Bill_Rittner
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2015
- Messages
- 26
- Reaction score
- 11
This what the RF-30 looked like when I got it into the shop. It had been stored in an unheated and un-insulated shed here in CT for several years. It was complete except for the top cover. All of the handles had been removed when it was moved into the shed and were in a box.
The spindle would not allow an R-8 collet to fully seat. I had to remove the spindle and drill out the collet locating pin and make a new one. It appears this is the way this machine left the factory. It was never completely cleaned of the rust preventative grease covering that was applied when it left the factory in China. I think someone ground the end of an R8 collet to hold a drill chuck and used this machine as a glorified drill press. This would explain why it shows very little use.
The mill was not as difficult to clean as I first thought. After disassembly a little scraping and a lot of mineral spirits for degreasing revealed a machine in remarkably good condition. The paint had completely failed and nearly 90% of it was scraped off. I used a brush to paint it so I could get a couple of heavy coats on it.
I built a stand from Douglas fir. Levelers on the bottom of the legs made leveling the machine quick and easy.
