Rong Fu Report (RF45) - 2: Setup and Inspection

I purchased the mill through J&L Industrial and had lots of conversations with them because the trucker lost the shipment and the situation got complicated. Their customer service is first rate and I have nothing but good things to say about them. During one of these conversations one of their supervisors said that they tested and lubricated these mills and when I checked all the grease points had fresh clean grease and the oil appeared very clean.

Visually, there was one cosmetic flaw in the table casting (L side of the table in the photo) and, l0oking at the inside of the column, there was some casting flash that was easily removed. In addition I was disappointed that the table handles were plastic rather than metal but, all things considered, the mill seemed well made and at the high end of import machinery.

The power to my garage is a long heavy duty extension cord connected to a 110V, 20 amp circuit. This mill comes with either a 1.5 HP, 220V single phase motor or a 1 HP, 3 phase motor. Due to my power limitation, I opted for the 3 phase motor because I could fit a 110V VFD inverter to it. I knew that DrivesWarehouse carried a TECO that would fit these specs. I called them first and got a sales person who was not helpful in answering my questions about how to set up the VFD for a mill.

Surfing the web I found a less expensive TECO at Dealers Industrial Equipment Their sales engineer explained that the JNEV-101-H1, was both newer and had more features than the FM50-101-C and, in particular, produced wave forms that were easier on the motor. His expertise sold me so I bought the VFD and mounted it on a board with a main disconnect, a heavy duty power cord, and a 110V receptacle for the mill X drive motor.

With some trepidation, I wired the mill to the VFD and when I fired it up, the VFD came on but the mill just sat there. What had I done wrong? Finally I figured out that the '5' on the VFD display was hertz rather than amps so I cranked it up to 60hz and the mill started running - that is to say it started running backwards. An easy fix - swapped two of the three hot leads - and it ran in the correct direction.

Rong Fu Report (RF45) - 1: Moving and uncrating

When I was deciding upon a mill I found reports from others very helpful. If you are interested in art and philosophy - stop reading now - this is about moving and set up.

The stand was delivered a week ahead of the mill and assembly was straightforward. The sheet metal seemed a bit flimsy to support the 800# mill however the stand was well designed to handle the weight. The stand is used for several models of mill-drills and came with instructions for an RF30 or 31. The shipping carton itself, however, had instructions for the RF-40/45. The top of the stand is a chip tray with gutters for flood coolant leading to a hole in the back where one can attach a hose. The top of the stand has 8 holes, 4 aligned for the RF30 models and a different set of 4 for the RF 40 models. There are rubber plugs for the holes that do not get used. Assembly was straightforward - no written instructions but the graphics were clear enough.


I paid extra for a lift-gate delivery so the mill was delivered to my yard. It was on a pallet, crated with mdf. The mdf was a bit scuffed, but everything was in order. I used a long 2 x 4 to pry up the crate, put some 2" pipe under it, and pushed it into the garage. A one person operation although it would have been a little easier to have a second person to place the pipe.



The next step was to uncrate the mill. It came assembled except for the table handles. The entire mill was in a big plastic bag. All of the the exposed metal had the usual grease which was covered with plastic sheeting. I removed all of this, wiped the grease off, and cleaned it further with kerosene. Kerosene is OK but not my favorite smell so I wiped everything as dry as possible and then oiled it lightly.

I started debating how to lift it with the shop crane without damaging the mill - or me! Fortunately the instruction manual had an illustration showing it should be lifted with a sling around the head.

I only had one, relatively short sling, so I put it right at the collar and when I lifted it, the mill tilted slightly to the back so I did not have to worry about it slipping out. While I maneuvered the shop crane, my wife graciously pushed and pulled the mill to align it with the bolt holes. Finally all the bolts were in place and secured, and then I remembered the 4 rubber plugs for the holes that were not used. I decided to push them through from the bottom rather than lift and then realign the mill. The way the gutters are designed I think the inside will stay dry however time will tell.