Yeong Chin milling machine

[arjacobson]

check out cdco tools. They sell enco type tooling for very good prices. I have bought many items from them and have been totally happy with each item. Excellent place to deal with for cheaper than enco but same tools..

[Flinchrock]

Don't get caught up on the "it ain't a Bridgeport" line!
Just because they are well known and popular, also means they could
have had a lot of use or abuse. It boils down to see if the machine, whatever it is, is clapped out or not, & if the size fits your needs.
Kents are fine machines as are Rockwells, Southbneds, BP's etc.
The biggest thing in an unknown machine is to make sure you can get tool holders for whatever taper is in the spindle!!!- one good reason for sticking to BP's and its clones

I agree,,,Bridgeports are famous and all,,,but there ain't nothin' magic about them,,they can be just as sloppy as anything else, but it usually takes a lot more years to get there!!
That Kent looks like a solid machine(can't tell much from a picture). And it's not a Vari-Speed head, I hate vari-speeds have to rebuild the sliding pulley assemblys fairly often, as a matter of fact I have a vari-speed down right now! gimme step pulleys any day!
Check around for a Lagun with block ways,,,they make a series 1 Bridgeport look like wannabe's when it comes to solid!!

Sometimes a good operator can somewhat compensate for a clapped out machine. but it's fiddlesome and tiresome!!

That yung chin machine sounds like a ok price,,,but I've never heard of them!

[Tokarev]

What kind of vehicle is required to transport that Kent, for example (3700 lb)?
And what is required to load/unload? Would a forklift work?

[JIMinPHX]

A standard Bridgeport is usually around 2,700 pounds. Most of those mills have a tapped hole in the top of the ram where you can screw in a machinery eye to lift from. Off the top of my head, I think that Bridgeports are usually 5/8"-11. I've seen some machines that were 1/2"-13. If you don't have a machinery eye & a hook to lift with, they you can also grab them with a pair of forks under the ram, with one fork on each side of the center post of the machine. Use wood planks between the forks & the bottom of the ram, both to pad the ram & also to prevent slipping of metal on greased metal.

Which ever way you grab it, it is helpful to first lower the knee all the way, rotate the head so that the heavy end (motor) is facing down, center the x-travel of the table & move the ram to a place where the center of gravity will be the center of your lift grab. This gives you the most compact package with the lowest center of gravity. It makes a big difference.

Forklifts vary greatly in capacity. Most will have a nameplate that lists the lifting capacity. The lifting capacity is usually listed at a 24" load center. You will probably be lifting the mill from about 3 feet out, so you want 1.5 x the weight of the mill in rated forklift capacity @ 24". 5,000 lb. forklifts are fairly common in everyday warehouse use, although I have seen some smaller ones rated as low as 3,000 or even 2,500. Much larger ones are also out there. The largest that I have worked with was a 40,000 lb. Eagle.

I've also moved mills like that with a pallet jack (aka pallet truck or pump jack). The only trick there is getting the mill up high enough to get the pallet jack under it. Those mills are a bit top heavy & tippy, so I recommend lifting with screws or hydraulics rather than leverage from a long bar. Harbor Freight sells a cheap pallet jack for around $250. It can do the job if you use it correctly & you are working on a good smooth solid flat floor. Don't try to lift with the forward tips of the legs on the pallet jack.

You can rent a 2-axle utility trailer from U-Haul for about $35/day. I've moved equipment that size in one of those trailers before. You can also get a suitable truck from any of the truck rental places, but they tend to cost more & you will be working with a higher deck to load/unload from.

[Fly]

I have a Kent I bought new in 1980.It is a very good mill.I still have it & use it daliy.

Fly

[uscra112]

If you try to move it on your own trailer, BUILD A SKID and bolt the machine to it. Skid should be 4 feet long x 4 feet wide at least. Two parallel 2x6s under the bolt-down points on the machine, with 2x6 cross-pieces, BOLTED together. Properly skidded, the machine can be moved by the Egyptian method on a smooth floor. (i.e. 4 foot pieces of 3/4" iron pipe for rollers. Having a couple of crowbars handy will help a lot. ) Have done this a good many times.

