Mini Mill
Your information resource for the small, low-cost millng machines for home workshop use. The site section is intended primarily to help new and prospective owners to evaluate, set up, maintain and operate these tools.
In addition to several versions of the mini-mill, over the years since I began this site in 2002, I have had the opportunity to use and evaluate several other Sieg mid-size mills and related accessories. Check the Reviews page for lots more information.
While these machines are small in size, with proper adjustment and techniques they can make a wide range of very useful and reasonably precise components that would be difficult or impossible to make by any other means. The mill is an excellent compliment to a lathe, for making things that cannot be made on a lathe.
Because lathes are capable mainly of making shapes based on cylinders, a mill is needed for making other parts that are based on cubical shapes rather than cylindrical shapes. With a lathe and a mill together, you can make just about anything you might need in the way of small precision parts. Neither machine though, is very good at making free-form asymmetrical shapes.
If you are a model maker, experimenter or someone who needs to fabricate parts to supplement another hobby such as astronomy or RC car racing, you will find the mini-mill to be a welcome addition to your shop.
Variations of these machines are currently sold by LittleMachineShop.com Harbor Freight, Grizzly and Micro-Mark. They are priced at around $600-$1200 (2018 prices) in most cases, but shipping costs and accessories included vary by vendor.
If you are not famililar with milling machines and operations, check out the Introduction page. On the Features page you will find a detailed description of the Grizzly mini-mill, most of which also pertains to the models sold by the other vendors. On the Setup page you will find information on setting up the mill for initial operation. Be sure the read the Safety page for important safety tips.
These mini-mills have a lot of potential but also have some shortcomings that you should be aware of before you decide to buy one – see the Features page for more information. Also, check out my YouTube channel for lots more information.
