Samson Vertical Knee Mill

[matthewsx]

Picked up this mill yesterday and got it moved into my shop. Yes, I already had a Hardinge BB5 and an RF30 clone but when this thing came up on Craigslist I really wanted it bad. Not only is it the biggest mill I could possibly fit in my space, but it's badged Samson like my 12x36 lathe. Now that I know I'm likely going to be in this shop for the foreseeable future I wanted to complete my tools with the best possible within my budget. Time to let the Hardinge and RF30 go to new homes....

She runs silky smooth and appears to have very little wear despite some marks on the table. I think I'm just gonna run it for a while before contemplating any major maintenance or upgrades.

If anyone has a similar machine and has come across manuals or info I'd be interested....

John

 

[Martin W]

Congratulations! I love new shop tools.
Martin

 

[G-ManBart]

Love that size machine....very handy. What spindle taper does it have?

 

[matthewsx]

Love that size machine....very handy. What spindle taper does it have?

It's very conveniently an R8 taper...

 

[matthewsx]

Sold the RF30 to a local guy who works for a solar car company.

Happy to have some room back in the shop.

 

[matthewsx]

Castors

 

[Ultradog MN]

For moving machinery in, out or around my shop, the best thing I ever bought was a pallet jack. I got this one at an auction a few years ago. It's rated for 4400 lbs.
Presently have a vintage mill sitting on it that I'm selling. I can move the mill out on the apron and run an extension cord to it so someone can test the mill without letting them inside my shop.
When not in use I store it under one of the metal racks I made so no extra space is used to store it.