Milling machines - western-made s/h recommendations up to £2k

It looks like the Centec fits the bill.

Its certainly worth getting a quote from Landilift. Moving top-heavy stuff is very difficult and needs plenty of kit and bits, hiring the van is just the start.

A van would need a good tail lift with appropriate SWL. That's why low trailers are so popular.

Good luck with the adventure.

Thank you - I think I have decided to bite the bullet and get Landylift/Steve to move it - it's about double the cost of renting a van and paying for petrol, but I don't then need to disassemble the mill and reassemble it at the other end, give myself a hernia, drop it midway, etc.

Hopefully this saga then draws to a close and i thank all of your for your kind help and attention.

We've used Matt in the past to shift stuff and been very happy. https://www.1tonne.com/

You say it's 15' x 8' and have ruled out a large knee mill. The manual machine space in our workshop is that size and has two lathes, drill and a Bridgeport type mill. If the small lathe were gone you have bench space and our walkway is free space to put something like a saw. The mill cost considerably less than £2000 and is like new. It came from a company who repaired weaving looms that had shut down, and had spent it's life making small brass parts. Two of us moved it in our Transit van with an engine crane.

The real issue is you need space to get around the table to see the dial properly, it makes plunging cuts a little harder to control.

Dave, thanks. That I can really understand as more of 'a thing'.

Cheers, Colin

Previous reports have pointed out the increase in rigidity as the reason for that particular improvement (the knee). The 2B is a considerably more robust machine than the 2A, although I am not sure about the gearbox internals.

I moved mine (with help, to load it directly on my trailer, by the seller and a friend who lived reasonably local to the seller. Lifting with an engine crane to trailer bed level was a precarious operation.🙂 I was lucky enough to have space to leave it on the trailer while I dismantled it (with the use of a telehandler to lift the machine from its stand). At home I unloaded the column and stand myself, by use of an inclined plane and ratchet straps, and eventually further separated the column from the base to be able to lift each part into position.

I think the table with screw and power feed weighs around 35kg - and that is nowhere near the heaviest part. The knee, table, motor, vertical head, horizontal arm and riser block all went home in my Saxo as I dismantled it.

A wide doorway will be needed if its going inside in one piece. The wide base is about 42 x 33 inches.

My mentor, Derek, was about 20 yeas older than me - he had worked in the machine shop at Bletchley Park during the war. He was a truly expert model engineer and purchased his 2B from a person in Wales. He decided to pick it up himself and transport it in the boot of his Saab (yes, it did fit). His workshop was in the cellar of his small house in Warwick, access to which was via a narrow stone staircase with a 90 degree bend 2/3rds down. He had already determined that the 2B suds tray was too big to negotiate the bend (it's welded to the base) so he cut the ears off before loading it in the car. When he arrived home with his 'prize' he was contemplating how to get it into his workshop when he noticed a couple of navvies working on the road. After a little negotiating, one of the navvies, who was rather short and very stocky, reckoned he could get the parts into cellar. He picked the base and suds tray up (no mean feat) and followed Derek down the steps. All was well until he got to the bend, when it got stuck. He couldn't put it down (there was nowhere to put it) and couldn't reverse up the steps. Apparently he was getting red-in-the-face and Derek was very concerned lest, if he had a heart attack, he would be well and truly stuck. Derek wouldn't be able to get out of the cellar, the phone was upstairs, and his wife was out shopping. Anyway, the navvy finally managed to extricate himself and the complete Centec was finally assembled in the cellar.

It was Derek who 'found' my 2B and I bought it on his recommendation. It's a great machine.

I have another friend who has a 2A - the knee raise handle at the back is definitely not as good and the table size is also a minus point. The power traverse of the 2B is really useful.

That's why I put a dro on the Z

The 2B gearbox is the same as the 2A and as the speed shift levers are the same that makes the column the same, but quite a bit taller.

Ah, I had one small question on the 2B that I can't seem to get a clear answer on - just relating to the placement in my workshop - the table X-axis travel is noted as 14" so presumably that's 7" either side of the centre line rather than 14" either side?

No power traverse on the 2B from the member of this parish I'm sorting out - I'm working on the assumption that I will make do without, or fit my own at some future date.

Yes, that's 14" of total useable travel or 7" each side of the centre line the actual table is 25" total not sure if this includes the power traverse or manual feed handle.

Thanks Dave - I am budgeting 9" between the end of the table at its leftmost position and the nearest obstacle for the hand wheel and my hand. As mentioned, no power traverse on this one so only one side to worry about!

Bit of a stupid question - but does anyone have the height from the floor to the underside of the swarf tray? I'm just trying to work out if a short rack shelf will fit underneath one side....