Never, never try to pick a Bridgeport-type machine from the bottom without a skid. It will fall over! Proof positive of Murphy's Law.

[uscra112]

BTW the Alliant version of the Bridgeport is an excellent machine. When Textron took over Bridgeport around 1980 they fired all the distributors. (This was so stupid that it beggars description - the dealers were the reason Bridgeport was so successful! ) The dealers all got together and had a copy built for them, so they'd have something to sell. Being as they knew as much or more than Bridgeport did, they got it right. Meanwhile, Bridgeport/Textron very nearly tanked.

[Tokarev]

Thank you everyone for looking out for me! Really appreciated.
Lots of good info in this thread to work with.

[W.R.Buchanan]

tokarev: when you move the mill follow Jim in px's description. Bridgeport step head mills are 2300lbs varispeed models are about 2600 lbs that Kent is probably 3300 +

I always lift them under the ram. Do NOT ever lift under the foot! It will fall over! When they start to go they are gone as there is nothing you can do to stop one once it starts falling. I don't liek using the eyebolt method as I have seen one pull out. 2500lbs on a 1/2 eyebolt is pushing it. best just lift under the ram it is by far the safest way.

There is no excuse for dumping a machine. It is jsut plian stupid, seen it happen dozens of times. They were always idiots.

Always have help, and preferrably experienced help.

When you get it near where you want it and sitting on the floor you can bar one around fairly easily with a standard wrecking bar 3' long. You will notice there is a knotch in the front and rear of the foot of the machine. It is there to bar the machine around.

Randy

[JIMinPHX]

If you try to move it on your own trailer, BUILD A SKID and bolt the machine to it.

This is excellent advice, especially if you are going to move it with a pump jack.

I've seen some people leave the machine permanently mounted to the skid, so that they could move it around the shop as they needed to. You can stick it in a corner for storage & you can put it next to the door if you need to mill the end of something that is very long. That whole business about needing to get a machine perfectly level before using it isn't exactly Gospel.

[ions82]

I have a mill that is very similar to that Yeong Chin. Most stuff from YC that is here in the U.S. is sold under the SuperMax name. The one I have was branded "Dynamic", but it was made by YC. The one pictured looks very similar to a SuperMax YCM-2GS. Mine weighs in at 5,300 pounds, and I'm guessing the SuperMax version is about the same. It's a big machine that is very well made. All of the stuff I've seen from YC has been very well built. I would take that one over a Bridgeport any day of the week. Machining metal is all about rigidity. A 5,000-pound machine with a 40-taper spindle is going to be far more rigid than a standard knee mill. Then again, it doesn't exactly "feel" light while using it. To run a machine like that YC, you'll need to rely on the power feeds. Otherwise, you'll quickly grow tired of cranking the handles.

[Tokarev]

Ions,

Thanks a lot for providing the weight!

[Tokarev]

More and more I am leaning towards buying a combination vertical horizontal mill, as I realized that some work can be done much easier on a horizontal mill than on vertical, such as working on the breech end of the barrels.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I just can't picture a way to mill a cavity in the breech end of a 24" barrel on a vertical.

[xr650]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I just can't picture a way to mill a cavity in the breech end of a 24" barrel on a vertical.

Use a right angle drive.
http://http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/NNSRIT2?PMAKA=79056941&PMPXNO=2111535&cm_re=ItemDe tail-_-ResultListing-_-SearchResults

[Ed K]

You should be able to buy a Hardinge combo for the price of the YC. The best if you want a combo.

I moved a Series I BP yesterday by myself and I was very nervous as I'm not an old hand at this. I took her across two states and into my basement. I read all I could, applied a fair dose of common sense and still needed a drink at the end of the day. I too considered the skid on trailer idea but wound up renting an enclosed box truck for protection from the elements and bolted it to the deck. I filled the holes with hardwood dowels and antiqued them with a little dirt!

[Tokarev]

Use a right angle drive.
http://http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/NNSRIT2?PMAKA=79056941&PMPXNO=2111535&cm_re=ItemDe tail-_-ResultListing-_-SearchResults

As I took shop class at school on a 25x60 lathe, these flimsy little attachments, that cost like another mill, make me a bit weary. 2 extra joints in a slim housing... Compared to a sturdy front wall of a combo mill...

