/model building using brass and alloy parts. Not so good for steel. Only 12 volts.
otherDoc
 
I didn't notice any specs on how big anything was or how large of material you could mount. I'm guessing at that price your going to be surprised at how small everything is. But if you need to make very small parts and don't have room for anything larger then maybe it will work.

Many years ago I bought one of those Shop Smith machines at a home show. Got all the attachements and cost an arm and a leg for it all. I think I used it 3 times and it's now sitting in the corner of my basement. I found switching from "machine to machine" was more work then doing the work. Hence when I was ready to buy a mill and metal lathe I didn't even consider a combo machine of any size. But again if you don't have the space you don't have the space.

Bob
 
Over the years I've been through the "buy something small and cheap" route with machine tools. The only half way decent cheap machine tool I bought was a Chinese mini-lathe, which was OK but fairly limited in what it would do. I suspect that the tiny HK machine will be just that, very tiny, and will really be aimed at those making very small parts for models, out of easily machined materials. I doubt it would be a lot of use for making ebike parts, TBH.

The best small, but not especially cheap, milling machine and lathe I know of is the Taig series, sold here in the UK as the Peatol (see http://www.taigtools.com/ and http://www.peatol.co.uk/). They are compact enough to fit in a small space, light enough to lift on your own if need be, and capable enough to make pretty much anything you might want for a bike. The only downside is that the milling machine lacks rigidity and can only take small cuts in hard materials like steel, meaning it takes a bit longer to make steel parts, but other than that it is a darned good compact machine. I tend to use my Taig milling machine more than the much bigger and heavier Dore Westbury milling machine I also have, just because the little Taig is so nice to use.

There are small Chinese milling machines around, sold under a wide variety of names by various vendors around the world (probably Harbor Freight in the US and Axminster Power Tools in the UK are the best known suppliers). The majority of these tools are assembled by a Chinese company called Seig and they are generally OK if you are prepared to spend some time fettling and adjusting them to get everything to work well. They are a lot heavier than the Taig, but are possible slightly more capable if set up right.
 
This is a small model-maker tool - not appropriate.

I think you need to determine the problem before you go after a solution. What are you trying to fabricate?
If you haven't identified the need, then buying the tool is probably not the best plan.
 
Thanks Jeremy for the reference to the taigtool. It's super expensive however lol. I don't think I'm ready to invest that much yet :lol:

I'm looking for tools that would help me on my common task such as cutting sheet (plastic and metal) to create battery box, drill/mill/cut plastic and metal part for connectors and different things on my bike. This one from Hobbyking seemed cheap and very flexible. But as other said, probably not really useful for ebike.
 
I've found this under 2kg:
MX9xjrQwOGPdaI2Q1c_SQy_8u8ItuFy45woHIWVkgqz-fBUecaDsWMm_7sG5KkVVdDyHeY-mkrIaOUrFBlP2geTtXUhQ8GOMY0Beo7ENtEgPBowIFsD4EZmgqu4jCv9NEdAeHmPkgxgSD0yOODRkibR21bhEokNQhFLcOXxnDOiJjfVcdFk

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130741937246&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123#ht_1793wt_1348

Potentially a very cheap milling tool like?
 
Agree. It's going to be far from being a good tool. But again, I live in a very small place and I can't live with an 80 kg mill at home.

This one is small enough to live in my place and lightweight enough because I very often move to another appartment.

Look at the comments on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-27100-Micro-Compound-Table/dp/B000S81MHY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1345677110&sr=8-4&keywords=proxxon

People are using it for milling. It has to be used with the standard Proxxon stand.

I'm thinking about getting the proxxon table + the stand and tool. It will help me to mill, drill and cut custom part when I need.


Because for now I just have a drill and a hacksaw and I'm quite limited on what I can do. Last time I tried to adjust my torque arm to fit the right size and it took me several hour for poor results.
 
The Proxxon tools are reasonably well made, but bear in mind it's a model makers tool, suitable for working with small items made from plastics, wood etc but it will seriously struggle if you try and machine metals with it. You might just get away with machining small light alloy parts, with a very small depth of cut, but that's going to be the upper limit of its capability. It isn't going to cope with machining steel. The travel of the slides is also quite limiting, as is the depth available from the column to the work area, both factors that limit the size of any item you can machine.
 
Thanks for your answer Jeremy. It seems that whatever choice I take, it's not going to be the ideal solution.

I've narrowed down few solutions now for my ebike needs (customs plastic/metal part), I can either:
1. Buy the HobbyKing 6 in 1 tool. It's seems to be the most versatil and cheapest solution. Not sure if it will be very simple to use however. It would be around 91£ shipped
2. Buy the Proxxon kit with the table, drill/grinder tool and stand. It will be the most expensive solution at around £200
3. Get a standard dremel 4000 (most powerful version) with its drill stand. It would also be around £100


I'm looking mainly to do straight holes, mill a bit sheets and boxes and cut stuff. Size and weight is the main consideration however. I can get a 30kg or more tool as I will never be able to carry it with me when I move.


