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what milling machine would be "just big enough"

Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2026 7:29 am
by Ozwelder
Happy new year blokes.
I am thinking about a mill for solely pocket knife related repair. Taking into account my age ,74 ,and weight I can move, minimum space in my shed , that bigger mills need bigger tooling ,needing bigger dollars, what are your thoughts on mill sizing suitable for pocket knife repair.

I will buy locally in Oz as importing one from your side of the pond is prohibitive dollar wise.

Thanks Ozwelder

Re: what milling machine would be "just big enough"

Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2026 1:18 am
by tinkerer
I picked up a second-hand Sherline 5400 recently. It’s the second one I’ve owned. I have only made a few parts with the old one but for pocket knives, I can’t think of any task that it could not do.

They can be finicky and you can not take deep cuts with them but they only weigh about 15kg and have a small footprint.

Re: what milling machine would be "just big enough"

Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2026 5:18 am
by Bill DeShivs
I second the Sherline, but a milling machine is far down the list of tools for knife repair.
I have a Taig mill- about like the Sherline, and a good little mill.