Equipment/Mill

What?

We have a Conquest Mill from Chester UK in the Hackspace. It drills (makes holes in things) and mills (takes layers of material off). It's ideal for use on metal, wood, and plastic.

Safety

This is not comprehensive. If you are unsure, ask someone for help.

• Always wear goggles.
• Always clamp your workpiece securely.
• Always tie long hair, baggy clothing, etc. out of the way.
• Never leave the mill running unattended.

General usage instructions

1. Figure out what you're going to do. Cut your material down to a roughly correct size, if necessary, using a hand tool.
2. Ensure the machine is fully off.
3. Clamp your workpiece securely and set up the tools you need. If you're milling, make sure you've selected a milling tool and not a drill bit. Make sure your tool is suitable for the material you're using (eg. don't use a wood drill for a metal project).
4. Set the mill stops accordingly. Make sure they're set so you don't damage the vice. If you're drilling a hole all the way through, you should put some scrap material under the workpiece as well as setting a limit. If you're milling, make sure the stops are set so you can't contact the vice top.
5. Turn the machine on. Do your work. If milling, don't try to take off too much material at once. Multiple passes result in a better-quality result and less wear/stress on the mill.
   1. As well as moving the tool up and down (using either the coarse control towards the back or the fine control towards the front) you can move the table in an X-Y direction using the wheels.
6. Turn the machine fully off. Remove your workpiece and clean up the mill. Try to leave things tidier than they were to begin with.
   1. Remove any swarf from the mill/drill tool.
   2. Clean the vice and surrounding desk using the vacuum cleaner.
   3. Put the drill/mill tool back in its box.

More info

• Product page for our mill
• Machining a brass faceplate. Uses hand tools, a mill, and a lathe. Lots of illustrations.
• Making a lego wheel hub on a mill.