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Thread: Mill Drill
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9th Jun 2008, 04:16 PM #1
Mill Drill
Hi All.
I have been looking at a M143 Mill Drill at Hare and Forbs and would like any opinions on this machine.
Kim
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9th Jun 2008, 04:41 PM #2
Good points:
Dovetailed column so that when you raise or lower column, cutter will still be indexed to the work.
Geared head..... good for speed changes, but noisy.
Bad points:
No knee adjustment. I like the slightly larger mills that have a knee such as the much discussed 626 mills that are widely used in the hobby in the states.
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9th Jun 2008, 06:47 PM #3
Hi again.
I am interested in investing in a better mill for my own home workshop.
I stumbled upon this post, which seems to come from someone who has experience with the type of machines we are talking about here.
Anyway.. her is the post from homeshopmachinist website.
I understand. I have the RF-31 and have 2 years of experience with that mill. My experience with the Bridgeport is long ago. However, I can cite some trade offs.
Besides the obvious (size, weight, and mechanical operation), the RF-31 has a potential for the head to shift laterally if too heavy a cut is made and your registration will change. The square column won't do that, but you can't rotate the head laterally to do special milling operations off of the mill table. That may not be an issue, but you don't have that option with the RF-45.
I found the Chinese bearings to be problematic in the RF-31 (just replaced mine after 2 years). I also have problems with the lead screws and the table ways on my Rong-Fu. I was not impressed with the quality. I was concerned that the RF-45 may not offer much improvement since I want to replace my 31. If you are buying a clone I would be concerned that the quality will be even worse. Given that the RF-45 gear head is much more complex, I would expect that the probability of incidents over time will be higher still. No data to support that.
You will need to get a spindle wrench (or make one) for the RF-45 since you don’t have a belt to grab or a brake to lock the spindle when you tighten the draw bar. I have heard of a few problems where the collet wasn’t tight on these mills and the end mill creeped out.
One large advantage of a heavier mill is stability when making tough cuts. The mass really is your friend. You get better finishes and save time by making deeper cuts. The RF-45 does have a tiny bit more mass, so it should help with rigidity, but I would expect that to be small. The 45 is larger, but only proportionally heavier. The true rigidity may not be a lot more, but got to be better than a round column. Then again, what would be worse, piano wire?
There are a number of larger knee mills out there, but you didn’t state your budget. Sounds like it is low. I also don’t really know your short and long term plans.
Since I was carefully considering the 45 as an upgrade because I couldn’t fit a full size mill. However, after reviewing all of the options I decided to modify my environment to accept the larger and heavier Bridgeport. I think my total cost will be the same as a Rong-Fu RF-45, but I expect to have a much better mill long term. That is why I am touting the BP solution.
Good luck, I hope you get something that works fo ryou.
Marv
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9th Jun 2008, 07:40 PM #4
I read the rest of the above post after dinner tonight.
Seems there are some that are very happy with the sort of mill you are considering.
Here is the a link to the full post. http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/arc...hp/t-4563.html
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11th Jun 2008, 02:09 AM #5Senior Member
- Join Date
- Sep 2007
- Location
- Newcastle NSW
- Age
- 77
- Posts
- 155
Mill Drill
Hello Kim,
I have a Mill Drill similar to the one that you are interested in(mine is a Zay7045FG/2 which I imported from China a couple of years ago). While it is not in the same class(or price) as a Bridgeport type knee mill, I am satisfied with its performance as a home workshop machine where it should be able to handle most jobs. The dovetail column overcomes the problem of the head moving laterally(radially?) as it is raised or lowered.The geared head is fairly noisy(it is usually at ear level) but it is handy to be able to change speeds easily. To loosen the drawbar,I just select the lowest speed(80 RPM) and the inertia of the gears holds the spindle steady.The problem that I have found with the machine is that the cutter or drill will try to cut deeper than is desired due to the clearance between the Quill rack and pinion. This can be overcome by leaving the quill clamp tightened slightly while lowering the quill. This problem does not apply to the Knee mills because the quill is usually left in position and the table raised.The machine is fairly compact and does not project into the room as far as a round column machine, as
the column can be set against the wall because the motor is forward of the column,not behind it as with the round column machines.
Sorry for the long winded story.
Russell
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11th Jun 2008, 11:47 AM #6
Thanks guys.
I have not seen this machine up close and personal yet but it looks like it will do what I want so I will go to Sydney and have a look.
Kim
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11th Jun 2008, 01:13 PM #7
If you decide to get the machine, the salesman will try to sell you a "starters package" of tooling. The deal may look good when you consider the retail prices in the store, but if you look on e-Bay, you will get much better deals for collets chucks, clamping kit, cutters etc.
I have not bought a large machine from H&F, but my brother has bought a few over the years. His last drill press had a huge quill runout problem, and the machine had to be shipped back to H&F at his cost.
I think the mill you are interested is made in China, not Taiwan. The Chinese machines are still hit and miss as far as quality goes IMO. You might like to inquire exactly what is involved, if you end up with a dodgy machine. Freight from your parts back to Parramatta could be a killer.
Good luck, and remember to ask lots of questions before you buy.
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