Posted by: PigTech on June 11, 2003 at 08:48:30 Forum Administrator

: when they talk about milling paintball guns, what kind of equipment is used? Would it be practicle for me to get this stuff and do some of my own (Not complex parts, just cozmetic things). Just a thought... : -Perry When people say milling, they are talking about using.... a mill. A mill is a machine that holds the part you are working on with a moveable mount. By turning knobs you can make the part slide forward or back, left or right. The mill spins cutting tools, and then the part is moved past the tool, so that metal can be cut off of it. A basic mill starts around $1,000. Figure another few hundred for assorted cutting bits, and clamps and such to use it properly. On the high end, CNC, or computer numeric controlled mills (i.e. you program it to make precision cuts, instead of making the cuts by hand adjusting the position of the parts) can sell for $30,000 and even well over $100,000. You can also get smaller, less powerful, less precise "micro mills" or "hobby mills" for around $400, still of course needing to add the costs of tooling. I bought an X-Y vise for my drill press for around 80, and I hapen to have a *bunch* of Dremel bits that I bought at auction when a hobby shop went out of business. I can do very limited milling with that (the lag in the worm gears on the vise limits the precision, and the drill press bearings aren't meant for side loading, so I can't make large cuts.) It's been handy for modifying parts and such, but I'd be hard pressed to build much of anything of a serious size. Then of course after getting the equipment, you need to learn proper metal working techniques to do a good job with it. See you on the field, -Bill Mills

Follow Ups: Post a Followup Show your name as: DefaultRealnameBothNickname E-Mail address (eg: joeschmoe@aol.com): Show your e-mail address? DefaultYesNo Your Password: Don't have a password? CLICK HERE - Forgot your password? CLICK HERE Subject: Subject:Message: : : when they talk about milling paintball guns, what kind of equipment is used? Would it be practicle for me to get this stuff and do some of my own (Not complex parts, just cozmetic things). Just a thought... : : -Perry : When people say milling, they are talking about using.... a mill. : A mill is a machine that holds the part you are working on with a moveable mount. By turning knobs you can make the part slide forward or back, left or right. The mill spins cutting tools, and then the part is moved past the tool, so that metal can be cut off of it. : A basic mill starts around $1,000. Figure another few hundred for assorted cutting bits, and clamps and such to use it properly. : On the high end, CNC, or computer numeric controlled mills (i.e. you program it to make precision cuts, instead of making the cuts by hand adjusting the position of the parts) can sell for $30,000 and even well over $100,000. : You can also get smaller, less powerful, less precise "micro mills" or "hobby mills" for around $400, still of course needing to add the costs of tooling. : I bought an X-Y vise for my drill press for around 80, and I hapen to have a *bunch* of Dremel bits that I bought at auction when a hobby shop went out of business. I can do very limited milling with that (the lag in the worm gears on the vise limits the precision, and the drill press bearings aren't meant for side loading, so I can't make large cuts.) It's been handy for modifying parts and such, but I'd be hard pressed to build much of anything of a serious size. : Then of course after getting the equipment, you need to learn proper metal working techniques to do a good job with it. : See you on the field, : -Bill Mills [ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ WARPIG Tech Talk - Miscellaneous ]