Subject: Re: Mill/Drills OK?

From: [email-masked] (-F.KERFOOT)
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 1994 15:15:57 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
Chester A. Roberts, Jr. <[email-masked]> wrote:
>
>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?
>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 would look for a used knee mill instead. For something like a 1.5"
scale live steamer, you will really appreciate the larger travels,
additional rigidity and precise vertical adjustment offered by a knee
mill. The size of the locomotive you are planning is also an issue.
If you are planning to build, for instance, Mercer's 0-4-0 RDG A5a,
you would probably be ok with a mill drill, although it will take
more time and effort. If you are building a model of a large engine,
the challanges on a mill drill become greater. From earlier discussions
in this group, the biggest issue is probably the lack of an ability
to make small, precise adjustments of the vertical position of the tool.

Frank Kerfoot
[email-masked]