[poboy]

After years of turning wrenches on everything from drag cars to sailboat engines, I finally decided to take the plunge and start learning how to machine metal like I've always wanted to. I'm starting small and cheap - the Harbor Freight Sieg X2 clone should be here tomorrow. I have some small gun projects it should be perfect for. This will give me a chance to test the waters, so to speak, before I shell a few thousand out for something like a Bridgeport.
Now my questions. Though I am very mechanically inclined, I am a complete neophyte in regards to the best way to get started with this new hobby. Can anyone suggest some things like:
Some good books on the subject
Basic tooling needed to get going
What fixtures should I buy versus what I can make
Basic setup and testing

I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Any help and advice would be very welcome. I do have some cheap iGage DRO's coming later in the week. Grizzly had the 12" scale on sale for $25 each, so I took a chance.

poboy

[doorknob]

Have you seen the mini mill getting started guide from Little Machine Shop?

See http://littlemachineshop.com/Info/Mi...UsersGuide.pdf

They also sell starter tooling sets (although you might want to substitute some items or supplement it with individual tools from LMS or from other vendors such as Grizzly or CDCO Tools or Shars), for example:

Precision Tooling Package, R8 Mini Mill - LittleMachineShop.com