Lets start with the fact that I don't actually KNOW anything about machining. I just find it interesting and my only knowledge comes from watching YouTube videos.
A guy near me has a shop closing down and getting rid of equipment. One of the pieces is...I think...a Nichols Miller horizontal mill with a DUFF head mounted to the top of it. No power feeds or anything. It had been a work horse refurbishing oil field drill bits. I am thinking about getting it if I can talk him down to a couple hundred bucks just to have something to ruin perfectly good pieces of metal with while I try to learn something. That being said the limited run of DUFF as a company means I likely will never find a spare part. I also don't know if it used standard type tooling or if it is hard to find oddball crap. There is actually a second Nichols Miller in the back that looks like they removed the table and turned in to some kind of grinder setup so I may be able to get another bottom half as parts as I doubt anybody would buy it as a single unit. Is this one of those things that is just more trouble and money that is worth or a jump on it as a workable learning project that won't drive one to madness and bankruptcy?
A guy near me has a shop closing down and getting rid of equipment. One of the pieces is...I think...a Nichols Miller horizontal mill with a DUFF head mounted to the top of it. No power feeds or anything. It had been a work horse refurbishing oil field drill bits. I am thinking about getting it if I can talk him down to a couple hundred bucks just to have something to ruin perfectly good pieces of metal with while I try to learn something. That being said the limited run of DUFF as a company means I likely will never find a spare part. I also don't know if it used standard type tooling or if it is hard to find oddball crap. There is actually a second Nichols Miller in the back that looks like they removed the table and turned in to some kind of grinder setup so I may be able to get another bottom half as parts as I doubt anybody would buy it as a single unit. Is this one of those things that is just more trouble and money that is worth or a jump on it as a workable learning project that won't drive one to madness and bankruptcy?