Rockwell Horizontail/Vertical Mill

Hmm, if its a good price, you waited too long and you should have bought it. The Rockwell mills are nice, they came in 3 flavors, Vertical, Horizontal, and the combo. They are SOUGHT after because they ARE the perfect size for a home shop. They have R8 taper in the vertical spindle...yes R8 (read cheap to tool) and standard 30 taper in the horizontal spindle. If it has its horizontal overarm and a 1" arbor, sweet. If it has the 7/8" arbor, bonus. No parts can be had from Delta, long gone, most can be machined, bearings are standard. Price ranges from $500 way up to $3K depending on condition, age and tooling. They are sweet machines. Nicer and more rigid than th Clausing 8520 in my opinion. Powermatic/Burke Millrights are right up there. I guess if there was one thing I really didn't like much is only 2.5" of quill travel, though not too much of a handicap.

So, are you going to tell us how much the guy wants for it? Tell us how it goes.....

Marty

[posted and mailed]

snipped-for-privacy@w-sherwood.ih.lucent.com (Charles A. Sherwood) wrote in news:c8vvfm $ snipped-for-privacy@netnews.proxy.lucent.com:

I have an enco bench top knee mill which has the same size table as the rockwell. (6x26) I find this table size limiting. Too small for a 6 inch Kurt vise, too small for an 8 inch rotary table, etc. I find I use my mill drill more because projects will fit on its 9x32 table. I particulary like using the 6 inch kurt vise. It has an amazing capacity.

I am concerned that if I buy this machine, I will still want a vertical mill with a larger table. It does not come with a power feed either. I will have spent a lot of money on a combo unit that might only be used as a horizontial.

chuck

snipped-for-privacy@w-sherwood.ih.lucent.com (Charles A. Sherwood) wrote in news:c92798$ snipped-for-privacy@netnews.proxy.lucent.com:

Well, if you have the money and the space, a Bridgeport or a clone would be your next step. How much is the combo Rockwell? Unless you are paying too much, its an investment, in my honest opinion.

Marty

I have a very low hours Rockwell horizontal w/ a B'port M-head adapted to the ram. The unit is complete with collets, 30 taper arbor and powerfeed on the table. Price is $2350. and the machine is in Costa Mesa, CA. Leigh@MarMachine

My rockwell horizontial with rockwell vertical head is being delivered tomorrow. I paid a bit more for the machine but I will spend a lot less for delivery. I didn't get a power feed though so I will have to adapt a servo or something to fit it.

This will be a general improvment over my mill/drill but I will miss the big table and the kurt 6 inch vise on the mill drill.

I would love a bridgeport, but there is no way to get one down my basement stairs.

chuck

Then don't bring it down the stairs. A friend of mine solved the problem of getting his machines into his basement by digging down beside the basement outside wall, knocking out the wall, putting the machines in place, then rebuilding the wall and backfilling the hole. The whole procedure was relatively quick, and not all that expensive either.

I don't like the idea of machines in a basement. I prefer a shop at grade level for a number of reasons. So I built a grade level shop. But if you really want your machines down in a dark dank hole, you can do it. All it takes is a backhoe, a crane, and a mason.

Gary

Actually, all it takes are some wrenches, ingenuity, and a friend or two for the really big parts. You'll learn a lot about the machine in the process. Might find some worn parts that need replacing. And, if you're planning on repainting, it's a hell of a lot easier to do it in pieces.

John Martin

Doesn't sound that simple to me. They is no way I would cut my basement walls. This basement does not leak, has never leaked and I am not got to provoke it!!!

I have moved numerous machines in and out of my basment. It only takes a few hours to disassemble, move and reassemble. I have moved clausing

12x36 lathe, rockwell 11x25 lathe, mill/drills and various other machines this way. The only cost is several hours labor for each machine.

BTW, my rockwell combo mill was delivered today. Very nice machine.

Actually I do. Its very convient. Warm in the winter, cool in the summer. No additional heating or cooling bills. And besides, it the ONLY option I got!

chuck

And with a dry basement and its very constant temperature, NO rust. None. Very nice.

However, when I retire, I suspect we'll end up back on the Texas coast with all the salt, humidity, and no basements. (The wife badly misses salt water fishing.) Then I'll emulate Gary and build an above ground shop. It'll have a/c and heat for sure.

Pete Keillor

Not so easy when you live in a townhome - the association isn't too cooperative when it comes to heavy equipment on community property. If I'd known a shop was in the future, it would have been a good idea to have them extend the basement under the garage and put a pit in.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who's thought of that! The first time I saw a house with a basement that went under the garage, that was the first thing that popped into my head: Big hole with a removable cover and a heavy-duty crane attached to an I-beam in the ceiling supported by an I-beam at each end. Get a machine of just about any desired size down there.

Back in the days we were still looking at houses, I mentioned this to a few builders and they looked at me like I had an arm growing from my forehead. It didn't seem so strange to me.

Basement is indeed a very nice place for a shop for reasons stated above. I moved a 2000 lb lathe into my basement by breaking down and rebuilding. I am in the looking process of looking for a full sized vertical mill. After the lathe move, getting a mill down there will not be much of an issue. BTW, all machines came through my front door, and down the stairs. Just because you can't physically carry it, doesn't mean you can't move it. I really would prefer a walk out basement though.

You can check out pictures of the move and rebuild process at the link below.

My metal shop too is in the basement, under an addition I had put on my home. The shop used to be in the garage. It was cold in winter, hot in summer, and machine rusting was always a problem. The basement is a HUGE improvement.

I had a large Bilco outside basement door fitted, that makes access MUCH easier than using the regular basement stairs. Its wider (42" plus), and has three less steps since it doesn't have to pass over the house sill. I also had the stairway inside the door hatch set at a lesser angle than the usual stair, with wider treads, making it easier to transverse with a hand truck or when carrying heavy items. Its also a 'straight shot' into the shop, with no sharp corners to traverse. There's an insulated security door at the bottom of the covered stairwell, and a floor drain outside the door in the stairwell to catch any seepage around the door-hatch. Works great!

The stair treads are removeable, leaving an open 'well' outside the basement. This was to allow any really heavy items to be lowered into the basement. So far I haven't needed that feature, all the existing machines were brought down the stairs (some disassembeled) with no problems. These include a 10" Logan lathe, an import A1S veritical floor mill, a Benchmaster horizontal bench mill, an 8" Logan shaper, a surface grinder, power hacksaw, vertical band saw, and several lesser machines.

There are two open passageways from the new shop into the regular basement, so access is good from both inside and outside the house. It's not a 'walk-in' basement, but a BIG improvement!

Dan Mitchell ==========

gradstdnt wrote: