Richard wrote:

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 19:06:51 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:


Richard wrote:


The OP clearly indicated he had a basement with lots of headroom so that
would not be an issue. He didn't indicate any space constraints either
so since a bench top mill doesn't take that much less of a footprint
than a Bridgeport space is likely not an issue.


Nor did he state there weren't any. Assume nothing. When someone
doesn't have space/weight constraints, they normally don't specify
"small mill".

Putting my KBC together with limited headspace was all kinds of fun,
just imagine how much more fun it would be with even less headspace,
more weight, and no place to use a hoist. Bridgeports were made to be
put in shops with high ceilings, not for trying to squeeze in
someone's basement. Possibly it could be done safely, but more often
than not, it won't be.

As far a quality issues, there are two of us here that own the KBC,
and we're not having any problems, against you, who doesn't own one,
that says there are. Methinks maybe I smell rotten fish?

The KBC also isn't a bench mill. For someone that needs a small mill,
I can recommend it without hesitation.

Rich (Who will now "plonk" this thread.)
Indeed, the KBC, and many other 'A1S' mills are 'floor' mills and not
'bench' mills.

"A1S' mills DO come in both versions, however. The floor versions are
much like the popular Clausing 8000 series mills, but larger and heavier
overall. The heads are similar on all I've seen, but the floor models
have longer columns and larger tables than the bench versions. The
Grizzly version is sort of half way between, with a medium column height
and a low base cabinet. The KBC version has the longest column of the
many makes I have seen ... that means the greatest head to table clearance.

They are NOT the equivalent to a BP, even a BP clone, but they are nice
little knee mills, and lot more capable than the common mill-drills.

I also have a Benchmaster mill. The Benchmaster is a nice little bench
mill, but does NOT compare to the A1S in size or capability. It's half
the size and weight of my KBC A1S.

Dan Mitchell
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