Does anyone know anything about Willis mills? They are made overseas and imported by Willis machines in Toledo, OH. Tomorrow, I’m going to look at and hopefully bring home a Willis knee mill that is a clone of a Bridgeport. The table is 10”x50” so it’s slightly bigger than a BP at 9”x49” and I believe it has boxed ways on the Y axis and dovetails on the X axis. It’s a variable speed mill that’s well equipped with a DRO on X, Y, and quill, a 6” riser, a lubricator, power feed on X axis, and a work light.
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Willis mill
- Thread starter IHinIN
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2013
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- 1,821
Hi IHinIN.. That's exciting! I would be surprised if there were box ways on any axis on a BP clone, but anything is possible.. Most BP clones have dovetail ways on all axis.. I do see that the column itself is box shaped. **edit** found a used one online (looks like Ohio actually) and the Model 1050 looks like it has dovetail ways on all axis.
Cool that they already Turcite-d the ways.. sounds like it will work nicely. I would check to see if there is lube, and the central lube works properly (which this probably has a central lube).. Turcite degrades somewhat-more-readily than bare cast iron if chips and swarf were allowed to stay on the machine indefinitely. Just move the axis ALL THE WAY each direction, end to end to check for wear.
Looks like this thing weighs 2800 lbs, so quite a bit heavier than an actual BP, which might be because of a larger square column?
I had not heard of that importer until your post, but don't keep up on these things.. Their website looks pretty serious, and my take is a good sign that the company makes CNC and other machines for companies now- meaning they don't specialize in "hobby" machines. Not that some companies that focus on hobbyist sales aren't awesome, but some companies aren't.
Any idea what model the Willis mill is? They all look pretty serious. If you are correct about the table dimensions, it looks they call it a 1050 model. At least 3hp or 5hp, R8 or 40 spindle..
Do you already know about milling machines etc? This looks like a very capable machine for most people, especially hobbyists, according to the specs!
There is a video by the manufacturer on YouTube about the machine:
Willis 1050 Knee Mill Intro
Bernie
Cool that they already Turcite-d the ways.. sounds like it will work nicely. I would check to see if there is lube, and the central lube works properly (which this probably has a central lube).. Turcite degrades somewhat-more-readily than bare cast iron if chips and swarf were allowed to stay on the machine indefinitely. Just move the axis ALL THE WAY each direction, end to end to check for wear.
Looks like this thing weighs 2800 lbs, so quite a bit heavier than an actual BP, which might be because of a larger square column?
I had not heard of that importer until your post, but don't keep up on these things.. Their website looks pretty serious, and my take is a good sign that the company makes CNC and other machines for companies now- meaning they don't specialize in "hobby" machines. Not that some companies that focus on hobbyist sales aren't awesome, but some companies aren't.
Any idea what model the Willis mill is? They all look pretty serious. If you are correct about the table dimensions, it looks they call it a 1050 model. At least 3hp or 5hp, R8 or 40 spindle..
Do you already know about milling machines etc? This looks like a very capable machine for most people, especially hobbyists, according to the specs!
There is a video by the manufacturer on YouTube about the machine:
Willis 1050 Knee Mill Intro
Bernie
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I’d never seen or ran a Willis mill until today, but I’ve got probably 2,000+ hrs operating Bridgeports and their clones at work over the last 28 yrs.
I brought the mill home today. The seller was great to deal with. He is semi retired and is thinning out some machines from his business and everything was priced to sell. Said he had other guys trying hard to buy it out from under me for more money than the price he gave me. It’s such a relief finding a seller that stands by their word these days. This mill was meant to be because the seller is an International Harvester tractor guy like myself.
Going to get in unloaded and into my shop tomorrow morning. It is in great shape. The only issues I’ve found so far are the handles on the locks for the knee are both stripped so the handles just spin and the plastic vents are broken on the sides of the belt drive housing. It is definitely built heavier than a Bridgeport. The castings are all slightly larger and beefier. Both the X and Y screws have less than .025” backlash. It does have dovetail ways and not boxed ways, but the way sliding surfaces are wider than a Bridgeport.
BTW, it also has a pneumatic power draw bar. It’s a good thing too because with the 6” riser, I might need a step to reach the drawbar with a wrench. I’m undecided if I’ll leave the riser in or remove it tomorrow.
I brought the mill home today. The seller was great to deal with. He is semi retired and is thinning out some machines from his business and everything was priced to sell. Said he had other guys trying hard to buy it out from under me for more money than the price he gave me. It’s such a relief finding a seller that stands by their word these days. This mill was meant to be because the seller is an International Harvester tractor guy like myself.
