Howdy,

In a few days I will be looking at a mill drill for consideration of
purchase, an older 2HP RF-30, and am hoping someone might have some
experience with those. It is an actual "Rong Fu 30" , not rebranded like
they all seem to be nowadays, and I am wondering about the general quality
of such a machine compared to the more recent iterations of the design.

Anyone ever encountered one of these before?

Also, it is on it's second owner, and has seen some active use. Being a
complete neophyte to milling machines, is there anything I should be looking
for in terms of wear which wouldn't require me to make measurements which
are probably beyond my capabilities?

Thanks for any help,

Jon

For the RF type and most benchtop mills, getting a model with a square
column will be easier to use than a model with a round column.

But if the price is good, settle for a round column model, and maybe a
better one will happen to come along later.

I don't own one, but an older model, possibly made in Taiwan, is likely to
be a better made machine than the newer ones made in China.

WB
..........
metalworking projects
www.kwagmire.com/metal_proj.html


"Jon Danniken" wrote in message
...
Howdy,

In a few days I will be looking at a mill drill for consideration of
purchase, an older 2HP RF-30, and am hoping someone might have some
experience with those. It is an actual "Rong Fu 30" , not rebranded like
they all seem to be nowadays, and I am wondering about the general quality
of such a machine compared to the more recent iterations of the design.

Anyone ever encountered one of these before?

Also, it is on it's second owner, and has seen some active use. Being a
complete neophyte to milling machines, is there anything I should be
looking for in terms of wear which wouldn't require me to make
measurements which are probably beyond my capabilities?

Thanks for any help,

Jon

"Wild_Bill" wrote:
For the RF type and most benchtop mills, getting a model with a square
column will be easier to use than a model with a round column.

But if the price is good, settle for a round column model, and maybe a
better one will happen to come along later.

I don't own one, but an older model, possibly made in Taiwan, is likely to
be a better made machine than the newer ones made in China.

Thanks Bill, I certainly will check to see if it is made in Taiwan. I would
wait for a square column or a dovetail version, but there as rare as hen's
teeth up here, and likely get snatched up pretty quickly.

I think most guys who are going to build a shop are able to get a full knee
mill, but right now I'm looking for a bargain to at least have something to
play with for awhile, and grow out of at a later date.

Thanks again,

Jon

Jon Danniken wrote:
"Wild_Bill" wrote:
For the RF type and most benchtop mills, getting a model with a square
column will be easier to use than a model with a round column.

But if the price is good, settle for a round column model, and maybe a
better one will happen to come along later.

I don't own one, but an older model, possibly made in Taiwan, is likely to
be a better made machine than the newer ones made in China.

Thanks Bill, I certainly will check to see if it is made in Taiwan. I would
wait for a square column or a dovetail version, but there as rare as hen's
teeth up here, and likely get snatched up pretty quickly.

I think most guys who are going to build a shop are able to get a full knee
mill, but right now I'm looking for a bargain to at least have something to
play with for awhile, and grow out of at a later date.

Thanks again,

Jon, to try to respond to your question:
I own an Enco round-column mill drill, have used it little and read up
on them quite a bit. I am not aware of any inherent weaknesses or wear
points on these. I can'r remember anyone ever having claimed to have
worn one out, or even found one in that condition. Usually the poor
condition examples have been due to rust, not wear.
So try all the controls, check it for signs of crashes, table gouges
etc. If everything seems to work, and the price is right, you will
probably have a usable machine you can sell later for what you paid.
The trump card on these deals is the included (or not) tooling of course.

What Jon said. These mills are enough of a pain to use that they rarely
get worn out, they are either broken or rusty.

The biggest problem on these is the vertical travel. If you set up for
an end mill, you don't have enough travel to substitute a drill to hit
the same hole without tearing down your setup. They have plenty of power
and rigidity: I've ploughed a 5/8" roughing cutter through 1/2" steel in
one pass.

RB wrote:
Jon Danniken wrote:
"Wild_Bill" wrote:
For the RF type and most benchtop mills, getting a model with a
square column will be easier to use than a model with a round column.

But if the price is good, settle for a round column model, and maybe
a better one will happen to come along later.

I don't own one, but an older model, possibly made in Taiwan, is
likely to be a better made machine than the newer ones made in China.

Thanks Bill, I certainly will check to see if it is made in Taiwan. I
would wait for a square column or a dovetail version, but there as
rare as hen's teeth up here, and likely get snatched up pretty quickly.

