RF-45 Mill/Drill Done

[Downwindtracker2]

I bought a couple of project machines off a cabinetmaker , a RongFu RF-45 mill drill and a DF1224g lathe. They were for some design he was going to build. He said the RF-45 had been used as a CNC. At work they had bought a new RF-45 for the maintenance shop, so knew the model. They are a nice size for a garage work shop. My gunsmith friend has one and does great work on his. Good machines. Mine needed a handle just to stop the feed screw from screwing out. Once Grizzly parts were on it, it worked . If I was light about the cuts. But even so, it paid for itself in home projects I wouldn't have been able to do without it. I find mills handier than lathes.

But It needed mechanical and electrical repairs. For me,mechanical was easy , I replaced the feed screws and nuts. Thomas Skinner imported it and was still able to get parts.I doubt it now. There was no adjustment left in the nuts. I made a stop for travel and a center T. And a pointer for the quill depth. My red paint stick pen is really a dark pink ! looks good against the grey face. Electrical was a different story, the light switch didn't inspire confidence nor give reverse. I couldn't sort out the motor wiring for a drum switch , so I took it to a motor shop. It gave him fits too, but he got it. The motor got a check over as well. I added a mag starter ahead of the drum switch.

Now I have a fully fuctional RF-45. It's not pretty, but it's tight and smooth. I'm so pleased, I just had to post.

 

[jcdammeyer]

You know of course without pictures it never really happened.

 

[Downwindtracker2]

Of course, we all love looking at machines, but a RF-45 are pretty common. Precision Matthew imports really pretty ones. My SOW heavy rubber cables that I used for the new controls are a bit inelegant . I do like the drum switch over the push buttons of the originals.

This one is an original made in Taiwan RongFu from 2001. These square column mill/drills were a RongFu first, I think. With their 2hp 11amp motors they are more powerful than the old Bridgeports. They are also gearheads. Mine lacks a power down feed so boring will take a drill adapter on the handle. The head raising is a rack so it can't be modified for boring.

I was so happy to complete another major project that I took the wife out for dinner. (fish and chips)

 

[jcdammeyer]

Ah. One of these.

 

[Downwindtracker2]

Yeah, only on mine the creme paint is stained from the way oil.

For others going down this road, a caution . The motor is flange mount into a gearbox, very common in industry. Motor flanges are standardized, but the flange on this gearbox is for a 1hp motor, max. So motor replacement isn't off the shelf. The good news is "These black Taiwanese motors are pretty good." At least that is what the motor electrician said .

 

[PeterT]

I had a '98/'99 RF-45 made in Taiwan under the King sticker, but distributed through Modern Tool at the time. I agree with most of the comments except maybe the HP compared to older Bridgeport might be a bit misleading because the gear box doesn't offer quite the same ratios, therefore RPM range. So you might not get quite the same torque. The other issue is offshore vendors can have some dubious standards when it comes to motor ratings. Some will reference 'full load amps or max startup/wiring amps' but maybe skip mention of that little corresponding detail. So you multiply amps that by 220V, get power and... well its not really running conditions. Details, details.

I have seen some semi-conversions where people put a slow speed stepper/geared motor on the 'drill press handle' drive to get a non-mechanical powerfeed equivalent of a Bridgeport. The details of how they adjusted trip settings & disengage etc. I cant recall.

Lastly, I saw a Chinese RF-45 a few years back at a demo (Modern Tool). It was noticeably quieter than my grumbler & was not complaining on some heavy cuts. So maybe the newer Chinese ones are better than my vintage Taiwan. But now have the newer Taiwan models like PM offers also improved I can't say. These models offer a lot of table to quill headroom, about as much as a small Bridgeport clone, so very capable machines for their size/weight/price class IMO.

 

[Downwindtracker2]

After using this mill with badly worn out feed screws, I openly question the guys who say buy an old Bridgeport over a new import.

 

[Susquatch]

After using this mill with badly worn out feed screws, I openly question the guys who say buy an old Bridgeport over a new import.

I openly question anybody who recommends anything over anything else! LOL!

But regardless of what is better, which depends on lots of things, it isn't hard to put new lead screws into an old BP. The end result is a pretty nice machine.

 

[Downwindtracker2]

If it's only lead screws., but if it's ways that is a different story. Though ,that too, can be repaired. I was afraid that is what I would have found. You likely heard that gust , it wasn't wind , it was my sigh of relief when the three numbers were the same. I didn't dare double check. chuckle

Years back on Craig's List a guy had listed two project milling machines sold as pair, a First and an Excello. $5,000 That was a temptation. they were listed for awhile, so I'm sure I could have gotten him down. My son questioned me on why I hadn't picked them up. My son is also a millwright.

I'm still smiling today. I got a "New" machine.

