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As much as people get on these RF-30 clones, I liked mine and did lots with it. Never did the column kit like you did here, but they really should have come from the factory with that as an option. Nicely done!
It's a inherent rigidity problem with round column drill press when used for milling purpose. Never expect small machine to do a big cutting job. Slight cutting only for this machine.
The overall modification is not to make it more or less Rigid. It is for stabilisation in the fact that when the column goes up & down on the " Z " Axis it is to stop left to right column movement, or Right to Left.
Hi Ed ...Apologies for not answering earlier, been very busy, and just noticed you sitting there. Thanks for joining. I hope you get lots out of these projects
G'day Bob Thanks for your comments. There's lots on my channel to get your mill back to specifications. The actual alloy bar is 600mm long: 50mm wide & 25mm thick The alloy plate is a right angle 180 to 200mm long x 80mm x 80mm, with 10mm thickness. You can make the plate 100mm x 100mm if you like. In the end depends on what is available. I went with alloy, because its lighter & easier to work with, but also looks better
Thanks Ted for your help after a 600 mile round trip the mile is home going to start cleaning it up and reassembling it today it is work in progress. Thanks again Ted!
Ted, I plan on doing a similar thing to my machine which is practically the same as yours except it was sold by Harbor Freight. It is so frustrating that the manufacturers never designed in a feature that prevents the head from pivoting while raising or lowering it. I working on Bridgeports and having a knee is great but I could never justify buying a bridgeport.
G'day.. I hear you, this is the best way I found, & if there is excessive virtical wear, just a matter of tightening one bolt. I hope yours works out well.
I have just purchased a new to me RF20. The previous owner had a laser gun sight mounted under the pulley case for lining the head up. This would be fired at a wall, you could then align the head. I did wonder why it would actually be needed, but this video has explained why, thanks. BTW what city are you in.
Thanks for your comments I would suggest you watch Rong Fu Rf30 Tare Down + Tramming , which shows the tramming on a Round Column mill. The main purpose of tramming the head to the table whether in mm or .001" Imperial is so that when you fly cut or drill a hole or use an end mill is to have your work as close to perpendicular or close as possible to Horizontal or squareness to you quil as possible. A laser line on a wall to your settings can be a few thousands of an inch out of level or squareness if you are wanting precision. I hope this helps. If you have any other questions feel free to ask . I am situated in Perth, Australia
@@TedRoza Traming is the next thing on the agenda as it is rather bad at the moment, but overall the RF is a vast improvement on the little H&F mill I had. I am also going to put a large brushless DC motor on it to give me better speed control as I don't like changing the belts
When you modify to the DC motor, besides variable speed, make sure it's got a reverse motor switch as well. Where are you situated. I would suggest you go through the various videos in my channels, with Gib & backlash adjustments, & you will end up with a real sturdy mill
i dont have a problem whit this at all on my rf-31..i know many had made similar mods,but i rarley move the head itself,and when i do it's pretty easy to get it straight, i have however planned to sandfill the column to add extra weight and get less vibrations - i tought first to att concrete,but i think sand is better
Thanks for your comments, I don't think the issue is the heaviness of the column interior, when round column head assemblies are wound upwards, the hand tension on the crank handle has a tendency to move the head sides way left to right, then you have to try to re- align the spindle centre to the job your working on, whether you are drilling or Boring a hole, or milling a specific section, then this modification eliminates the movement
Hello Ted, nice job, a lot of work, considering doing it too. Just thinking, what if I bought 2 laser sights, about $30, mounted a string on a plumbob down the wall shine the base and the head lasers at the string, how accurate would it be? Or just shine the head laser at a mark on the base? My other idea, make the rack fit the head accurately with a gib and secure the rack to the colunm, why did the factory not do that? Why does the head rotate anyway? maybe cheaper?
G'day Robert. Thanks for your comments, they are greatly Appreciated The reason for that particular Round Column was because table lenth, I don't think the travel on the "Z" is long enough in some circumstances. For a longer or fuller travel, you can move the head to Left, & move the table full Right to give you a longer travel. I have faced a small 4 cylinder head that way. I personally don't like tramming with a laser point on the wall, because if it isn't exactly virtical with the spindle, then you are out of tram.
All tramming has to be according to the Spindle, whether virtical or horizontal It is preferable for the base to be Horizontal to the shop floor, but that is not tramming the Spindle
Looking good Ted. Can I ask please what brand & model milling vice you are using? Also if you’ll be around this coming week for me to poke my head in for a look at your lathe please?
I am absolutely clueless when it comes to these machines, since I am mostly a woodworker. However, I recently developped an interest in metal work and I am looking to buy an RF30. What I don't really get is why such a stabilization is necessary. Could somebody please enlighten me?
The reason for stabilisation is when you are drilling a hole for example, and you need to raise the head upwards , you first need to loosen the locking nuts on column, then crank the handle up & as you do there is a very high chance the Round Column will allow the Head assembly to twist left or right, which means your job is not lined up anymore . Therefore some type of column stabilisation is prefered to stop as much side movement as possible. Hope this helps
Hey Ted, masterful mate. Could you find a way to show the performance over its range? Locate a hole then move down, show that the hole is still on centre within 100th millimetre?
