Best Knee Mill Under 5k

snoman

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hi every one. I am a high school shop teacher and a FIRST robotics coach. After HS i went to a 2 year college for CNC machining. I have used Bridgeports (industry standard). for many years. we are receiving $4000 to get some NEW equipment and i can scrounge up another 1k . we have a sharp lathe and now i want a knee mill. don't need a DRO right now and i don't want a table top. Bridgeport's to expensive so i am looking at: Jet, Bolton , enco, acer e-mill, birmingham

if anyone has experience with these brands good or bad any advice would be helpful
the Bolton looks interesting it has power feed and a DRO but i know nothing about them as a company and cant find any reviews on this mill.
Birmingham Milling Machine 9" x 49" BPS-1649C
bolton 10" x 48" VERTICAL MILL WITH POWER FEED AND DRO | ZX1048PD
 
You will probably hear this from others here as well. The place to start is by calling Matt and Quality Machine Tools
http://www.machinetoolonline.com/kneemillindex.html

His website sucks, he has a much larger selection of machines than what is actually shown on the website.
You will be really hard pressed to find a better machines at better prices with better service. It can be a pain to reach him at times, but it is worth sticking with it. He was once a machinist, so he understands the needs of machinists and makes sure his tools have features that are important to machinists.
Send him an email or call him and describe your needs, he will set you up
 
My advice is cross anything made in China off your list, the quality and problems right out of the crate are abysmal, they have no problem shipping defective machines out the door. Made in Taiwan is a magnitude better quality. Given your price range that probably means a smaller work cube as a made in Taiwan 9x49 is probably going to be up near $8k but the made in China is a waste of money imo.
 
what size robotics are you working with.
Look at the Pm 8x36 A basis simple mill that will be easy on young learning students. Plus it seems to be in your price range. You will be dealing with a person who has a good reputation and hands on knowledge of different types of machines plus the needed support for his machines . Mat will be able to help you make a sound decision on what will work best for your needs. Remember that many dealers are just that and have no personal knowledge or support thus leaving you out in the cold.
 
:+1: On Calling Matt he is the best and will give you his opinion without considering the profit. If a less expensive mill would suit your needs he will not try to sell you a bigger one just to make a buck, and his support is the best.
 
snoman,

I have the 3hp Acer E-Mill and really like it. It is super accurate and very quite, and the quality is definitely good. It is made in Taiwan. Unfortunately they are quite a bit higher than your budget. I am not familiar with any of the other names you mentioned, but the PM machinery is pretty highly thought of on this web site.
 
I think you should take a close look at buying a very clean great quality used Bridgeport or Bridgeport clone. Why not double your buying power and bring a better machine to the program? And would be nice to introduce students to the Bridgeport as it is quite standard to work with.
 
An ACER 9x49 3hp clone is about 9 grand, I think your gonna have a tough time finding what you want for 5k unless its used, I don't know how you feel about the kids using a step pulley machine like the grizzly mentioned above. getting their fingers in there, plus I think that's the grizzly that's made in china, they sell both Taiwan machines and Chinese.
 
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