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Enco vs Enco Turn-Pro mills
- Thread starter rewilfert
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2014
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- 7,594
I cannot really answer your question, and am not sure anyone really can. The ENCO machines are leftovers from ENCO, a now defunct subsidiary of MSC. They are house branded Chinese Bridgeport clone machines of unknown (at least to me) provenance and quality. Turn-Pro has been a stand alone name for quite some time, also selling Chinese Bridgeport clones of unknown (to me) provenance and quality. So, for me, the only difference is in the pricing and the badging, but others here may know better and chime in. On this forum many of the members speak quite highly of Precision Matthews (PM) clone machines, some perhaps made in Taiwan. There are many testimonials on this site for the care and service given by Matt, the owner of Precision Matthews.
http://precisionmatthews.com/
Note that the web site for PM machines seems to never be up to date, and models, options, and prices change often. If I was in the market for a clone mill, I would certainly call Matt and talk to him before biting the bullet at MSC. Ask the members here with those machines about their experiences with PM.
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- Sep 2, 2013
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From what I've seen over the years looking through Enco catalogs, the Turn-Pro versions are a definite step up in quality and price. Supposed to be certified meehanite castings. Basically the difference between Chinese and Taiwanese production, which can definitely be significant. Same rules apply When checking out any machine. Check for slop in ways and feeds, motor and, drive noise, etc.. Mike
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2012
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- 7,852
The later Enco machines, like much of the leftovers listed on MSC, were made in China. Older Enco machines were made in Taiwan.
Turn-Pro was usually higher quality than the Enco branded machines & have a good reputation with owners. All made in Taiwan as far as I know.
Turn-Pro was usually higher quality than the Enco branded machines & have a good reputation with owners. All made in Taiwan as far as I know.
I called MSC today to try and get some answers on this. What I learned was that they are slowly integrating the Enco inventory to the MSC side of the house. As of now, they don't even list the Enco or Turn-Pro machines in their catalogs, only the website. Problem is, the website info is currently incomplete. They did mention that the Enco mills were going to eventually replace their Valumaster (house brand) line of mills. I was told Turn-Pro are higher quality than regular Enco machines, but they are both Enco products.
I have been talking to Matt at Precision Mathews as well. I'm trying to get a good overview of the market before making a decision. The big draw to MSC is that they are local to me and supply parts and service for everything they sell. That makes it much easier to resolve an issue should one arise.
I have been talking to Matt at Precision Mathews as well. I'm trying to get a good overview of the market before making a decision. The big draw to MSC is that they are local to me and supply parts and service for everything they sell. That makes it much easier to resolve an issue should one arise.
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2012
- Messages
- 7,852
Same case for me. I have a local MSC outlet. The only machinery I have purchased from them was a 7x12 bandsaw. Being local, they do not charge me shipping for anything even if not in stock & they have to bring it in from another location, including heavy weight freight items. Plus my sales guy will always give me a further discount when he can.
As for buying lathes & mills, I am loyal to Matt. If & when I buy new machines it will most likely be from Matt again.
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- Jun 12, 2014
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- 4,806
I have a Turn-Pro bandsaw purchased from Enco, a step up from say a harbor freight but it is a mediocre in build quality. As far as I am aware, recent Enco branded machinery was mostly made in China, the Turn-Pro was made in Taiwan. Sometimes it may be a bit of both, often casting may be done in China mainland, then assembled in Taiwan. The Turn-Pro has a bit better castings, finish and quality of the components as other have mentioned. But nothing special from what I have seen.
MSC is often way over priced, so I do not see that you would get a deal, and probably nothing close to shopping around at some of the more mainstream suppliers/importers of mills. If you compare something like a 9x49 knee with variable speed head, the MSC Enco model will run you around 7K with a X-power feed, the Turn-Pro around 7.8K similarly equipped. Also for parts, I would rather go with a model that I know that has been around for awhile, I am not sure what is going to happen when the current Turn-Pro and Enco stock is sold off. Just think there are better alternatives for less, I recently purchased a knee mill and I feel got way more machine than similarly equipped machines offered by MSC and cost less for a similarly equipped Taiwanese machine. Also, when your spending that kind of money, I would either try to get some hands on experience or speak to someone who owns the machine you are interested in.
MSC is often way over priced, so I do not see that you would get a deal, and probably nothing close to shopping around at some of the more mainstream suppliers/importers of mills. If you compare something like a 9x49 knee with variable speed head, the MSC Enco model will run you around 7K with a X-power feed, the Turn-Pro around 7.8K similarly equipped. Also for parts, I would rather go with a model that I know that has been around for awhile, I am not sure what is going to happen when the current Turn-Pro and Enco stock is sold off. Just think there are better alternatives for less, I recently purchased a knee mill and I feel got way more machine than similarly equipped machines offered by MSC and cost less for a similarly equipped Taiwanese machine. Also, when your spending that kind of money, I would either try to get some hands on experience or speak to someone who owns the machine you are interested in.
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- Dec 3, 2014
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- 778
Ten to Twelve years ago Turn Pro mills were about as good as you could do for a Taiwan built Meehanite casting mill, easily the equal of Sharp. I ran one for a few hours at friends shop, very nice, smooth, tight. Suppliers change so that input is near worthless but at the time it was obvious to me that it was a cut above Enco economojo offering and what Grizzly, Birmingham etc were offering. Based on my limited dealing with Matt at PM, I would lean towards working with him if his prices fit your wallet. When Grizzly has a sale you can sometimes get a deal on a mill or lathe, I have seen a few Box ways Chinese mills from Grizzly that seemed to be pretty good, fit and finish was adequate, down side for them is a lot of their step pulley mills are single phase only, a deal killer for me.
MSC has different price structures based on the type of account you have. I think their normal web prices are quite high. They set up all legacy Enco customers with an account that gives discounts on almost everything I have looked at. Their random coupon codes help out too. I haven't tried it, but I suspect they would work with you on pricing if you had a legitimate comparable sale elsewhere.
When I spoke to MSC, they didn't mention dropping the Enco or Turn-Pro brands, but did say that their house brand Valumaster was going to go away as a result of merging MSC and Enco. They did push the Jet mills for the price range I was looking at. The next step above that was to go with Vectrax.
I've had a lot of communication with Matt at PM. He is always quick to respond with answers to my questions. I honestly think he has the best bargains around from what I have seen. The only question he couldn't answer was about sourcing spare parts for his machines if PM disappeared. It makes me nervous having a single point source for parts. Other than that, he's at the top of my list so far for buying a new machine at the best price.
When I spoke to MSC, they didn't mention dropping the Enco or Turn-Pro brands, but did say that their house brand Valumaster was going to go away as a result of merging MSC and Enco. They did push the Jet mills for the price range I was looking at. The next step above that was to go with Vectrax.
I've had a lot of communication with Matt at PM. He is always quick to respond with answers to my questions. I honestly think he has the best bargains around from what I have seen. The only question he couldn't answer was about sourcing spare parts for his machines if PM disappeared. It makes me nervous having a single point source for parts. Other than that, he's at the top of my list so far for buying a new machine at the best price.