Problem Finding Reasonably Priced Milling Machine

You will never buy a new milling machine for $1200 new from anywhere. Even if you do you will rue the day you did.

You may not think you need the power, but I would not buy anything but a used Bridgeport unless your personal interest is throwing good money for bad and spending 50% of your time cursing the manufacture and the other 50% trying to fix it to do what you want it to do.

The Chinese mills look very good, but they are not what they look like. Search locally for a used Bridgeport.

Yes, it will cost you a little more, maybe $1500 - $2000, but the alternative is buying a used Bridgeport for $2800 to $3200. In other words, you buy the cheap junk machine, use it, curse it, then break down and buy the Bridgeport - total out of pocket cost is almost 2 times what you could have spent if you bought a Bridgeport in the first place.

Ask me how I know!

Hey, Anonymous Hero. So tell us...how do you know?

I (somewhat reluctantly) posted the Enco bit below, before I saw you post. I'm in agreement with you 100%. Maybe even 105%.

But if you absolutely positively can't spend more than $1200...then at least Enco is a well-established vendor which to their credit has provided replacement parts or taken the broken machine back. Admittedly, it sometimes took us a lot of prodding and waiting. But one might not even get that level of support from other outfits.

I bought a Rong-Fo bench mill. I soon found the abilities of this machine were not up to my small needs. I worked mostly with aluminum and nothing big, but I soon reached the limits of the machine. Besides that, the cut was not that good and limited in the amount of metal you can carve out in a pass, the table was too small, its motion was rough, and I had no way of adjusting the head over the table without loosing register.

Then the bearings went south in the quill. I bought US bearings, but the root problems were never addressed. So, I bought a Bridgeport after much research. I was going to upgrade to a floor model Chinese mill, but for the same price or less I found a used Bridgeport.

The Rong-Fo just sat after that. I used it as a drill press a few times, but I can do that with the Bridgeport, so I gave it to a friend.

I had the same sad story with a Chinese lathe.

I just look at it as the price of education. However, not everyone needs to do the same road I do, unless they want to find out for themselves.

I am sure that there will someone that gets on here that spouts how much wonderful luck they have had with this or that, but once you use something like a Bridgeport it changes your whole concept about what good is and you suddenly realize your reach has been extended an order of magnitude beyond what you had.

Yes, Enco (and their parent company MSC) are great people, but they are just distributors and have only limited control over the quality they get from China. Therein lies the real issue. The Chinese and Taiwan quality control is so out of control that it is non-existent. Sorry if this hurts anyone's feelings, but that is what the reality is.

I know some of the better Chinese machines make it into machine shops, but when I ask owners why they bought them they always tell me that they are disposable machines and they write them off very quickly. So, in that regard, they have a useful place in the industry. Serious work, on the other hand, gets done on machines that neither you or I could afford.

I agree that going for a 'previously enjoyed' Bridgeport would be the ideal, if you can stretch to it. The electrics/electronics is a bit quirky, but generally reliable & serviceable (I've serviced a couple) - make sure you get the manual, though!!. Damn good machines.

I hesitate to recommend Enco, since we've had a history of poor quality and support on such machinery that we've bought from them. However, if you:

• have low-deamand hobbyist needs
• refrain from breathing too hard on the equipment
• have the patience to deal with their customer service
• are mechanically & electrically inclined so that you can fix it when it does ultimately break

then you just might consider looking into some of their "Rong-Fu" brand drill/mills. Enco I believe does ship to Canada, but you might want to double-check me on this.

http://www.use-enco.com

But keep in mind the irony that "Rong" is a homonym of "wrong".

Exactly! I had a Rong-Fu, too and of all the Chinese junk tools they make the better tools, but they are still a long distance call from anything that has anything to do with quality.

Oh, by the way, I wonder what the original poster's budget for tools and tooling for the mill is? Better sit down and limber up your credit card. The good news is that you can sort of buy things as you go, but the cost will still add up to more than you expect and most likely more than the $1200 for the mill.

You will need edge finders, parallels, boring bars, mills, a vice, a rotary table, collets, drill chucks, drills, reamers... did I mention mills?

I have been using my cheap, Chinese mini-mill for a number of years for light work. OK, I've had to have the motor rewound a couple of times, and exploding capacitors are not unknown, but I still use it. The key is to make sure your cutters are top quality and sharp, and you have good clamping tools- and don't try to mill anything that weighs more than the mill base...

Might want to get some quoates from here

http://www.activemachinerysales.com/milling-machines.html

In the sad economic world we now have, there are bound to be businesses that are struggling to survive. An older milling machine that is not earning it's floor space would bring added income to an owner. Find out from an existing machine shop who supplies the consumables (cutters and bits) to them. Then find out from that company who might be willing to let go of a used machine.

A used machine acquired this way may have some of the extras with it. If you are willing to take in an occasional job from the previous owner for minimum price, you might get a better buy, and a friend that will help your learning experience. I have a friend that furnished his entire automotive machine shop this way. Good luck.

I'm with many of the other posters here. Find an experienced Bridgeport, and you will not be sorry. Concerning a machine of foreign build, I would not hesitate to purchase a Republic-Lagun if one is available. The key thing about the Bridgeport is that it is very popular and the R-8 toolholding accessories are available from many sources.

One (1) place to watch is if a factory is closing, as often their maintenance shop has one (1) or two (2) dirty but underused Bridgeport machines. Spend the money-don't be sorry. Find the used Bridgeport that is still in fighting condition.

