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Looking for milling machine purchase help/advice

Dabbler said:
Depends on if the reference is to current BB machines or older ones. I had one of the Taiwanese BB mills - a B048. Great machine. I wouldn't take a current BB machine if were brand new, and free. They are disgusting.
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The current BB CX603 is still made in Taiwan and has changed very little from the older ones and is a very good machine in my opinion. It's also overpriced in my opinion, as soon as you have to lay down that sort of cash other options start to look interesting.
 
the 603 in calgary has a loose x nut. gritty feel on X and Y, and the dovetails weren't scraped. it is what I'm going by; if it is a defective machine, it shouldn't be on the floor.
 
Dabbler said:
the 603 in calgary has a loose x nut. gritty feel on X and Y, and the dovetails weren't scraped. it is what I'm going by; if it is a defective machine, it shouldn't be on the floor.
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Yes I'd guess most machines now from BB would likely need a going over by the owner to ensure grit is removed and it is assembled correctly. Yes I think they have dropped the scraped ways for some time now.
 
At the Ottawa BB location, if I had to guess, many of the machines on display are very likely customer returns. They either have a lot of slop or are not moving freely or have some other obvious problem and some even have a sign stating floor model not for sale.

The CX603 on display actually feels pretty good.
 
slow-poke said:
At the Ottawa BB location, if I had to guess, many of the machines on display are very likely customer returns. They either have a lot of slop or are not moving freely or have some other obvious problem and some even have a sign stating floor model not for sale.

The CX603 on display actually feels pretty good.
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I know I've gone there and played with every dial and lever on those display machines. I can't imagine every other Tom, Dick, and Harry hasn't done the same and no doubt they never get lubed. I wouldn't put too much stock in comparisons between the floor models feel compared to the actual ones.

That being said, I wasn't overly impressed with the finishing on the machines either. Particularly the line to read the handwheel scales off of on the lathes looked very chintzy (very thin piece of sheet metal with a line printed on it either rivetted or screwed to the casting. It felt cheaply done).
 
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