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What do you think of Enco and Jet products. | ||
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| one of us |
I use a lot of ENCO tools and have been happy with them. | |||
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Jet is the same tool as from grizzly, with a higher spec OEM I believe if I was buying a new one, I would look hard at the jet jeffe opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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I have been offered a Jet lathe and an Enco Mill for $6000. The mill is older but very little used and is compareable to their current 890-9181. The jet is the BDB-1340. Lots of other stuff with the mill. a nice Kurt 6 inch vice. A hor/Vert rotary table and a HOr/Vert collet Index. The lathe comes with a complete collet set and a 3 and 4 jaw chuck. There is a complete collet set for the mill as well as some cutters, and quite a bit or boring stuff. the Mill has the power feed table and the DRO. It also has a small Sort of DRO for the Z travel or maybe its for the quill travel. The Mill needs a phase changer and a rotary one comes with it. The lathe runs on plain 220. | |||
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If the tooling is in good shape you are really only paying $4,500 for the mill and lathe. Even if you out grow those down the road you will not lose any money. PM me a fax number and I'll send a nice form and directions for evaluating a mill and lathe before buying. I was able to use it, and I don't know beans about these tools (yet  ).If these tools are from the Wisconsin side of the river, don't forget to scrape the dried cheese curds off the table/ways before evaluating runout. Bring a carbide scraper for that.  | |||
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Lawdart They are 12 miles down the road. I see in the 2004 Enco Catolog I have here that the Mill I am considering costs $5294.95. The only problem I see with the whole darn thing is that its a step pulley Mill, not a variable speed. | |||
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The JET lathe you provided the model number for is a belt drive model as well. No big deal. It doesn't take but a second to position the belt and off you go. My first lathe was a JET BD (Belt Drive) 12x36. I sold it for a 13X40 gear head JET. At times I miss the BD model. It was one tough lathe, and the belt and pully set up posed no real problem. Just between you and me, I got into a problem right off the bat turning close to the chuck before I was comfortable in the operation of that particular lathe, and in a panic, grabbed the carriage wheel instead of disengaing the drive in an effort to prevent the carriage from crashing into the chuck. The belt actually slipped and gave me just enough time to pull my head out of my ass and reach back and disengage the drive. I wouldn't have stood a chance with the gear head lathe.  | |||
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The only problem I've really had with my Enco lathe is if you need parts, you are SOL. I had a cast iron bearing retainer break and it would of been six months to get the retainer and a bearing. In the end I was able to weld the retainer together and turn out a replacement, but if it would of been something like a gear... I have heard that JET and Grizzly are far better in this regard. "There always seems to be a big market for making the clear, complex." | |||
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22 WRF, At our stage of experience (i.e. none) belts and pulleys are probably not a bad idea. For one thing we have to take a few moments to change stuff atround for different speeds. That gives us a chance to think about that which we are about to do. The Republic Lagun that I just purchased is great because it is very heavy. If I run the tool holder into the chuck there are going to be some loud noises and steel and body parts will be flying across the shop (and through the wall..). LD | |||
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I think it is high. Usually the Asian imports do not hold value very well. I use a Jet 1340 BDB, but know I could only get a fraction of what I paid if I decide to sell it. If you look around, you can find cheaper imported machinery on the used market. But if this guy is close, will deliver, or anything like that, then that should be taken into consideration. And FWIW I wish I had bought the gear head lathe and when I upgrade to a larger mill it will be a vairable speed. Swapping belts is for th ebirds. I would love to know how many hours I have spent monkeying with belts and pulleys. When you are doing that, you are not working. That means a lot of wasted time in the shop. It adds up, believe me. But if you are just tinkering and don't really care about your time, it is not such a big deal. Also, as mentioned the belts will often slip before something breaks. This can be important if you do not have much machine time. | |||
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from a home amateur base they are probably OK, but from a professional base - they are a pile of crap. if you are looking - go look for good used stuff like bridgeport, sheldon, manchester, etc. You'll get much for for your money. | |||
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I think I am going to pass on them. thanks everybody. | |||
