Hi all,
I recently bought the milling machine below, some questions about it please
a) What do yous think about it?
b) The instruction manual received with it, is to say the least, SHOCKINGLY
LACKING instructions, has anyone got a similar machine that can supply me a
better manual?
c) I'm a newbie on milling machines, is there a good book, website, etc
explaining how to use the machine?
Sorry the specs are in metric sizes
Picture at www.tooltime.co.za , Engineering tools,

EMILGH-032 MacAfric FG45 Milling Machine Geared Head Capable of
Tapping with Solid Square Column



4

ProdCode
EMILGH-032

Name
MacAfric FG45 Milling Machine Geared Head Capable of Tapping with Solid
Square Column

Price
US$ 1960 ZAR 11995

Image
EMILGH-032.jpg

Description
Drilling Capacity 45mm. Facemill Capacity 80mm. Endmill Capacity 32mm.
Max Tapping capacit M12. Headstock Swivel Angle 90. Max Distance Nose to
Table 450mm. Spindel Taper MT4. Motor 1.5kW 220V. Forward & backward Travel
175mm. Working Area of Table 800 x 240mm

That looks like a RF-45, the infamous Rong Fu square-column mill-drill.
It's said to be the best of the mill drills in that the head can be moved
up and down (if you have to drill using a longer drill bit, for example)
without losing the location.

No milling machine comes with instructions. There are a lot of publications
you can subscribe to which have articles or series of articles on how to
use a milling machine. The machine should come with basic instructions on
lubrication, belt changing etc. Hopefully you bought yours from a reputable
source where you can obtain parts.

Rong Fu is a Taiwanese manufacturer. I have owned an RF machine and found
it to be of above average quality for the cost.

South Africa is a long ways away from most of us. Good to hear from you!

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

Jason Holler wrote:

Hi all,
I recently bought the milling machine below, some questions about it please
a) What do yous think about it?
b) The instruction manual received with it, is to say the least, SHOCKINGLY
LACKING instructions, has anyone got a similar machine that can supply me a
better manual?
c) I'm a newbie on milling machines, is there a good book, website, etc
explaining how to use the machine?
Sorry the specs are in metric sizes
Picture at www.tooltime.co.za , Engineering tools,

EMILGH-032 MacAfric FG45 Milling Machine Geared Head Capable of
Tapping with Solid Square Column



4

ProdCode
EMILGH-032

Name
MacAfric FG45 Milling Machine Geared Head Capable of Tapping with Solid
Square Column

Price
US$ 1960 ZAR 11995

Image
EMILGH-032.jpg

Description
Drilling Capacity 45mm. Facemill Capacity 80mm. Endmill Capacity 32mm.
Max Tapping capacit M12. Headstock Swivel Angle 90. Max Distance Nose to
Table 450mm. Spindel Taper MT4. Motor 1.5kW 220V. Forward & backward Travel
175mm. Working Area of Table 800 x 240mm

Thanks Grant,
At least it does not look like I bought a 'dud'
Jason
Johannesburg
South Africa

"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
That looks like a RF-45, the infamous Rong Fu square-column mill-drill.
It's said to be the best of the mill drills in that the head can be moved
up and down (if you have to drill using a longer drill bit, for example)
without losing the location.

No milling machine comes with instructions. There are a lot of
publications
you can subscribe to which have articles or series of articles on how to
use a milling machine. The machine should come with basic instructions on
lubrication, belt changing etc. Hopefully you bought yours from a
reputable
source where you can obtain parts.

Rong Fu is a Taiwanese manufacturer. I have owned an RF machine and found
it to be of above average quality for the cost.

South Africa is a long ways away from most of us. Good to hear from you!

