Picked up an RF-30/HF T2119 today

I bought an Enco rf30 back in the early '90s. I have a Shars 440v vise on mine, which works for me. A 5" would be fine, if you want the extra capacity, some even use a 6", but seems overkill to me. The vise you are looking at is rated in thousands, whereas the 440v or 550v are rated in tenths. Although a bit more money, it sure is nice to be able to put a piece in the vice and not have to worry about if it is as straight or square as it could be.

A modification I consider mandatory is to add a DRO to the Z axis. The quill has enough slop that as soon as you release the lock, you lose your position, making the dial virtually useless. A vernier caliper or Igage will work fine.

Another improvement I highly recommend is to add a 3 ph motor and VFD. Mere words cannot describe the improvement of being able to adjust the speed at the turn of a knob compared to having to open the belt cover, loosen the tension, move the belts to the required pulleys, tighten every thing back up, and close the cover.

Another thing that has aggravated me to no end is having to wrench on the drawbar, bang it loose, and unscrew it to change collets. Having no spindle lock makes it even worse... An impact wrench makes it easier, but still a pain.

Fortunately there is a solution to this problem, see my post : Power drawbar for RF30 in the Enco, Jet forum.
 
The 6" Kurt will fit? That surprises me. There's an Accupro Gold 6" currently listed on my local classifieds for $250. Says new, never used. The seller is out of town but responded to my message. I could have it on the 20th when he returns. Hmmm...


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Also thanks for the info about your experience. I'm well aware of the benefits of the VFD, and I'll probably try to talk my brother into doing that upgrade for himself. And a DRO is invaluable on any tool.


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One more question: What size are the t-slots? I was just at his house a couple nights ago and got other measurements, but it didn't occur to me to check those. Hoping they happen to be the same as my surface grinder so I could get away with only buying one clamping set.
 
I really think the 6" is overkill. The 4 or 5 is plenty.
 
No doubt that would be plenty, but would a 6" actually be in the way? I don't expect to remove it more than once a year, and I hate not having capacity for something if I know that I could have if only...

The 6" on the local classifieds is not much more than the Shars 5" after shipping. Though with the Shars I can get a swivel base for next to nothing more. I actually sat down this morning to go ahead and order the Shars 5" and then got to the shipping section. I wasn't expecting it to be THAT much to ship it. Now I'm questioning the whole plan all over again.

Thanks for your input!
 
I've found that to be the case with Shars. In many cases, the shipping has been a deal breaker.
 
it is from harbor freight but you got a great deal !

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