Benchmaster MV-1 General Questions

Rick_B

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Hello all - i usually spend my time over in the south bend wing but i'm considering a Benchmaster MV-1 purchase and have a few questions. i-ve read a lot of threads here and elsewhere and fo.ks seem to fall into two camps - a benchmaster is well bilt'but too small and a benchmaster is an ideal machine for'the typical home shop needs. assuming i have accepted the size limitations - what should I be looking at in terms of machine condition, tooling that is necesary or specific to the machine and anything else I may be missing. logistically what is the size and weight -i'm wondering if it would fit in a small SUV (RAV 4). Finally'what is the relative value'ofthese machines assuming good condition and excluding any tooling.

thanksfor yourhelpand thoughts
Rick
 
I would buy a Benchmaster in a heartbeat, and replace my minimill with it.
You should be able to get it in the Rav4 with no problem.
200 lbs. Put down a piece of heavy plywood to spread the weight.

http://www.lathes.co.uk/duro/
 
thanks guys - i'm going to see it up front amd personal this afternoon. I'm pretty sure it is a vertical which from'what i have read leaves a pretty small working envelope. the small working envelope, lack of power feeds and lack of a quill seem to be the most often mentioned negatives. I believe the vertical will work with steel as well as aluminum/brass/bronze. The asking price is high - $1000 - which starts to approach a used bridgeport - on a very good and lucky day.

Rick
 
Other than E-Bay and craigslist (which is hit or miss in my area) is there another place to find Benchmasters for sale?

Thanks
 
i went and looked today the machine seems in pretty good shape - everything seems tight with very little'backlash in the table movements. Not much tooling goes with it - a vise, a couple'of collets, lots of end mills and some misc stuff (some parallels, 90° angle plates, surface gage, etc). after some comversation we ended up at $700. I didn't commit but seller agreed to giveme a few days to think about it.

Rick
 
No pictures yet - but I did talk witxh the seller today and we reached an agreement at $600 - I'll be picking it up'tomorrow and will post some'pics

Rick
 
Well I picked up the new to me bench master today - you can say a lot of things about them but you can't accuse them of being lightweight :). Some pictures below - the machine is still resting peacefully on its side until I wire wheel the stand and get some paint on it. I don't want to move this any more than I have to.

the first few pictures are of the machine and stand
Under the base - I was expecting to see some rust here but nothing
UnderBase.jpg

The machine itself (serial number 8674) - the discoloration is more grime and dirt than surface rust.
Mill.jpg

and the stand
Stand.jpg

finally the motor - 1/2 hp craftsman 1750 single phase
Motor.jpg

The next pictures are the "accessories" that came along for the ride
This was a box full of stuff (Vee blocks, parallels, a sine plate, various clamps, surface gages, some reamers and a bunch of other stuff that I'm not yet sure about). Unfortunately there is some corrosion - some pretty serious - but I'll see what I can do to clean it up. I believe a lot of this was user made.

Stuffinbox.jpg
MoreStuffinBox.jpg

next was a user made shelf with a drawer - more stuff in the drawers - reamers, more clamps, drill chuck, etc.
StuffinDrawer.jpg

Finally was a box of end mils - 173 to be exact. I'm betting there is a lot of junk in there but I also think there is a good supply of useable end mills
EndMills.jpg

I'm feeling like I did OK with this deal.

Any thoughts about putting a mobile base under the stand - would that be detrimental to the machine operation?

Thanks
Rick

UnderBase.jpg

Mill.jpg

Stand.jpg

Motor.jpg

Stuffinbox.jpg

MoreStuffinBox.jpg

StuffinDrawer.jpg

EndMills.jpg
 
All my mills have mobil bases under them.

That certainly came well tooled.
You will probably want a real milling vise early on.
Also a holdown clamping kit.
Nice score! :man:
 
AR1911 - ok a couple of'questions
first the mobile base - others have suggested that leveling a mill is as critical as a lathe and a mobile base cojnteracts the leveling - any thoughts?

second - what is a real milling vise - are you referring to the lower profile vises I habe seen? any suggestions or links to one that would be the appropriate soze for this mill? is the vise that is on there more'of a drill press vise?

Finally - not sure what youmean by hold'down clamps - can you tell memore about that?

as you'can tell this is a'whole'new'experience forme

thanks
Rick
 
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