Good Luck!

Ing. Robert Forbus

I have found that many schools (in the states anyway) high school , jr. colleges ect. update their machine shops on a regular basis. they usualy aution off the used machines. I have gotten some really good deals this way.

some examples: a hardly used heavy duty bridgeport/with attachments for $325.00!

a miller top of the line wire feed welder $25.00! (sells new for $1600.00)

The only draw back are some of the machines have been abused but not beyond repair and you usualy have to move them yourself which will add to the cost.

ebay is another possability

oilcan13

My job is maintaining all of the equipment in our machine shop. With the exception of a couple of Lagun mills our inventory is strictly Bridgeport. We have had other brands but phased them out to reduce the cost of our repair parts inventory. These are easy machines to repair. Most repairs I encounter are caused by the students and not the result of poor quality. I do have to mention that I am not real happy with the Lagun mills. When they are new they work fine. After a few years they can get expensive. They are also very tall compared to a Bridgeport. Climbing a step stool to change end mills is a real pain. Our taller students do not mind the height. Our shorter students find them almost unusable. Another problem with the Lagun is the motor must be unwired to service the power head because the switch is located within the head. On a Bridgeport the switch is surface mounted to the side of the head. Simply kill the power to the machine and verify it is safe. Then remove the switch and it can stay with the motor when removed. I purchased my personal Bridgeport from a company that was trending toward tool room mills. These are hybrid machines with manual and CNC capabilities. As these have become more popular so has the retrofitting of CNC packages to manual machines. Try contacting a vendor specializing in this and they may be able point you in the right direction for a machine. Especially if there is the possibility that you may add their package to your machine in the future. The CNC addition could be offset by eliminating the need for a rotary table and digital readouts. If you need help in inspecting a used machine I could give you a list of items to check to help insure you are getting a good machine.

I'll have to do some more arm twisting, but maybe my partner..who is really impatient to buy a milling machine and doesn't want to spend a lot...will go for a Bridgeport. It's actually the only milling machine I have ever used. A used one would do just fine, if you could send a list of items to inspect that would be great!

I have a lagun ftv variable head and trying to get imfo to how to tear it down. It makes noise down an up high.

LAGUN REPUBLIC PH 800-421-2107 FX 310-549-1613

OFFICE HOURS

8:00am – 4:30 pm PST

Good luck. I have been having a hard time getting a live person to help me with my back ordered parts.

If it is a clicking sound then it is possible that the counterbalance spring on the lower motor pulley has popped off. I have seen this happen when the motor direction is reversed at higher RPMs. Check that before tearing into the head. Could save a bit of time and busted knuckles.

Procedure to remove motor and upper housing cover.

Remove the draw bar. Turn on the spindle and run it up to the highest RPM. Turn it off and then turn the speed adjustment to the lowest setting. Disconnect power, remove fuses, lock out/tag out. Unwire the motor if needed to allow it to be removed. Remove the bottom inspection cover below motor. Remove retaining screw in the middle of the vari-speed pulley. Lift out the motor. If the pulley will not slide off (typical) then you will need to rest motor on or near the vari-speed adjustment screw and slip the belt off of the pulleys. WATCH YOUR FINGERS. Use a screw driver if possible to slip the belt off but do not pry on it. With the motor out of the way, remove the socket head screws from the bearing cap (draw bar passes through the center of it at the top of the machine) reinstall them in the tapped holes in the bearing cap and jack the cap off of the bearing. Bring it off straight by turning each screw 1/2 to 3/4 turns each in sequence. Remove the speed adjustment mechanism by removing the 4 screws and leave the dial intact. Pay attention to which way the chain wraps around the shaft. Now move to the variable speed adjustment / calibration screw. Count the number of exposed threads above the jam nut and write that down. When reinstalling the screw later this will get you very close on the calibration in case you do not have a hand held tach. If you change the varispeed belt then this is no longer a good number. Remove the jam nut. Screw the adjuster down. It will get tight. At that point stop and remove all of the screws holding the upper and lower housings together. DO NOT remove the screws that mount the lower housing to the lower head. Now tap / gently pry / or other wise persuade the upper housing off of the locating dowels. With the housing free hold it up while screwing the adjusting screw down and out of the upper housing.

That's it, you're in.

Another possibility is any Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office (DRMO) auction. I'm sure the Canadian government has something similar. Military bases have machine shops and when they upgrade, reduce operations, close down, or otherwise make changes, the surplus goods are sold at auction. I've seen machine tools, laboratory equipment (including some spectacular microscopes!), and all sorts of goodies go for pennies on the dollar of new cost. I almost bought a LIDAR unit at one, once. Should've done so, too!

I have 6 Enco mills running next to our bridgeports with no problems. We have removed all the cranks and fitted the lead screws with stepper motors (Parker sys.)

The chinese mills keep the same 0.0002" as the good mills. For home use look for a good low cost used machine.

As the original poster, all your input has been useful. And has given me more things to consider. Thx.

I am a dealer. Please contact with us; henryzhang1@hotmail.com

Yes I have one, it is a Hero horizontal mill. it is the perfect size for garage use, about 5 ft tall. Has power feed table. It weighs about 2000 pounds or less so it will go in the back of a pick up truck. I live in nashville. Have some tools for it. It was used to cut keys most of its life. I bougt it at an auction and ended up winning both bids. Todd