New to forum, new to me Rong Fu 30

lafester

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Hello all, thought I would make a quick post to introduce myself and ask a few questions about my new mill drill.
I've been lurking at all the machine sites since I got my heavy 10 a couple months ago but never really had a reason to post.
I just picked up a 1998 Taiwan rf 30 and do have a few questions about it so I thought I would finally make a post.

Unfortunately the mill is still in pieces in my vehicle so I just have the typical crappy cl pic. It actually looks quite a bit better then I was expecting. No damage to the table and everything was nice and smooth. The PO was older and obviously did not care about where he attached things to his machines, but did seem to take care of them otherwise. Came with the stock base, small collet set, collet rack, 3 chucks and a shars 4" locking vise for $800.

During my search I have seen a nice Enco, Very nice (new) Jet, Very nice Taiwan CM, a weird CM Chinese RF40 clone that seems to be pretty rare and then the typical junk and no name clones. I was pretty surprised how many come and go in just a few weeks. For all the people who hate on them, they sure are popular. Meanwhile the knee mill ads sit there for weeks and weeks and weeks. This is actually the first one I have seen in person and I think it should be fine for my occasional use. I did see a 25 once and thought it was big at the time... that is kind of what got me to start looking. I really like the Enco 30 with the power downfeed but I only saw one of them worth buying and very far away. Now that I have mine I can relax and if something better pops up I know I can flip the old one pretty quick.

Really my only question at the moment is about the chip tray. Were these sold separately or are they part of the base? I did a quick search and didn't come up with much.
Anyone adapt anything to use or make their own? What are the dimensions of a stock tray? I've seen pics with and without them and mine did not come with one unfortunately.

Thanks!
 

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Welcome.
The chip tray is part of the optional base/stand. Many, if not most, were sold without it. As was mine.
I have no chip tray on my mill, but made a tray for my lathe, using a couple of baking trays bought from a catering supplier. Made of aluminum, I cut them on the table saw and butt jointed them to an appropriate size. Imperfect but effective.

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Welcome to H-M and to the RF30 club :) There are quite a few of us here and do good work with them. There are many detractors too, oh well. My RF-30 was made in '88 and came with a heavy duty welded table with a 1/4" thick top the width of the table with 2x2 tube frame. Way bigger than the original but I like it because I am always putting tools that I need for the job on it which is much handier for me and there is a reason it was called a bench mill. It also has room for an old 3drawer middle box for tools under the mill drill. The one thing it didn't have was an acess hole in the table to adjust the Y axis nut and for service. So I added that. Personally I don't see the need for a chip tray as I don't use flow coolant and it's easier to vac off the chips without the lip of the tray. Just my 2c YMMV.
 
Well, like you said, it's nice to have a ledge to 'temporarily' place tools and such while working.
The drip pans look nice but too flimsy and the baking pans are too small.

A few weeks ago I had a deal on a nice Enco with a big welded stand but the guy sold it without telling me the next day.
I'll probably just keep an eye out for one as they seem to pop up pretty often, for much less then building my own.
 
Anyone know the bolt size for the base feet?
My garage is a disaster and I can't find or get to much of my measuring tools.

Nothing I have fits! I need to make a temporary rolling base for it until I get everything situated.

Oh and everything is in the garage now. Wasn't too bad, just needed help with the head. Really don't like how they bondo and paint over everything.
On the plus side I think my 1940s industrial 3 phase motor will actually fit on this mount so that will be one of the first mods... if it has enough hp.
 
Mounting bolt holes are right at 1/2" or 14mm. 1/2" bolts might be a little tight.
I just walked over 10 feet to check for you.
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Thanks craptain. Pretty sure I tried both sizes and they were tight. might be a courser pitch then I have available. I'll head over to ace and see what I can find.

Thanks for checking!
 
Ace had nothing that would fit so I'm just going to tap some normal threads in there.
Nothing is ever easy...
 
when you say "base feet" are you talking about the four base holes or the 4 bolts that hold the mast to the base? When I bolted mine down I believe is used 1/2".

Going to 3ph and a VFD has been a dream of mine but not having a line on a 3ph of at lease 1.5hp or 2 has kept that on the future search. Getting it mounted on a good table comes first and I hope you find something. One of the best cheapo mod's I've done to mine was a 3 axis igaging DRO off eBay. The whole kit was like $130 and was a game changer as far as making life easier to do some accurate work. Yeah those glass scale kits for $400+ are nicer no doubt but I have a hard time paying more for the DRO than the mill cost.

The other mod I've been contemplating is putting a linear bearing between the base and the head to keep it registered if I have to change the Z or do like one of the members did where he accurately staked the the head lift rack to the mast and mount gibs to the head to guide the head along the head rack.
 
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