• Scam Alert. Members are reminded to NOT send money to buy anything. Don't buy things remote and have it shipped - go get it yourself, pay in person, and take your equipment with you. Scammers have burned people on this forum. Urgency, secrecy, excuses, selling for friend, newish members, FUD, are RED FLAGS. A video conference call is not adequate assurance. Face to face interactions are required. Please report suspicions to the forum admins. Stay Safe - anyone can get scammed.

1st Milling Machine......which


See the head on the right? That freshly painted attachment is for moving the head as it is heavy. Its identical head to what I have. Machine is actually newer then mine.

Here is putting and removing the head on another K&T -
 
Epaxx your last post reminded me of one of the most frustrating things about my RF machine that I should have mentioned first in my post...the speed change aspect of the belt drive. Not a thing wrong with the belt drive as a functioning drive system ...just the time & effort it takes every time you want to change speeds. I have lusted for a "gear head" machine for a long time. I'm not convinced that the CX 600 would be a viable option for my shop because of the somewhat small table (lots of occasions I have had to rig "table extensions" fo my RF machine) but your mention of the jogging machine retrofit to my machine definitely is a possibility that I never though of before...I know were there is a perfectly working jogging machine available right now mmmmm
 
John I can see the definite merit of that option as well as long as it had an easy removal or un-lock aspect to it.

As I stated before I have definitely lusted after a dove-tail/knee machine on occasion but in a few instances I have used the tube column to distinct advantage. On a couple of occasions I have swiveled the head a complete 180 deg. away from the table, jury-rig mounted an old drill press column/platform to the back of the bench it sits on and used it to drill holes in a much bigger work-piece than would ever fit between the table & quill. I could see using one of those cheap drill press traveling vises to do extremely rudimentary milling with a somewhat similar set-up....The old Marin Corp motto sort of applies here "adapt & overcome" LOL.

One safety concern I must mention to anybody trying this ...you must make sure the back of your bench is supported to stop any over-balancing that turning the heavy cast head around will cause before you turn it.
 
Tom Kitta said:
I know a bit outside of your price range - https://surplus.gov.ab.ca/OA/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=59

But this is an awesome machine. Its just great. I suggest going over 5k with it. You only pay GST on purchase price.

You will never need any bigger or more capable home shop manual machine unless you go commercial.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the thought Tom........ it is outside my price range and as much as I'd love it, I gotta keep my Mrs. Paxx happy!!!
 
I bought a Busy Bee CX601 a few years ago. Machine had to go to Toronto twice for electrical repairs (under warranty fortunately) and when it came back after the second trip I decided to sell it while it was still working. Found a used Bridgeport Clone in great shape at Modern Tool, takes up a fair bit of floor space but is huge upgrade from the CX601.
 
Yeah Busy Bee != quality or customer service (also depending on store). Main saving grace is that Grizzly parts fit.

Offered to OP BP clone but price is too much for him. I agree that BP clones are the way to go for home workshop as long as you have the space and money for them. Similar sized horizontals that can do vertical work are great as well.
 
If someone is still looking at the CX600 - we have one here and it is pretty limited on capability. The original motor burned out after a few 0.005" passes in aluminium and we had to get a replacement (warranty) the other motor is doing fine as we are limited to very light passes - it will operate a fly cutter much better than an end mill. The gearing is very noisy and we have had to repair the variable speed unit several times on it. Adjustments and stability are typically issue and it suffers from a lot of chatter, even on well supported stock. It is a funny little mill as sometimes things work ok on it and you get a successful finish or accurate hole, other times....not so much. I waited and kept on the hunt and bought a bridgeport that came up for sale. It was only about $800 more than a new CX600. If you have a bit of space, get the biggest mill you can afford. just my 2 cents :)
 
If CX600 is so unreliable then I guess I have to change my recommendation to mill drill - there is nothing much there that can go wrong - its just a very sturdy old school belt fed drill press after all - and motor is rather solid old school external.

As I already posted before - it is better to spend more $$$ and just get a BP style milling machine used - the only thing stopping someone from doing so other then few $ is space requirements.
 
Well.......I did it! I actually purchased my 1st milling machine. A King KC-20VS, (which is identical to the Grizzly G0704). Came up on Kijiji a few days ago and I contacted the owner immediately and after a few exchanges via messages with photos included I made the decision to e-transfer the $$$ and I will pick up when I get some time to get to Calgary. They, a 3D creative projects shop, purchased it with the thought that a smaller milling machine might come in useful. They apparently didn't even make enough chips with it to dull any end mills........ they used their 4 and 5 axis milling machines instead, and it had been sitting taking up space that they now need to place some other machine. Included is the stand made for it, the vice, an R8 collet set, some end mills, and what ever else they throw in. Quite similar to the CX600 but with a large table (7x28) and a bigger 1hp motor.

So here are a few photos:
IMG_5646.jpeg

IMG_5647.jpeg

IMG_5645.jpeg

IMG_5643.jpeg
 
Nice... What did that set you back? Kijiji a few days ago? I'm going to have to check that site out more diligently.
 
Got it for $1200. They sent me a message and told me because I was the 1st to inquire that they were giving me till noon of that day to say “Yay” or “Nay” before they would offer it to several other “very interested” parties. Even though they sent the message at 9:30am, I didn’t see the message till just after 11:30. I almost panicked. :) So....... glad I got it.

I found from previously missed machines that I needed to check Kijiji several times a day to catch the chance to get anything that would end up as a “good deal”.
 
PS. I think it was listed for a total of 27 hrs. I was lucky enough to have sent my message within 30 minutes of it being listed.
 
For $1200 it is a great deal as long as it was not dropped and indeed used just few times. You could have gotten it cheaper but in much worse shape and without added accessories. Similar mill went on auction for under 1000 total in Calgary but it needed feed screw repair and was in poor visual state with no accessories. The vice itself cost new $100 but used it is maybe $50 - I use it on my drill press - as soon as you have the $ I suggest you replace it or you have to be OK with a bit not exactly accurate parts (+-0.01 inch or so, maybe worse).

R8 collet set is probably around $60 new and $30 used. Few used end mills in HSS is around $20 or so... so all in all you got the mill alone for around $1100.

As for Kijiji you can rarely find good deals - if you buy enough you get a good deal and a bad deal and it all evens out. 95% of things are over priced. The alerts thing is too slow - there should be a setting to text you or something - a new tool can come out at say 11AM and you find out via alert about it next day at 10am - way, way too late if its a good deal.

Imagine someone sold a small mini lathe 7x8 (or 7x10) with a bunch of *new* accessories for just $350 - should have pulled that one and sold it back - some dude bough it and wanted to sell it for $2000. Then for a $1000 then for a $800 - I think it went for $800 or so.

Overall I use the site less - its a bit of a waste of time, even selling on it is a problem - as others have mentioned people want stuff for free, they argue with you, there are scammers wanting things for their "child wanting to machine" etc.
 
Life has been crazy here and I finally was able to get some time on Tuesday to scream up to Calgary and pick up this King mill. They were very pleasant and agreeable in letting it sit along a wall in their shop.......a 3 bay 2 storey building full of some wonderful pieces of equipment that would be a blast to play with...... Anyway, we wheeled it out, plugged it in and I took quick good look at it.......but no photos!!! What was I thinking??? :(

It looked good. Table, bed movement in both X & Y felt great. Very little backlash on X and a bit more on the Y, but it felt quite loose like the gib just needed some adjustment. Both the head vertical movement as well as the spindle felt good and smooth. It has a Z axis DRO that appears to be a scale similar to a digital caliper that is mounted inside the casing and attached to the spindle. So I don't think it will read the movement of the head as it moves, only spindle movement. The table has some very very tiny nicks here and there, but most of what I could see in the photos above is dust and not imperfections.

It took me a bit to figure out how to turn it on. The forward/reverse switch cannot be in neutral and had to be in either forward or reverse to get the spindle speed display to stay on. So switching from forward to reverse shuts the machine down, and the emergency stop button needs to be reset....after putting the controls into F or R. Strange!! Anyway, I figured it out and ran the machine at all speeds in both reverse and forward in both High and Low range. Sounded good and the spindle speed display worked great...... that will be a nice little addition.

They had mounted a riser under the base to raise the machine by 4 inches or so that is made out of C channel so that it can also be use to pick up and move easily with a forklift. I backed my truck into one of their bays and they loaded it in. Wth all the rain that we have been having on a daily basis these last well.......whole spring and summer so far!!!...... I brought a roll of shrink wrap to try to protect the head/bed/column area from moisture should it rain. Got it wrapped, strapped to all for corners of the truck bed and took off for home........well, after a quick visit to Busy Bee. :)

While I drove up to Calgary in the rain, I did make it home without any and as I backed into my shop door to unload it started up again. I've only had time to lift it off my truck and set it down there right at the door. I have yet to rearrange my shop and organize things a bit different before I will get any chance to play. Hope that doesn't take another month!!

Will get pics as soon as I can get some time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top