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

Jason Holler wrote:

Hi all,
I recently bought the milling machine below, some questions about it
please
a) What do yous think about it?
b) The instruction manual received with it, is to say the least,
SHOCKINGLY
LACKING instructions, has anyone got a similar machine that can supply
me a
better manual?
c) I'm a newbie on milling machines, is there a good book, website, etc
explaining how to use the machine?
Sorry the specs are in metric sizes
Picture at www.tooltime.co.za , Engineering tools,

EMILGH-032 MacAfric FG45 Milling Machine Geared Head Capable of
Tapping with Solid Square Column



4

ProdCode
EMILGH-032

Name
MacAfric FG45 Milling Machine Geared Head Capable of Tapping with
Solid
Square Column

Price
US$ 1960 ZAR 11995

Image
EMILGH-032.jpg

Description
Drilling Capacity 45mm. Facemill Capacity 80mm. Endmill Capacity
32mm.
Max Tapping capacit M12. Headstock Swivel Angle 90. Max Distance Nose to
Table 450mm. Spindel Taper MT4. Motor 1.5kW 220V. Forward & backward
Travel
175mm. Working Area of Table 800 x 240mm

Jason Holler wrote:

Hi all,
I recently bought the milling machine below, some questions about it please
a) What do yous think about it?
b) The instruction manual received with it, is to say the least, SHOCKINGLY
LACKING instructions, has anyone got a similar machine that can supply me a
better manual?
c) I'm a newbie on milling machines, is there a good book, website, etc
explaining how to use the machine?
Sorry the specs are in metric sizes
Picture at www.tooltime.co.za , Engineering tools,


Yup, a client of mine has one. It has one great big problem, just about the
lowest spindle speed range I've ever seen. It was obviously designed as a
heavy-duty drill press, not really a mill. My Bridgeport only goes to
2950 RPM,
and that is a major drawback, so I have some high speed spindles that
can be mounted
to the quill. I find I am moving toward smaller end mills, and the
speed requirement
goes way up on them.

Supposedly, MIT has a metalworking shop course online, and a few other
universities
do, too.

"Jason Holler" wrote in message
...
Hi all,
I recently bought the milling machine below, some questions about it
please
a) What do yous think about it?
b) The instruction manual received with it, is to say the least,
SHOCKINGLY
LACKING instructions, has anyone got a similar machine that can supply me
a
better manual?
c) I'm a newbie on milling machines, is there a good book, website, etc
You might like to pick up a copy of "Milling A complete course" by Harold
Hall ISBN 1-85486-232-4


Assumes complete beginner and is based on a series of useful projects which
move very very simple through to quite tough, so its very practical and not
a theoretical "teach yourself milling in an hour" type.

It's also cheep! Mine came from Amazon. Just waiting for the mill to
arrive.

Steve

Thanks all for responding, one more question, please, I have to build some
kind of tabel for the mill, how high should the mill table be from the
ground or should it be level with say my chest? Any other advise on the
table?

"Jon Elson" wrote in message
...


Jason Holler wrote:

Hi all,
I recently bought the milling machine below, some questions about it
please
a) What do yous think about it?
b) The instruction manual received with it, is to say the least,
SHOCKINGLY
LACKING instructions, has anyone got a similar machine that can supply me
a
better manual?
c) I'm a newbie on milling machines, is there a good book, website, etc
explaining how to use the machine?
Sorry the specs are in metric sizes
Picture at www.tooltime.co.za , Engineering tools,


Yup, a client of mine has one. It has one great big problem, just about
the
lowest spindle speed range I've ever seen. It was obviously designed as a
heavy-duty drill press, not really a mill. My Bridgeport only goes to
2950 RPM,
and that is a major drawback, so I have some high speed spindles that
can be mounted
to the quill. I find I am moving toward smaller end mills, and the
speed requirement
goes way up on them.

Supposedly, MIT has a metalworking shop course online, and a few other
universities
do, too.

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 10:44:32 +0200, Jason Holler wrote:

Thanks all for responding, one more question, please, I have to build some
kind of tabel for the mill, how high should the mill table be from the
ground or should it be level with say my chest? Any other advise on the
table?

