Covetting Bigger Machines

[Antman]

Having a lathe where changing speeds involves messing around with pulleys, changing feeds and threads requires dissassembling the gearbox and reconfiguring it, and having to screwcut with a spindle crank is starting to get old. And my Rong Fu mill is quite tired. So I've been looking at the 2nd hand market in SA.
Look at the lathe and milling machine for sale now on Gumtree. That Yunnan 1metre BC lathe although Chinese looks like a serious piece of kit. I love that sort of cam under the apron that throws out the feed. The milling machine is a German Heckert going for only ZAR17500 around $2000. Thinking about universal mills I reckon I would make a lot of use of the horizontal spindle for things like line boring and as a T-lathe.
Machine tools can become an addiction.
Cheers,
Ant

 

[Herbiev]

Beautiful !! I wish I could afford it even tho it is a bargain

 

[kf2qd]

Yeah, A horizontal os nice. A vertical allows you to get at stuff in a few more ways, but there are times when a horizontal is really hard to beat.

 

[starbolin]

The powered knee horizontal mills can be very difficult to repair. Consequently if something breaks in the knee it's often worked around for years and the sold as is. Beware any statements such as "the clutches are a little soft" or "the rapids could use adjusting." Usually means a major teardown or rebuild. The powered knee mills often has more wear in the Z than a manual mill cause of the ease of jogging the Z up and down. A Z axis re-bearing is a good idea on any recently acquired powered knee mill.

Horizontals take longer to set up and tear down. You either love them or hate them. After doing a stint on a big Excello CNC bed mill I am in the love them category.

Never have any appendage that you value under the knee when jogging the Z.

 

[reeltor]

That combo mill looks like it's in good condition. I see a (semi?) universal dividing head on the cart next to the mill. That's a great attachment to have. I don't see the arbor supports or arbors for using the mill in horizontal mode. "A" and "B" arbor supports are very pricy and hard to find. If you are seriously considering the mill, make sure to get the supports and at least one arbor to make the mill usable. I am in the bigger is better camp and bought a combo horizontal/vertical 3 phase mill. When tested the "feeds just need a little adjusting" (they clicked and clanged and sounded terrible) and used that to negotiate a very good deal. I lucked out, the 3-phase was wired to run the feeds backwards; switched 2 wires and it runs great

 

[Antman]

Yeah, then the reality sets in ... the price, moving and installing ... only to find knackered electo-mechanicals etc etc.