Anyone have an idea about what would be best compromise in term of size, weight and usefulness for me?

Thanks :)
 
When looking to mill sheet material, boxes, etc look closely at the size of the table, the distance that the slides move and the distance from the machine column to the spindle. For example, the slot I machined in the bit of alloy plate that forms the lid of my charger case is around 200mm long, so would need a machine with at least 200 mm of Y axis movement and a table at least 300 mm wide to be able to clamp the sheet down. Similarly, the sheet is about 100 mm wide and is close to as big as I can go in the Taig if I want to trim the edges square (I could perhaps go to 120mm max).

The Taig (sold in the UK as the Peatol for a fair bit higher price than the Taig sells for in the US) is a lot bigger than the Proxxon or the Hobby King, but still only weighs around 29kg, and is reasonably easy to carry. Sure the Taig is a lot more money, but it will do an awful lot more than the £200 Proxxon. Matt made pretty much all the prototype parts for his reduction drives on a Taig milling machine (well, two of them actually, see here: http://www.recumbents.com/WISIL/shumaker/default.htm), which gives you an idea of what they can do. One snag is that you need to add in tooling costs for any of these machines, you'll need a selection of cutters, a vice, a clamp set and probably a few other bits and pieces as time goes on. I've probably spent more on accessories than I have on the machines.
 
Thanks Jeremy. I've already thought about that but my situation is too "fluctuous" to have anything that weight more than 10 kg with me. If in few months I find a job in another country, it's going to be such a pain to carry a 29 kg tool with me.

I would have purchased a bigger one if I'm better settle (If I've purchased a house for example :lol: ), but for now it's not possible. If you go back to france in few months, I'd have no better choice than selling it back.
 
cwah said:
Thanks Jeremy. I've already thought about that but my situation is too "fluctuous" to have anything that weight more than 10 kg with me. If in few months I find a job in another country, it's going to be such a pain to carry a 29 kg tool with me.

I would have purchased a bigger one if I'm better settle (If I've purchased a house for example :lol: ), but for now it's not possible. If you go back to france in few months, I'd have no better choice than selling it back.

you should consider joining an Evening craft class session at the local Tech education center.
You get to use real machine tools on your own projects, and they teach you the correct way to use them..
 
Hillhater said:
you should consider joining an Evening craft class session at the local Tech education center.
You get to use real machine tools on your own projects, and they teach you the correct way to use them..
Agree.

Also, I wonder if there are membership-based workshops in the UK... TechShop is the big one in the US, but smaller indie shops are emerging around the country.
 
Yeah that's a good idea.

I quickly checked few evening courses but everything is so expensive in UK. Several thousand of pounds for course. No way I can afford that.
 
I've found this one as "low" as 16 kg:
1milldrill.jpg

http://www.proxxon-tools.com/tools/Proxxon_Mill_Drill_System.html

It says:
"Suitable for milling, routing or slotting of steel, non-ferrous metals, plastics and wood"

Looks like CNC? not sure what's the controller for.
 
That would be the speed controller for the spindle.

It has the handles for the compound slide, so not CNC.
 
Those small Proxxon machines are OK, but as I mentioned earlier they are aimed at model makers and really only able to handle small parts. The Proxxon range are sometimes sold in bigger model shops, so it might be worth you finding a model shop nearby and seeing if you can find one to look at. I think if you look at it for real you'll get a better idea of what you might be able to do with it.

The main limitations are those I've already mentioned in this thread, the small amount of working space (the table is 200mm x 200mm, so you can only fit something maybe 2/3rds this size on it (allowing for clamps) and there is only just over 100mm of clearance between the column and the tool centre, I believe) plus the limited travel on the slides (150mm x 150mm). The machines themselves are well made (they are German) and have been around on the hobbyist/jewellery maker market for many years now, which is a reasonable indicator that they are useful for their intended purpose.
 
Thanks Jeremy for this very insightful comment. I obviously have much bigger part I'd like to mill.

Isn't there a way to extend the table? Would be great to have a small and lightweight machine on a bigger table.
 
Even if you could fit a bigger component on the table, its limited ability ( Slow cutting speed, and tiny cut depth) ..would result in very long machining times.
I dont know what you plan to make, but if you have skills, there is not much you cannot make using "hand" tools, skill, and patience.
Investing in some quality power hand tools may be a better option for you.
 
I just need good precision. If hand tool is able to make that, then that's fine.

I use for now hacksaw to cut through metal and it's not really straight and not really clean. For example, I recently installed a voltmeter to my charger and had to cut through the metal case. It was long and very imprecise.

So I need some good stand and way to be sure my cutting are exact.


If a quality hand tool allow me to have this type of precision work, I'm completely fine with it. I'm strongly hesitating with the Dremel 4000 for its versatility. If there is 1 power hand tool I'd get it would be this one. However, I'm not sure I'd be very precise with it, that's why I'm thinking about getting a proper compound table.
 
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