tips for finding used mill?

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Sep 10, 2005
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Going to start looking for a mill. Floor model, not a bench top, Ive had a benchtop for years and want a larger to do more milling operations. Any tips on searching for and finding used mills? Sites other than ebay/craigslist?
 
Craigslist is the way to go if you're not in a rush and want the best deal.
Otherwise a used machinery dealer will have something ready to pickup, but about halfway in-between Craigslist and new prices
 
I'd look for used metalworking equipment dealers in your area. In general they'll have more than you can find on Craigslist. The down side is many won't have prices listed and require a phone call. But if you find one and say "I'm looking for a 9x32 knee mill, whatcha got?" they can probably give you 10 different Bridgeports and clones from <$1000 to $5000 and be an overall better deal than someone selling their granpappy's special mill that they know nothing about other than it's worth a fortune on CL.
 
Oh, and watch for industrial auctions. Often times there are stellar deals to be had, when the prices are north of what the dealers want to pay only to resell, but less than what they'd be resold for. And right now, at least around this part of the country, there always seems to be one going on. This might take a little more legwork to actually go view the machine prior to the bidding, but I've had pretty good luck with buying stuff for work sight unseen. A little less risky in that situation since we have a maintenance department, but more often than not these machines are working when the plant closed.

You'll just have to have a plan for how to load and move it. Generally there will be a rigger working for the auction company happy to do as little as load it on your trailer for next to nothing, or, give you a price on delivering it to you door.
 
When I worked for the Government we listed lots of Machinery on the "GSA" surplus auction site. If you are at all close to a large aerospace facility might be worth checking out the GSA listings. One of the old Bridgeport mills we donated to a school so they would have one in their metal shop(which is a classroom that is a rarity these days). One of the local machine shops has called me on occasion to see if I know anyone interested in a used piece of equipment so they wouldn't have to deal with advertising. Might try calling around or just stopping in a shop if there are any in your area.
 
Ebay usually has a selection of mills and surface grinders. Here is a link to one of the government sites http://www.govliquidation.com/Machinery.html that includes mills, surface grinders and saws. https://www.surplusrecord.com/srg/011741.htm is a listing from many different surplus brokers. I would make sure you are ready for the machine, power, reinforced floor, that sort of thing. and have access to big truck. if in northeast, HGR always has a selection of machines. https://hgrinc.com/productDetail/Machine-Tools/Used-Bridgeport-Vertical-Mill-/07171500011/ I have bought motors, VFDs, electrical boxes, and other stuff from them, good service.
 
Look for a package deal with several machines or a bunch of tooling included that you don't need and can sell. I made money, and got a free bridgeport and a bunch of tooling, on parting out a small home machine shop of a gentleman that was retiring and moving. The deals are not every day but if you know what you need and what else you can sell, it's not that hard in my experience. I had found several similar such deals around New England that I passed on due to having to travel, and this one was just a half hour away.
 
Set alert in whatever ads you watch, so you get emails

If you use a phone, that's pretty much instant as it's posted.
 
Craigslist... but definitely ask around any machine shops in the area to see whether there's anything for sale. I've had good luck doing that, got my Index vertical knee mill for $1250 asking around machine shops.
 
There's this... might be able to talk down from that 4K, I'd not pay that. Looks like there's no DRO but a vise and some collets and stuff... https://dallas.craigslist.org/sdf/hvo/d/milling-machine-bridgeport/6234273545.html

And there's this... a beastly mill for the size, arguably better than Bridgeport, although hard to tell what kind of shape it's in. Decent price though. I have one quite like it, an Index 645. https://waco.craigslist.org/tls/d/summit-milling-machine-scam/6258375082.html

Also check this out, dunno much about Manex mills, but looks like a fairly heavy older machine. https://dallas.craigslist.org/sdf/tls/d/manex-milling-machine/6227390374.html

Make sure to check for backlash in the table and any play in the spindle bearings. They might not be deal breakers, but can be good talking points on price. Backlash is annoying but you can live with it.
 
Also if you keep an eye out in the classifieds over at practical machinist.com, something will occasionally pop up.
 
If you want the best bang for the buck, look for a vertical, or universal (horizontal with a vertical head that swings out of the way) K&T (Kearney & Trecker/Milwaukee) or Cincinatti mills in the number 2 size. Depending on model, they'll weigh 3-5k give or take, but they're beasts.

You'll need 3ph or a 7.5 or 10hp Rotary Phase Converter (a great investment, you can get an American Rotary 10hp for around $1k, that's digitally controlled and CNC ready, and you will find the world of great machine deals open up once you can power 3ph equipment) to run it, but they typically have mechanical (real) power feeds in each axis, rapid traverse in each axis, and even a clapped out one will machine circles around any bridgeport, and hold tighter tolerances. You can often find incredibly nice ones for anywhere from $1000-3000, I've seen them frequently in excellent condition with accessories for $2500.

I'd probably stick to looking for a vert, unless you know you'll take advantage of the horizontal's capabilities, of which they excel at many things, but mostly not things knifemakers need, and the vertical models, usually have a sliding head, which is useful. The only feature you're likely to miss is a quill, which bridgeports have, but are honestly, a weakness of the machine. It's nice because it does double duty as a drill press when you have a chuck, but you should typically never use the quill for anything else, and it adds another point of failure and slop.


These machines don't take anymore space than a bridgeport, except work envelope if it's got a bigger table than a bridgeport, which many do.

Also, there are some smaller machines, like the rotary head models, which are really cool, but probably not necessary for you, and of course, much bigger models, that are likely too much for you to move.

These machines are true industrial beasts though, and only sell cheaper than bridgeports because most people are afraid of trying to move them. They're shorter, and less top heavy than a bridgeport though, and honestly, easier to move if you understand how. I've moved mine between 3 shops, and all around each shop, with pinch bars and pipes or round bar every time.

I've got a K&T No 2H vertical, that weighs about 4400lbs as I recall. Love it, hate my bridgeport (clone), and consider them overrated, even when they're nice and newer. If you're determined to have a Bridgeport style mill, the Wells/Index knee mills of that style, are far superior, but still have many of the same limitations.

Power feed on a bridgeport table is pretty much useless for anything other than light facing. I can engage the power feed with a 6" face mill on my K&T and hog an inch of material off per pass if I wanted to. I've literally ripped an 8" Kurt Vise off my table and turned the cutter to lava when I made the mistake of only having 2 3/4" bolts holding it down.
 
With a big K&T you can unleash the power of negative rake tooling and make chips like throwing a handful of quarters against the wall :D

Not sure if I'd want one for slotting guards. They're accurate enough, but just physically harder to manipulate. At least the few I've worked on.
 
Also, once you figure out what you want, I'd recommend getting an account, and posting over on practicalmachinist.com forum. Lots of very helpful people there, that are real machine enthusiasts, who usually will offer a better deal than you'll find elsewhere. Don't expect to find a smoking deal on a bridgeport though, as they're too popular, and a guaranteed sale for X. If you want something less mainstream though, that's where you're likely to find it.

It's also great for tooling and accessories. I've gotten numerous large diameter end mills, quick change holders for the 50 NMTB taper setup I'm using, chucks for my lathes, dressers for my SG's, metrology equipment, etc., all for significantly less than retail or often ebay, and never less than the quality described.

People always repeat this BS about having to spend twice as much on tooling as the machine, I've found that to be absurd, if you know what you're looking for, and don't buy retail. I buy 95% of tooling off ebay, or forums, unless it's a custom cutter, typically at 50% or less than retail on crap import.
 
Great advise here. One method I use when looking for anything heavy is to filter my ebay search to nearest first. If you find what you are wanting locally, you can check it out and have a big advantage over other bidders because yo don't need to ship the item.
 
Definitely can't beat a real milling machine. I've always had a soft spot for Cincinnati's myself, but recently I've been lusting over a large Swedish machine at a dealer up here. Universal mill, 16x62" table, 15hp spindle motor. And the high speed vertical head (40 taper, runs up to 2500 rpm, and had a quill)
That'd be damn near perfect....
 
Also, once you figure out what you want, I'd recommend getting an account, and posting over on practicalmachinist.com forum. Lots of very helpful people there, that are real machine enthusiasts, who usually will offer a better deal than you'll find elsewhere. Don't expect to find a smoking deal on a bridgeport though, as they're too popular, and a guaranteed sale for X. If you want something less mainstream though, that's where you're likely to find it.

By all means get an account at practicalmachinist.com forum.

But I'd spend your time reading and not posting.

If you don't follow the rules and post prohibited content or what are considered beginner or Home shop questions, you will catch hell.
 
Definitely can't beat a real milling machine. I've always had a soft spot for Cincinnati's myself, but recently I've been lusting over a large Swedish machine at a dealer up here. Universal mill, 16x62" table, 15hp spindle motor. And the high speed vertical head (40 taper, runs up to 2500 rpm, and had a quill)
That'd be damn near perfect....

Check out the Rotary Head K&T's Geoff, if you're not familiar with them. Pretty much the coolest mills ever made. I keep wanting one, can't really justify it. Nice thing is, most of them have tables that are deeper, and less wide, and 250-4000 RPM spindles, that can be off-set and rotated, like a rotary table, combined with rotary tables or dividing heads, could do some insanely complex work in pre-cnc days.

My K&T no 2 vert has a top spindle speed of 1400, which is really the only limitation for knife work. That's really shit for running a tiny carbide cutter, slotting guards, at 3/16 or below (I often run 1/8 and 7/64 cutters for the small knives I make), is pretty inefficient and likely to ping a cutter, so I typically use the bridgeport for that. Hell I can't even get any holders for my quick change system below 1/4", so I have to make holders for holders, or get larger shank tooling, which mostly precludes reasonably priced carbide.

For almost everything else though, unless I'm lazy and want to use the DRO, I use this mill. Cutting integral bolsters for pocket knives is a dream, dovetail or flat, let alone any real mill work.
 
I'm familiar with them, Deckel made some nice smaller machines in that style as well.
Brown and Sharpe made something similar as well if I remember right.

If the choices are limited to something vaugely Bridgeport class, I've always rather liked the Cincinnati toolmaster. Especially some of the higher optioned ones
A schaublin 13 with the high speed head (with quill) would be another very nice option for knife work
 
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