Sorry to ask so much and give so little but I also have found a Van Norman #12 milling machine for under $400 with collets. I have found some information on the web about these machines. How are they? Does the both vertical/horizontal feature work well? Can I get goodies for it? again any help would be great.
Wayne, Assuming it is in good condition, its a good price. It takes 5V collets, which show up regulary on eBay, as do the horizontal boring bar. It can be used as a vertical or horizontal mill, and is stronger than many bridgeports. Its big drawback is it does not have a quill downfeed, you have to feed the table up to work in the Z axis.
These came from the factory with 3-phase motors, so you may have to deal with that, but they are very good machines. There is some factory support, but the prices are very high. see John Kasunich's page at
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