Rongfu 45 not what they used to be??

There’s nothing on the machine itself only on the crate it came in. I just sent another email after previous ones have been ignored demanding that the machine be picked up and returned.

Btw I’m not interested in old Iron or some else’s worn out machine .:rolleyes:
 
Update: I guess it took the threat of getting the bank involved to get a response. They sent a RA and will be picking up the machine.

I’m not sure where I go from here as I want to stay with a 45 style mill. I plan on converting to CNC so a knee mill isn’t an option.
 
Glad you were able to get that resolved and were able to return the mill. If you are planning on doing a CNC conversion, then you may be better off looking at the PM932/940, as there are a number of people that have converted these and they seem to do well once converted. Most have tossed the gear drive, replaced the spindle bearings, etc. so as long as the bones are good it doesn't pay to dump more money into something fancier. Might also start looking for an inverter/vector motor if you go that route, the Marathon Blackmax or Bluemax 2 or 3 Hp are good options, I use the Baldor IDNM on my lathe it is rated to 6000 RPM with full Hp. At one point I was looking at the Tormach mills, but do not have the need and the spend factor to go CNC. You can do some pretty phenomenal milling with them, even with a smaller home brew setup.
 
Hi MKSJ

It would be nice to get a Tormach and be done, it’s just way out of my price range also. I have no problem with the 940 which was my original idea I just wanted something sooner and not 6 months from now.

The search goes on and a whole week wasted on a machine that never should have left the factory.
 
The PM-940 would have been a great candidate if in stock. Might check with QMT if they have a scratch and dent or something that is not listed on their website that would be suitable to CNC. The 833T would be another $500 over the RF45 ($3500 with shipping), but you do get longer travel excursions (vs the RF45), scraped ways and a way oiler system that is already built into the machine. So would just need to add an electronic pump. May be worth a call to QMT. As far as other similar mills (RF45 clones), it is a bit of a crap shoot, might dig through some of the posts on other clones and their experiences, example below.
https://www.cnczone.com/forums/rf-45-clone-mill/
https://en.industryarena.com/forum/benchtop-machines--164
 
I did look at the 833t, although it has a lot of nice features and looks well made, I didn’t like the smaller table in the y direction and only 3 T slots. That’s how they get some of the extra travel in the y having the smaller table. I could be wrong but it doesn’t look like it has the heft of the Rongfu. There also seems to be very little information on 833t.
Maybe if I seen it in person it would look different. the single phase motor was another negative. Another cost consideration with a PM Mill is I live in Pa so tax also adds to the cost. So now my money is tied up so I can’t do anything right away.

Yeah that’s my concearn with other companies I could end up with something worse. That’s why I thought going the Rongfu route would safe at least I would get a good machine, boy how wrong I was. I still think something fishy is going on with the mill from MSC. I never got an answer from Rongfu.
 
I plan on doing the same as the o.p. I Know they are put down but have you considered a round column mill. I have been looking for a few years and financially They are hard to beat amd can be set to run accurate.. Take a look at some of the videos from Paul cnc. Very impressive. The head issue. Take a look at cuppa joe s video the wrong fu. A parallel shaft with a linear bearing to not only fix the head alignment but adds a fair bit of rigidity. Much better rpm s and a belt drive. I Battle it every day. Hard thing to do looking at pictures and other peoples experience. Plus there are plenty of parts out there when you crash.
 
Hi

no I haven’t, I know the price is appealing but just not something I’m interested in. Btw I’m still I still have the mill because I waited home two days and no one ever came to pick It up. MSC has the worst customer service I’ve ever seen, amazing. Just something to keep in mind if your thinking about buying a machine from MSC. The bank is handling it now.
 
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Sorry, late to your post. I have a '98 RF-45 made in Taiwan sold under the King name. I can take some comparative pictures of certain areas if you like. For sure some of the castings are not machined as pretty as they could be & its rough around the edges as all the mills & lathes of that era/country were. It does sound like a bag of hammers when its running as everyone experiences, but accuracy wise I'm pretty happy with it. It is not a heavy duty hogger. Where it counts, my dovetails & sliding surfaces are finished pretty good. I don't have the power down feed like yours, this feature came later. My down feed dial graduations were a cruel joke, but that was known beforehand & I replaced with an independent digital system. The X & Y lead screws are actually quite accurate, I installed Newall DRO on it some years ago & corroborate the dial readings. I've made lots of tweaks & improvements along the way but never a teardown. I agree, its hard to find a mill of this particular size/weight/capability that's good. But I think I would get a PM if I had to do it again. I have heard through a local prior King/Taiwan distributer that the original factory is no more, or has been replaced by something different so it may well be this is representative of the new offerings.
 
Hi thanks for your insight. If you cold it would be nice to compare the machined surfaces on yours. Your probably right about the older mills being made at a different factory, it’s pretty apparent to me. The reason I went with the Rongfu was if you look at the castings especially the square column, all the other brands including the PM machines are not made as rigid. The column base plate is much larger and has 5 bolts vs 4. It’s ashamed they took a good design and ruined it with poor quality control.
 
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