Looking for a Budget Mill

Capt45 said:
Mickri; another excellent method to re-center the Head. That machine is definitely one I'll be on the lookout to buy.
epanzella; all I can seem to find are the 1.5 hp models, but that would be more than I need right now.
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I've heard from others that they often advertise these mills with a 1.5 hp motor but they come thru with 2 hp on the motor number plate. That's what happened with mine.
 
I wouldn't worry too much over 1/2 hp, there are plenty of decent mills with only 3/4 and 1hp. Unless you are really pushing its limits I doubt most could even tell the difference between the two. There are also a lot of liberties taken on HP ratings, the 1-1/2hp machines may just be a seller being more honest about the rating.
 
Capt45... If you should end up with a round column mill (I have a HF 33686) there is an excellentn post here on H-M.
Go to the main Forums page.
Go down to Sponsored Forums.
Then to Rong Fu Bandsaws & Machinery.
Then down to Keeping the X on a Round Column Bench Mill.

I have researched a few methods to keeping the X alligned and this seems the simplest so far.
You do lose the advantage of swinging the head right or left, but in the 3 years I've had mine, I have not needed to...
 
MrWhoopee said:
Not sure how far you can travel, or if a full size BP copy is too much, but within 200 miles,

tulsa.craigslist.org

Enco Vertical Milling Machine - tools - by owner - sale

Enco Vertical Milling Machine. Variable speed head. X axis power feed works. Dro doesn’t. 3 phase....
tulsa.craigslist.org
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I've actually looked at that ad before and the "DRO doesn't work; and it's 3 phase" statements are bothersome. Also the "Quill feed is missing some parts". All signs for a novice such as myself to avoid, IMO.
That said, I do like it's mass and it doesn't look in that bad of shape. Not going to rule it out completely and it's been listed for a couple of weeks now.
 
Bill W. said:
Capt45... If you should end up with a round column mill (I have a HF 33686) there is an excellentn post here on H-M.
Go to the main Forums page.
Go down to Sponsored Forums.
Then to Rong Fu Bandsaws & Machinery.
Then down to Keeping the X on a Round Column Bench Mill.

I have researched a few methods to keeping the X alligned and this seems the simplest so far.
You do lose the advantage of swinging the head right or left, but in the 3 years I've had mine, I have not needed to...
Click to expand...

Already read that thread Bill, very good info.
 
Capt45 said:
I've actually looked at that ad before and the "DRO doesn't work; and it's 3 phase" statements are bothersome. Also the "Quill feed is missing some parts". All signs for a novice such as myself to avoid, IMO.
That said, I do like it's mass and it doesn't look in that bad of shape. Not going to rule it out completely and it's been listed for a couple of weeks now.
Click to expand...

Don't let a 3 phase machine scare you off. There are advantages to 3 phase, one being that scares many potential buyers which can lower the price. VFDs are an added cost, but not a huge one. They can provide variable speed reducing or eliminating the need for changing belts and they are not difficult to install.

I am not a fan of electrical work and I was able to install as VFD with just a little help. There are a few posters here who really know their way around VFDs who are willing to answer questions.

Broken DRO shouldn't be an issue as long as they aren't trying to get you to pay extra for it. A DRO working on not shouldn't have an impact on the manual operation.

The quill feed missing parts would be my biggest concern.
 
Looks like a fairly clean machine and the price isn't out of this world . I'm surprised nobody picked this one up yet . I sold my Enco for $2100 over here on the east coast a few years back . It was a very nice mill , great shape , Accurite DRO , power feed but the head was a step pulley unit . It did have a 2 speed motor that was convenient . All in all , not much different from a BP .
 
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