Small Milling machine

Hi, I've recently downsized my workshop and sold my heavy Fritz Werner mill. I'm looking for a small mill to replace it. I'd prefer something like a Dore Westbury if it was well built. Has anyone any comments on what to look for please? I live in Belfast so collection/shipping likely to be a problem. Thanks

If you can find one you might just like the Emco FB-2 better than the Dore Westbury.

If you can find one the Sharp Mk2 Universal Milling Machine is a good machine.

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I second Nicks suggestion I have had an FB2 for over 30 Years and can vouch for the quality a very much underrated piece of equipment. Along with the Maximat Super 11 lathe they were often seen in the track side workshops of F1 racing teams.

Peter

Plus 1 for the FB2 I've also had one for web over 30 years very accurate and versatile, another to look for is alone of the FB2 and thats the Rishton miller, made in the UK in Rishton -- company now closed down but they are good machines.
John

Home and Workshop are showing a half decent looking BCA Mk3 that may be of interest.

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Here is a Rishton for sale
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Thanks for all the suggestions. Any input on Warco millers please? Or other chinese machines for that matter.

Warco and other makes of mill-drill are perfectly good and readily available. Round column mills get some bad press from the usual brigade for whom only a gold plated Bridgeport is good enough but they are perfectly adequate if you have the brains to use them sensibly.

Sieg do a range of sizes but the column fixing on the small ones is rather a let down.

A Centec or Tom Senior are probably bigger than you are thinking about now.

Another small one is the Hobbymat BFE but not very common.

BTW a miller is the person who operates a mill or milling machine.

I think you might get frustrated with a round column mill after using one with a knee. If the Fritz Werner mill you had was one of the big ones, a Centec or Tom Senior might very well be a suitable smaller replacement.

I would think that available working height is a prime consideration before deciding on any particular make/model.

Apart from the Centec, I quite like the Raglan mill, but it is a little constrained in working height available.

I'v got a round column Rexon mill, if I could I'd swap it now or sooner for a mill with a decent square column. When I bought it 25 years ago I didn't know any better. After saying that, it aint broke so it will just have to stay.

Ian S C

Like Ian I too have a round column mill - mine was from Warco. It does require a bit of thought when setting up ( always a good idea anyway!) as the amount of vertical movement whilst retaining alignment is limited to the extent of the quill travel. Depending on the type of work you intend to do this may not be too much of a problem - in my case my interest is in the small end of things so, usually, it's OK.

An added advantage of the Mill/Drill is that it is a very good, robust, drilling machine when needed!

Norman

You should be aware that Emco and Rishton Round Column Mills have precision alignment ways and adjustable gib strips on the column, there is no loss of alignment with vertical adjustment/movement of the head on the column!

The Ixion is a nice looking mill drill, supposedly without the alignment issues.

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The dodgy 'three bolts almost in a straight line' arrangement of the X2 tilting column was superseded by the much more rigid fixed arrangement for the Super X2 a few years ago and the X1 and X3 have no rigidity issues, so i don't think this is a fair criticism any more.

Neil

The Downham (AKA Elliott or Gate) Jig Borer Miller is a brilliant workshop milling machine with a tiny footprint. I think it's often disregarded as a serious milling machine just because of it's jig boring capability. But it was designed to be capable of milling and indeed it mills beautifully, being capable of ploughing some deep furrows in steel if needs be. And the handwheels on the Mark 3 are a joy to use.
Quillstar have a couple for sale here Quillstar

A consideration for me is shifting it into my workshop. It would need to take apart and be able to be lifted by two people. That was a main reason I sold the Fritz Werner. I couldn't move it! It had a cast iron base that was seriously heavy.

For what its worth, my Centec 2B was dismantled as far as practical (vertical head and table removed, and column removed from base) and was manhandled, piece by piece, into my cellar workshop by 2 strong guys. It wasn't easy, but it was done. YMMV