We’ve added a new metalworking mill to our list of tools available at the Melbourne Makerspace. Now everyone can include metal parts into their projects and prototypes like aluminum covers for control panels, metal parts for custom latches and levers, and even molds for plastic and rubber parts!
A few of us were required to pick up the mill on a trailer and wrangle it onto a dolly. There was much fighting against gravity for us to manage all 600 pounds of sheet metal and solid cast iron up and onto the trailer. The trip to the space was easy as it was just a few miles up the street on Sarno Road where we picked it up. Plus with plenty of ratchet tie down straps it wasn’t going anywhere the trailer wasn’t. Once we had it back to the space there was a different story. Getting it back down off the trailer, we thought, would be much easier that it was getting it up there. Lucky for us our next door neighbor at the makerspace has a fork lift and was kind enough to use it to get it from the trailer right to the front door. Before we could put it in its new home in the front room we had to do some serious re-arranging of tables and areas in the space. Since the metalworking tools need to stay free from sawdust we decided the front room would be best for the metalworking area and the space under the loft would remain the wood shop. This required us to move the ham radio area into the space near the electronics bench. Then we had to change out the table near the inner door with the old ham radio desk.
Once we freed up the space in the front room we had to “walk” the heavy mammoth diagonally through the front door. We were VERY glad it fit through without having to take the front door off its hinges or move out half the space’s tools to get it through the garage door. Then we rocked it slightly and carefully onto some scrap wood sticks to easily move it across the room to the wall without marking up the floor. We cleaned up after ourselves and straightened out all the things we rearranged and left for the day. Now we hope lots of cool projects will come from this new tool and I for one have plenty of ideas ready to try out!
Here’s few photos I took when I wasn’t helping:
Here’s a few things other people have used a mill to create (so you can have some ideas!):
Here’s the full album of photos and video: