Is the rong fu model 31 any good?

K

Kody23

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May 6, 2012
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I'm wanting to try my hand at making a few more liner locks and wondering if the rong fu model 31 has good enough tolerance to counter bore bearings and mill lock reliefs, etc? My schools shop has a old used one that never gets used anymore due to the lack of a shop class teacher. I can probably get it from them for less than 600 bucks. Is this a good deal?
 
I will tell you the same thing I tell everyone. Get the biggest heaviest machine you can afford and fit into your shop. The weight in a mill helps a great deal with accuracy. It also means bigger more substantial columns and supporting structures. You could find a decent one on craigs list for 1-2k. You will not be sorry for waiting.
 
I've owned four mills in the last thirty years not counting CNC machines. I had a Wells-Index knee mill, a old Jet vertical/horizontal knee mill, a Clausing knee mill and right now I have a Rong Fu RF-45. I really like my RF-45 but I would not even consider a round column mill like the RF-31. The only way I would recommend a RF-45 is if you could get a really good deal on a used one. For the cost of a new machine like mine, you could have a decent Bridgeport or other quality knee mill. If you need small, maybe take a look at a square column machine like the Grizzly g0704.

Bob
 
So is a round column mill only good for drilling? Im probably only going to be making a couple of folders a month to sell to friends, so its really not worth it for me to spend anymore than 700 dollars on a mill.
 
Honestly, I just posted a little comment about this in my etching stencil thread... But what the hay.

I have use of a Bridgeport series one, but the commute wasn't worth it in diesel expense for just little projects. I looked at endless used ragged out crap until I finally decided to buy the HF mini mill/drill job. Its the Sieg x2 that is sold by several vendors, grizzly, LMS, etc. Knock off the cosmoline, lap everything, go through and tighten or loosen respectively and mount it solidly and it shapes out to be a good little machine. There is a belt drive system from LMS that will replace the weak link plastic drive gear. I have one ordered just for the 'when it breaks' moment that's bound to come.

For small stuff, guards, bolsters, shoulders, tools etc. it is absolutely enough machine IMO. Check it out, honestly all of the bad reviews I've seen are things a competent craftsman can work around, dress up, dial out or fix themselves. I dunno, nice little machine so far. Good quality tooling doesn't hurt either. I can't count the number of bad reviews that can probably be chalked up to the wrong tool material at the wrong speed in the wrong target media.

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The dog costs extra...

If I had a little more budget though the Grizzly G0758 would have been my choice I think. But I am building a new grinder, new forge, McDonald rolling mill, and tryijg to get 4th axis capability on the little machine with spin indexers. Too much gear so little money. C'est la vie I guess.


-Eric
 
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So are you saying that the harbor freight mini mill is a better mill than the rong fu 31?
 
Because it has a square column, you can go up and down to account for long drills without losing your zero.


knee mill is the search term that gets you to those


also look at a 6x26 or 8x30 sized mill
"bridgeports" are in the 9x42" size range


Unless you restrict yourself to very small work the little mills have limits


look carefully at the xyz travel limits to see if you can do your work on it

GEt R8 spindle and tooling collets so when you go up to a bigger one, all your tooling fits the new one.
 
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Don't let anyone tell you that some mills are no good and you ain't got s**t unless you have the kind of mill they have.
Any mill is better than no mill.
Get whatever you can. Get what suits your environment and your resources.
Upgrade when you can.
 
Kody23 said:
So are you saying that the harbor freight mini mill is a better mill than the rong fu 31?
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Any RF-31 that will be at the same price point? IMO, yes. But maybe for different reasons than where the converse may be true for you. I love a small machine for small tasks, and once 'in the butter' the Sieg X2 regardless distributor is a good machine. I have a drill press that is overkill for most stuff so I don't drill much with it, but for what I do do with it I can't find fault. I looked at a lot of RF's before going for this one.

tryppyr said:
Nice dog!!! Much prettier than the mill. :)
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Thanks. Yes she is... and spoiled rotten...

Karl B. Andersen said:
Don't let anyone tell you that some mills are no good and you ain't got s**t unless you have the kind of mill they have.
Any mill is better than no mill.
Get whatever you can. Get what suits your environment and your resources.
Upgrade when you can.
Click to expand...

Karl is dead on. Different mills for different folks. It is best to look at what you are wanting to do with it and then shop around. Then go buy as much mill as you can reasonably afford that meets those criterion.

I wasn't meaning to sound like the Sieg unit is the ultimate machine, just stating that it is my belief there is little else out there for the price that's much better. Especially new with a warranty.

And akso exactly right Karl, any mill is better than no mill...

-Eric
 
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