I was looking at a Rong-Fu clone today (RF30). Unlike the dovetail column
mills that I am used to this one has a round column. The head can be moved
up and down and swivelled 360 degrees, however one loses the X-Y position
doing it. The spindle (quill, really) has a maximum range of movement of
only 5".

My small mill manages 9" and I need every thou of it on some occasions,
particularly when changing for larger cutters, e.g reamers or simply
changing holders.

Furthermore I thought it was a good practice to mill with the quill
retracted as far as possible to improve rigidity. This would make it rather
difficult to change even shorter bits let alone change, say, a mill-holder
for a drill chuck.

What am I missing? How are these issues dealt with on these machines?

--
Michael Koblic
Campbell River, BC