I moved a Series I BP yesterday by myself and I was very nervous as I'm not an old hand at this.

Ed,
Mind me asking what kind of truck did you use and how did you load?
That could be in the attached pictures, but Yahoo is not showing them for some reason.

[Ed K]

Ed,
Mind me asking what kind of truck did you use and how did you load?
That could be in the attached pictures, but Yahoo is not showing them for some reason.

I used a typical 16-foot long, 6.5 foot height box rental truck. There was nothing special about it. I decided to go this way instead of open trailer due to the weather. It did not have any kind of steel tie-downs on the interior - only wood straps running the length of the interior walls which certainly are not robust enough to secure heavy machine tools. I got the mill in place, made sure it was clear of the underlying framework, and using a long bit drilled through the 1" hardwood decking of the truck body using the holes in the BP base as guides. I then inserted carriage bolts from the bottom up through the BP base and secured with nuts and washers. To distribute any pulling load from the heads of the bolts on the underneath of the deck, I used oversized steel washers just under the bolt heads and pre-drilled wood blocking in between the washers and the underside of the deck. It seemed very secure. Then, so the machine could not gain any leverage on the base while the truck was in motion, I used a series of medium-duty ratcheting straps from the top of the machine to the wooden strap tie-downs along the lower sides of the interior making taking advantage of strength in numbers. A professional might laugh at it but I believe it was safe.

Key was the seller had a fork lift as do I at my end. I did not take any pictures of this move and what I posted of the Hardinge was all I had intended. It would have been nice to document the move but renting the truck, traveling two states away, loading/returning/unloading and then repairing(!) and getting the truck returned in the same day was a lot! I actually moved the BP from my garage into the basement the next day (by myself again) so maybe I stretched the truth a little in my initial account - oh well. By the way, the glued-in dowel "repair" was so effective I had absolutely zero concern upon returning the truck that they would ever even see it let alone be concerned. Upon completing it and sweeping out the truck I had to study the floor to find them and I'm the one that did the drilling!

Now the truck was justified in my mind because the BP is "mint", the distance and weather presented legitimate obstacles as well as I was working by myself. Rental fees, mileage and gas ran $260 which isn't cheap but I'd hate to pay what a pair of riggers would have charged me. Someone else mentioned the $35 U-Haul trailer and I recommend it also if your circumstances permit using it. First is price as the flat fee is all you pay, there is no "mileage" and you use your own vehicle to tow. Second is that it is easy to load and unload. Last is that there are steel D-rings and a very rigid steel rail running around the perimeter you may safely use for attachment. I used this trailer last year to move a copy of the Hardinge in the previous post as well as a 1800lb South Bend lathe. No fork truck was required. The trailer has a decent ramp. Using wood, a come-a-long, rollers and such I was able to accomplish both moves with a helper. The move was cheap and importantly safe.

Lastly, I'll speak concerning the Hardinge (applicable to other horizontal/vertical combos as well). The Hardinge is a very capable horizontal machine provided what you plan to do fits within the work envelope (my work does). Given the general bias toward vertical mills on the part of hobbyists and the used market in general from what I can discern, quality and capability comes comparatively cheap on them. As I said previously the Hardinge machines are commonly available from $1000-2500 so I don't see why one would settle for less(Asian?) aside factors I don't understand. The downsides to them in vertical mode are significant: head must be trammed each time you return from horizontal mill mode, heads generally not as powerful as stand-alone verticals, sometimes no quill travel (knee travel substituted), and work envelope is typically tight. Still, for many hobbyists they present a viable option. My verdict is evident: just purchased a dedicated BP vertical mill.

Enjoy your decision-making process. I'm in agreement with most everything posted in this thread. I have to say I know nothing about your YC mill. I will agree you do not have to buy South Bend or Bridgeport to get a good machine. In fact as some have pointed out a number of copies are superior. However, as a hobbyist and buying older machines, parts availability is important to me and is something I do not worry about with these two names.

[Budmen]

To bad none of you are around my area I have the equitment to move anything upto 30,000# and am a crane operator/rigger by trade. I would love to barter some equitment moves for some very general machining and smithing leasons.