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I have a BDB-1340 and I love it. I will outgrow it one day but it won't be for a while. It was right at $3,000.00 delivered to my door. Can't comment on the mill. Jim 99% of the democrats give the rest a bad name. "O" = zero NRA life member | |||
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Some additional background information about these machines. They were purchased new by a tool and die maker about five years before his retirement. He made a number of jigs and fixtures during the period before he died suddenly of his first heart attack. His wife and kids hauled four or five pickup trucks loaded with round and angle brass, aluminum and steel stock to the scrap dealer, then sold the welders, torches, drill press, a large Johnson metal band saw, hand tools and anything else that could be hauled off for pennies on the dollar. I was asked if I wanted the lathe or mill. I wiped off swarf and oil, looked them over, and thought they were in excellent shape and would be good tools for anyone intersted in machining. They have very very few hours on them. I don't "need" more tools. I suggested to the widow that she begin at 1/2 retail for the machines and toss in the tooling (some still in the original packing crates) as a place to begin negotiations. She just wants to get rid of it so she can get a car in the garage. 22WRF mentioned he was looking at the time, and he lives in the area. Although I haven't looked recently, I don't think they are making many tool room size lathes in this country. Those lucky people that have the 10-14 inch LeBlond regals, Logan's, Clausing and South Bend lathes that are not worn out are keeping them. Asian machines are a lot better than when they came on the market twenty years ago. Mills are more available, but this has been set up and adjusted by a professional tool and die maker. Yes, one can find a nice lathe or bridgeport if you look hard and long, but these are just down the road, have been well maintained and come all set up with tooling and a phase converter. With reasonable use and care, they will last anyone a lifetime without the need to replace bearings or rescrape ways. My suggetion, if you don't like the machines, keep looking. If you don't like the price, make a counter offer. Whoever these end up with will have good machines and a ton of expensive tooling at a very good price. Roger | |||
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From what I've used as far as Enco goes, I haven't been impressed but that might be due to the fact the Marines get hand-me-downs and use them until it's no more. In my shop I just ordered a T1 mill and I have a South Bend lathe, that combination has really impressed me. Both are tough as nails and I haven't had any hitches with either. "Molotov Cocktails don't leave fingerprints" -Dr. Ski | |||
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Roger speaks the truth, and I can say that if anyone is looking for these types of machines they should certainly contact Roger who will then put you in contact with the folks you need to be in contact with in order to look at the machines. You will note by my previous posts that I did not say that I could see anything wrong with these machines. From what I could see they were in fine condition. I was told they were for sale "as is where they are" meaning that there was no warranty on them whatsoever, or in other words if you buy them you buy them as they are. I was made aware that the asking price was the price "or else they were going to be brought to a consignment place". I turned them down for two specific reasons, which is the warning about service and parts for these machines (they are for sale "as is"), and the fact that they are belt driven machines. | |||
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they are still priced too high if "the price is the price." Used Asian iron just does not go for that. For that price you can get better used Asian machinery with more tooling if you look around for a while. I wish the widow luck at the consignment place | |||
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Pm sent | |||
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Moderator |
I've heard Enco was bought out by MacMaster Carr, not sure if that is true or not. Enco has been the sorriest machinery and tool supplier I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with. I'm sure anyone who has dealt with them would agree. There tools are the typical Chinese junk, but their service or rather lack thereof is even worse. If you're going to get Chinese machinery, go with Grizzly, as they have good service and still decent prices. As far as the Asian tools, they will do decent work when dialed in, but are to an extent works in progress. For a money making venture, the time you spend tweaking them is $'s in the toilet. For a home shop, it's sweat equity. If the machines are in like new condition, and the previous owner dialed them in, I would seriously consider getting them. I do think the asking price is a bit high, but if there is alot of good tooling that is a big consideration. The tooling for a lathe and mill will cost more than the lathe and mill. Getting a fairly well tooled knee mill and reasonable sized lathe with very little wear on it for say $5k is one heck of a deal! __________________________________________________ The AR series of rounds, ridding the world of 7mm rem mags, one gun at a time. | |||
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