intro and some advice/discussion on a Linley jig bore vs ?

good day all,

I'm new here, some info about me and why I'm posting looking for better than a hobby mill

I'm a part time bladesmith
home garage setup
I prefer plug and play setup for the most part
I prefer to buy once cry once
I'll be milling 1/8" slots in brass, 416 SS, silicon bronze
other light milling
drilling holes for folding knives
some tapping capability would be nice for small holes
power - 110 would be easiest, I can get 220 1 phase in my garage but it will cost me
DRO would be nice.

I work in an aerospace CNC machine shop but am not a machinist.
But I've run toolshops and machine shops and been a cad/cam programmer.

Found a Linley jog borer MK1A in very nice condition, power feed etc, no collets, I know that will cost me but I accept that. I know this is not a milling machine but can do light milling as I need,
Question - what's the going rate for one of these machines? the one I'm looking at is a 1/2 HP single phase

I believe this is the right machine for me as a part time knife-maker, let me make my argument to you.

single phase ready ( I dont need high HP) no need for phase convertor or more power
smaller size footprint than a knee mill
suitable for light slot milling
lighter weight at 800 lbs vs a knee mill (but still not a lightweight toy)
generally less costly since they are not desirable machines for most

disadvantages - collet availability,

Other considerations would be a Precision Matthews PM-25MV or PM-727M

thanks for some guidance and your opinions
regards

I passed on a really nice one recently, came with a few collets and was in nice condition. It's a beautifully made machine but of limited use. I'm space challenged right now so everything I cram in my shop has to be worthwhile. I just couldn't figure out what I'd use it for the the Bridgeport and the drill press won't already do.

I can see a little light milling but your 1/8" slot might be the upper limit. Look really hard at finding collets first. I think the collets are now worth more than the machines.

If you can get single phase 220 then an rpc gets you 3 phase. An rpc can be put together pretty cheap. Lots of knee kills out there for not a lot of money.

Excellent machine at what it does but, as Adwcali says, milling capability is limited and collets hard to find. For milling the collets need to be in good condition and the cutter must fill the whole gripping range of the collet. If you get it take a serious look at figuring out how to get a direct mounting ER collet system on. Will loose a bit of vertical space but sidesteps the collet problem. If you do that don't forget to provide some means of holding the spindle against collet nut tightening torque. ER systems need high torque compared to most others and the machine isn't designed to accept such. Being in the UK I'd use a Clarkson type holder for screwed shank cutters rather than ER as being a bit more compact and not needing to be done up tight but screwed shank cutters aren't really a USA thing.

That said something along the lines of an Elliott 00 Omnimill http://www.lathes.co.uk/elliott-omnimil-00/ or Beaver Model A http://www.lathes.co.uk/beaver/page2.html would be of similar size yet more versatile and considerably better at milling duties. OK those are British machines and unlikely to be found on your side of the pond but surely there are native equivalents. In particular the ability to swing the head can be very useful on smaller machines when 12" to the foot scale work has to be done. Always a mistake to specify home shop machine tools too tightly around the small work that you plan to do. Once its installed "too large" jobs start queing at the door! Took me three machines before nailing that one!

Clive

Adwcali said:

I passed on a really nice one recently, came with a few collets and was in nice condition.

Click to expand...

may I ask what the asking price was?

Pretty retarded machine to get for what you want to do.

If you already know cad cam, get a god damn CNC mill. There's no reason to go manual unless you just want to play around and make some chips. Anyone even half way serious uses CNC. If you can't afford it, sell some shit or work more.

I've been looking for some time for a jig bore machine in good condition for the right price. In our area there have been a few on the market for between $1,000 and $2,000.00. Unfortunately more often than not by the time machines like this go to the secondary market they've been rode hard and put away wet. If they have the basic tooling and aren't worn out that's not a bad price. However if they don't have collets, tooling, or need repairs you could easily double or triple the price. If the machine doesn't come with tooling in most cases it's expensive, hard to come by, and you'll rarely find complete collet sets

As for boring I wouldn't want it to be the only machine in the shop for that purpose. While they may be sturdy enough to take the side load they aren't really meant for that type of work. Some that I've looked at have only .001" movement in the X and Y directions per revolution of the handle. A few others have had .005" movement per revolution. With those machines it would take a lot of turns of the handle to cut an inch long slot.

They were asking $500. It was in very nice condition.

Something like a rusnok mill would probably suit you better. I've seen a copy of one of those jig bores and they're nice but not good enough for milling. I can go to my tool supplier and find collets in stock for my rusnok. It has high enough speeds for small tools. Rigid enough for small work, head moves like a Bridgeport, one (strong) man can move it, pretty darn accurate and reliable machines. Oh and they're still open today.
I make folding knives and it covers most of my needs

I have one and used it as a mill for years until I got more space. Now it is just for drilling. I just recently re packed the bearings in the head. Mine uses the LB collets and has dovetail ways. There is a box way model and from memory, it was not as capable for milling. Thankfully I have a bunch of collets as that is the hardest part to source on this machine. There is another collet that is close but I can't remember what it was atm. X and y will split tenths if there isn't wear and the built in dial indicated holders to x and y is also handy, (poor man dro.) The days of the jig bore are passing, I paid about 500 for mine and moved it with a furniture dolly (one with locking leg)

My 3hp lathe came with a VFD that plugs into 120 outlet and makes 3 phase 220 volt output. So do not write off three phase machines.
Bill D.

so to close this out, I picked up a Burke Millrite MVN, with DC motor and variable speed control, glass scales and power feed.

thanks