Subject: Re: Mill/Drills OK?

From: [email-masked] (Paul Amaranth)
Date: 21 Nov 1994 15:49:44 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Chester A. Roberts, Jr.) writes:
>
>Granted that an older used American made mill is the best, and
>granted that a Taiwan made mill from Grizzly is not quite as good
>but much cheaper, what is the general quality of Mill/Drills in\
>the $1000 range as advertised by Enco and others?

If you look hard, you can find used vertical mills in the $1K range.
They may be older though.  That's about what I paid for my Bridgeport
(it was built around '40) and it's in relatively decent shape.  Small
horizontal mills tend to be pretty cheap too.

The problem with buying used machinery is that you have to have a good
idea of what you're looking at and  make an evaluation on whether or
not it's worth buying.  Doesn't hurt to be lucky either.

-- 
Paul Amaranth  Manager User Services - office: (810) 370 4541 (also voicemail)
               (e-mail)     [email-masked]    [Rochester, Michigan  USA]
   Mosaic page: http://www.acs.oakland.edu/links/amaranth/amaranth.html

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From: [email-masked] (J. Kimberlin)
Date: 21 Nov 1994 17:16:16 -0800

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Chester A. Roberts, Jr.) writes:
>I've read in earlier comments that a drill is not a satisfactory
>substitute for a mill, but what about the machines advertised as
>"Mill/Drills".
>Require the unit for milling CRS for a live steam locomotive in
>1.5" scale.  Tolerance to .001 should be satisfactory.
>Comments appreciated.  

I have heard that all Mill-drills in Taiwan come from one foundry and 
that Jet pays for first choice.  Second choice is given to many machinery 
supply houses and the left overs are purchased by Enco.  This rumor is 
probably unfair to Enco and too fair to Jet.  The rumor is probably used 
to justify the price differential between expensive and cheap.

I buy stuff from Enco and find it satisfactory, with rework.  There is 
always the chance of paint on mating surfaces, burrs, etc. but the basic 
dimensions always check out good.  I advise disassembly of Taiwanese 
stuff, thorough cleaning, and reassembly.  Sometimes it is necessary to 
scrape in cast iron mating surfaces as I had to do with a drill press I 
got from a local outfit.

A Mill-drill is a light machine and can be used efficiently for a Live 
Steam Locomotive.  Bed lengths are generally just too short to do what 
you want in a single mounting of frame parts, but are quite satisfactory 
for most other things.  The bed length may be 30" but the throw could be 
only 24" for instance.  If what you have to mill is 25" OD, you will have 
to change the setup and that is a pain in the **steam dome.

Jerry Kimberlin - Editor, GGLS "Callboy"