Round column mill/drill or bridgeport?

[PekkaNF]

I have been thinking these over and I'm really royal pain in deciding.

This would be my only drill and would see very little use as mill. Used bridgeport is very close than new chinese mill/drill at my home.

1) Warco major mill/drill type:
+ MT3, ideal for my drills and I have plenty of milling tools too
+ small, could be top of the table
+ long spindle stroke
+ Standard motor mount, no problem with VFD
- quality

2) Bridgeport
+ Better build and value at same price range
+ better resale value
- R8 taper tooling is something I don't have
- Don't really like mechanical drive, nor pancake motor
- Really tall and takes up a lot of space, I should sell some tools

3/4 bridgeport type has that much smaller spindle movement that it is really no go for me.

Sucks to be poor and indecisive.

Pekka

[BaronJ]

Hi Pekka,

I feel your pain !  Not long after I decided to have a new workshop I had the opportunity to acquire a little used Bridgeport at the ridiculously low price of £350.00p.  Unfortunately I then discovered that I didn't have enough headroom to get it into the workshop.

I looked all over for one of the Bridgeport mini's without any luck !  I ended up buying a Chinese mill.  Knowing what I know now there is no way that I would have bought the machine I did.  Still that's life.  I doubt that I shall ever buy another mill.

[vtsteam]

I am glad to have a cheap table top drill press which isn't a mill.

I use it for all kinds of things I'd hate to use a mill for. Drilling plywood with hole saws, dirty metal, anything and everything -- without worry of messing up slide ways, etc. It is one of the most used tools in the shop. It's much quicker to set up for drilling something -- just tighten a bit in place, and adjust the table height by loosening the clamp and sliding the light weight table. It cost around $100.

If you mostly drill, I would suggest getting that, and saving your money for a good mill afterwards. You will soon save back the small cost and perhaps build up more for your ideal mill some day.

I did metalwork for 5 years before I got a mill. When I finally found one in the size and price I could afford, one that was ideal for my space and means, I finally bought it.

It never meant getting rid of the drill press. I do coordinate drill in the mill now, but for non-coordinate work (which is most of it) it always goes on the table top drill press

[Pete49]

I have a round column mill and it does well for what it is. Its a chinese copy of the RF30 and with all the mods available out there I would buy the Warco version. You'll find you use it more than you thought. Over here in Oz 3mt is a common size as I think it would be in your part of the world and the extras tend to be cheaper
Pete

[awemawson]

My drill press had to go when I got my Bridgeport at my last place due to space constraints. Never missed it.
When I set up my current workshop I got a drill press but found that the Bridgeport was more convenient as I could also use X and Y for positioning so the drill press has been consigned to the woodwork shed.

Given the choice of Chinese round column or Bridgeport I wouldn't hesitate to choose the bridgeport

[chipenter]

You could get a R8 to MT adaptor for just over ten quid .

[Arbalist]

 In your situation I'd go with the mill drill. The Bridgeport is a large lump to have in the workshop for drilling and R8 is hardly ideal. Yeah, I know our cousins bang on about R8 but for drilling you can't beat putting morse tapers drills straight in the quill.

[Jo]

Bridgeports also come in 30 Int but for £350 I would being willing to buy a good one with an R8 nose 

Once you get above 1/2" think about boring holes on the mill, large MT drills are best used in the lathe tailstock   

Jo

[vtsteam]

I should qualify my last post to say that along with the drill press, my mill is an Asian round column mill drill.

And just to confuse things further, it takes R8 spindles, though I have some R8 to MT and JT converters, Given the choice I would certainly prefer a Bridgeport. But mainly for mass and capacity. Yet I wouldn't own one because my floors could not support it.

And I have no room for a separate wood shop -- so the drill press is in constant use for woodwork, automotive work, and metal projects. It's also occasionally nice to be able to both mill and drill at the same time without having to change chucks on the mill.

Am I happy with the round column mill drill? Absolutely. It is solid, has good capacity, and does what I need it to. Would I be happy with a Bridgeport. Certainly! Happier? Not much, maybe a little. But if someone stole my little drill press, I'd be madder than a wet hornet!

[CrazyModder]

Just to keep your confusion up, I'll chime in and suggest the Bridgeport anyways.

I have a not-so-small chinese round column mill-drill, and while I am quite used to it and its limitations, the problem is that those limitations (inherent in the design) crop up all the time, and even working with easy stuff, there's always the feeling in the back of my head how great it would be if my tool would not be impressed by what I'm doing. When I do want to mill something, even when taking *very* light cuts in all but the softest materials, the machine never really feels trustable, since I know from experience what happens if something goes wrong. On a big machine, in the worst case, the milling tool will break, which is scary enough in itself. On the round column mill, there's the risk of a head whip, and I've had a few (while learning what it can do, and sometimes when not paying attention). Not fun. If I had the space, I'd get a Bridgeport anyday, even if it had an sub-optimal tool holder.

That said, in my opinion it doesn't even make sense to compare the two, they are so far apart in capability...

[Arbalist]

That said, in my opinion it doesn't even make sense to compare the two, they are so far apart in capability...

Too true.

I was offered a Bridgeport quite a few years ago for £600. It was in good condition and had a lovely large table. I was tempted but after looking at it from several angles (several times!) I decided it really was too big for my shop. I moved house some years later, and have since moved again so I'm glad I didn't buy the machine as it would have cost me dearly to move it.

Given the choice I'd buy a precision toolmakers mill but a few nice ones I've seen go for much more money than a Bridgeport and I'd have to replace all my MT toolholders for INT versions. One day maybe...

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 Bridgeport

[PekkaNF]

Thank you all.

It is ofcource nice to have one machine for each operation, but I just don't have that money and space available.

Decent drill press is not that cheap either. There are some cheap/capable ones available, but they are usually behemonts. Old and dirty I don't mind but it looks like it's easier to find a MT4 monster than semidecent MT2/3 drill press. Therefore decent drill press is "later" item, if one nice one comes along. Something like: http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j161/astuch/dp2.jpg

I have one very little 370W 3/8" drill press for wood etc. It's little enough to be moved around and kicked under table when not in use. Good for stuff VT described, excluding hole saws that sap the juice out of it. I have been looking for an replacement for it, but all new ones have very little of spindle stroke, lot of play on quill, very thin pipe as a round column (looks more like AC vent than a tube) etc. and still asking prices around 500-900 EUR. There are nice ones, but they are megabucks. So, I have to find a old one (real FIND) or make one.


Round column MT3 mill/drill with longest possible quill stroke looks like a best bet in principle to my needs, but MT3 + sub300 kg weigh makes me a little worried. Does it has enough cast iron where it needs to prevent it wobbling all over place. I would not really use it milling (much) I think that milling does not work if the quill is extended. Knee is really needed for milling.

My other choice could be one similar but with square column, like
http://www.warco.co.uk/milling-machines/38-gh-universal-milling-drilling-machine.html

But I have seen RF45 and I think that quill is the weak spot of this design. It's allready pretty much same money than decent used bridgeport.

Darn.....

The good news is that a lot of expences are mounting up and I can't afford either one this summer - gives me more time to ponder.

Pekka