New to forum, new to me Rong Fu 30

My first mod was X power feed. Can't live without it. I wish it had the power down feed as I've needed it several times and am contemplating doing a mod like Stefan Gotswinter. I put a cheap igaging DRO, it was like $130 for 3 axis and upped my accuracy 100% and can't live without it. I've got changing the speeds I use down to where they are so easy I don't see the need for 3ph and VFD. We're all different with different needs and projects and uses for the RF30.
 
Well I have the motor and vfd sitting here so I might as well see how I like it. I don't think I would go out of my way to source one otherwise.
I've finally got the mill set up and actually made a few chips last night just for fun.
Wasn't much, just setting up the vise for the first time and using some parallels. Then shaving some off the top and checking the finish.
The stand actually is ok for now and everything seems pretty solid.
Sure, the tooling I got with it is nothing special, but it works well enough to get me started and the price was right. I'm also happy with the stuff I got from HF (parallels, end mills, hold down set).

So I'm pretty happy with the mill and now I get to spend some time getting the garage organized and thinking about how I'm going to start using my new found metal working tools. I guess I still need to find some sources for stock material as well. The budget doesn't allow for retail prices yet.

Oh I was wondering what people are using for machine lights these days. I see tons of these sewing machine lights in different configurations. I went with an 8w cob light as it seemed to be the brightest one available. It was only $8 delivered from China so we shall see.

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I'm using an Aurora LED light from Woodturner's Wonders. Expensive but very effective and with a decent life expectancy.

As for what to do with your mill now that you've got it running, I suggest buying some aluminum stock and learn how to fly cut it, square it and bring it to a specific dimension. Many of your projects will begin as nominal stock that has to be squared and dimensioned before being made into a part so I think this is an important place to begin.

Learn to make accurate holes. Learn to drill a hole in the exact place you want it, with the exact size you want it. That might sound simple but this involves using coordinates to position the part under the spindle, drilling accurately, reaming and/or boring the hole. Most anyone can make a hole. Not everyone can make a hole that is accurate within a few tenths in both position and size.

Learn about end mills and how they are used. This is a HUGE discussion and there is a lot to learn about it; we can go on about this one subject for days. Conventional milling vs climb milling is something you need to get your head around, and you need to know when to use both.

You have a decent mill. It doesn't have as much mass as a knee mill but it is bigger and heavier than many benchtop mills out there and it is capable of doing real work. Learn to use it and I think you will be surprised at what it can do.
 
As far as lighting I went with the automotive Angel Eye round LED mounted right on the head. Never in the way and shadow free. I just stuck it it on with double sided tape and it works great. If I need more light, which I haven't yet, I've got 3 of those sewing machine lights scattered on other machines and can move them in a flash. I prefer them because of the small head. Lights always seem to be in the way of my seeing so bright it good, but small is better and in the case of the Angel Eye 360 light is best.

The one set I didn't realize I needed so bad was tool holders for my end mill set. Not so much for the small end mills, but for the larger end mills because no matter how hard you crank on the collet, it will gradually slip under a heavy load. I've also come to love my dedicated R8 Iscar face mill and R8 fly cutter and R8 boring head. They are much more ridged and don't slip. I'm still glad I have a pretty complete collet set instead of using my R8 Rohm keyless chuck.
 
Welcome to the world of Rong Fu. When I first got mine, I kinda hated it. I fought to get good work out of it in out-of-the-crate condition. Then I learned how to adjust the gibs, to shim the column, got a good vise, x power feed, installed a set of igaging (or is it igauging?) DROs, upgraded the column pinch bolts, switched to link belts, replaced the gib lock knobs, added a conventional light fixture with 100w-equivalent LED bulb, added some go-fast stickers, got a proper drill chuck/end mill holders/collet holder, and some practice later... it's actually a great little mill. I get excellent results out of it now, and I can't believe it's the same machine. I've been quite happy with it.

Only one pic on my phone that's not staring down at the machine table:
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Those are some great ideas, thanks everyone.
I've been making progress and hopefully by the weekend I can play some more with the mill.

I know dro will be topping the list once I recover from dropping 1k on a mill setup I didn't need.
Great youtube on conventional vs climb milling:
 
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