Craftex Mill

[Flash319]

I am just getting started with this machining and am looking for a mill. I have read almost all the posts in here and have narrowed it down to a RF-45 look alike called KC-45 by King Industrial or this Craftex machine. The machine is at Busybeetools.com and it is the B048.
The price of the two are very similar except the craftex in not a table top, has power feed and the table moves in the Z direction instead of the head. I am unsure of the quality as I have not seen anything that looks like it anywere.

[Paul Alciatore]

I have not seen either of them but can tell you that a knee style mill is a great advantage when tooling of different lengths needs to be used in the same setup.
Consider: a small end mill mounted in a collet may only stidck out of the quill a half inch while a large size drill in a 1/2" or larger chuck can be 3, 4, 5 inches or even more. A 5 inch quill travel sounds like a lot but it can be lost in the difference in tooling.

Mill-drills with heads that are moved up/down on round columns will instantly lose the set up when the head is moved. This can waste a lot of time. Knee mills with a dovetail design will maintain the setup when moved up/down but they generally cost more. Recently some designs with a dovetail slide for the head have appeared and may be just as good.

Of course, if money is tighter than time.....

Paul A.

[rotate]

B048 is definitely a beefier machine, and as Paul noted, having the knee style mill will allow you much more versatility and make certain operations easier. What's the price of KC-45? If the price difference isn't too far off, I'd definitely go with B048. I have studied B048 few years back, and as I recall they are made in Taiwan. They are definitely few notches above the made in China machines.

Albert

[seajays2]

Flash319
I have got a Craftex 12 inch lathe and a drill/mill. I like them and the quality is very good for the money you pay. My machinest friend checked out my lathe and was impressed with it.
John

[Flash319]

Thanks everyone for the input. The difference in price between the two is about $300 bucks. I think I am going to go with the Craftex as it has 20" spindle to table distance and comes with power feed on Y axes.

[Errol]

I've used my Craftex mill for several years now. The only beefs I have with it are that the head loosens unpredictably when using a face mill under heavy cuts. (The adjustment nuts are awkward to get at) Also, the quill downfeed leverage ratio is wrong, so if you plan on using this as a drill press, forget it, you won't get adequate downfeed pressure. [of course you can crank up the table as normal milling] Otherwise, for it does the job for what I paid for it. Oh, I still haven't gotten used to that bright green John Deere color yet either.

[doug931]

Have you looked at what The House of Tools has to offer. they have a medium priced mill, head travels on rack and pinion.angles left and right. most important, the distance from spindle to collume is 15 1/2 in. compare that to the craftex mill(7 1/2in). prices are right too,$2500-3900.00cdn. I bought their big combo mill and am very happy with the quality, power,versatility and oh yeah, the color(white) good luck, Doug

[coles-webb]

Note that the Craftex is on sale for $3599.00 Cdn (reg price $4299.00) until Saterday the 22nd of May. Thats a $700 savings wich will buy some nice tooling.

Mike

[jim davies]

I've owned a B048 for about a year. It is almost always on sale for that price. It is made in Taiwan and jet and others have similar machines in the USA. There is also a smaller version for slightly less money. This is pretty good bang for the bucks, in Canada anyway. The add-ons, such as the coolant pump are chicomm quality and look like they were added by crazed convicts on daypass in toronto, ditto for the wiring. I ripped it all out and started over. The machine itself seems quite good at the cost. The cast iron on the table seems a bit soft and that is my only complaint so far. It's accurate and quiet, spindle seems well balanced at high speed. If'n I was in the US I would have looked for a BP or similar at this price point but there is not much here to choose from.