Rongfu 45 not what they used to be??

[MarkM]

Fc911c you have been there before and obviously you feel the dovetail design is proven or you wouldn t be going back. I am stuck between the two. They both have there pluses and minuses. I much prefer a belt drive and the rpm s that go with it. No doubt the dovetail off the hop is more accurate. I am ready to purchase a mill and the rf 45 was one and still kinda is one I am thinking about buying. Pm s 833t as well. Been a few years now and the whole time the taiwan round column has been in there. Pretty robust as is. Some flaws for sure but there are solutions out there that make them a much better machine. Same with the dovetail. Plenty remedies for the gear head. Anyways for me the reason the round column is there is for it s ability to be converted to cnc. Plenty plug and play you can go deep if you want. Jet Jmd 18 made in taiwan round column has a 9x32 table and over 20 inches of travel for x. Stands are free with jet promo sale and alot of free shipping offered where they are sold. Needs three phase though! Only single 220 available. I ve been thinking rong fu rf 31 and I think the jet is also from rf.
I spoke with a few sales man from Penn tool and Sierra Victor and questioned the quality of rong fu and both were very quick to defend rf. One of them said these are what he would sell me being across the border to save the grief. I am looking at the rf31 and rf 45n2f. and of course the Jet. The Jet jmd 18pnf has 26 inches between the table and spindle. Jets sale with the stand ends,at the end of June.
We all have are our own reasoning and reasons for doing things. Just throwing it out there. One thing for sure is we all need more money! Sometimes we do what we have to.

 

[Fc911c]

I was looking at the jet square column also as a replacement for the Rongfu. One problem I have is the money for the mill is tied up at the moment. There quite a bit more money and I’m wondering if there all made in the same place, which would really be a kick in the head. If I got the same thing for 1200 more I wouldn’t be very happy. Lol

 

[petertha]

Here's some pics of my RF-45. If there is anything else in particular you want to see let me know. I tried to wipe the surfaces down a bit so you can see the condition/frosting. Now I hope I haven't jinxed myself, I think I'm hearing a slight growling sound. Might be time for a lube-up & inspection. The manual says the bearings are sealed & no maintenance. :/

 

[Fc911c]

Sorry for the late reply, Thanks for the pictures. Looks like your ways were actually scraped unlike mine.

What bearings are you referring too? Btw when was yours built?

Thanks

 

[petertha]

I believe mine is a '97 or '98. Not sure I could confirm 'scraped' but for sure 'frosted'. Big difference. Overall I'm happy with the dovetail fit & gibs etc.

I'm not quite sure what I'm hearing or maybe just focusing on a sub-noise that has been there all along. Its never exactly been a Japanese sewing machine LOL. If I close my eyes it almost seems like originating upstairs closer to the motor. Motor shaft or fan area related? My oil level was down a few mm in the sight glass, nothing critical. I didn't have enough to do a change but topped it up a bit. Overall the gearbox sounded better so maybe some of the upper gears get splashed better this way.

According to the manual the bearings are sealed so nothing to do until they are known to be worn. I don't think I have enough hours on it for that, but who knows with these machines. I've seen guys tear down RF-45's for CNC conversion or motor/VFD retrofits. I'm not sure I want to tackle that unless things go south. having said that, my (similar vintage King/Taiwan 14x40) lathe developed some issues on the power feed that I think were basically factory shortcomings that finally manifested themselves. Simialr story - overall a lot of good things to talk about. And also a few corners cut. The question is, will it happen on your watch? LOL

 

[Fc911c]

Well in any event it looks much better than the chicken scratch I have, I think they only did it to try and hide the holes. Lol


Thanks for the help.

 

[AndySomogyi]

Hey Fc911c, so which mill did you end up going with?

I’m torn between a PM932M vs. a genuine RF-45 from eMachineTool.com for $2900.

The larger bolts and thicker castings on the genuine RF45 make it seem like it’s worth the extra cash.

But I don’t know now, is the quality no better or worse than a Chinese one?

I’ve been really impressed with the quality of Chinese tools from Shars, but I haven’t seen any newer Chinese mills in person.

 

[AndySomogyi]

I’ve found out some of the differences between an RF-45 and the clones
** Rong Fu RF-45 **

- more expensive, $2900 from eMachineTool.com
- weighs about 100 lbs more, likely thicker castings
- larger bolts, and more of them.
- 5 20mm bolts hold on the column
- rack and pinion instead of lead screw moves the head
- little known supplier



** Precision Matthews PM-933

- cheaper, $2200
- lighter, fewer ribbing in the castings
- smaller bolts, only 4 16mm bolts hold the column
- lead screw moves the head
- reputable company, Matt is a straight shooter.



The big advantage with a lead screw is you can very accurately position the head, and easy to convert to ball screws for zero backlash, for plunge cuts and dead accurate head positioning. Can’t do that with the rack and pinion on the genuine RF.



The genuine RF has thicker castings and much larger bolts, so it’s going to be a more rigid and accurate machine.