What's the model name of this Enco?

[C-Bag]

Unfortunately I came to machining because I needed to do some projects and didn't have a background in machining. Not out of curiosity or love. My brother was the machinist and honestly he was more of a hindrance than a help because he had the opinion that anything he deemed hobby was bad. So I ended up not relying on him for machine opinions and just became more objective. Was it the right size? Would it do what I wanted? could I afford it? and decided to go with something the next size up from the mini mill. And for the most part if you were looking for an affordable mini mid size mill the RF30 ticked all the boxes once one came up local. Mine I realize is Enco in paint only. All the stickers from '88 when it was made just say RongFu30 and Taiwan. But by the paint I would bet Enco was the importer. I've not found anybody who has done a history of who imported these machines and how many were rebadged.

 

[bulgie]

Time to start making some chips. On my Excel I found the X & Y dials to be spot on to the movement of the table. Note that one full turn of the dials is 0.125. Not 0.100. The Z dial is way off. I think this is due to how the Z dial is engaged by fiction. So I always measure the amount of Z travel with a caliper.

Getting it in the basement has to come before making chips. Some disassembly required!

I think I'll just bolt a cheap digital caliper to the front as a quill DRO. Other than having to turn my head 90° to be able to read the numbers, I think it'll work fine and cost peanuts.

 

[mickri]

I take mine apart to move it. I take the motor off then remove the column and head from the base. I sometimes take the table off too. The head and column is the heaviest. Taking the head off the column would help to cut the weight of the individual pieces down. I use a chain hoist to pick things up.

 

[RJSakowski]

My RF clone is indeed a clone. My mill was purchased new in the late 1970's 1984. It is badged as a Menards (regional DIY) JP30. Much of the text and pictures in my user manual are identical to those in the RF20/30 and many of the parts are4 numbered the same. However, there are some small differences. for example, the T slot widths are 15 mm rather than 5/8" as indicated in the manual. The table length is shorter by almost 5"as well although the width is 3/4" greater. It is possible that the mill that I have was one of some older stock that the manufacturer had in inventory and the stateside vendor bought up the lot and private labeled it.

 

[bulgie]

I take mine apart to move it. I take the motor off then remove the column and head from the base. I sometimes take the table off too. The head and column is the heaviest. Taking the head off the column would help to cut the weight of the individual pieces down. I use a chain hoist to pick things up.

Thanks for that, will do. I saw a YT where the guy took the head off the column, then the column off the base. Later, to reassemble, the head is easier to get back on the column with the column loose from the base and horizontal. Then lift head+column to horizontal and bolt to base. Sounds do-able for one guy, and it seems too dicey I can call in a helper.

I'll definitely take the table off the saddle if only for the width, getting it through the basement door. But also the weight. More trips with lighter weight reduces my excess stomach acid.

 

[bulgie]

My RF clone is indeed a clone. My mill was purchased new in the late 1970's 1984. It is badged as a Menards (regional DIY) JP30. Much of the text and pictures in my user manual are identical to those in the RF20/30 and many of the parts are4 numbered the same. However, there are some small differences. for example, the T slot widths are 15 mm rather than 5/8" as indicated in the manual. The table length is shorter by almost 5"as well although the width is 3/4" greater. It is possible that the mill that I have was one of some older stock that the manufacturer had in inventory and the stateside vendor bought up the lot and private labeled it.

Uh oh, I should go measure my T-slots, though it might be too late, I already ordered a hold-down clamping kit for 5/8" slots. Used (ebay) and cheap, so no great harm done if they don't fit.

Is that a big annoyance on yours, the 15 mm slots? Do you use 5/8" parts and mill the t-nuts a silly millimeter narrower?

 

[mickri]

Being cheap chiniseum the clamping kit may actually be 15mm. 15mm is 1/32 smaller than 5/8.

 

[C-Bag]

Thanks for that, will do. I saw a YT where the guy took the head off the column, then the column off the base. Later, to reassemble, the head is easier to get back on the column with the column loose from the base and horizontal. The lift head+column to horizontal and bolt to base. Sounds do-able for one guy, and it seems too dicey I can call in a helper.

I'll definitely take the table off the saddle if only for the width, getting it through the basement door. But also the weight. More trips with lighter weight reduces my excess stomach acid.

I’ve always had a garage and engine hoist to lift mine. I did take the head off once, but if your going to take column off take care to notice if there are shims. Those shims(in my case paper shims) are how you set the tram and the nod. I’ve not tackled it yet but because you have 4 bolts it can be finicky to get it set right again. I think the previous owner messed with it as it’s easy to tell. If there is no paint on the parting surface between the base and the column I’d bet it’s been apart. And you don’t know if they even knew those shims were there.

 

[mickri]

Mine had paper shims too. I carefully put them back in place when I brought it home when I bought it. On this last move some of the shims got lost in the move. Will have to tram it one of these days. Seems to be pretty close. I had to mill down a fitting for my sailboat and didn't get any of the ridges that is a tell tale sign that the head is out of tram.

There are lots of methods to tram one of these round column mills. What I do is mark the bolt pattern on the table. Then take a DI reading at each mark. Zero the DI at the longest reading. Then measure the other 3. This will give you how much you need to shim each bolt to bring it to the longest reading.

 

[RJSakowski]

Uh oh, I should go measure my T-slots, though it might be too late, I already ordered a hold-down clamping kit for 5/8" slots. Used (ebay) and cheap, so no great harm done if they don't fit.

Is that a big annoyance on yours, the 15 mm slots? Do you use 5/8" parts and mill the t-nuts a silly millimeter narrower?

The clamp set that came with the mill had 1/2" T nuts. They worked well with my 12" Enco ET that I purchased later so no loss there. One of the first milling jobs was to make six T nuts to fit. The set uses 3/8-16 studs and I use that set in preference to the clamp set I bought with my Tormach which uses 1/2-13 studs. I have also made six 15 mm T nuts with 1/2-13 holes which I use with 1/2-13 bolts for clamping my vises and RT to the table. That way, I don't have the studs getting in the way of my work space.