I'm in the market for a new mill and a few things have me confused.

[S. Heslop]

I've been looking around for a while now (not much else to do while wating for the money to come in, plus the places i'd like to buy from seem to all be out of stock), and the 3 models that interest me are the BF20 style mills, the SX3, and the 6x26/vmc.

They're all pretty different in prices and styles, but from what I can gleam reading spec sheets they're all pretty similar in regards some dimensions such as table size and travel, so what is it that justifies the large price differences?

There's the obvious stuff like more convenient placement of hand wheels, higher motor wattages, and mass (which I recently read was more of a myth than anything?). But I can't imagine that'd be everything. Maybe i'm understating their importance...

[Lone Watie]

I'm sure you have already, but if not, check out www.mini-lathe.com for a bunch of good info on the X2's and X3's; additionally, you can see www.g0704.com for a lot of good info on the BF20. I'm in the same position as you, and have narrowed it down to more than either the X3 or the BF20.

[Miner]

Higher quality materials, Durability,Accuracy, Better design, Heat treatment, Grinding, Testing, Quality control, Etc, Etc.

And mass, Despite what you've read, Is very important. Have a look at any industrial lathe from the 1850's and look at the tailstock. OK, Now do the same for any industrial lathe from the 1940's to today. Notice anything? Monarch EE lathes don't weigh well in excess of 3,000 pounds for no reason. Our engineering designs and understanding, And materials have become a bit better. So we've been able to reduce a bit of the weight. But all metals are still flexable. You need to build heavy enough to resist the turning and cutting forces. Physics 101, For every action there's an equal and opposite action.

Pete

[tumutbound]

I'm in a similar situation where the X2 mill is struggling on a couple of jobs I've done.
Grizzly products aren't available here so the G0704 is out. A local distributor has this one which is pretty close, probably a BF20 variant.
It's that or an SX3, choice is not that great down here.

[S. Heslop]

Higher quality materials, Durability,Accuracy, Better design, Heat treatment, Grinding, Testing, Quality control, Etc, Etc.

And mass, Despite what you've read, Is very important. Have a look at any industrial lathe from the 1850's and look at the tailstock. OK, Now do the same for any industrial lathe from the 1940's to today. Notice anything? Monarch EE lathes don't weigh well in excess of 3,000 pounds for no reason. Our engineering designs and understanding, And materials have become a bit better. So we've been able to reduce a bit of the weight. But all metals are still flexable. You need to build heavy enough to resist the turning and cutting forces. Physics 101, For every action there's an equal and opposite action.

Pete

I suppose thats the thing that has me confused. I've searched forums and even joined the 6x26 yahoo group, and I've heard few positive things about it. Common complaints are poor quality workmanship on certain components and the use of a soft, easily marked, grade of cast iron.

So is it a case of people having higher standards when spending that extra money, or are they a vocal minority that got lemons, or maybe the knee construction is such a hike in rigidity, convenience, and mass that costs are brought back down with poor materials, or is it something else?

ps, I hope i'm not sounding dismissive of your answer. I'm just a serious miser and need to feel anything I buy is fully justified. It took me a few years to finally buy a real (but cheap) bench vise, since I wasn't doing too bad with a donated one for wood.

[S. Heslop]

I'm in a similar situation where the X2 mill is struggling on a couple of jobs I've done.
Grizzly products aren't available here so the G0704 is out. A local distributor has this one which is pretty close, probably a BF20 variant.
It's that or an SX3, choice is not that great down here.

That looks like it's got some great features. Especially the R8 spindle. Theres only one UK seller that i've found offering an R8 spindle, but they're out of stock till April. Plus their website is a little bare and it leaves me a bit skeptical.

[75Plus]

I'm in a similar situation where the X2 mill is struggling on a couple of jobs I've done.
Grizzly products aren't available here so the G0704 is out. A local distributor has this one which is pretty close, probably a BF20 variant.
It's that or an SX3, choice is not that great down here.

Comparing the specs. the only difference I can find between the TM 20V and my G0704 is that the TM 20 has a brushless motor while the G0704 motor has brushes. Even the paint appears to be the same. I assume that the stand is included in the price. Being a bit over 6 ft tall I found adding a 3" angle iron base to raise it helped my back during long duration jobs.

I cannot compare it to a SX-3 but it is a great step up from my X-2.

Joe
Joe

[Miner]

O2,
Nope, I didn't think your post sounded dismissive at all. But to be totally honest I don't own any of the complete mills your looking at. I have what is generaly known as a 3/4 sized baby Bridgeport style knee mill. But I do know making a firm decision about any mill can be a very tough process. I'd guess I'm biased towards a turret style mill and especialy so due to the knee. Because I live in North America, I'm also far more in favour of the R-8 taper over a Morse taper. If the mills your looking at come with a proper ejection system to force the Morse taper tooling loose from the spindle? Then that's far better than hammering on the end of the drawbar. The spindle bearings will thank you for that later.

I've also noticed in the last couple of years that a large amount of the Chinese manufacters have been doing a much better job with overall quality levels. I do have a rear mounted R-8 taper milling head built by Weiss on my lathe as a secondary mill. There's no actual model designation on it, But it looks to be about in the the BF-20 size, And it may be that. Exactly what your main interests are, And overall size of your parts. Along with the expected results would help narrow your search a bit. And because of that recent increase in quality, People with hands on experience with a new mill of the makes your looking at could give you far better factual advice than I can.

Design wise? Because of the knee support with the Z axis feedscrew, And the rear dovetail that guides the knee. A knee mill is more rigid than haveing the milling head move up and down on a dovetailed coloum though. But everyone has their own personal likes and dislikes about any design.

I wish I could be more helpful though.

Pete

 

[Chazz]

The G0704 was not available when I got my CT129N, the main difference is the 0704 has an R8 Spindle and a 1HP motor while the 'older' model has a MT3 spindle and a .75HP motor. 

The 'stock' stand, although sturdy, is short and lacking in storage space.  (check out my post here "My new mill stand"), as well, as money permits there are several upgrades you can do to beef-up and improve the mill.

Add 2 more mounting bolts for the head, convert to belt drive, replace or cleanup the Gib strips, replace the Gib lock screws for larger, replace the x, y, z and spindle bearings, add a riser and or motor for the column, upgrade the screws and nuts, then add a DRO of full CNC conversion.

Most important, have fun.