I'm wanting to replace my old 1J Bridgeport with a mill that uses 40 taper
tooling. This time around I want to get a mill in very good condition.

I found this Lagun FTV-4 at a jockey near me:
http://tinyurl.com/yufuod

The dealers in this location don't have a good reputation, from what I've
heard. Been there many times, but never made a purchase.

Anyway, is there a series of standard checks to determine condition of a
mill? Things like backlash middle and end of each axis - what are "good"
values. other checks? also, anyone know how to determine this unit's age
based on serial number.

Karl