RongFu RF 25 Drill/Mill

[gus]

Hello Gus,
Not sure what you are after, whether it is machine details or a picture of my fitted out mill. For details of Optimum milling machines, google Optimum BL17 mill and you will get their complete range.
Norm

Foto of your Optimum Mill in your machineshop will do.
Went into Optimum and all in German.

 

[Niels Abildgaard]

Hello Gus

There is a BF 25 here with coordinates and electric feed.

http://maxnovopower.en.made-in-chin...d-Milling-Machine-mm-BF25-Super-MAXNOVO-.html

or more basic

http://www.maxnovomachine.com/e/PRODUCTS/milling-machine/Drilling-Milling-Machine/MM-BF25V.html

If You care to ask for a price,let us all know.Shipping from Shanghai to Singapore is not too far.

 

[Justmental]

i have a warco mill drill same as the rf25 and find it a good machine.
there is loads of mods to make it better and ways to get around the column going out of alignment when raising or lowering it.
cuppa joe o you tube has a good video on his mod for the column.
and just recently a good one for the y-axis table lock.
this page with some pics shows a few done

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRwu9plKfO4[/ame]

 

[grapegro]

Gus, First apologies to niels for wrong number of mill model. If you google Hare and Forbes or Machinery House, you will get the all the details of these models in English. Will try and find the photos that I listed on this forum recently and post them for you
Norm

 

[goldstar31]

I have had a Warco Mill/Drill for-----a lot of years. Fine, folks, just keep talking about price but it isn't much good unless it is well kitted out with lots of accessories. How much for the accessories? How long is a piece string but there has been a lot of talk about Rotary Tables and Dividing Heads and decent ones are not cheap. Again, I've got a nice Vertex vice but it is limited in its throat and - clears throat-thingy which I made to hold quite a lot of metal. Again, I've got a number of other vices and vises and a number of drill chucks which are rather better- read a bloody sight better- than the one which came and had the accuracy of being suitable for garden gates!

The list is not complete because mine has a power feed which cost almost as much as my recent Myford ML10- with all its goodies.

It's worth sitting with a piece of suitably absorbing paper because the price- all up will bring tears to most eyes.

Out with the wallet spanner!

Cheers?

Norman

 

[grapegro]

Gus, I have been trying to download the pictures but I am told there is a security problem. Is it possible to email those photos to you.
Norm+

 

[gus]

Gus, I have been trying to download the pictures but I am told there is a security problem. Is it possible to email those photos to you.
Norm+

Hi Norm.

My e-add [email protected]. Thanks.

 

[Wizard69]

Hi Gus;

This might sound like jumping on the bandwagon but those round column mills are a royal pain. Years ago we had one at work that was eventually given away. Funny not many where asking for it. This was an import, might have been labeled ENCO not sure, but in any event a very similar model to what you are asking about. The round column has the position lost problem everybody mentions but ours wouldn't hold position while milling. Clamping tight to the round column required a lot of force on the clamp screws. The machine vibrated something fierce too.

Now no machine is perfect but the square column machines are pretty good. I would make sure it is a square column machine where the column is fixed though. I'm typing this on my iPad and frankly forgot which model mill you are looking at.

The other thing to consider is that the variable speed controller and motors on these mills can be an issue. Apparently the mills can be supplied with a variety of motors to resellers. Some are better than others. Some of those motors are apparently universal motors instead of a straight up DC motor. At the other end apparently Brushless DC motors can be supplied. So the question becomes are you getting the bottom end troublesome motor/controller or one of the more advance offerings.

By the way, the operator can have a big impact on motor/drive longevity. Need to point that out but even so if you look in the other forum threads you will see that Grizzly in the USA had significant problems awhile back with motors on some of its mills. I'm not trying to scare you off variable speed electronic drives because in all honestly they are great. Just trying to off a balanced view.

 

[gus]

Hi All.

Went into YouTube to watch Sieg 2.7 introduction and demo. I am now impressed and totally sold on buying Sieg Mill. Will post when mill is turned on and cutting.

 

[bazmak]

Must have write up and photos Gus.Are you going to make a new table/drawer?
I bought a full set of ER32 collets and R8 collet chuck for about $100. Must buy
Also R8 16mm keyless chuck etc. Keep this post going and asking questions
you will be amazed what you learn. R8 tooling is a must Regards barry

 

[Nick Hulme]

Go with the square column.
I have an old 1980s RongFu 400DVM Mill/Drill that I'll never part with but I have other options for milling work,

- Nick

 

[gus]

Go with the square column.
I have an old 1980s RongFu 400DVM Mill/Drill that I'll never part with but I have other options for milling work,

- Nick

Hi Nick,

Heard you loud and clear. Viewed all 5 Frank Hoose YouTube Videos. Spot drilling and raising Head to chuck in longer drill impressed me. Video 5 had falling over my heels . The Sieg SX 7.5 comes with tapping and chip clearing.
Will budget and buy this mill. Painful to bid good bye to the tiny mini mill which allowed me to stretch it beyond its limit to mill big jobs. The Howell V-2 CrankCase was one job.

 

[rodw]

Gus, I'm sure you'll enjoy your Seig when it arrives. My SX3 is a nice piece of equipment. When unpacking it and a Chinese lathe at the same time, the Seig quality stood out to me from the moment I started to clean it up. The shop I bought it from no longer sell it and sell the Optimum instead. I've had a look at it in their showroom and concluded that the Seig is a much better constructed machine.

