[ihavenofish]

so i got a kbc tools pamphlet recently and found that they are now selling the bf20/g0704/wmd25 machines.

its the long travel version, 1hp with an r8 spindle. price at kbc is $1375cdn without the stand. could probably get it cheaper at some smaller king dealers like atlas in toronto.

[ihavenofish]

King Variable Speed Bench Mill with Digital Spindle Speed Indicator 1HP 110V 1PH

actually, its a kit i guess for that price it seems. comes with a vise, a face mill, and some other stuff.

[ihavenofish]

so atlas says they have a few of them on order and should be in stock by march if theres no delays. their price is $1299cdn with no stand.

[Maglin]

Seems a little pricey but I guess you Canadians get shafted a lot compared to the US. Their RF45 clone is a pretty hefty price.

[ihavenofish]

you have to compare apples to apples though. according to the kbc page the machine comes with a vise and face mill, which is worth a few hundred bucks. i dont know if the atlas one does as well.

its fairly hard to get these machines in canada though, so even being a couple hundred more isnt that bad when you factor shipping.

[mattmark]

that's pretty tempting - i might have to go check it out today!

but for the cost, i'd be tempted to get another MTW RF-45.. and at that point, i'd probably want to just upgrade to the IH clone :P

haha. thanks for the info!

matt

[DSpeck]

The Mississauga branch of KBC does not have the mill out in the showroom. I checked a couple of weeks ago (should have called ahead, I guess...).

[ihavenofish]

atlas tools has 3 in stock, one on the floor.

[DSpeck]

Nope, now they have one on the floor, and may or may not have another one. I got mine today! Nice folks to deal with. They took the column off the base for me, including ripping open the crate and everything, so we could put it into the trunk of my car. I advise taking the head off the column if you do this, as the column and head together are pretty heavy... the base w/table I could carry myself.

[mattmark]

hey dspeck,

i honestly think you took the one i reserved!! haha. no worries, i'm going to get it tmr or monday.

they were saying they should have ordered more, but they ordered their shipment back in sept.. crazy.

matt

[ihavenofish]

Nope, now they have one on the floor, and may or may not have another one. I got mine today! Nice folks to deal with. They took the column off the base for me, including ripping open the crate and everything, so we could put it into the trunk of my car. I advise taking the head off the column if you do this, as the column and head together are pretty heavy... the base w/table I could carry myself.

haha, nice.

[DSpeck]

Better get down there tomorrow, then, Matt. With that few of them, they'll go fast.

I put mine back together today, and the 4" vise (Busy Bee special) looks much more in proportion on it than on my little old X2... , plus there's room for another of the same-sized vise for when I get it CNC'd, and can do multiple pieces on it. Now to decide on ballscrews - I already plan to use Hoss's recommendations on the electronics/motors, since he has had such success with them.

[ihavenofish]

Better get down there tomorrow, then, Matt. With that few of them, they'll go fast.

I put mine back together today, and the 4" vise (Busy Bee special) looks much more in proportion on it than on my little old X2... , plus there's room for another of the same-sized vise for when I get it CNC'd, and can do multiple pieces on it. Now to decide on ballscrews - I already plan to use Hoss's recommendations on the electronics/motors, since he has had such success with them.

since you are local, you might contact george at xzero for ball screws. he should have some 16mm x 5mm pitch c5 grade zero backlash screws. really nice quality and cheap. should be in the $300-$400 range for a set of 3. youll have to deal with turning down the ends on your own though.

[DSpeck]

Thanks, ihavenofish. That does sound like a good idea. No shipping would be a plus. The ends I can turn down, as I have an old 9" South Bend lathe and carbide bits.