New machinist - need help

[That's-a-fallacy]

I have a Rockwell mill; a smaller machine but with a real knee. There's also a Clausing that's similar. Both are designed to live on a dedicated riser/stand.

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Honestly I really like the idea of a Rockwell- I think it should fit in the space I have. does anyone know of one for sale near dallas?

 

[frugalguido]

A couple of recommendations, although might be out of your price range, but who know what you might find. First is a EMCO FB-2 euro bench mill, but of high quality. Lots of accessories available, gear head six speed. A guy by the name of Graham Meeks uses one and does some amazing work with it. This was my first EMCO which I still own.


The second If you want, IMHO, the best small for it's size is the Deckel FP-1, it's a floor model though. Both vertical and Horizontal spindles, lots of accessories, German quality, available in both MT-4 and Cat 40 spindles. Very short in height, which is good for me, since I'm not very tall.

 

[That's-a-fallacy]

A couple of recommendations, although might be out of your price range, but who know what you might find. First is a EMCO FB-2 euro bench mill, but of high quality. Lots of accessories available, gear head six speed. A guy by the name of Graham Meeks uses one and does some amazing work with it. This was my first EMCO which I still own.
View attachment 439715

The second If you want, IMHO, the best small for it's size is the Deckel FP-1, it's a floor model though. Both vertical and Horizontal spindles, lots of accessories, German quality, available in both MT-4 and Cat 40 spindles. Very short in height, which is good for me, since I'm not very tall.
View attachment 439716

the Deckel looks pretty nice to- but again, any idea where I might get one. and is it single phase?

 

[frugalguido]

Just got to kept your eyes open, I found this one in San Diego, Ca. It is 3 phase, which isn't a problem with a VFD. I got rid of the control cabinet, so it takes up even less space. Even though it's pretty small in foot print, it's weights 1500 lbs. It is a very small versatile mill, check out this info;

Deckel FP1 Milling Machines

Deckel FP1 and FP2 milling machines and Deckel Tool & Cutter Grinders GSO, SO, SOE

www.lathes.co.uk

Especially all the pages showing what it can do!

There is basically four different versions of the FP-1, my is the third one with dials to set speed and feeds, all gear drive, 16 speeds on spindle 40 to 2000 rpms and 16 feeds.

Also other manufactures copied this design over the years, there is a list on the website that mentions the copies.

 

[great white]

Just a general point: a good operator can turn out high quality stuff on a marginal or sub par machine. But a good machine with a poor operator will not turn out good quality.

Get a decent machine and then work on your skills. That will probably take a year or two, at which point you’ll have the skills and experience to know how “big” of a machine you really need/want.

That time will also allow you to accumulate the tooling you want. Just make sure you get a machine that you can transfer your purchased tooling to a bigger machine.

You might already know this, but you can easily spend way more on tooling and fixtures than the actual mill itself…

 

[davidpbest]

I'll toss my hat in the ring on this topic by passing along the attached write-up. You can indeed do excellent work on a quality benchtop mill, and some of them are more robust and rigid than the knee mill clones as the attached write-up suggests. I've done a lot of difficult stainless steel production work with a Rong Fu 45 square column benchtop mill.

I'll second the vote for a Deckle FP-1 if you can find one. The following link will give you a good run-through of the FP-1 from a master machinist in Germany:

 

[That's-a-fallacy]

I've been looking for mills on ebay, facebook, and craigslist a bit- does anyone suggest another store? or maybe one of those surplus auctions?

 

[palada]

I've been looking for mills on ebay, facebook, and craigslist a bit- does anyone suggest another store? or maybe one of those surplus auctions?

If you're not using https://www.searchtempest.com/ already, that might streamline your search a bit. Otherwise you just have to watch the listings and be ready to jump when you see the right machine. Estate sales are a good option too, usually you can find under garage sales on Craigslist. Good luck!

 

[That's-a-fallacy]

If you're not using https://www.searchtempest.com/ already, that might streamline your search a bit. Otherwise you just have to watch the listings and be ready to jump when you see the right machine. Estate sales are a good option too, usually you can find under garage sales on Craigslist. Good luck!

Thanks- we're in a tornado right now so I should have plenty of time...

 

[Aaron_W]

If your intent is to fix and flip you may do better with something smaller. Bridgeports and their ilk are very common so finding one at a price that leaves you with some room for profit after getting it moved, bought parts etc may be difficult.
You may do better with smaller machines as these tend to sell for more money since the people interested tend to have space constraints which keep them from buying the more common larger machines, and there just aren't as many around.

Clausing 8520/8530, Rockwell 21-100, and Benchmaster all have good name recognition, so if you can find a deal on a dysfunctional one you will have an easier time finding a seller willing to pay a good price once you get it all fixed up.

Small horizontal mills with an added vertical head would be something else to look for, they often sell cheap since many people don't want a horizontal mill, but when you go to sell it emphasize the vertical head and you may attract people who never gave one a thought. Same goes for other oddball mills that are not well known. Downside to both of these is they can often be found cheap because people don't look for them, but flipping them may not be so easy as buyer rarely specifically look for them.

Added benefit, small machines are smaller so take up less space, and are easier to move which may make the idea of buying one to fix up and sell an easier prospect to sell your parents on.