Parametric houdaille 333 Good or Bad

A

Abody711

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Found a Parametric Houdaille for sale locally. Bigger machine than I was looking but... Is a vertical mill but has the vertical head added. Are these good or bad machines? Are parts readily available? Any information appreciated333.jpg
 
Houdaille bought up a bunch of machine makers in the 1960s and 70s, Powermatic, Logan and Burke among them. I'm not familiar with Parametric, wondering if that is a corruption (spell check) of Powermatic or just one more brand that they scooped up. They don't seem to have made many drastic changes after acquisition so parts availability is similar to the pre-acquisition machines. Houdaille in turn got into financial trouble in the 1980s and shut down or sold off many of their brands, some ending up under the parent company that owns Jet.
 
It's Powermatic I'm certain, not Parametric. Houdaille is pronounced "Hoo-day" incidentally
That little mill is a combo horizontal/vertical Burke and hard to find. I'd buy it practically sight unseen
-M
Look at that thing- probably sitting there unused for years, no vice on it- owner probably just expired and family needs to liquidate
 
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Houdaille is still supplying parts from the Powermatic era (that metallic green paint says it's from the later half of the '70s, they added white stripes in the early '80s). It looks rough in that photo, but I think you could have it up and running right away.
 
It was being used in a training program that was shutdown. The sellers states it was running when pulled. He was also an instructor in the program. I am leary because of the 3 phase power need.
 
The 3-phase may be a blessing in disguise. That mill has two drive systems, probably two motors, which means two VFD sets. But along with that, you get variable speed control. If the motors are 2-speed, then you'll probably want to go rotary. That'll cost a little better than $500 as a factory turn-key setup, less if you DIY. Neither solution costs more than a few hundred on top of the mill. Should be an easy pill to swallow.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I decided to go with an open box Jet JMD-18, Again thanks for the helpful info. Learned some new things. Always good.
 
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