Looking for a Budget Mill

And the three round columns that have come up around here in local sales in the last (8) months went for under $650.00
Always in a different geographical location aren't they?
 
I had a line on an RF-40 mill but the guy never returned my emails. And he initiated contact with me. Go figure.

From least expensive to most expensive my “budget” mill choices are:
(Remember these are Canadian dollars and machinery desert prices)

$2K for King KC-20VS (Grizzly G0704 clone)

$2200 for King RF-30

$2600 for PM-25 clone

$3100 for PM-25MV

Logically the RF-30 makes the most sense.


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I am not afraid of a round column Mill, I'm just not finding any in my area. I am limited in travel because my wife has advanced Parkinson Disease and doesn't travel very well. I'm getting back about $1400 on income tax and that will be the bulk of my fund(s). I'm able to save ~ $100/mo and maybe in the near future I can find a good deal.
As far as the projects I'd like to do: make a couple of carriage stops for my PM lathe; make some tools for my reloading hobby (ammo) such as sizing dies; Gas Check Maker's, ect. which would require a slitting saw setup. Just small stuff to do as a distraction to being a care giver. Thank you all for your info and suggestions.
 
Don 't be in a hurry and something will show up at the right price. I found an Acura copy of a Bridgeport in good shape with a dro for two thousand. There are good machines out there if you are careful and patient .
 
Capt45 said:
I've been looking for sometime now for a budget mill ($1500~$1800) and I've come to the conclusion that a budget Mill will probably be all I could afford or utilize to maximum benefit. I know lots of folks, hobbists included tend to stay away from the round column Mills but I've been smitten by the Central Machinery 33686 Mill. Anybody have this mill and could offer any insights?
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Yeah, I have the 33686 and like it. $960 with a coupon at Harbor Freight. Machine is square with plenty of power and I haven't even gotten around to wiring it for 220V yet. As for as the head losing indexing, I built a simple work around for that and it works just fine. It uses a piece of ground drillrod and a pillow block for indexing. I used a simple collar on the drillrod for a depth stop. DSC_0073.JPGDSC_0074.JPG
 
I see what you did there; very nice work around for getting the Head re-centered. That's one honkin' vise as well. Yours a 2 hp motor?
 
I have a RF31 clone. An Excel 31. This is my solution if I ever have to move the head to change tooling.

IMG_3818.JPG

Set the rod against the quill and zero the dial indicator. Move the head to change your tooling and then bring it back to just touching the rod until the DI is back to zero. With careful planing you rarely have to move the head to change tooling. So far I have not had to move the head to change tooling. I know that day will come. I paid $500 for my Ecel 31. Did not come with any tooling except for a Walther 15" rotary table. A local machine shop snapped up the Walther. The money I got for the Walther allowed me to buy all the tooling that I wanted and then some.
 
Capt45 said:
I see what you did there; very nice work around for getting the Head re-centered. That's one honkin' vise as well. Yours a 2 hp motor?
Click to expand...
Yes, the motor is 2 hp. I probably should have gotten a 4 or 5 inch vice for this machine. I was flabbergasted when I saw how big the 6 inch was. I was going to return it for a smaller unit when the price of shipping turned out to be half the cost of the vice so I kept it. Removing the rotary base made it much more manageable and the large capacity has come in handy on numerous occasions. The table on the 33686 is about 29 inches long so now I just mount the vice off to one side and leave it there. There's plenty of room on the other side for setups, rotary table, ect.
 
Mickri; another excellent method to re-center the Head. That machine is definitely one I'll be on the lookout to buy.
epanzella; all I can seem to find are the 1.5 hp models, but that would be more than I need right now.
 
Take your time, wait for the right deal. Caregivers have a special place in heaven but for now, wait for the right deal. If you do happen on a Rong Fu, most of us can tell you how to rehab it provided it isn't a total loss. Take pics of any potential candidates and post them before spending money on it.
 
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