 

[Former Member]

Since I've had my machine from new and have used it extensively over, I am surprised by how little wear it shows on the key components. The feed screws will be replaced with ball screws more to allow faster rapids in CNC while tightening up tolerances. The play in the system is typical for this style of equipment so I will build to counteract this.

 

[CWret]

I recently got a MD45 from Modern Tool. It’s a RF-45 clone (from China of course). I'm very happy with it. It is by far the best mill I have ever owned or operated.
By coincidence, it is also the only mill I have ever owned or operated.
Judging from my limited experience: I’m quite happy with it; I would recommend Modern Tool; I made a good choice; can’t imagine being without a DRO; and I’m sure it will suit my needs for a long time.
My only complaint (build quality) is that I had to shim the head to get it to tram properly. The column was perfectly square to the table but it required 0.008” of shims to get the nod out of the head. My Mitutoyo now shows that the head is trammed to within 0.001 over an 9” diameter anywhere on the table.
FYI: at the center the shims are 0.004 and 0.005” above and below the bolts respectively; and at the bottom the shim is 0.007 and 0.008” above and below the bolt respectively.

 

[Marknb]

Do you mind giving a ball park price on the md45?

 

[CWret]

NP: $4950 + tax.

Now the long winded answer:
It came with a nice stand (which i have for sale in the CHMW classifieds).
They loaded it on my trailer in Newmarket.
I added a DRO and power X feed which Modern had as options. I got the X feed from Modern ($550) which was super simple to install. I sourced the DRO myself (which was a good decision).
I’m very satisfied with my Modern Tool experience.
I told Modern (Brad in Calgary) I was interested in early August. When they received the next shipment (from China) they shipped one to Newmarket so i could have first hand look and decide- no commitment required. Nice!
I purchased it in September (25% deposit, balance when picked up) - it took 6 weeks to get the CSA sticker (it followed me home mid October).
Caution - they hinted that the next shipment would have a price increase - so not sure about today’s price.

Bottom line: In Ontario at BB or KBC there are several very good machine choices but IMO the more expensive (& bigger) MD45 is worth every nickel (we don’t have pennies anymore).
Hopefully my comments here don’t violate any CHMW rules.
Also - I have been and continue to be a regular shopper at BB, KBC, and KMS. Now Modern is a added to the list.

CW

 

[DPittman]

Hopefully my comments here don’t violate any CHMW rules.

If they do we need to ammend our rules.
Thanks for your comments I think they would be helpful to others that might be making purchasing decisions also.

 

[Proxule]

Thanks for the update and information,
For whom ever is curious, PMs equivalent is this https://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-932m/

 

[CWret]

PM was a strong contender when doing my search. I even talked to them. Just the border got in the way when considering after purchase service - if they were represented in Canada or i lived in the States id have a PM absolutely.
I know others (forum members) have bought PM and are very happy with their decision-
If not for Modern Tool i would have a PM mill now.
I considered driving down to pick it up. Taxes and customs made that a poor decision.

 

[CWret]

Mistakes can be costly and sometimes painful - so it’s nice to learn from someone else’s ooops.
I mentioned above (post11) about a quality issue. Here’s another which is either the mill, the attachment, or maybe my inexperience.
The first time i attached my new boring head i tightened the draw bar but didn’t notice that the tool was not tight even though the draw bar was tight. Either the draw bar is too long or the tool’s female threads are too short. When i started to cut there was a very loud bang. The tool took a big bit, jammed and bent. It didn’t stop the motor. The vise was knocked out of tram. It was quite a jolt.
Good news is - no damage to operator or machine. Also this incident indicated that my MD45 is a solid machine (no plastic gears).
Instead of shortening the draw bar i added a spacer (see pic).
The lesson here is - whenever i install a new R8 tool i now make sure that it is tight and that the draw bar did not bottom out. I plan to live with the spacer for awhile and if all seems good (and i gain experience) - then I’ll shorten the draw bar (and get rid of the spacer).

 

[Downwindtracker2]

I live near Vancouver, so these prices would have been Craig's List Vancouver. I bought my well used RF-45 in 2014 .My jump on it quick price point was $1500. Our 20 year abused RF-45 with no accessories went well above that at our mill closing auction. I didn't bid on that one. I got mine for $1750 , that's the mill/drill and lathe both.

 

[PeterT]

The first time i attached my new boring head i tightened the draw bar but didn’t notice that the tool was not tight even though the draw bar was tight.

Been there done that. I make it a point to check every new tool because I just don't trust them to thread the shank deep enough. There probably is a documented standard but it doesn't mean they follow it unfortunately. The other thing to check is depth & width of R8 dog screw slot in R8 shank. Same deal, if its just the perfect wrong fit, it will slide into the quill enough so that when you tighten the drawbar it gets jammed up in there, which can be a real cluster in worst case scenario.

 

[WilliamR]

I live near Vancouver. Our 20 year abused RF-45 with no accessories went well above that at our mill closing auction.

Hmm Abel auction Langley? I think that's where mine came from...