RF-30 Clone.... someone take measurements for me?

[BaitMaster]

Hey all,

Recently bought the 1230 Utilathe which is in great shape, and a less perfect RF-30 clone mill branded " Master Machinery ".

Anyway, I know that these mills are all (almost) the same and "some" replacement parts are interchangeable.

My Z-axis fine feed mechanism is broken and I'm trying to see if any of the newer replacement parts on the clones will work.

The KING PDM-30, the RF-30/31, and the Grizzly G0705 all have available spare parts, so I'm wondering if someone on here with one of those particular mills would be kind enough to partially dissasemble just the Z axis fine feed mechanism and take measurements for me. Attached are some pictures of me with the measurements that i'm concerned about being represented by the caliper.

Alternatively if someone is in southern alberta I could bring my pinion shaft and come and inspect in person.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks fellas.

 

[LenVW]

Hey ‘BaitMaster’,
A fishing practitioner - I assume.

Below is a link to a King Canada - Parts Coordinator who can help you out.
I think they work regular 5 day weeks, Grant was a great help for me with replacement parts.

LenVW

canadianhobbymetalworkers.com

 

[BaitMaster]

My friend and I have a bear guiding operation in northern Alberta. Baiting bears.

I did email kbc tools which is a king dealer, when I wanted parts they directed me to their dealers.

KBC told me:

1) We don’t do measurements or confirm fitment to anything.

2) Parts are non returnable.

3) ETA of 1 year from date of order.

Thus this post.

Grizzly was the same way, but had in stock parts.

Ian manly from Modern tool is looking into parts for me, but I would like to confirm myself as I’m the one going to be out money if the parts don’t fit.

The parts on this one look visually different then any diagrams I can find for the z axis feed. The rest of the machine is identical.

I would like to confirm myself if possible as people will try to help me at suppliers but I will be left holding the bag at the end of the day.

 

[Susquatch]

I did email kbc tools which is a king dealer, when I wanted parts they directed me to their dealers.

@LenVW's contact is the parts guy at King themselves. King sells to KBC, KBC sells to their dealers. So Len's guy is a MUCH better contact. You should give him a call.

 

[RobinHood]

Can you confirm that what I have boxed green is the part that is broken.

Since you have a lathe, I would try and make the part out of mild steel. It would be an exact duplicate and be guaranteed to fit your mill. It would also be stronger than the original cast iron cone. And you won’t have to wait a year for it…

 

[BaitMaster]

Yes the shards in green are broken pieces off of the cone. I have considered that. However, that cone fits in an internal taper in the gear, which adds a layer of complexity. As well, there is another piece broken which was a plastic sleeve which was roll pinned to both the cone and the three spoked handle hub you use to lower the quill.

The tapers do not hold well and slip between eachother, and do not hold up under any torque when pressed together harder then the spring would press, so they would have to be re-machined. The cone with the lip I don’t think is beyond my capabilities, and I could machine an aluminum sleeve that would replace the broken plastic one, but I don’t think the current design is very hardy.

Based on all the pictures of parts I’ve seen online it does not appear the newer mills use that design.

Getting away from that design to a new one I see as beneficial if that is the case. But I can’t say definitively, because I don’t know if the design is different as of yet.

Hopefully I can find someone with a similar mill who is willing to take some pictures and measurements for me, so I can see if the mechanism is different and if it is easy to swap the newer parts on.

 

[YYCHM]

Based on all the pictures of parts I’ve seen online it does not appear the newer mills use that design.

I have a RF30 clone and the parts that you pictured do not no match any in the manuals I have.

Please post an image of the overall mill.

 

[BaitMaster]

 

[YYCHM]

What's the Dia. of the column?

 

[BaitMaster]

4.5” approximately

 

[Former Member]

You need a better caliper (higher resolution).

 

[RobinHood]

Your reasoning for wanting to change to a better design makes a lot of sense. Hopefully you can find the parts you are looking for.

I guess you’ll always have the re-make-what-you-have option, in case you can’t find new parts.

I don’t have a mill like yours, so I can’t help you with dimensions.

 

[BaitMaster]

@YYCHM I looked at the Rong Fu website and at the specs of the RF-31….. column diameter is specified at 115mm…. Which is 4.5275”.

I did just eyeball it with a tape measure since my calipers are at work and I didn’t think the detail would matter on that specific dimension.

 

[Susquatch]

No worries not getting a better measurement. I have beautiful Calipers but the Jaws are not deep enough to straddle your column. To get a good measurement you will prolly need OD tongs or a 4" micrometer.

I think your eyeball is prolly close enough to find a comparable machine.

My old mill/drill column is 100mm but it is a VERY DIFFERENT Machine from yours so I can't help.

 

[YYCHM]

@YYCHM I looked at the Rong Fu website and at the specs of the RF-31….. column diameter is specified at 115mm…. Which is 4.5275”.

I did just eyeball it with a tape measure since my calipers are at work and I didn’t think the detail would matter on that specific dimension.

4.5" is correct for a RF-30. I was just speculating that maybe your machine wasn't a RF-30 clone but something else. As I said none of the RF-30 manuals I have show a part that looks like this one....

What exactly does this part do?

 

[BaitMaster]

Ill take some better pictures. Stay tuned.

 

[BaitMaster]

See pictures. Should provide a better understanding of what I’m dealing with here and what the mechanism does.

 

[Susquatch]

See pictures. Should provide a better understanding of what I’m dealing with here and what the mechanism does.

Certainly does. There is light now where there was once only darkness.....

Now that we know what we are looking at, I really don't think making the required parts should be too difficult. Is it possible to make a drawing, or even put the broken bits together with crazy glue or epoxy so we can see what you need to make?

I not suggesting a straight copy. As @RobinHood said earlier, your thought to make it stronger and better than the original is a good idea. Unless, of course, it moves the next weakest link to something much harder to replace or make.

 

[BaitMaster]

Hey all, especially @Susquatch for the encouragement to use my lathe to make new and improved parts. After rolling around with my self doubt on my new to me lathe and pricing out the parts I would need from modern (500$+ with import and shipping….) I decided to take an old fashioned swing at this with my lathe. 80$ on a piece of 3” cold rolled and probably 8+ hours messing around with this, and a lot of learning, I think I have officially done it. All I need to do is drill and tap machine screws to affix my new piece with the handle holder piece. My piece isn’t perfect, had some adventures with parting and broke two parting tools, finished it with a hacksaw, and scarred the crap out of it with my jaws, but this part is workable. First real machining project, significant milestone for me.

Thanks all, see pics.

 

[DavidR8]

Nice work!