I have a need for a huge (huge to me) working area milling machine for my home. I currently have a old 1966 standard Bridgeport Series 1 step pulley machine. I can get the work done on it with multiple setups and a lot of difficulty and of course all with manual machining. And with all the cantilevered weight of the material hanging off the edge of the tiny Bridgeport table coupled with an old worn out Bridgeport accuracy is severely compromised.
The part being machined is mounted on a 36 x 24" cast aluminum plate. So it appears to me the perfect machine for this would be a HASS VF3YT possibly a standard VF3 with a second setup.
So as you can see the setup I'm using leads to many inaccuracies where holding ~0.020" tolerance is a challenge but that is fine for what I'm doing here. Occasionally I see VF3's come up on Ebay for under $10K. So the first question is what can I expect for a $10K machine. Remember I'm not building turbine engine parts. And then there is the challenge getting 3 phase with 240 single phase 200 amp service available. The most practical VF3's would be the older ones with 15 HP and 15HP would be preferred.
As far as manual machines that would do the job, A MAHO MH 1000 would probably work as well, but not likely to find in the states for under $10K
Your Thoughts
The part being machined is mounted on a 36 x 24" cast aluminum plate. So it appears to me the perfect machine for this would be a HASS VF3YT possibly a standard VF3 with a second setup.
So as you can see the setup I'm using leads to many inaccuracies where holding ~0.020" tolerance is a challenge but that is fine for what I'm doing here. Occasionally I see VF3's come up on Ebay for under $10K. So the first question is what can I expect for a $10K machine. Remember I'm not building turbine engine parts. And then there is the challenge getting 3 phase with 240 single phase 200 amp service available. The most practical VF3's would be the older ones with 15 HP and 15HP would be preferred.
As far as manual machines that would do the job, A MAHO MH 1000 would probably work as well, but not likely to find in the states for under $10K
Your Thoughts