How to make a milling table for a hand mill

The milling machine is designed to perform various works on the surface treatment of materials and parts. When working with large machines that are mounted on the working surface, you must use special tables. In this case, it turns out to achieve a better result, the work itself will be more secure, since it is not the machine that moves in the form of a simple manual router, but the workpiece.

The scheme of manufacture of the bed for the milling table.

It is the milling table, on which the equipment will be fixed permanently, allows to get a quality result. The table can be assembled with your own hands, it will be convenient to make figured holes, slotted connections with preliminary slotting, profiling of different types of edges on it. Work becomes simple, safe and accurate, it takes much less time. The machine can be securely fixed to the working surface, only the workpiece will move.

How to make a table for a router with your own hands?

Scheme elevator for frezery.

For the manufacture of the milling table it is necessary to prepare the tools and materials:

• frame, i.e. the bed, it can be collected from a wooden board or steel pipes;
• welding machine for welding pipes on the bed;
• the countertop can be used from the kitchen table; a chipboard is also suitable;
• lining for the end parts of the tabletop;
• self-tapping screws;
• special mounting plate metal or textolite;
• manual milling machine;
• drive for the machine (its power is determined according to the planned work).

The milling table has two important parts - a bed and a table top. The bed is a permanently reinforced element, i.e. the frame on special supports. At the top of this frame and fixed the main work surface - tabletop. The basis is best made of chipboard, steel pipes, wooden bars. When using steel pipes, separate structural elements are required to be welded, so at home, many people prefer to work with wood.

The table top should be installed securely and firmly during fastening, as during the processing of parts it will be subjected to various loads. Pads are used for the end part, they allow the structure to be given additional rigidity and strength. The height of the resulting table should be approximately 850-900 mm, it is this value that is optimal, convenient for operation.. For the countertop, you can provide a special mechanism that will allow you to raise or lower the working surface to the required level. The worktop itself can be made of particle board or an old kitchen base that has the required dimensions.

Mounting construction

Drawing plate to install the router to the table.

When installing, attention must be paid to a special mounting plate. The thickness of the table top will be approximately 26 mm. The plate is used in order to avoid cutter overshoot during operation. It is attached to the place where, after the final assembly, the sole of the milling machine will be installed. The plate thickness is not too large, but its strength is at the proper level.

It is best to make the mounting plate of metal or PCB. Its thickness should be 4-8 mm. In the center of the mounting plate is a hole whose diameter is equal to the hole in the bottom of the machine. To strengthen the machine on the plate surface, it is necessary to provide special threaded connections on the back of the sole. If there are no such holes, then they need to be made by hand. The total number is 4.

The milling table is assembled in this way:

1. First you need to attach the tabletop to the frame, and do it temporarily to determine the position.
2. Place the mounting plate on the pre-calculated place, then mark the contour with a pencil.
3. Using an ordinary manual milling machine, you must select the hole on the marked contour. After that, the plate will be laid flush exactly and clearly.
4. The corners of the seat should be rounded, this is achieved with a file. After planting the prepared plate, it is necessary to use a straight cutter (its thickness should be greater than that of the future working surface) to make a through hole in the shape of the machine's bottom.

During operation, it is required to observe accuracy and accuracy so that the table after assembly becomes comfortable and durable, and the fixing of the machine - reliable. At once it is necessary to provide that the milling table will have protective covers, dust collectors. If all the preparatory work is done, you need to connect the individual parts together. The milling machine is wound up when mounted from below, the mounting plate is fastened to the worktop with self-tapping screws. Heads of self-tapping screws need to be embedded in the material, otherwise they will interfere during the processing of blanks, clinging to their surface.

Install the upper clamp and drive

The scheme of installation of the router to the tabletop.

When a milling table is assembled with your own hands, it is necessary to mount the structure with clamping upper devices for additional security. Such security measures are applied when the work is carried out with large blanks, for example, in the manufacture of a variety of door linings.

The clamp itself has a simple device. This is a ball bearing, it acts as a roller, which is mounted in a special holding device. After that, the roller is rigidly fixed on the surface of the working milling table at the required distance. As a result, a sufficiently tight clamping of the workpiece to the working surface is guaranteed during processing.

If you make a homemade milling machine, then the utmost attention is paid to the device drive. An important criterion is the drive power, which will guarantee the performance of certain types of processing. For example, if you need to perform a shallow excavation in a wooden blank, you can use a motor whose power is equal to 500 V. But such a machine is not suitable for performing more complex work. Therefore, to take a low-power motor, if the work is planned to be intensive, it is not worth it, it will constantly stall.

It is best to put the drive on 1100 V, it is optimal for any machine, not only domestic

. The difference in cost is fully justified, since with the help of this router it will be possible to perform various jobs. The drive with a capacity of up to 2 kV makes it possible to work with any type of wood using various mills. Drives can be stationary or manual; a special fastener system should be provided on the table.

When choosing a drive for the milling table should pay attention to the number of revolutions. For a three-phase motor, a special wiring diagram should be provided to ensure smooth starting and precise operation. If a single-phase network is used for such a motor, the efficiency will drop by about 40-50%.

Ensuring safety when working with milling machines

Constructions of milling machines.

Using a manual router or stationary requires compliance with safety regulations. In order for the work to be done correctly and without the slightest damage to health, it is necessary to make a so-called protective shield for the cutter, which will completely secure hands during operation. On the table it is necessary to provide a button for an emergency stop of the equipment, it should be in an accessible place. It is important to exclude accidental pressing of such a button.

By security measures when using a stationary or manual mill, it is necessary to include the mandatory illumination of the working area. To do this, install a special lamp, the place of its installation is chosen so that the light falls at a right angle on the working surface, without casting a shadow. For safety, you can install a special device for raising or lowering the machine.

The milling cutter is used for processing various parts and blanks. To work correctly, quickly and conveniently, you must prepare the workplace. For this purpose, working milling tables are used, they can be assembled by hand.