RF 31 for Shop

[rock_breaker]

On the recommendation of my SIL I bought a Rong Fu RF 31 mill/drill from a friend of his who was moving. I had seen the mill earlier during the friends garage sale but it was not for sale at that time. It looked well used on a home made stand with a Jacobs chuck in the spindle. It had to be dismantled to get it into my storage room connected to the shop. It went in in four pieces, the mill, the table, the clamp kit and a set of R-8 collets. The base stayed out side.

I have an Enco 105-1117 mill/drill that I like so I didn't give the RF 31 much thought but with a change in finances I am going to sell one of them. Examining the RF 31, it is dirty and has some rust ( I think it was brought in from a wetter climate.) also has some small dings in the table, the worst is about 5/8: diameter and about 3/8" deep on the edge of the center groove. Three other shallow small drill holes all near the center of the table. The Enco has no battle scars.

Further examination has revealed the tables near the same length and both are 8.375" wide. The RF 31 requires a larger Tee Nut but the clamp set has 1/2" studs and nearly the same amount of clamps and serrated blocks. The motor and pullies run either direction without any noise. My impression is that the RF 31 is a slightly larger machine but not much.

My concerns are parts and manuals availability for the RF 31 also there is no chip pan. I would appreciate hearing about any problems with the Rong Fu to help me make a decision.

Have a good day
Ray

 

[matthewsx]

Essentially the same machine as yours.
If you want to know which is better you'll have to set-up the RF 31 and make some chips with it. There shouldn't be any issues with parts, Rong Fu is the brand yours is copied from (or maybe the original manufacturer) and still in production.

https://www.rongfu.com/en/Milling-Drilling-Machine/RF-31.html

If it were me I'd probably stick with the one I already know.

JMHO,

John

 

[mikey]

Hey Ray,
I'm attaching the manual for the RF-31.

Not sure how they differ but the Enco looks almost exactly like an RF-31 and I suspect they are the same machine. It may also be a Chinese version so they will be similar. The RF-31 is made by Rong Fu out of Taiwan.

I own an RF-31 and find it to be a good machine. It has a round column but is otherwise a good light duty mill. Mine weighs about 800# with the stand, gets up to about 2800 rpm, has 12 speeds and has less than 0.0001" TIR at the spindle after I changed the spindle and drive sleeve bearings.

Parts should still be available from MSC and others.

 

[rock_breaker]

Thanks Mathewsx and Mikey,
Getting the machine cleaned and set up is going to take some time and will be in an unheated trailer, but as you said Mathewsx, it is the only way to make a comparison. The specifications on the RF 31 and the Enco 105-1117 are very close Mikey, but I have noticed two differences already, tee nut size and the RF 31's fine feed is much smoother. Thanks for the manual, it will stay with the machine whatever happens. Have a lot of irons in the fire so progress is going to be slow.
Have a good day
Ray