[Woodenspoke]

A while back I converted a Harbor Freight X2 into a CNC mill. Works great but it is setup for certain production tasks with jigs and as a general shop mill it's not worth breaking down the setup each time I need it.

I actually miss the manual use of this mill. I feel this mill is really too small now for a general use mill in my shop so buying a second X2 is out. I have been looking at larger bench top mills instead. I think the X3's are also too small. The Rong Fu's, Shop foxes, Jet's, etc. are closer to what I am looking for.

So many choices, round, square, belt, gear. then there are the manufacturers, maybe only a few but I haven't found a thread on who makes what for who.

Here's what I would like to see in the mill. Just a Wish List really above and beyond a base mill.

Looking for a manual mill only

110V Or 220V (don't have 3 phase power) 110 is easier to work in the shop.

R8

Largest travel I can get on the table.

Power down feed for drilling (half my need is for a good drill press)

Rotating head for using a slitting saw

Under $2500, Free shipping?

Easy to dissemble and move to a shop down a flight of stairs.


Any suggestions for this purchase and/or links to who makes what so I can figure out what I am buying

[project5k]

well it sounds like your starting in the right direction, you know what you want, now is the hard part, finding it..

One thing tho, not to be too nitpickey, but your looking for a single phase, there is no 2 phase. your house is single phase 110 and 220.

[Crevice Reamer]

Free shipping on 800+ pounds? Dream on.

I assume that you want a manual mill, as CNC of this size starts at about $10K.

I think a $2800 Rong Fu RF-45 or one of its clones may be what you want. Spindle power feed costs $635 extra.

http://www.emachinetool.com/new/cata...?ProductID=697

CR.

[Woodenspoke]

Free shipping on 800+ pounds? Dream on.

I assume that you want a manual mill, as CNC of this size starts at about $10K.

I think a $2800 Rong Fu RF-45 or one of its clones may be what you want. Spindle power feed costs $635 extra.

http://www.emachinetool.com/new/cata...?ProductID=697

CR.

The Jet mills are sold with free freight (check amazon) and a power feed model is $2300, except it does not pivot and I believe it was 3 phase. I guess I could look for a 90 Deg adapter instead. I have no need to use the tilting mechanism except for slotting.

I have looked at that Rong Fu and its too much money. Regarding clones it back to who makes what and for who and how much worse it may be in fit and finish. My X2 need so much work to get it going and I still have a slight dip in the table. But with a fixture spanning the gap it's not an issue. I would rather have a mill I dont have to curse at right off.

[Woodenspoke]

well it sounds like your starting in the right direction, you know what you want, now is the hard part, finding it..

One thing tho, not to be too nitpickey, but your looking for a single phase, there is no 2 phase. your house is single phase 110 and 220.

I may be wrong but you need two phase AC to use 220v motors. I have seen homes with only one phase coming into the house. I modified my post so others will not be confused.


I do know what I want but I need some positive direction on what machines are garbage and what is decent. Who makes what, Who sells what? What to avoid or who.

[project5k]

well i would suggest the x3, but you already said it wasnt big enough.... and really thats the only machine that i have any hands on exp. with...

[Crevice Reamer]

Rong Fu machines from Taiwan are generally a cut above other Chinese machines. Of course, you may have to pay more.

CR.

[Woodenspoke]

well i would suggest the x3, but you already said it wasn't big enough.... and really thats the only machine that i have any hands on exp. with...

I think I would regret not buying a bigger mill. I have looked at the X3 and variants of it.

I guess I should ask a few more questions. Probably this one has been answered 1,000 times.

Square Vs Round column, which is a better design for accuracy.

If I do get a power down model will this allow me to do power taping as well? Just a note I need clean holes and I have been told the power down is the cleanest method (maybe I don't need this?). But I will say a standard drill press no longer works for me even with a large heavy milling vice.

Anyway I have started looking at a few models, the Rong Fu 40 rather than the 45 as it is $500 cheaper with similar features. The grizzly G0484, and G1126 (geared head with round column). I also started searches for Rong Fu made but re-branded machines, and found little information.

It's all pretty confusing, I think the X2 cnc conversion I did had less variations on the theme.

[Crevice Reamer]

ARE you planning to CNC this mill? If not, then by all means get the cheaper round column mill. IF SO, then by all means get the square column mill.

CR.

[Hirudin]

Have you seen the Industrial Hobbies mill yet? It sounds like it might be exactly what you're looking for, except the power feed (as far as I know). As for disassembling it to move it I think I heard that each piece of the IH mill should be able to be moved by... what was it? ...by 1 or 2 people.

http://ihcnc.com/

The biggest draw (from my perspective) is it's very large working area: 30" x 12.5" if I remember right.

I looked at your requirement list again, $2500 is the selling price for the IH mill, shipping is $300ish more. I don't know what kind of power they use. I think it's 220.

[Woodenspoke]

Have you seen the Industrial Hobbies mill yet? It sounds like it might be exactly what you're looking for, except the power feed (as far as I know). As for disassembling it to move it I think I heard that each piece of the IH mill should be able to be moved by... what was it? ...by 1 or 2 people.

http://ihcnc.com/

The biggest draw (from my perspective) is it's very large working area: 30" x 12.5" if I remember right.

I looked at your requirement list again, $2500 is the selling price for the IH mill, shipping is $300ish more. I don't know what kind of power they use. I think it's 220.

Thats an interesting mill. But it is kind of expensive. I want a bigger table but I can pass on that size since I will not be needing that much work area. Doesn't look like it has power down so no tapping capabilities or power drilling so you are left only with a larger table.

