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Craftex vs King Canada

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Intensemonerider

Member
I am on the fence between the made in china Craftex and made in Taiwan King Canada vertical mills. Specific models are King MODEL: KC-20VS-2 and the Craftex r8 cx600. I want simple and reliable. Please help me by giving me your opinions and personal experiences. I want to buy one really soon.
 
I'm not sure the King machine is made in Taiwan. What's your source for that manufacturing location?
Oh and welcome :)
 
Often the model makes a difference where it was made, Craftex has both Taiwanese made and Chinese made. Personally I dont think there is as much of a difference as there use to be.
 
Both are made in the same location as far as I know. I have both King and BB machines. The latest purchase was a 7x12 bandsaw and it was King (cheaper), I looked at both and personally felt that BB had a better build for a $150.00 more, money is money so King it was.

As to these little Mills, I believe all have plastic gear system, be it King, BB or other manufacturers. There are steel retrofits that a lot of users do when the break (YouTube it).

IMHO they are the same base machines. Do you have a chance to get hands on on both machines (do it) one can feel better than the other. Is one cheaper? Finally which retailer gives you the best feel and service.

Remember these are light machines, do not expect to remove lots of material in one pass.
 
I worked on a full size #602 knee mill when I was at Ex-Cell-O in the 1980s.

Not wanting hoist that large of a mill into my current basement shop . . .
I bought a KING KC-15VS in 2021.
It is a 3/4hp manual mill that I have used on mild steel and aluminum bar.
Maybe I use it beyond its limits, but I worked as a Tooling Machinist for a few years after which I returned to college and studied mechanical design and spent the last 30 years managing capital projects for a number of companies.
I also have a 1/2 hp KING drill press that is well built.
I do not know about Craftex, but KING parts are readily available through their Montreal warehouse.
 
Welcome to the forum, super bunch with loads of machining insight for all levels. Enjoy!
 
The king machine looks to me to have ~7" more longitudinal travel (11" vs 18 7/8"). That's pretty substantial. (20” x 7” table working area on the craftex vs 7-1/16” x 27-1/2” on the king).

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I have been planning on the CX600. They are both basicly the same price right now.
A couple of differences that pop out:
Craftex comes with a stand (for now)
King has 1HP motor vs 3/4hp
king has 7“ more longitudinal travel.

My only hesitation is support. I have heard King is very poor support (I have never dealt with them personally). Craftex is not perfect, but I have a couple of they’re machines and have always received good support.

If i had all my pennies saved up right now, I would lean toward the King.
 
I have a King 9x42 knee mill bought new about 7 years ago. it's been working great no issues at all. Shortly after receiving it I called King in Montreal to clarify an operating issue, they were very helpful in solving my concern. The operating manual could be improved along with their parts diagrams, I downloaded the manual from Grizzly of their near identical machine much better done.
 
So are they both plastic gears? I want to play machinist not play tool repair mechanic on a brand new machine. I guess this is why the brushless models that are belt driven are so expensive…
 
My King KC-20VS-2 definitely has plastic gears, can't speak for the Craftex CX600. Due to inadequate workpiece holding (operator inexperience!) the workpiece shifted during a heavy cut and stalled the motor. The photo shows the damage to one of the plastic gears. The local dealer supplied a new gear under warranty, and it wasn't that hard to replace. But the mill still has a noisy low range, so another plastic gear, deeper inside and harder to change, was also damaged and is on order. Weiss, who seems to be the Chinese maker, admits these plastic gears are breakage prone in their promotion of their newer, DC motor belt drive mills. The Grizzly G0704 looks to be the same mill, so they have the gears available if King doesn't. But I would have gone with a different mill if I'd known about the plastic gear issue.

HPIM0953a.JPG
 
Whattever you buy, buy it sooner than later...those 7x12 saws are 1000$ more than they were a year ago, stands to reason that all of the other equiptment might have the big price hikes in the next year as the cost of shipping hits them
 
Does anyone know where I could buy a decent used mini mill or small mill? Max weight 250lb complete or 500lb that can be disassembled to put in my basement. I can’t really find anything on Kijiji…‍♂️
 
phaxtris said:
Whattever you buy, buy it sooner than later...those 7x12 saws are 1000$ more than they were a year ago, stands to reason that all of the other equiptment might have the big price hikes in the next year as the cost of shipping hits them
Click to expand...
Any recommendations for used or new mills. I am in the gta.
 
torx10 said:
My King KC-20VS-2 definitely has plastic gears, can't speak for the Craftex CX600. Due to inadequate workpiece holding (operator inexperience!) the workpiece shifted during a heavy cut and stalled the motor. The photo shows the damage to one of the plastic gears. The local dealer supplied a new gear under warranty, and it wasn't that hard to replace. But the mill still has a noisy low range, so another plastic gear, deeper inside and harder to change, was also damaged and is on order. Weiss, who seems to be the Chinese maker, admits these plastic gears are breakage prone in their promotion of their newer, DC motor belt drive mills. The Grizzly G0704 looks to be the same mill, so they have the gears available if King doesn't. But I would have gone with a different mill if I'd known about the plastic gear issue.

View attachment 30469
Click to expand...
A few years ago, I was in line to buy a Craftex. The salesman talked me out of it because of the plastic gear.

But I understand metal replacements are available today.

Even if not, use your mill with plastic gears to make a steel one!
 
Intensemonerider said:
Any recommendations for used or new mills. I am in the gta.
Click to expand...

i dont think the price hikes are going to hit the used stuff as hard, but if your thinking new just keep in mind that those hikes are most likely comming

the king sounds like the better machine for the money, i havent had to deal with thier customer service so i cant speak to that, but that is probably the one i would go with of the two, if looking new

if your looking at that size range of mill your probably going to have to live with plastic gears until you buy metal ones, or like @Susquatch said, make your own ;) thats a good mill project
 
phaxtris said:
if your looking at that size range of mill your probably going to have to live with plastic gears until you buy metal ones, or like @Susquatch said, make your own ;) thats a good mill project
Click to expand...
I agree with all of the above..... With the slight exception of one word.... It would make a GREAT mill project...... Not nearly as difficult as one would think, and a great confidence builder when you are done.
 
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