Poncho Enterprises Comet-30

[Calkidd]

Hello new here and looking forward to gaining knowledge, starting off with the purchase of a milling machine.

I found a Comet 30 bench mill. Now although I have never owned one I am familiar with operations of machining equipment. However I have no experience with personally owning one.

They're asking $750, but it looks like it's going to need some (a lot) of work. Given the experience of this forum, I am asking, if this is something worth buying and fixing it up? I don't plan on heavy machining. I am more looking for the use of knife making and small projects.

I know it's a clone of a Rong Fu RF-30 or Jet 16. Are parts readily available? I did see the manual for a RF-30 will work, but are parts interchangeable?

 

[Calkidd]

I have no idea what happened and why it double posted. I went to edit and it doubled posted.

 

[Nutfarmer]

The round column would be a deal breaker for me. It is a place to start,but you will out grow it quickly.

 

[Calkidd]

The round column would be a deal breaker for me. It is a place to start,but you will out grow it quickly.

I get that a knee mill would be more stable. But I am limited in floor space (2 car garage) and every tool I own is on wheels.

 

[slow-poke]

I’m not a retired machinist just a hack hobby guy so keep that in mind….
I picked up a well used Busy Bee LC30 about 5 years ago, it came with a 600V 3-phase motor so I ended up changing the motor to a 3 phase 240V motor and using a VFD. I paid $500Cdn so I think they are asking a bit much.

The round column is a negative, however any mill is better than no mill and for hobby type work I have been really happy with mine. I’m now in the habit of assessing the height of the head on the column as I begin a job and only rarely have to adjust the height using the crank before I’m complete. A set of shorty drill bits are also handy and the set I purchased from DrillHog seem quite good.

When I originally purchased my mill the thought of CNC was not even a consideration, however after a while I decided to try it just on the X axis and after experiencing that the Y and Z axis motors went on in short order. The advantages of CNC capability are endless and if your handy not difficult to implement, and G code to do simple tasks is way simpler than I ever anticipated. One simple example is cutting a perfect circle, in the image below I had to reduce the diameter of the boss to fit a quick change post on my lathe, piece of cake with CNC capability, not so easy otherwise.

 

[C-Bag]

Personally I think they are asking too much too. Maybe it’s technically a really old version of a RF30 but they have not looked like that for at least 30yrs+. Might be more like a RF20 or 25. Its all different and way lighter than a 30. As to parts, they are available for a true 30, but who knows on that as it might not even be a RF or a clone.

 

[C-Bag]

I get that a knee mill would be more stable. But I am limited in floor space (2 car garage) and every tool I own is on wheels.

I’m in the same situation but if I was you I’d go talk to the guy in Coarsegold that’s got the Millrite on CL. It’s what they call a 3/4 mill and would take just a tiny bit more space and be 100x’s the machine that you would never outgrow. Those machines are highly regarded and rare. That one looks to be in perfect shape. Just a thought from a guy with a RF30 in a garage jammed full stuff.

 

[slow-poke]

That Millrite looks like a great machine. It was a chore getting my LC-30 into the basement solo, much easier moving into a garage. I have made a few learning curve mistakes with my small mill, I would hate to have made them on a machine that size.

 

[Calkidd]

I’m in the same situation but if I was you I’d go talk to the guy in Coarsegold that’s got the Millrite on CL. It’s what they call a 3/4 mill and would take just a tiny bit more space and be 100x’s the machine that you would never outgrow. Those machines are highly regarded and rare. That one looks to be in perfect shape. Just a thought from a guy with a RF30 in a garage jammed full

He also has that on FB and I have been watching that too. It's been on their for a while and I do like it has a 3 phase motor. This way I can use a VFD and not worry about changing belts. Additionally he has tooling plus it's USA made. What is your thought on what he is asking for it?

Although I could do the modifications that is discussed with the Comet-30, I am not familiar with that and would have to do some digging to get it done. However the millrite looks cleaner. I would have to find out if he has a way to load it on my trailer there. From what I have found that Millrite is about 1100 lbs.

 

[C-Bag]

What is your thought on what he is asking for it?

Where the Comet is about $3-400 over mrkt(IMHO) the Millrite with tooling is below mrkt. Those 3/4 size mills are the thing for a hobbyist so it drives the price up. But it’s all how serious you are and how much room you have. I’m not sure but the fact there are so many Bridgeports around for that price is why that one is so reasonable. Few Millrite come up. Last one I saw was in the BA and it was more than that, no tooling and not as nice shape and it didn’t last a couple of days. Looks like it’s on castors. A good ramp and a come along and you’re good to go.