I think most guys who are going to build a shop are able to get a full
knee mill, but right now I'm looking for a bargain to at least have
something to play with for awhile, and grow out of at a later date.

Thanks again,

Jon, to try to respond to your question:
I own an Enco round-column mill drill, have used it little and read up
on them quite a bit. I am not aware of any inherent weaknesses or wear
points on these. I can'r remember anyone ever having claimed to have
worn one out, or even found one in that condition. Usually the poor
condition examples have been due to rust, not wear.
So try all the controls, check it for signs of crashes, table gouges
etc. If everything seems to work, and the price is right, you will
probably have a usable machine you can sell later for what you paid.
The trump card on these deals is the included (or not) tooling of course.

"RB" wrote:

Jon, to try to respond to your question:
I own an Enco round-column mill drill, have used it little and read up on
them quite a bit. I am not aware of any inherent weaknesses or wear points
on these. I can'r remember anyone ever having claimed to have worn one
out, or even found one in that condition. Usually the poor condition
examples have been due to rust, not wear.
So try all the controls, check it for signs of crashes, table gouges
etc. If everything seems to work, and the price is right, you will
probably have a usable machine you can sell later for what you paid.
The trump card on these deals is the included (or not) tooling of course.

Thanks, RB, I appreciate your experience. I am interested in what you mean
by "crashes," though; what is this and what are signs to look for concerning
it?

Thanks,

Jon

Jon Danniken wrote:
"RB" wrote:
Jon, to try to respond to your question:
I own an Enco round-column mill drill, have used it little and read up on
them quite a bit. I am not aware of any inherent weaknesses or wear points
on these. I can'r remember anyone ever having claimed to have worn one
out, or even found one in that condition. Usually the poor condition
examples have been due to rust, not wear.
So try all the controls, check it for signs of crashes, table gouges
etc. If everything seems to work, and the price is right, you will
probably have a usable machine you can sell later for what you paid.
The trump card on these deals is the included (or not) tooling of course.

Thanks, RB, I appreciate your experience. I am interested in what you mean
by "crashes," though; what is this and what are signs to look for concerning
it?

By crash that means when you crank in too much feed and/or too much
depth of cut, or maybe your setup isn't secure. With a powerful machine,
something has to give. Usually the workpiece is ruined, often the setup
is knocked loose, sometimes the tooling can break, but occasionally
there can be damage to the machine.

Not speaking from experience on this, but gouges in the table are the
most obvious signs.

On Friday, November 7, 2008 at 12:28:36 PM UTC-8, RB wrote:
Jon Danniken wrote:
"RB" wrote:
Jon, to try to respond to your question:
I own an Enco round-column mill drill, have used it little and read up on
them quite a bit. I am not aware of any inherent weaknesses or wear points
on these. I can'r remember anyone ever having claimed to have worn one
out, or even found one in that condition. Usually the poor condition
examples have been due to rust, not wear.
So try all the controls, check it for signs of crashes, table gouges
etc. If everything seems to work, and the price is right, you will
probably have a usable machine you can sell later for what you paid.
The trump card on these deals is the included (or not) tooling of course.

Thanks, RB, I appreciate your experience. I am interested in what you mean
by "crashes," though; what is this and what are signs to look for concerning
it?

By crash that means when you crank in too much feed and/or too much
depth of cut, or maybe your setup isn't secure. With a powerful machine,
something has to give. Usually the workpiece is ruined, often the setup
is knocked loose, sometimes the tooling can break, but occasionally
there can be damage to the machine.

Not speaking from experience on this, but gouges in the table are the
most obvious signs.

On Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 11:27:10 AM UTC-8, Jon Danniken wrote:
Howdy,

In a few days I will be looking at a mill drill for consideration of
purchase, an older 2HP RF-30, and am hoping someone might have some
experience with those. It is an actual "Rong Fu 30" , not rebranded like
they all seem to be nowadays, and I am wondering about the general quality
of such a machine compared to the more recent iterations of the design.

Anyone ever encountered one of these before?

Also, it is on it's second owner, and has seen some active use. Being a
complete neophyte to milling machines, is there anything I should be looking
for in terms of wear which wouldn't require me to make measurements which
are probably beyond my capabilities?