I think it's a personal preference, but in order to not have to stoop
when operating the handwheels, you should lower the table as far
as it will go and then plan your table height so that the handwheels
will be at about hip level in that position. You may want to compromise
on the height so that you can easily reach the quill handle.
Perhaps start out with a somewhat lower table and then block the
mill-drill up as experience dictates.

You'll also want some way of leveling the table. 1" threaded rod
about 4" long slipped into a hole in some heavy angle stock, with
a nut and washer on either side (lower one for leveling and upper
one to secure it) makes a serviceable leveling foot.

The ability to comfortably reach the operating controls,
hand wheels, quill handle, power switch, etc. are your
preference. Some people seem to like to be slightly stooped
over when running their equipment.

Here's a good starting point, though I built mine, (didn't
know this newsgroup existed back then), with a smaller
footprint and is a more cubic shape than a truncated
pyramid. I also built mine 2 or 3 inches taller, putting the
work a little closer to my eyes. Consider the range of
workholding devices, such as vise, rotary table, indexer,
etc., you may eventually use to find a compromise you are
happy with.
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/...iles/table.txt
I'd suggest building the table at least as wide as the hand
wheels travel, unless space is not available to accommodate
it, and then ask yourself if you really can't move something
around to allow the width. It will mean that you may be able
to store all (hope for most) of the accessories that go with
the machine.

Artemia Salina wrote:

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 10:44:32 +0200, Jason Holler wrote:

Thanks all for responding, one more question, please, I have to build some
kind of tabel for the mill, how high should the mill table be from the
ground or should it be level with say my chest? Any other advise on the
table?

I think it's a personal preference, but in order to not have to stoop
when operating the handwheels, you should lower the table as far
as it will go and then plan your table height so that the handwheels
will be at about hip level in that position. You may want to compromise
on the height so that you can easily reach the quill handle.
Perhaps start out with a somewhat lower table and then block the
mill-drill up as experience dictates.

You'll also want some way of leveling the table. 1" threaded rod
about 4" long slipped into a hole in some heavy angle stock, with
a nut and washer on either side (lower one for leveling and upper
one to secure it) makes a serviceable leveling foot.

Try these sites:

http://www.machinist.org/army_machinetool/ch8.htm#top

http://www.jjjtrain.com/vms/library.html

That should get you going in the right direction.

-Mike

Nice stand at
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/...iles/table.txt, some
questions from what I've seen

a) Is it good to put the stand/table on castors, I.E. do they support the
weight and do they lock the table solid with no movement?
b) Would it be better to build a table instead of a stand, seeing that you
get more work surface, place to put tools etc, while milling?

Thanks for all the help


"nic" "user wrote in message
...
The ability to comfortably reach the operating controls,
hand wheels, quill handle, power switch, etc. are your
preference. Some people seem to like to be slightly stooped
over when running their equipment.

Here's a good starting point, though I built mine, (didn't
know this newsgroup existed back then), with a smaller
footprint and is a more cubic shape than a truncated
pyramid. I also built mine 2 or 3 inches taller, putting the
work a little closer to my eyes. Consider the range of
workholding devices, such as vise, rotary table, indexer,
etc., you may eventually use to find a compromise you are
happy with.
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/...iles/table.txt
I'd suggest building the table at least as wide as the hand
wheels travel, unless space is not available to accommodate
it, and then ask yourself if you really can't move something
around to allow the width. It will mean that you may be able
to store all (hope for most) of the accessories that go with
the machine.

Artemia Salina wrote:

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 10:44:32 +0200, Jason Holler wrote:

Thanks all for responding, one more question, please, I have to build
some
kind of tabel for the mill, how high should the mill table be from the
ground or should it be level with say my chest? Any other advise on
the
table?

I think it's a personal preference, but in order to not have to stoop
when operating the handwheels, you should lower the table as far
as it will go and then plan your table height so that the handwheels
will be at about hip level in that position. You may want to compromise
on the height so that you can easily reach the quill handle.
Perhaps start out with a somewhat lower table and then block the
mill-drill up as experience dictates.

