MillRite?
January 21st, 2009Googling Pays
I think I have finally found the answer to the drill press/milling machine conundrum: the Powermatic (Burke) Millrite. This is a full-blown milling machine that is small enough to put in a garage, yet big enough to be hard to outgrow. If you have more room than you need for a drill press, but not enough for a Bridgeport, this is your machine. And another bonus: because these machines were not generally used for production work, they tend to have relatively few hours on them.
The mill/drills I was looking at have a lot to recommend them, but as good as they are, they are Chiwanese hobby machines, and they are limited. And they cost as much or more than a used Millrite. And they will not hold their value the way a used American mill will. Millrites have a relatively short quill travel, which is bad, but I guess you can’t have everything.
As luck would have it, a Millrite is available here in Miami. But they are not selling it cheap. It would cost as much as a new mill/drill. I’ve read about people buying them for $400, but I don’t know what the going rate is. Ebay indicates about two grand.
I got a quote on the machine. Now I have to sit here and talk myself out of going to look at it. As if I would know what to look for when checking out an old mill.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:52 PM
don’t GO don’t GO don’t GO…
Have fun getting your new-used Millrite home. I want pictures tomorrow.
January 21st, 2009 at 6:25 PM
“I think I have finally found the answer to the drill press/milling machine conundrum: the Powermatic (Burke) Millrite.”
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I had to google that one…Holy Cow! That thing looks like the big brother to my Grandma’s turn-of-the-century Country-Store Coffee Mill!
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I don’t think they make DRO’s for it though (at least a quick google search didn’t turn up any…)
January 21st, 2009 at 6:58 PM
Steve,
Here’s a page on inspecting a used milling machine that you might find useful: http://www.mermac.com/freemill2.html
He also has a page on inspecting a lathe.
Here’s info on the Millrite: http://www.lathes.co.uk/millrite/
I would not consider any milling machine that didn’t have an R8 spindle, unless it was a mini-mill.
As someone pointed out in the other thread, a BridgePort is the M1911 of milling machines. There’s all kinds of aftermarket stuff available, something that may or may not be of importance to you.
That said, the MillRite is a decent-looking machine, and might be a good deal for you, especially if any tooling is included. Vise, drill chuck, collets, boring head, etc.
January 21st, 2009 at 7:10 PM
Thanks, Jim.
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The local dealer wants a fortune, in my opinion. The table is small, the machine has a 110V motor, and they have said nothing about tooling, so I don’t know why they’re asking so much. I haven’t seen the machine, though. If it’s in mint condition, maybe it’s worth it.
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The main advantages to this one are the low delivery charge and the fact that I can see it before I buy it. I suppose I’m saving around $450 in freight. But it looks like there is a real possibility that I’ll find one so much cheaper, and with so much more stuff on it, that paying the freight will be more than worthwhile.
January 21st, 2009 at 8:23 PM
The millright is a good piece of equipment. My gunsmith has made several falling block actions using not much more than a millright. You want one with an R-8 taper, if you can get one.
January 21st, 2009 at 9:10 PM
Get a Bridgeport. Typically $1500 used. Have three-phase run to your house and be done with it (get a three phase converter.) The mill-rite can’t be that much smaller footprint than any other knee mill that it makes it worth having an archaic unit. This is not a saw. These things have lot’s of precision moving parts that can break or strip. EVERYBODY and his brother supplies Bridgeport parts/accessories. Who will repair that motor, spindle, feed gears etc.?
January 21st, 2009 at 9:33 PM
You can, by the way, use that mill as a lathe. You cal lay the head on it’s side and put in a small lathe chuck l;ike this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/BRIDGEPORT-R8-SHANK-4%22-SELF-CENTERING-3-JAW-CHUCK-NEW_W0QQitemZ350152716052QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090113?IMSfp=TL090113112005r29270
and use the main and cross feed plus lathe tools to do some simple lathe work. I do it all the time on a bridgeport. You can’t cut threads, but you can do a lot of simple lathe things.
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:11 AM
I found a site that shows that someone managed to attach a DRO to one:
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http://www1.cedar-rapids.net/tdkmotor/cbx.htm
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And thanks, Steve: good one. I’d not heard of this one, and I just added it to my short list.
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January 22nd, 2009 at 8:27 AM
davis, br said:
“I found a site that shows that someone managed to attach a DRO to one:”
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I saw that one too, but I thought it looked a little “fiddly”. I was googling for a kit that pre-made for the Millrite…but no luck.
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At the cost of the encoders he used, you might as well get servo motors and do a full CNC setup (and then you’d get the DROs for free).
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:12 PM
I think you can put DROs on pretty much any mill. This outfit will work on pretty much everything:
http://www.star-techno.com/INFO.HTM
I’ve seen ’em at the model engineering shows, and visited a gunsmith who was quite happy with them on both his lathe and mill/drill.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:44 PM
jdunmyer:
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Those DRO’s are not too expensive, still it’s not much more for a CNC Kit:
http://www.motiontek.ca/retrofitkit.html
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But with a CNC Kit, you’ll also need a PC with some CAM software like MACH3 and it needs to be setup and calibrated, so I agree the simpliest solution is probably the DRO. Still, with the CAM Controller in “manual” mode you get a power-feed as well.
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Maybe its too many options for a tool afficionado? I’m trying not to be too much of an enabler…it makes me feel guilty later.