Mini Mill Versions

Several vendors now offer versions of the mini mill. Most of these mills are made by Sieg, the same company that makes most of the mini-lathes, and the quality is generally very good.

LittleMachineShop.com has a chart comparing the features of some of the major brands and, incidentally, is a great source of accessories and repair parts.

Here’s a quick rundown of the mills offered by various vendors:

Grizzly Mini Mill SKU G8689#

I have owned one of these for about two years now and have been very happy with it. It was pretty much the original standard, but many other models have since been offered by other vendors.

At this time, it still has the #3 Morse Taper spindle, while the Homier and Harbor Freight models have switched to an R8 spindle. Accessories for the MT spindle are more expensive, but the spindle is about an inch shorter, so you have that much more range in the Z-axis movement compared with the R8 machines.

I have used both the R8 and MT3 versions of the mill and there’s not much difference between them in actual operation. For more info on this mill, see the Features page.

Here are the specs for the Grizzly mill:

• Spindle Taper: MT #3
• Head Travel: 9-7/8"
• Head Tilt: 45 degrees L/R
• Max. distance spindle to table: 11-1/2"
• Swing: 12-3/4"
• Longitudinal Travel: 9-1/4"
• Cross-slide travel: 4"
• Table size: 3-5/8" x 15-3/4"
• Speeds: Variable
• Speed Range: 0-2500 RPM
• Motor Size: 3/4 HP
• Shipping Weight: 153 lbs.

Harbor Freight SKU 44991, $499.99#

07/21/02. This is the Sieg X2 mill with an R8 spindle and is very similar to Grizzly, Micro-Mark and Homier mini-mills. For several years, HF sold another mill, SKU 36739, but now appears to have replaced the other model with this one.

• Motor: 4/5 HP, 120V, single phase
• Speed ranges: 0-1100 RPM low, 0-2500 RPM high
• Spindle taper: R8 with JT33 chuck taper
• JT33 chuck capacity: 7/64’’ to 1/2''
• End mill capacity: 1/2''
• Face mill capacity: 1''
• Swing: 12''
• Depth scale: 0 to 12’’ in 1/16’’ increments
• Table slot width: 1/2''
• Table dimensions: 15-7/8’’ x 3-11/16''
• Height: 33-3/4''
• Shipping weight: 150 lbs.

Harbor Freight Micro Mill SKU 47158, $299.99#

(07/21/02) Introduced recently is a new smaller version of the mini-mill, suitable for users who have limited space, limited budget and can work within the more restrictive capacity limits of this machine.

I have not yet seen one of these first-hand, but it is made by Sieg as their X1 model, and this leads me to expect that the quality is the same as you would find on the larger mini-mills.

• Motor: 120V, 60 Hz, 1/3 HP
• Speeds: 100-1000 RPM low, 100-2000 RPM high
• Capacities: drill 25/64’’, end mill 25/64’’, face mill 3/4''
• Max. travel: x-9’’, y-4’’, z-8-1/2''
• Table size: 9-3/8’’ x 5-3/8''
• Table slot: 1/2’’ x 3/8''
• Throat depth: 5-1/2''
• Swing: 11''
• Spindle stroke: 1-3/16''
• Spindle taper: MT2
• Base size: 10-1/8’’ x 9-3/8''
• Shipping weight: 103 lbs.

Harbor Freight SKU 36739, $549.99#

Update: 7/21/02 This mill appears to have been discontinued.

Here are the specs on this one:

• Drilling capacity: 1/2''
• Face milling capacity: 1''
• End milling capacity: 1/2''
• Max distance from spindle to table: 12''
• Spindle taper: MT3
• Z Axis Travel: 10''
• Variable speed: 300 - 2800 RPM
• Head tilt: 45 left and right
• Column dimensions: 2-1/2’’ x 4-3/4''
• Slot size: T slot 3/8''
• Table size: 16’’ x 3-5/8''
• Table longitude travel: 9''
• Table cross travel: 4''
• Motor: 1/2 HP, 110V, single phase, 60 Hz
• Height: 34''
• Shipping weight: 92 lbs.

Harbor Freight SKU 42976 Mill/Drill, $379.99#

(07/21/02) This machine is really more of a drill with milling capability than a true milling machine, but a number of folks who have bought it have reported good results using it as a mill.

It is larger and heavier than the mini-mill and a bargain price at $379.99 (sometimes less on sale). One weakness is the lack of a fine Z-axis feed, but at least one owner has developed a fine-feed mod.

According to the specs, it has a #2 Morse Taper spindle, which seems too small for a machine of this size, but all the accessories listed for it are #2MT, so I guess it really is.

• Motor: 1/2 hp,120V, 8.5 amps, 1700 RPM
• 12 speeds: 300, 400, 540, 720, 900, 1040, 1500, 1740, 2100, 2260, 3100 and 3840 RPM
• Head rotates 360
• Spindle taper: MT-2
• Spindle stroke: 3-3/8"
• Spindle diameter: 1.
• Drill capacity: 5/8
• Face mill capacity: 1-1/2"
• Chuck to table: 10"
• Table size: 16-1/2" X 6-1/16"
• Column diameter: 2.830"

Homier (Speedway) SKU 03947, $399.99#

(07/21/02) Another instance of the Sieg X2 mini mill with the R8 spindle is offered by Homier at a very compelling price.

Homier runs travelling tent shows around the country and you can sometimes pick one of these up at the show and avoid the freight charges. The availability at the shows seems to be very iffy, though, so ordering from the Homier web site is generally a quicker and more reliable way to get one.

For more information on this model, check out my comprehensive review.

• Motor: 4/5 HP, 120V, Single Phase
• Speed Ranges: 0-1100 RPM Low, 0-2500 RPM High
• R-8 Spindle Taper
• JT33 Chuck Taper
• Chuck Capacity: 7/64” to 1/2”
• Face Mill Capacity: 1”
• Swing: 12”
• Depth Scale: 0 to 12” in 1/16” increments
• Table Slot Width: 1/2”
• Table Dimensions: 15 7/8” x 3 11/16”
• Height: 33 3/4”
• Includes Drill Chuck & Key, Wrenches, and 2 T-Nuts
• Shipping Weight: 150 lbs

Micro Mark SKU 82573#

Micro Mark is a great source of tools for hobbyists and home shop machinists - especially hard to find miniature and precision hand tools.

They offer a version of the mini mill for $529.95. Unlike some of the others, this one has leadscrews that are in true inch measurements, providing both accurate feeds in inches and simpler divisions on the dials.

According to their web site, the leadscrews are 0.050 inches per turn. Micro-Mark also offer a metric to inch conversion kit that can be used on the Sieg X2 model mills sold by other vendors.

Here are the specs from the Micro Mark page:

• Table size: 16 inches wide x 3-3/4 inches deep
• Table travel (X direction): 8 inches
• Cross slide travel (Y direction): 4 inches
• Headstock travel (Z direction): 7 inches
• Clearance (spindle to table-top): 11 inches
• Center of spindle to face of column: 6 inches
• Spindle speed: variable between 0 and 2500 rpm
• Spindle taper: MT-3
• Column angle: tilts from -45 degrees to +45 degrees
• Motor: 350 watt (0.47 hp), 110vAC, 50/60 Hz
• Overall size: 30 inches high x 20 inches deep x 20 inches wide
• Weight: 110 pounds (basic machine without accessories).