Mill Assembly 07
I had a fairly productive evening last night, but I goofed up cutting two frame tubes too long (twice). My design model and my cut list were both correct, but I still confused the lengths. I get to cut them down again to the right length tonight, and hopefully get some holes drilled in the big frame strips.
I've had a little time to add more detail to the 3D design. The square tubes now have rounded corners, I added a ton of fasteners (not all of them), and refined a couple dimensions to be easier to build.
I have been intending to use my Sears Craftsman clone of a Dremel 300 (about 15 years old now) for the spindle. Unlike the modern Dremel 300s, this is a sturdy tool that has seen a lot of light-to-medium use for a long time. It does, however, bog down under moderate load.
I have been shopping around for prices on the Dremel 4000 (caution: super-slow web site). I wanted the speed-controlled motor. I checked Amazon for prices, and found this little beauty:
Proxxon 38481 IB/E Professional Rotary Tool
I don't currently own any Proxxon tools, but from what I've read, this is a quality tool. It exceeds all my specs far better than the Dremel 4000 (I don't need the higher top-end speeds for milling). Another bonus is that it's designed to control vibration better than a Dremel. For precision CNC work, this is a big plus, and I won't feel like the tool is going to fly apart if it has to spend half an hour making a part or PCB. I haven't bought one yet, but I plan on purchasing one of these and writing up a comprehensive review of how well this tool performs as the spindle for a homemade CNC mill.