I want to start by saying hello to everyone here. I have been lurking around for a little over a year. Also, thank you to everyone with a build thread and if some aspect of something I am doing looks like something you came up with, it probably is, so thank you for the inspiration and help.
I have the design for the x and y-axis almost complete. I have not started the z-axis because I have not fully measured the column, head, or head mounting plate.
I am still trying to figure out where to mount the control box, which connectors I want to use, and what motor I want to use, DC or 3 phase AC with a VFD. I found a Baldor motor (VM3550) which looks promising because of its small diameter, but it is not rated for inverter use. Has anyone used a regular motor with a VFD?
Scott from benchtop precision has been making some parts for me and the quality of work he does is excellent.

Anyway here are some pics of what I have been up to:

I bought the mill through Grainger before the prices went way up. I also got a little bit of a discount from the sales guy. Here is how the mill showed up:


Here it is setup in the garage



I also got the optimum 9X20 lathe



Next I started building a work bench...it took me two tries to get it right






One of the things I am doing is a R8 conversion on the mill. I bought the parts from Grizzly and luckily everything fits. I have not broken the spindle in yet and I am a little worried about getting the preload right. After reading about setting the preload on starleper's thread I was thinking I would chuck it up in the lathe, put a DTI on it, and bump the lathe tool post into it...does that sound like a good idea

Here are some pics of the mill head while I was removing the spindle and test fitting the new one.



To get the tach ring off I used a gear puller by pressing the spindle down and then using the quill handle to push back up.





Here is the new R8 spindle in place



By the way it took me 7 months to get all the parts from Grizzly to do the conversion.

Here are some pics of where I am headed with the conversion






Here are some pics of the stand beeing made






I really like these casters



Here it is with the chip pan



I have ordered most of the electronic parts and got this breakout board off of ebay...has anyone tried this board? If it works it seems like it would be great...




And finally here is one of the end plates Scott made for me. It turned out great. The FK pillow block fits perfectly.



So that is all I have so far. That is a year's worth of work, so I am not moving super fast...spend more time thinking than doing.

The next thing on my list is to lap the ways on my mill. I am not trying to start a discussion on the topic. I have done enough reading and feel good about it. Also my ball screws just came in, so I am going to try and machine the ends on. I am going to buy some stock to practice on so I don't mess it up. I got the ball screws and mounts from homeshopcnc and he said that the ball nuts are mated to the screws and he cannot guarantee the lack of backlash if I have to get new screws.

I got the square Rex ball nuts because I do not have to modify my saddle for them to fit.

If you guys need any pics of the mill while it is still apart let me know. By the way, in hind sight, I wish I had bought a bigger mill. The advice you here about putting most of your money on the mill from Hoss is right. Because as soon as you start using it you start wanting something bigger...

Graham