Sold October 2023 Back to Archive

A bench-mounted vertical milling machine, complete with 3-axis DRO - to say this one's in "barn find" condition would be to give barns a bad name...

Actually, underneath the grim exterior lies a machine that doesn't appear to have been abused, simply stored in less than ideal conditions for quite some time. The table and head move smoothly on their respective slides, the table itself appears free of the usual selection of slots and holes that milling machines often pick up over the years.

The design itself has been offered by several companies over the years and remains in production. We're actually quite impressed with it - the column unclamps at the back allowing the head to swing either side, making for great versatility; the whole machine is robustly built, with plenty of cast iron in the right places.

The rise and fall can be locked off, when unclamped there is the option of fast travel using the three-handled quill lever, or fine feed using a handwheel on the front.

The motor is variable speed, controlled by a knob on the front - the spindle has a spindle lock plunger for changing chucks.

The whole thing is covered in a copious amount of grime and rust. It will need stripping and cleaning, as well as a new flex fitting. Our in-house electrical safety man ran the machine to make sure the motor and DRO worked, then cut the plug off, given the missing insulation from the mains lead. Once rewired it will require testing by a competent authority prior to use.