You'll also want some way of leveling the table. 1" threaded rod
about 4" long slipped into a hole in some heavy angle stock, with
a nut and washer on either side (lower one for leveling and upper
one to secure it) makes a serviceable leveling foot.

I don't see a problem with putting one of these machines on
a rolling stand, given that the structure is built stoutly
enough. You don't want to induce warping to the base of the
machine when it is moved from place to place. If you put it
on a stand with four casters, it will rarely, if ever, sit
firmly on all four casters, so the structure needs to be
able to resist racking and warping.
The casters that I used are rated for 300 lbs. each and have
polyurethane wheels. They get a flat spot after a while and
don't roll well which helps keep it in place. Consider this
when you are thinking about how big to make the table, it
has a center of gravity that is going to be somewhere just
under the base of the machine, and needs some width and
depth to the table to ensure stability.
Since it gets moved around a lot, it doesn't always sit
level. This may cause problems with a stand that isn't
sturdy enough, but I have not noticed any differences in
machine performance.
I would encourage you to build a enclosed style stand, with
drawers/shelves on roller glides. Make sure that the drawers
have side and center glides, you will probably end up
overloading them to the point that the drawer will sag and
rub if you don't.
If you haven't thought about what type of
accesories/attachments you will be storing, here's a partial
list of what I have.
6" Enco vise, R8 collet rack, boring head, box of end mills,
parallels, angle blocks, toolmakers vise, box of S&D drill
bits, 1/2" clamping kit, 3/8" clamping kit, tin can full of
washers in various thickness/diameters, rotary table,
reamers, angle vise, angle plates, tin can of misc.
bolts/studs, test indicator, slitting saws and arbors, and
more I can't remember off the top of my head. There is more
that I could store there, but are used more often at the
lathe, drill press, or tool box.
You won't be using the table area underneath the bed of this
machine much, it will have hot chips filling it up.It is a
fairly large area, 30" long table that moves 24 or so inches
side to side, as well as 10" table width moving 10" front to
back for an area about 40" x 54" including machine.

Jason Holler wrote:

Nice stand at
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/...iles/table.txt, some
questions from what I've seen

a) Is it good to put the stand/table on castors, I.E. do they support the
weight and do they lock the table solid with no movement?
b) Would it be better to build a table instead of a stand, seeing that you
get more work surface, place to put tools etc, while milling?

Thanks for all the help

"nic" "user wrote in message
...
The ability to comfortably reach the operating controls,
hand wheels, quill handle, power switch, etc. are your
preference. Some people seem to like to be slightly stooped
over when running their equipment.

Here's a good starting point, though I built mine, (didn't
know this newsgroup existed back then), with a smaller
footprint and is a more cubic shape than a truncated
pyramid. I also built mine 2 or 3 inches taller, putting the
work a little closer to my eyes. Consider the range of
workholding devices, such as vise, rotary table, indexer,
etc., you may eventually use to find a compromise you are
happy with.
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/...iles/table.txt
I'd suggest building the table at least as wide as the hand
wheels travel, unless space is not available to accommodate
it, and then ask yourself if you really can't move something
around to allow the width. It will mean that you may be able
to store all (hope for most) of the accessories that go with
the machine.

Artemia Salina wrote:

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 10:44:32 +0200, Jason Holler wrote:

Thanks all for responding, one more question, please, I have to build
some
kind of tabel for the mill, how high should the mill table be from the
ground or should it be level with say my chest? Any other advise on
the
table?

I think it's a personal preference, but in order to not have to stoop
when operating the handwheels, you should lower the table as far
as it will go and then plan your table height so that the handwheels
will be at about hip level in that position. You may want to compromise
on the height so that you can easily reach the quill handle.
Perhaps start out with a somewhat lower table and then block the
mill-drill up as experience dictates.

You'll also want some way of leveling the table. 1" threaded rod
about 4" long slipped into a hole in some heavy angle stock, with
a nut and washer on either side (lower one for leveling and upper
one to secure it) makes a serviceable leveling foot.