Going to get in unloaded and into my shop tomorrow morning. It is in great shape. The only issues I’ve found so far are the handles on the locks for the knee are both stripped so the handles just spin and the plastic vents are broken on the sides of the belt drive housing. It is definitely built heavier than a Bridgeport. The castings are all slightly larger and beefier. Both the X and Y screws have less than .025” backlash. It does have dovetail ways and not boxed ways, but the way sliding surfaces are wider than a Bridgeport.
BTW, it also has a pneumatic power draw bar. It’s a good thing too because with the 6” riser, I might need a step to reach the drawbar with a wrench. I’m undecided if I’ll leave the riser in or remove it tomorrow.
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Got it into place and started cleaning. X scale on DRO was acting stupid so I pulled the reader out of the scale and cleaned everything. Seems to work fine now. Hopefully it works after I bolt it back on. The scale had a lot of chips and grime in it so I’m assuming it was operated by someone with a chip brush phobia. An air blow gun doesn’t play well with a scale that’s missing the wiper seals. The ways look beautiful but the Y lead screw covers aren’t. Not sure yet how to get them out to straighten them.
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- Nov 25, 2015
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how'd you clean that reader up? What did you use for solvent? That's pretty ugly. Any pics of the after?
I didn’t have contact cleaner but I had some automotive MAF (mass air flow) sensor cleaner. I sprayed the reader with it and used a clean chip brush and some disposable blue shop towels. For the scale, I lightly blew out the shavings and then I sprayed it with the cleaner multiple times and wiped it out with blue towels saturated with more cleaner. It’s back together and it works great. I ran the X all the way both directions multiple times and it never missed a beat. I zeroed the DRO and dials at one end of travel and ran it to the other end. The dial read 29.800” and the DRO read 29.7915”. I would say 0.0085” difference isn’t bad at almost 30” on a Taiwanese lead screw and an old DRO. I have more faith in the DRO being accurate than the pitch being perfect on the screw.
Cleaned and stoned the table. It just has a little discoloration from light surface rust, no pitting. There’s not a single blemish on the table. Not even a drill divot. 
The rubber way covers have a few holes in them so I’ll replace them. The screens on the sides of the head are broken so I’ll replace them or make something.
I pulled one of the column screws that go through the riser to check their size and length to see what I need if I pull out the 6” riser. What I found was 1/2”-12 x 14”. After some research, I found that they are a British Standard Whitworth thread. What else would you expect from a Taiwan machine tool builder? Lol
I might see if shorter bolts are available from Willis since it looks like McMaster Carr doesn’t carry them.
The power drawbar is gonna be nice since the head is so high with the riser.
The quill DRO is no good. I turned it on and the numbers on the screen just jumped around like crazy so I pulled it off. It was a no name cheap one anyway and I’ve been running Bridgeports for 30 yrs without one.
The rubber way covers have a few holes in them so I’ll replace them. The screens on the sides of the head are broken so I’ll replace them or make something.
I pulled one of the column screws that go through the riser to check their size and length to see what I need if I pull out the 6” riser. What I found was 1/2”-12 x 14”. After some research, I found that they are a British Standard Whitworth thread. What else would you expect from a Taiwan machine tool builder? Lol
I might see if shorter bolts are available from Willis since it looks like McMaster Carr doesn’t carry them.
The power drawbar is gonna be nice since the head is so high with the riser.
The quill DRO is no good. I turned it on and the numbers on the screen just jumped around like crazy so I pulled it off. It was a no name cheap one anyway and I’ve been running Bridgeports for 30 yrs without one.
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Ordered a 5hp VFD yesterday to get 3 phase power. I will set it at 60 Hz and leave it there since the mill is variable speed. An electrician friend is going to help wire it up and I work with several controls engineers who can help me set up and program the VFD.
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- Sep 28, 2013
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- 4,306
That’sa stout looking mill! To get the knee covers off you’ll need to remove the table and the saddle. I just did the same today and forgot to replace the covers before putting the saddle on. Took a break and had a coffee 
What vfd did you go with? I’m hoping to get a new mill this summer that has a 5hp 3ph motor
What vfd did you go with? I’m hoping to get a new mill this summer that has a 5hp 3ph motor
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2020
- Messages
- 1,739
Yamataki, is the first brand name I have seen on these mills starting back in the mid 1980's.
There were manual and cnc versions with several head designs.
A Tiawanese casting sold to different companies who created their own machine.
I have a cnc version as well as a couple members here have both cnc and manual versions all with different names.
There were manual and cnc versions with several head designs.
A Tiawanese casting sold to different companies who created their own machine.
I have a cnc version as well as a couple members here have both cnc and manual versions all with different names.