 

[gus]

Gus, I'm sure you'll enjoy your Seig when it arrives. My SX3 is a nice piece of equipment. When unpacking it and a Chinese lathe at the same time, the Seig quality stood out to me from the moment I started to clean it up. The shop I bought it from no longer sell it and sell the Optimum instead. I've had a look at it in their showroom and concluded that the Seig is a much better constructed machine.

Hi Rod.

Thanks for the assurance. Will budget for the buy. As a retiree, I have stretch
the bank a wee bit. Not smoking and drinking sure helped cut expense but I am a travel bug. Will cut 1-----2 trips to save S$$$.

 

[gus]

Must have write up and photos Gus.Are you going to make a new table/drawer?
I bought a full set of ER32 collets and R8 collet chuck for about $100. Must buy
Also R8 16mm keyless chuck etc. Keep this post going and asking questions
you will be amazed what you learn. R8 tooling is a must Regards barry

Hi Barry,

Was about to seek advice on RS Collet to drill chucks and endmills.

 

[Wizard69]

Hi Barry,



Was about to seek advice on RS Collet to drill chucks and endmills.

You can get R8 collets in metric or US English bore dimensions. Honestly it is handy to have both. It is probably best to buy a set of collets as opposed to buying them one at a time. You avoid compromises this way.

If you are just starting out I'd recommend a drill chuck with a short straight arbor. The reasoning is this, a drill chuck with an integrated arbor is pretty long and can make swapping a problem on a mill with something setup on the table. Since a collet only grips at the end you don't need a long straight shank on the chuck. The trick is then deciding upon the right shank diameter. People commonly use 1/2" and 5/8" shanks but I've seen 3/8" used also. It really depends upon the size of the drill chuck and the size of the end mills you commonly use. It is nice to be able to pop a drill chuck into a collet that just had your end mill in.

Chucks with integrated R8 shanks are really nice to have but you don't need one to start. There are other R8 tooling you can get that are at least somewhat popular in the USA. This includes fly cutters, various types of end mills that take carbide inserts, boring heads in the like. Some of this stuff Is very expensive though. More importantly you can make most of these in a home shop. In some cases the use if an R8 shank provides advantageous of stiffness for example verse a fly cutter with a 3/8" shank. Something you are just as well off with straight shank tooling.

Another perspective on R8 is the Tormach Tooling System which they use in their CNC machines. Some of this stuff is equally usable on a manual machine. In any event Tormachs system highlights another use for R8. They actually have a wide array of tools that likely will never be used manually but it does highlight the versatility in R8.

 

[bazmak]

Hi Gus.Dont know if the machine has both but go for the R8 over the MT
The mill comes with a 16mm key chuck on R8 shank which is sufficient to start
I bought a 19 piece ER32 collet set for $80 and the R8 collet chuck for $30
Good buy from china/ebay.Holds from 1mm to 20mm accurately I use a lot of tooling with round shanks mainly 16mm,flycutters etc.The loose jaw vice I just threaded is useful to make/use and a decent large angle plate.Because my mill
had restricted headroom I also bought a no of R8 individual collets which are great for tall jobs.10mm,12 and 16mm but you may not need.My homemade RT (horiz) and bolted to the angle plate (vert) gets a lot of use + a lot of what you have can be adapted. If your short of cash then sell your existing mill or
I can lend you some.Go on a diet and cut down on food shopping etc.Will check out the collets and let you know. Regards Barry

 

[gus]

Hi Gus.Dont know if the machine has both but go for the R8 over the MT
The mill comes with a 16mm key chuck on R8 shank which is sufficient to start
I bought a 19 piece ER32 collet set for $80 and the R8 collet chuck for $30
Good buy from china/ebay.Holds from 1mm to 20mm accurately I use a lot of tooling with round shanks mainly 16mm,flycutters etc.The loose jaw vice I just threaded is useful to make/use and a decent large angle plate.Because my mill
had restricted headroom I also bought a no of R8 individual collets which are great for tall jobs.10mm,12 and 16mm but you may not need.My homemade RT (horiz) and bolted to the angle plate (vert) gets a lot of use + a lot of what you have can be adapted. If your short of cash then sell your existing mill or
I can lend you some.Go on a diet and cut down on food shopping etc.Will check out the collets and let you know. Regards Barry

With the Sieg 3, will have no problem making your shaper.
Just planning cash flow.No worries. Just made some S$$$$ and more to come by end December. Behaving like a typical 70 plus retiree.

This thread been fun with so many HMEM Frens giving good advice. Now having a good time in South Thailand.

 

[bazmak]

Hi Gus,just searched Ebay for er32 collet set 19 piece for $60-80 and
R8 collet chuck for $40-50 The metric set will hold anything from 2 to 20mm
both metric and imperial.Mine came from china free postage good quality.My set had 2 no 4mm and no 2mm so I let them know and they sent me a replacement.Then tried to work out if I cut machine the spare to hex or something.
And accurate to 1 thou runout.Good enough for me very happy and use continually for all milling needs.There are more expensive sets for $300-400
from USA etc but your diet would put you on starvation course.Its A MUST BUY
to get full use from the mill.ARE you going for the sx 2.7 or the sx3 which is larger and heavier or is the above post a typing error Regards Barry

 

[bazmak]

Just so there is no confusion Gus the ER 32 collets will hold any size from 2mm to 20mm both metric and imperial.Example if you want to hold 1/4"
then you use the 7mm collet which will hold from 7mm down to 6mm.Because
each collet grips from size down to next size down you get the full range
The R8 individual collets however only do the size indicated so you would need a full set of both imperial and metric,at $15 each would be more restrictive and expensive.If your not familiar with Er collets then check them out as I had to do before I bought mine.I knew nothing about them but the forum was very helpful