Milling machine-mechanic’s special

[Frcsc6el8]

Located in Cobble Hill BC

Nice small machine for home workshop. No motor, no vise, no handles no tooling.
NMTB30 in horizontal spindle
Couldn’t tell about vertical spindle
Very solid apparently came from a local high school
Floor model but would need to go on a plinth for a comfortable working height

No affiliation with seller:

Syd Haskell 250-886-2658

 

[Tomc938]

Too bad these get left out in the rain.

What kind of HP do you guys think this should have? (Dang, I'm a sucker for a fixer upper)

Also: thoughts on reasonable price?

 

[YotaBota]

Also: thoughts on reasonable price?

Cheap, real damn cheap, scrap price would being generous.
If you tell him you're coming from up island a case of beer might do it but a couple of hundred bucks should get it.

IIRC that machine has a motor for the horizontal and another for the vertical, candidate for 3ph and a vfd.

It would make an interesting project, parts may not be hard to get as most of the Chinese mills are clones of something decent.

 

[Tomc938]

Cheap, real damn cheap, scrap price would being generous.
If you tell him you're coming from up island a case of beer might do it but a couple of hundred bucks should get it.

IIRC that machine has a motor for the horizontal and another for the vertical, candidate for 3ph and a vfd.

It would make an interesting project, parts may not be hard to get as most of the Chinese mills are clones of something decent.

Any guess what a used 3 ph motor would cost? Best guess would at least give me an idea.

 

[YYCHM]

Any guess what a used 3 ph motor would cost? Best guess would at least give me an idea.

I got a 2hp 3ph in Calgary for $60.

RF30 Basement Install

So after much dithering I finally decided to convert my mill to 3 phase with VFD speed control. Pretty much have everything I need now 2 HP 3 PH motor $60 from Kijiji 4 HP VFD $75 from Amazon ESD switch $18 from BB 12' of 14AWG 4 strand electrical cord $23 from Home Depot I was going to...

canadianhobbymetalworkers.com

 

[Tomc938]

I got a 2hp 3ph in Calgary for $30.

THAT'S INSANE!

I've seen 1/4 hp for $100 on Marketplace.

Maybe next time I'm through Calgary I'll have to stop and shop.

 

[Susquatch]

Any guess what a used 3 ph motor would cost? Best guess would at least give me an idea.

I just bought two brand new takeoffs for another member - one 5hp and one 2hp for $50 each on Kijiji.

They sit for months at 2 or 3 hundred and then the seller puts them at the curb or takes your fifty dollar bill. Forget about the scabs and resellers.

Look for typos and mis-categorized stuff and look how long it's been listed.

Your biggest problem won't be price. It will be frame and shaft.

 

[YotaBota]

VFD cost would depend on your preference for quality and functionality, $100 or less from Amazon/Ebay to $400ish for a Teco.

The handles are missing but at least the dials are still there.

@Tomc938 - Have you wandered around the local machine shops and manufacturing outfits? One of them could have a machine sitting in the corner that has be replaced or just isn't used enough that they have been "thinking" about getting out of the shop.

 

[Tomc938]

Thanks for all the input guys!

I'm gogn to see if I can get ahold of the seller today.

And @YotaBota, great idea on the poking around machine shops. there aren't many here in Campbell River, but Nanaimo North the options open up a bit more.

 

[Frcsc6el8]

Good luck! It has a nice small footprint if space is tight.

 

[Dabbler]

It knd looks like a 200$ mill to me, without seeing it in person.

 

[Tomc938]

It knd looks like a 200$ mill to me, without seeing it in person.

I would agree. haven't talked to the guy yet. Will keep trying.

 

[Frcsc6el8]

If you look on https://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php?topic=8567.0

There a very similar if not identical machine featured

 

[Dabbler]

After looking carefully at it, perhaps a touch more.

I assume he can load it on a trailer for you...

This is definitely a project machine. Perhaps 100 hours of rebuild. Spindle bearings will be usable for a short time, but will need replacing - it has seen a bunch of rain and it's a good bet that you head has water in it. I wish I could see the RH side of the machine, where the hand wheel goes.

It is all there, and a good machine can be made out of it. Check for backlash in X and Y Z should be undamaged from moisture. If X or Y won't turn, or there is more than .100 backlash in either, 300$ tops. Making new nuts/replacing lead screws startes to rapidly erode the value.

 

[Tomc938]

I stumbled upon an XLO at a good price, so if things work out with that one I'll pass on the project. The little things can quickly raise the value beyond what it's worth in the end.

It drives my wife nuts sometimes, but I do have a habit of seeing something like this and saying, "I think I can fix that."

 

[Proxule]

I bought my brand new leeson 171754 2hp from https://www.emotorsdirect.ca
211$ taxes in, picked up in Edmonton

Gluck

 

[DavidR8]

I stumbled upon an XLO at a good price, so if things work out with that one I'll pass on the project. The little things can quickly raise the value beyond what it's worth in the end.

It drives my wife nuts sometimes, but I do have a habit of seeing something like this and saying, "I think I can fix that."

Nice! I've read that XLOs are very nice machines.

 

[Birkhoff]

I'm the new owner of this Dah-Lih mill, for better or worse, if anyone is keeping track.

 

[Hruul]

Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[DavidR8]

Score @Birkhoff!