Brand new Wells Index 860 milling machine - $19995 (Portland, OR)

That would be a great machine to have. Even better to have gotten it for what this lucky guy probably got it for. Which I'm betting was considerably less than 20k. Mike
 
That would be a great machine to have. Even better to have gotten it for what this lucky guy probably got it for. Which I'm betting was considerably less than 20k. Mike

I'm sure it was. I have the paperwork for my Bridgeport 1.5 hp vari-speed machine from when it was originally sold to a high school in 1972. The machine is the standard 9"x 42" that came with power feeds on the X and Y axis, a set of end mills by 1/16" up to 3/4", a set of R8 collets by 1/16" to 3/4" and a set of table clamps. The high school paid a little over $1,400.00 for the machine and accessories, and another $200.00 for delivery and setup.
 
I have never seen a mill with the horizontal spindle like that. Way cool. Are Wells any good?
Robert
 
Let me just wipe the drool off my chin.
That is a very nice, versatile machine.
Made in the USA!!
 
I have never seen a mill with the horizontal spindle like that. Way cool. Are Wells any good?
Robert
I can't speak to the newer ones, but the ones of the vintage in the ad have a very good reputation. Several of the machinist I worked with had used them in previous shops. We didn't have any in our shop, mostly because the combination vertical/ horizontal portion machines didn't have a table large enough for the work we did. The largest horizontal mill in our shop was a TOS but I don't remember the model.

I only used it a handful of times, and what I remember most about it was almost all of the controls were on the back side, and we had to have a raised walkway constructed to be able to get high enough to reach over the table far enough to take measurements. Almost everyone avoided using it unless absolutely necessary. It often took longer to setup a part than it did to machine it.
 
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