Help with buying a mill

weejax said:
I wanted to see if I could solicit some advice. I have an RF 30 clone currently (see below). I dont use it all that much. But when I need it, it does what it needs to do. Losing x/y when I need to raise the head is a pain, but I can live with it. I really want a legitimate knee mill though--like a Bridgeport J head or a clone. I live in Houston and actual Bridgeports dont come cheap here. So my questions are: should I even get one?--im a hobbyist and it will never earn its keep but it remains an object of desire. Are the benefits of a knee mill only marginal to this one? What clones would you recommend? Which ones have most parts in common with Bridgeport or are easiest to obtain? Thanks for any advice.


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Keep your eyes on Lemons Auctions they have auctions of old school equipment ever so often. If you want a Bridgeport then look for a Bridgeport, keep your old mill until you have owned the Bridgeport mill for a while so you will have a machine to work on it if necessary. As previously stated by mmcmdl Precision Mathews has good machines as well, the knee mills are a bit more expensive but for your purpose you would never wear one out. Good luck on your search, I am in the Houston area as well, I'll keep my eyes open and let you know if I see anything come up.
 
"im a hobbyist and it will never earn its keep"

I'm sure glad I didn't feel the need to live by that criteria when I was buying my machinery :D
By the way, I do have a nice BP mill and I've never regretted buying it for a minute.
Ted
 
verbotenwhisky said:
Keep your eyes on Lemons Auctions they have auctions of old school equipment ever so often. If you want a Bridgeport then look for a Bridgeport, keep your old mill until you have owned the Bridgeport mill for a while so you will have a machine to work on it if necessary. As previously stated by mmcmdl Precision Mathews has good machines as well, the knee mills are a bit more expensive but for your purpose you would never wear one out. Good luck on your search, I am in the Houston area as well, I'll keep my eyes open and let you know if I see anything come up.
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thanks for the tip, ill check them out
 
talvare said:
"im a hobbyist and it will never earn its keep"

I'm sure glad I didn't feel the need to live by that criteria when I was buying my machinery :D
By the way, I do have a nice BP mill and I've never regretted buying it for a minute.
Ted
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We are a support group here.... :grin: Hi, I'm VW and I'm uh Tooloholic and its been 20 minute since I looked at the tool catalog and 3 days since I bought a tool.......:oops:
 
@weejax - if you haven't found something you like by the summer, I'll be selling my heavily modified Grizzly 6x26 knee mill. Not as large or stout as a BP, but much easier to move and fit in a garage :)
 
My situation mirrors your situation, so when a 1/2 sized 8x30 Taiwan mill came up I grabbed it. I'm almost complete with ballscrew and CNC conversion. The location in my basement has a low ceiling and this size knee mill fits well. Sold my old RC mill for more than I paid for the knee mill.

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Get the knee mill, you deserve it. They are so much nicer than a benchtop mill, in so many ways.

My opinion on brands: Bridgeport makes fantastic machines, but they haven't made very many of them in the last 40-50 years. More capable CNC machines replaced them in machine shops, so th eused market is very well used. Finding a Bridgeport that isn't completely clapped out is possible, but not always easy. It also depends on where you live, and if there was a manufacturing base there.

I searched for a mill for a long time in my area. The Bridgeports were expensive, and usually had step pulleys for speed changes. Did I say they were stupidly expensive? I also had the "if it's no US made it's chi-com crap" attitude. Fortunately, I realized that's an ignorant opinion when it comes to old tools. About the time that Bridgeport's production numbers dropped, imports from China and Taiwan started to increase. Some of those machines are pure garbage, but many of them are really good machines.

Keep your eyes open for a 90's Taiwan machine.
 
Deja vu! Another member in Houston looking for a machine... so close to HGR's Ft. Worth location with all those Taiwan made heavy-duty Index and Sharp BP clones to choose from, it's enough to make those of us in the far flung states weep.
 
PNW_Guy said:
Get the knee mill, you deserve it. They are so much nicer than a benchtop mill, in so many ways.

My opinion on brands: Bridgeport makes fantastic machines, but they haven't made very many of them in the last 40-50 years. More capable CNC machines replaced them in machine shops, so th eused market is very well used. Finding a Bridgeport that isn't completely clapped out is possible, but not always easy. It also depends on where you live, and if there was a manufacturing base there.

I searched for a mill for a long time in my area. The Bridgeports were expensive, and usually had step pulleys for speed changes. Did I say they were stupidly expensive? I also had the "if it's no US made it's chi-com crap" attitude. Fortunately, I realized that's an ignorant opinion when it comes to old tools. About the time that Bridgeport's production numbers dropped, imports from China and Taiwan started to increase. Some of those machines are pure garbage, but many of them are really good machines.

Keep your eyes open for a 90's Taiwan machine.
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I’ve been looking at Bridgeport mills for years and I was finding either worn out junk or mills priced much higher than I was wanting to spend. Some were both. I found a nicely optioned 2007 built Willis brand Taiwan mill for the same price as most worn out, no options step pulley Bridgeports. My mill has hardened ways that the older Bridgeports don’t have. We have a few of the mid ‘90s Sharp brand knee mills at work that are nicer machines than our old worn out Bridgeports.
 
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