Drill Press or Milling Machine?
Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 6:33 pm
Hi, everyone! I've been playing penny whistle and traditional Irish flute for about five years or so and very recently began trying to fashion instruments of my own. It's a bit of a misguided journey, as I have no prior experience with anything like this. I decided to start with wooden whistles and so far I've put a lot of effort into just learning to turn, bore, and ream pieces while keeping things concentric. I've created a few monotone block flutes as well as head and body joints using both a mortise and tenon and metal slides to join them, but I haven't put it all together into a functioning instrument yet.
I've been cutting fipples by hand and haven't yet cut any tone holes. I'm unsure if I should invest in a drill press or milling machine next. I've been considering the PM-25MV, which seems to be popular for home workshops. I figure that—for work of this size—a benchtop mill can double as a drill press while also machining more complicated cuts like the window and labium of a fipple. I'm probably getting way ahead of myself, but I could also use a mill to cut windways or even blocks or seats for keys using a rotary table or dividing head. It just seems more versatile! However, mills are very expensive, tend to have limited space between the table and spindle, and I'm still at the very beginning of this journey, so a drill press would likely allow me to make a lot of progress for far less money. Since I'm totally new to this, I was hoping that folks with experience making instruments and/or machining could offer some insight.
Is a milling machine the right tool for the job? Is it as versatile as I think it is? Am I missing some important considerations? Any thoughts, insight, or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for reading!
I've been cutting fipples by hand and haven't yet cut any tone holes. I'm unsure if I should invest in a drill press or milling machine next. I've been considering the PM-25MV, which seems to be popular for home workshops. I figure that—for work of this size—a benchtop mill can double as a drill press while also machining more complicated cuts like the window and labium of a fipple. I'm probably getting way ahead of myself, but I could also use a mill to cut windways or even blocks or seats for keys using a rotary table or dividing head. It just seems more versatile! However, mills are very expensive, tend to have limited space between the table and spindle, and I'm still at the very beginning of this journey, so a drill press would likely allow me to make a lot of progress for far less money. Since I'm totally new to this, I was hoping that folks with experience making instruments and/or machining could offer some insight.
Is a milling machine the right tool for the job? Is it as versatile as I think it is? Am I missing some important considerations? Any thoughts, insight, or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for reading!