Comparison of the capabilities of the Clausing 8520 versus the 8530 ?

Rootpass said:
I don’t believe I’d turn around for the difference if you had the riser block for the 8520.
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Thanks for the confirmation.
1. Mine does not have the riser block. How difficult id the riser block to find and how much should they cost?

Rootpass said:
I don’t really care for the power feed that came on the Clausings. It’s better than nothing but there are plenty of electric diy installs on the internet.
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2. What is the current cost for aftermarket power feed setups?

jack vines
 
Somewhere on the Internet is a write up where someone made one out of 4”square tube for an 8520.
store bought power feeds are expensive (too me) several hundred dollars. But there are several videos of people making them out of 12v windshield wiper motors.
 
I've run across a few posts about homemade risers, one person even made a wood form and sent it to a foundry to have it cast.

As far as finding a riser, the main problem seems to be that they are usually on a machine, and not many are going to sell it separately unless scrapping a mill for the parts.


We are kind of bouncing between a couple posts here, but regarding price of an 8530 vs 8520 I suspect the 8520s are already pushing the limits of what people will pay, which is why regardless of features or model they seem to stick to that $2000-2500 range.

I know people like old US iron, but the reality is at $2500 you are already at the price of a new Chinese mill heavily influenced if not copied from the Clausings. These actually do offer some improvements, like an R-8 Spindle. Of course as new they offer a warranty, parts and readily available factory accessories like a power feed or DRO. How much of a premium is someone going to put on "vintage US iron" vs new Chinese?
I don't know when Clausing ended production of these mills but assume they had by the early 1980s which makes the youngest Clausings almost 40 years old and many are closer to 60.


A few examples of similar mills available currently.

Harbor Freight 6x26" Mill $1899

Grizzly 6x26" Mill $2650

Grizzly 8x30" Mill $4095
 
I don’t disagree at all. Precision Matthews seems to sell a great product and good prices. In most ways I think you’d be way ahead with something just like what you are talking about.
 
I did a lot of looking at options before finding an 8520, and really I just kind of fell into the one I got. I have a particular need for a mill no taller than 6 feet (basement shop with low ceiling), so at 70" the Clausing was the perfect mill for me, but I was looking at the others I listed, as well as some of the larger bench mills from PM and Grizzly. You can get a pretty big bench mill for $2000.

All of PM's knee mills use a Bridgeport type head which results in a much taller machine, so they wouldn't work for me, but their 835 is $4300 so again, once you get much past $2500 that starts to look pretty good, and is a lot more machine if you have the room.

At $2500 I think they are a good deal for a solid well kept machine, but there are a lot of other options at that price.
 
Packard V8 said:
Thanks for the confirmation.
1. Mine does not have the riser block. How difficult is the riser block to find and how much should they cost?


2. What is the current cost for aftermarket power feed setups?

jack vines
Click to expand...

There is a riser block on ebay right now, says it is new, $180. It is a little different than mine, just a spacer meant to be used with the original cap, where mine is a stand alone piece used in place of the standard cap. Don't know if this one is an aftermarket solution or Clausing may have altered the design at some point.

8520 riser block
 
I just purchased a Clausing 8512 mill which looks like the 8520 without the head [no quill] they sold them with a "fixed" head to be indivualized as to a particular need a lot got right angle heads for second operation use..........what I am looking for is the clausing head like in the second picture I am hoping one of our members could lead me on the right track .......Thanks Bobbycoke8520 vs 8530.jpgshort and tall.jpg<<<< this is the head I need
 
It is my understanding that Clausing sold this model so the end user could put their own preferred head on the mill. Bridgeport M heads were apparently a popular choice and may have even been an option from the factory.

I'm not sure how much work is involved mounting an M head, but those are far more common than finding a Clausing head in decent shape that isn't attached to a good mill. I've seen M heads in working condition for $300-500 on ebay. The M heads seem to have been quite popular for converting horizontal mills to vertical mills as well. Not sure if it would be possible to mount a later Bridgeport J head, I've not seen that done on a Clausing or other mill.

The one drawback is you lose the low overall height because of the top mounted motor if that matter to you, but you do get a shorter (depth) machine that can be mounted closer to a wall, since you don't have the motor overhanging at the back.

1594663881832.png

There is a little bit of info on the 8512 with Bridgeport head here as well as links to manuals and other information on the 8520

http://www.wentztech.com/metalworking/equipment/clausing-8520-mill/
 
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