Thanks for any help,

Jon

On Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 11:27:10 AM UTC-8, Jon Danniken wrote:
Howdy,

In a few days I will be looking at a mill drill for consideration of
purchase, an older 2HP RF-30, and am hoping someone might have some
experience with those. It is an actual "Rong Fu 30" , not rebranded like
they all seem to be nowadays, and I am wondering about the general quality
of such a machine compared to the more recent iterations of the design.

Anyone ever encountered one of these before?

Also, it is on it's second owner, and has seen some active use. Being a
complete neophyte to milling machines, is there anything I should be looking
for in terms of wear which wouldn't require me to make measurements which
are probably beyond my capabilities?

Thanks for any help,

Jon

On Fri, 9 Jun 2017 17:56:54 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 11:27:10 AM UTC-8, Jon Danniken wrote:
Howdy,

In a few days I will be looking at a mill drill for consideration of
purchase, an older 2HP RF-30, and am hoping someone might have some
experience with those. It is an actual "Rong Fu 30" , not rebranded like
they all seem to be nowadays, and I am wondering about the general quality
of such a machine compared to the more recent iterations of the design.

Anyone ever encountered one of these before?

Also, it is on it's second owner, and has seen some active use. Being a
complete neophyte to milling machines, is there anything I should be looking
for in terms of wear which wouldn't require me to make measurements which
are probably beyond my capabilities?

Thanks for any help,

Jon

On Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 11:27:10 AM UTC-8, Jon Danniken wrote:
Howdy,

In a few days I will be looking at a mill drill for consideration of
purchase, an older 2HP RF-30, and am hoping someone might have some
experience with those. It is an actual "Rong Fu 30" , not rebranded like
they all seem to be nowadays, and I am wondering about the general quality
of such a machine compared to the more recent iterations of the design.

Anyone ever encountered one of these before?

Also, it is on it's second owner, and has seen some active use. Being a
complete neophyte to milling machines, is there anything I should be looking
for in terms of wear which wouldn't require me to make measurements which
are probably beyond my capabilities?

Thanks for any help,

Jon

They are decent enough for soft materials such as aluminum...but for
harder materials such as steel .....they can and WILL come loose at
the worst possible time and screw up your workpiece at the very least.


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"Gunner Asch" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 9 Jun 2017 17:56:54 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 11:27:10 AM UTC-8, Jon Danniken
wrote:
Howdy,

In a few days I will be looking at a mill drill for consideration
of
purchase, an older 2HP RF-30, and am hoping someone might have
some
experience with those. It is an actual "Rong Fu 30" , not
rebranded like
they all seem to be nowadays, and I am wondering about the general
quality
of such a machine compared to the more recent iterations of the
design.

Anyone ever encountered one of these before?

Also, it is on it's second owner, and has seen some active use.
Being a
complete neophyte to milling machines, is there anything I should
be looking
for in terms of wear which wouldn't require me to make
measurements which
are probably beyond my capabilities?

Thanks for any help,

Jon

On Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 11:27:10 AM UTC-8, Jon Danniken
wrote:
Howdy,

In a few days I will be looking at a mill drill for consideration
of
purchase, an older 2HP RF-30, and am hoping someone might have
some
experience with those. It is an actual "Rong Fu 30" , not
rebranded like
they all seem to be nowadays, and I am wondering about the general
quality
of such a machine compared to the more recent iterations of the
design.

Anyone ever encountered one of these before?

Also, it is on it's second owner, and has seen some active use.
Being a
complete neophyte to milling machines, is there anything I should
be looking
for in terms of wear which wouldn't require me to make
measurements which
are probably beyond my capabilities?

Thanks for any help,

Jon

They are decent enough for soft materials such as aluminum...but for
harder materials such as steel .....they can and WILL come loose at
the worst possible time and screw up your workpiece at the very
least.

I bought one from MSC for the company shop around 2000. The Z axis
adjustability wasn't as good as the scale indicated. I couldn't
position it closer than 0.005" because tightening the lock screws
shifted the spindle, and took precision jobs home to my antique Atlas
Clausing mill. The Z axis was slightly tilted and the tee slots
weren't quite parallel to the X axis travel, so I had to make a custom
non-parallel alignment key for the milling vise, by filing the key
blank to fit snugly in the tee slot and milling steps on its top to
match the slot on the vise. I could work to 0.005" on it but not
0.001".

I bought it to make relay rack control panels, for which it served
well.

-jsw