So far all my requirements fall within the Grizzly G1126 specs. I have been searching for a similar mill, haven't found it yet. Also It's 110V if I want, so I don't have to run another line.The table travel 9 x 24 is big enough for what I will be doing. When you add a stand to any of these mills the price shoots up $250.

I hate the fact I am so close to a Knee mill yet cant work out moving a huge piece if equipment like that down stairs. As is is now I will probably have to splurge for a motor hoist as well.

[Woodenspoke]

After some soul searching and hours of pricing out things, I think I will have to reduce my needs to only a few items.

One I want to stick with a machine which can run off 110V as I have half a dozen other tools already running 220V in another area of my shop. Grizzly had a RF-45 clone but only comes in 3 phase, Bummer. The RF-40 clone is too much for that model.


Rather than a power down feed which is rare in a bench top machine I may opt for a power feed for the bed and drill manually.

I have been looking at the Rong Fu RF-31 and the Grizzly G1006 and G1007 clones.

Anybody have any of these mills ???

The price difference isn't much on the three except for free shipping from Grizzly. Enco has the RF-31 on sale for only a few hundred more, but shipping is almost $300 (lift gate).

Again I have no desire to CNC any of these choices.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

I may be wrong but you need two phase AC to use 220v motors. I have seen homes with only one phase coming into the house. I modified my post so others will not be confused.


I do know what I want but I need some positive direction on what machines are garbage and what is decent. Who makes what, Who sells what? What to avoid or who.

There is no such thing as "2-phase", it's either one or three. 220/240V in the US is "split-phase" - two 180 degree out-of-phase 110/120V lines with the neutrals tied together, so the voltages add. The neutral, as always, is the same, electrically, as the ground. The neutral and one of the "hot" wires can be used to power 110/120V circuits on the same line.

A 3-phase motor should be considered a benefit, not a detriment. All you need to run a 3-phase motor from single phase is a $200 VFD, and you'll get variable speed for free. Up to 1HP, you can run on a 120V line. Above that, you'll have to go 220V. Take a look at the Teco FM50s at www.factorymation.com.

Regards,
Ray L.

[BobWarfield]

Try this Lathemaster:

http://www.lathemaster.com/HEAVYDUTY...E%207045FG.htm

It's a smaller cousin to the Industrial Hobbies mill. Lathemaster is a good outfit to deal with, and they advertise 110V operation.

I wouldn't do a round column mill if a square column is available.

Cheers,

BW

[Woodenspoke]

Try this Lathemaster:

http://www.lathemaster.com/HEAVYDUTY...E%207045FG.htm

It's a smaller cousin to the Industrial Hobbies mill. Lathemaster is a good outfit to deal with, and they advertise 110V operation.

I wouldn't do a round column mill if a square column is available.

Cheers,

BW

I have been to so many sites that I forgot about this one. I shot an email to the sales dept since I do not see a stand whichis a freight only item. I was wondering about that smaller mill which looks like a Super X3 with a larger table, any clues?

[Woodenspoke]

Its over. Purchased the new mill.

I decided on a RF-45 clone as suggested here, since if i need to lift the head I don't want to loose my position. I want this to be a precision drill as well as a manual mill so I scraped the idea of buying an RF-40 clone or the real Rong Fu RF-40 which was well within my budget. The only real feature that I did not get was a power down feed. The grizzly was so equipped but would require 3 phase power. So it's power arm feed for now. I did not pick up a power feed for the bed but It's on my list for either a mod or a future purchase. For now I will live with a fully manual mill.

Since the machine can be converted to a CNC later on, this was probably my best choice over the much smaller X3. But for now my Sieg X2 will continue to be my sole CNC machine.

So I looked at almost every vendor mentioned here and some others. what it came down to was my budget and the final price of the machine with shipping as clones they were very close to identical except for the IH machine which was too expensive and over sized for my needs. The winner was the Enco clone as there was a 15% coupon which reduced the price of the machine and stand, which was already on sale, final price just $1550. Total was just over $1900 with lift-gate service to my house. Beat most deals by $150, as Enco's shipping seemed about $50 cheaper than most other dealers. Some even quoted $500 to ship it only a few states away? Too bad I don't have a dealer close buy.

Since I have plenty of accessories from the X2 the only addition I needed in tooling was a 1/2" T nut for the table, so I ordered a few as I was still using the 15% off coupon.

I hope this was the hard part, figuring out what to buy but I think the move into my shop will be worse. I have purchased a 2 ton Shop Crane $170 and will need to also pick up a chain hoist as this brute needs to go down a window well into my basement shop. In at least two pieces. I have seen several web sites showing the move so I am comfortable with the whole process. Today its out to buy the chain hoist.

[Crevice Reamer]

Congratulations! I think you have made the right choice. You are a very astute shopper!

Can't wait to see pics of you making chips with this.

CR.

[vlmarshall]

... My X2 need so much work to get it going and I still have a slight dip in the table. But with a fixture spanning the gap it's not an issue...

Is the table warped? Would a few passes on a surface grinder clean it up?

[Woodenspoke]

Is the table warped? Would a few passes on a surface grinder clean it up?

Sure if I really wanted to take it to a shop. I guess I could also put it on the new mill and face mill it if I was so inclined. Since it is for producton runs of snall parts the 1/2' thick Jig plate spans almost across the table. I have a shim placed in the middle just in case We are not taking warped as in you can see its warped without using a precision straight edge and a back light.

If Harbor freight had customer service I could have just replaced the table. I had no desire to take the whole machine back and exchange it. I have to get to a shop for some CNC work on a larger scale, I will ask them for grinding costs then.

[vlmarshall]

Well, I've been thinking about an X2, and was wondering if I'd end up carrying the table to work for some grinding. Sounds like it, thanks for the info!
You're not in Virginia, are you?