Is a cheap mill better than no mill at all?

J

jkf96a

Well-Known Member
I have been looking for a medium sized milling machine. A harbor freight version of the Rong Fu 29 has turned up in my area. This is the same mill as the jet 18, and is one of the most common midsize mill designs. I hesitate because it's made by HF. The price is reasonable, fair but not wonderful.

So the question, is a harbor freight mill better than no mill at all? I know in the boat world, you can have a lot of fun with a cheap boat, yes the big ones are better, but it's better than fishing from the bank. Don't know if that analogy holds in the milling world or not.

Just looking to slot guards and relieve slip joint liners, nothing too complex or precise.
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I owned/used one similar to that for a lot of years. Mine wasn't the best for accuracy, but it slotted guards and other similar tasks well. Because there was some "slop" in the ways, I would always slot guards one end mill size smaller then what I wanted to (because of the slop the cut would "wonder" a bit).

I repaired the ways several times over the course of years, trying to "tighten" it up, but it finally got to the point where there simply wasn't any fixing it. That's when I sold it off and purchased a Grizzly G0704. I've found that a square column mill is much nicer to use, and much easier to keep "true" then any round column mill.
 
I also support the G0704 as the way to go. It's a BF20 clone that is easy to use and far more accurate due to the square column. It's not that expensive new either. The problem I've had is Grizzly having it in stock when I wanted to order one.
 
I've bought some harbor freight stuff, I've cussed at some of it and love some of it. To me, the metal parts, castings, etc. are usually ok, but is its the plastic, rubber, or electrical parts that stink. I'm converting one of the HF mini-mills to cnc right now and I've got an old larger JET knee mill. I've taken both of them apart, down to the last screw and they are very similar in construction. I think it would be fine if you are willing to take it apart it, clean it, lube it properly, and adjust the gibs. But, if it were me, I'd be pushing for the "wonderful" price, not the reasonable. You can get pretty close to "reasonable" by catching it on sale and using a 20% coupon.
 
He is asking 700. Have not seen it, nor asked if he likes knives yet.


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For basic tasks, you should certainly be able make do with that HF round column. I also wouldn't give much thought to the Harbor Freight tag, as it's probably no better or worse then any other round column of that size or model.

Now, round columns do have their quirks, and square columns are much more user friendly, generally speaking, but they're probably not as common on the secondary market and you'll likely have a hard time finding one for $600 to $700 in that size. Is it better than nothing at all? I'd say probably so. That said, personally, when I bought my mill, I started out in about that price range, looking at mini-mills, bench/table top mills, round columns, square columns, etc...

Before it was all said and done, I ultimately decided that I would very quickly outgrow anything less than a full size knee mill. Granted, it ended up being more than twice the size and twice the price (used) but I haven't regretted the decision one bit. There are actually times when I wish it had just a little more power and weight behind the one I do have. Also, I've probably spent WELL over what the mill cost in tooling and accessories, with no real end in site.

Your needs and preferences may be different though, and if you don't see yourself doing much more than guards and liners, then I say go for it.
 
jkf96a said:
I have been looking for a medium sized milling machine. A harbor freight version of the Rong Fu 29 has turned up in my area. This is the same mill as the jet 18, and is one of the most common midsize mill designs. I hesitate because it's made by HF. The price is reasonable, fair but not wonderful.

So the question, is a harbor freight mill better than no mill at all? I know in the boat world, you can have a lot of fun with a cheap boat, yes the big ones are better, but it's better than fishing from the bank. Don't know if that analogy holds in the milling world or not.

Just looking to slot guards and relieve slip joint liners, nothing too complex or precise.
b7efefcccc20bd5cc5cb46958d4b61e2.jpg



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Click to expand...


I bought mine from ENCO about 23 years ago, and it looks almost identical to your picture, down to the color and the stand, and it works fine, though you have to continually tram it up. But for $700 I'd much rather buy Grizzly's G0758. It has variable speed and a DRO, what's not to like for $155 more?
 
I hold the option to wrong here gents:shush: The stuff from Grizzly is from Taiwan and the stuff from Harbor Fright, Not a typo, its is from the mainland.

They start with the same castings for the most part and then the quality can go north or south from there.

I own some of both! If I want tighter tolences, I buy the Griz or better. If it doesn't really make a diff! I can buy the HF.

I do not own a mill.
So please take this all for what its worth!;)
 
I think some of Grizzly's tools are made in China as well as Taiwan - depending on which tool it is. I do think Grizzly tools tend to be a notch above HF tools. The story is Grizzly has a bit tighter inspection than HF.

Ken H>
 
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