mill to buy??

[laddy]

Hey,
A neighbor wants to sell me a Victor verticle mill 220 volt single phase, 1HP . I went over for a quick glimpse at it. I am not well versed in these things. It stands about 5 feet tall, not a bog bed aboutfoot and a half to two feet, forward and reverse, on the side it says Delto but on the base it has the plate which was dirty and in the dim light looked like Victor. Complete set of Sharpe and Brown collets, collet changing wrench, 360 degree rotating vise. Does anyone know what I am talking about?? Is this a go deal fo $800?????
Mill is old not any new thing,probably 1950's I would guess. No time to take a photo or get more info today he was on his way out. Thanks for any and all advise. Fred

[JCHannum]

Maybe it is a Delta? Or Rockewll Delta like this: http://www.lathes.co.uk/rockwellmillers/

Victor does not ring a bell, thy may have been the dealer. The delta/Rockwell is a good machine, and if in decent condition, $800.00 is a very good price. They did use R-8 collets though, not B&S. A picture would help.

A smaller mill in good condition is usually a good buy at $800.00 regardless of make.

[Ries]

Most machines that say Victor are made in Taiwan,and are late 70's at the oldest. They are actually pretty decent for Taiwan machines, I have a friend who has been running a Victor lathe for over 20 years and still does production work on it regularly.
If it is a Taiwan Victor, it will take R8 collets as mentioned.
And it will probably look a lot like a bridgeport.

Quote from website-
"
Victor Taichung Machinery uses the "Victor" brand name throughout the world except North America where the "Fortune" brand name has been used since 1989.

Again, we are pleased to announce that Commonwealth Magazine (May, 2003) reported Victor Taichung is still the #1 Machine Tool builder in Taiwan. This ranking is for total sales volume, capital and number of employees. "

If it is a 50's machine, it could be a Victoria- an english brand from the 50's.
They look like this-
http://www.lathes.co.uk/victoria/page2.html

[sauer38h]

Hmmm. The manual Victor mills (ie, not the maching centers) aren't pictured on the Victor Taichung site, but the ones I remember seeing are basic B'port J and 2J knockoffs - notably taller than 5 feet.

The B&S collets are a mystery.

For comparison, $800 is solidly in B'port round ram/M head territory.

[laddy]

Thanks to all. I hope to get a picture today.