recomendations for a mill

[pbf777]

Recommended to view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV0ldiD7-qU

Just a note:  Of the KBC Tools mill, comment from their intro page: ".......with our own Proprietary Branded Machinery"  ;  but manufactured where? 

Scott.

[Falcon67]

I think the better castings/machines come OEM from Tiawan.  Lesser maybe from China.  Not that China can't make good machines - you'd likely need to have someone on site, or at least a firm agreement on the required precision.  Bridgeports are around $20K and I don't think the castings are made in the USA. Nothing on the B-port brochures claim "Made in USA".

[frnkeore]

First day the instructor points to the row of Jet lathes and states "J E T = Junk"

In the hopes of at least, saving one person from this fate, I totally agree with the above statement. I've worked with several different types of Jet products and ALL are junk!!!

[AlanCasida]

I bought a Grizzly G0761 and it does ok. It  has an x table travel long enough to go the full length of an FE intake, or head. I bought mine probably 6-7 years ago and I just checked their website and it seems the price has pretty much doubled since then.

https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-10-x-32-2-hp-hd-benchtop-mill-drill-with-power-feed-and-tapping/g0761
   

[gregaba]

That was a long video but I did pick up a few tip's.
Wish I would have bought one a couple year's ago when I first though about it.
Greg

[Falcon67]

From experience, if you buy something try hard not to buy something too small because of price or whatever.  I start with a mini-mill and the 9x20 HF lathe.  Both do good work.  I didn't have the mini-mill very long before I figured out it was way too small for things I needed.  It was no problem to sell it to another hobbyist. The 9x20 went on to pay for its self.  I finally got the 12x36 in a "perfect storm" of Enco sale price and a 20% off offer.  The 9x20 still has a use, it just doesn't get used much - kinda like the drill press that sits next to the mill.  It is a good Craftsman older 15" unit, too good to sell - at least right now. 

[pbf777]

- kinda like the drill press that sits next to the mill. 

     This is actually a good practice, as when one needs to do some trash work, (like drilling holes in a two-by-four  ), your saving your good machine from undue wear and tear, the simpler drill-press is easier to clean-up afterwards, and just costs less to operate.   

     Scott.

[gregaba]

I agree.
 I wouldn't buy something to small at least for my current need's. However I have done this before, buy something that is what I need now and finding out later that I need something because my need's have changed.
I went to order a PM-25MV yesterday and guess what, they are on back order. Just my luck.
Greg

[MeanGene]

I have one of these, pretty sturdy little machine, with a mechanical power feed on the table

http://www.lathes.co.uk/rockfordmillers/

[pbf777]

I have one of these,
http://www.lathes.co.uk/rockfordmillers/

    Rockford was a fine manufacture of machine equipment, in a time that is now considered "long-ago"; but is yours still with the flat-belt drive?      If so, don't let OSHA or your insurance company spot it!        

     In the horizontal mill department we have an older (but not so old as to be 'flat-belt driven) but a goodie, Kearney & Trecker 10HP 4CH model.      You'll need a better than average forklift to move one of these as our 5500lb Clark won't lift it without the rear wheels lifting off the ground!

     These big, but often great older machines can be at times purchased for pricing close to scrape value, as if only because businesses can not higher employees who can, or have any interest in learning how to operate them today.   

     Scott.

[Falcon67]

- kinda like the drill press that sits next to the mill. 

     This is actually a good practice, as when one needs to do some trash work, (like drilling holes in a two-by-four  ), your saving your good machine from undue wear and tear, the simpler drill-press is easier to clean-up afterwards, and just costs less to operate.   

     Scott.

That's right - why I keep it. Always need a hole in something and not all need mill precision.      Big machines go cheap, but most are 3 phase and use big motors.  Local POCO here will just laugh if you ask for 200A 3Ph service in a residential area.  Easy to imagine the install bill if they would even consider it to be way more costly than the machine.

[gregaba]

When I sold my manufacturing company in 2008 we had 6 bridgeport mills.
I wanted to keep one for my personal use but the electric company here would not install the 3 phase service in my home shop.
So I sold them. along with the fork lift's and other mechinery.
Wish I would have keep one of the forklift's as I could have really used one a bunch of time's.
Greg

[pbf777]

I wanted to keep one for my personal use but the electric company here would not install the 3 phase service in my home shop.

      There is the option of the use of a phase-converter also.      Though of coarse there is still the limitation as to the overall power being made available from the pole!   

      Scott.

[Falcon67]

I use a 2 HP TECO unit on G0519 to convert a single phase 240V input to power the 3 ph 1 HP motor.  The main deal with a VFD is that you rip all the control wiring out of the mill - the VFD has to talk directly to the motor, not though the mill controls.  It's not like 3ph from the pole.  Then you wire the mill controls back to the VFD to the VFD inputs and do the programming in the VFD to respond to the inputs.  As an example, my VFD is programmed to stop the spindle in 0.5 sec when the E-stop switch is closed.  The VFD makes for some nice features like the E-stop settings, spindle spin up time and such. You get full power from the proper 240V input circuit to the mill motor.  I oversized the VFD so I could skip installing load resistors and such to handle excess braking power. 

[gregaba]

I never heard of that. I knew about the converter's.
You would think our electrican would have mentioned that to me as an option.
Oh well, don't have the big machine's any more so don't need it but someone who finds a good machine cheap could use that as an option in a home shop.
Greg