I would like to be able to machine small mild steel and aluminum parts at home for my projects. A commercial milling machine costs at least about 1000 usd / eur and even the smallest models are too big for my small home workshop. This router is slightly larger than a proxxon, smaller than a commercial type bf16 router, and costs about half (maybe a little less if you can recycle or reuse materials).

• 2x 300 mm T-Slot 3030 aluminium (buy here)
• 2x 300 mm T-Slot 3030 aluminium profile
• 3x 80 mm T-Slot 3030 aluminium profile
• 2x MGN12 200mm linear guides (buy here)
• 2x MGN12 250mm linear guides
• 2x MGN12 300mm linear guides
• 6x MGN12C Skates (buy here)
• 1x 250mm 8mm Pitch-Lead 1mm Trapezoidal Screw (buy here)
• 1x 300mm 8mm Pitch-Lead 2mm Trapezoidal Screw
• 1x 300mm 8mm Pitch-Lead 2mm Trapezoidal Screw
• 1x Trapezoidal brass nut 8mm Pitch-Lead 1mm
• 2x Trapezoidal brass nut 8mm Pitch-Lead 1mm
• 6x Bearings with bracket KFL08 (buy here)
• 3x 63mm Cranks with rotary knob and 8 mm shaft (buy here)
• 4x M6 mortise threads (buy here)
• 1x 6mm thick steel sheet or steel parts cut by laser cutting company
• 1x holder for 65mm diameter milling machine (buy here)
• 1x 65mm router like Makita RT0700C (buy here)
• Allen din912 screws M3, M5, M6 and M8 (buy here)
• Cement and sand (preferably buy in a nearby DIY store)
• Detailed plans (download here)

Step 1: PREPARATION OF CONCRETE BASE

YOUTUBE VIDEO:

Using a white melamine chipboard mold, easy to find in any DIY or board store, we fabricate a 260 x 300 x 30mm (W x D x H) cavity. Optionally and just for aesthetics we can add some squares in the mold to obtain the final piece with a chamfer as shown in the piece that I have made.

The mold is vertically inverted, so that the lower zone of the mold will contain the upper zone of the final piece. To have 4 anchor points in the final piece, we must fasten 4 metric 6 threads at the bottom of the mold, so that they will be covered with cement. We will see these threads appear in the upper area of the final piece. See position of the threads in Plane 4 of the drawings .pdf.

We mix 80% gray cement, 20% coated sand and a few grams of fiberglass in strips to reinforce the piece. Later we are pouring water to the mixture at the same time that we stir until we have a homogeneous paste.

Theoretically, the volume of the piece is 2.34 liters, but from my experience with concrete molds and because of how cheap the material is, I recommend doing more than twice the mix of cement and sand.

We pour the mixture on the mold and we are hitting from the lower area to try to remove all the air bubbles and settle the mixture. It is important that the mixture reaches the upper area and try to make a single pour. If we make two mixes or different pours, we will have a better chance of obtaining a piece with cracks or fragile.

We wait at least 7 days before unmolding. It's really tempting to do it before, I know. Once removed from the mold, we sand the edges and small imperfections. The part can be sealed to avoid grease or paint stains. In my case I have used Barpimo's stone and concrete sealer.

Step 2: CUTTING AND MACHINING OF ALUMINUM PROFILING

We are only going to use one type of aluminum profile, in my case it has been a 30 × 30 mm Bosch Rexroth brand profile, but you can use a similar profile from any manufacturer.

In total we will need 1540 linear mm (a little more than a meter and a half) divided into the following pieces:

• 350 mm (2 units)

• 300 mm (2 units)

• 80 mm (3 units)

350 mm pieces: We will need to make 1 8 mm hole in each piece (see Drawing 3 of the downloadable PDF). On the other side and starting from the hole closest to the end, we will mount the 250 mm linear guide with a 2.5 mm hole and M3 thread.

300 mm pieces: We will need to make 2 8 mm holes in each piece (see Drawing 3 of the downloadable PDF). On the other side and starting from the hole closest to the end, we will mount the 200 mm linear guide with a 2.5 mm hole and M3 thread.

80 mm pieces: In the three pieces we...