Subject: Fehlman Mill Drill (Swiss made)

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 13:06:58

In reading one of my used machinery catalogs (an expensive thing to do when
you spot something you can't live without! :->  ),  I noted Scott Machinery
of Rancho Cordova (Sacramento area), California offered a Fehlman mill-drill
with a rotary table for $2500.  I've not heard of this make.  
I spoke with Wayne, one of the salesfolk there, who says it got sold
just a week ago.  He didn't recall many details aside from it being a bench
mill on its own stand and "very solid".

Do any of our European readers have one of these?  
Is Fehlman still in business?  Where were they located in Switzerland?
What is the table size, collet type, spindle range?

(I'm just curious, not looking to buy this item.)

TIA

Jay

Scott Machinery   tele  916-638-7718    fax 916-638-2450

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 14:49:08

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Jon Anderson) writes:
>Jay,
>I saw the unit, but my memory is just a bit hazy. I seem to recall that the rotary table was
>removable, but rather integral. That is, removing it didn't leave much to work with. Perhaps 
>there are other accessories to take the place of the rotab. It was there for quite some time, really,
>and I kept looking it over to see if it had some potential, however for the typical hobbyist, I'd say
>Stay Away unless it's REAL cheap, or you are good at adapting things.

At $2500, it wasn't cheap.  I was curious about the mfgr and model of this,
as it is one I wasn't aware of.  (Anyway, it was sold when I called :-> )
Are any of our European readers of r.c.m. knowledgeable about this mill?

The saleguy told me they have a super-duper Taiwanese mill-drill which was
>from  the same foundry as all the others, but it is "precision ground and
carefully set up", etc.,etc.  I guess these imports are actually getting past
the "painted casting kit roughly assembled" level.

>BTW, I'd reccomend not buying anything from Scotts without giving it a good look over first.
>I've heard lots of stuff second hand, but do have one first hand experience. My previous employer 
>purchased a Hardinge HLVH from Scotts. It had a -fresh- coat of paint, and we initially thought we'd 
>gotten a nice machine. However, we quickly noticed the oiler wasn't working. I dug into it and found

<snipage about the machine coming from a *fire*>

>it didn't get hot enough to melt wiring, the way lube coked, and that takes some serious heat.
>No mention of this was made to my boss. It was just cleaned up, painted, and passed on.

Its amazing what bosses aren't told!   :-)  :-)   :-)

My browsing through many used machinery dealer's places seems an awful lot
like shopping for a used car.  The sales-droids will tell you anything just
to make a sale...as you would expect!  I am very wary of the new paint and
brightly scrubbed table look on machines, since you *know* they weren't that
way when they came in.  I've had some good deals from dealers (though they
are consistently a bit pricey, and most will give a kind of guarantee and 
perhaps fix or replace small items as part of general goodwill)
and good deals from swap meets and private sales (with zero guarantee).
Caveat Emptor, always.  The few junkers I bought were my own bad judgement
and rush to get running the machine, then finding cracked castings or
partly stripped half-nuts, etc.  Part of the learning curve.
Of course, used machines *are* worn, by definition, so a lot of your
decision is what you can tolerate and live with, or if you can do your
own refitting (shades of Connelly's book), or just say "No Thanks".

>I have bought stuff there that was in decent to good condition. Just wouldn't recommend anyone buy
>sight unseen.

Yeah...that's why I like to actually get ahold of machines before plunking
down the $$$ for them.....I actually close my eyes when cranking the handles
to feel for rough/scratchy/worn/sloppy spots.....the "wonderfullness" of
seeing this possible new toy can override problems, problems of mechanical
slop that you can feel, unless you use the braille test.  :-)
Run the machine under power, if possible.

Thanks for your post.