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Milwaukee 2h price help

Lilredexpress

Plastic
Joined
Dec 22, 2022
I found a k&t vertical 2h (see pictures). I’m very interested in upgrading from my Bridgeport but I’m running into a snag. He won’t give me a price. He just keeps saying to make an offer. I want to be fair without overpaying. There’s some nmtb 50 holders (covered in rust) with it and a handful of used endmills. I ran the machine and everything works. It’s a pretty tight machine despite its looks. The only things wrong are that it’s missing the x axis handle and coolant pump. Can anyone help me with valuation? He says his forklift might pick it up to get it on my trailer but he’s not sure.
 

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Price will depend at least partly on where you are. Some parts of the country are awash in machine tools, others very much not so.
I would say $2500 is way too much, and $500 is possibly too little. For $1000, I would expect running condition (omissions as you noted) and some toolholders that could be used immediately. More toolholders can be gotten used from eBay if you have a little patience. Do you have appropriate voltage and phase power for this machine as it stands? If not, figure in the cost to you of getting a replacement motor, a transformer and/or a phase converter. Offer $500 or $750 and if he gets offended, remind him that he's given you no guidance on what he expects.
I would not be surprised if someone else chimes in and argues that $500 is too much.
 
I found a k&t vertical 2h (see pictures). I’m very interested in upgrading from my Bridgeport but I’m running into a snag. He won’t give me a price. He just keeps saying to make an offer. I want to be fair without overpaying. There’s some nmtb 50 holders (covered in rust) with it and a handful of used endmills. I ran the machine and everything works. It’s a pretty tight machine despite its looks. The only things wrong are that it’s missing the x axis handle and coolant pump. Can anyone help me with valuation? He says his forklift might pick it up to get it on my trailer but he’s not sure.
I got my 2CH horizontal in the nineties with a vertical head and a skid of tooling for $250 from Mitchell Machine here in Houston

I can tell you for sure and certain that the vertical will in no way be much of a hole driller since all it has is a head that feeds and no quill of any description.

The H will be even as old as the thirties. Lot number stamped into machined cast iron on left face of column will date it
7MB "instruction" is on VM

Lot number thread - allows dating your mill to the month

 
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I got my 2CH horizontal in the nineties with a vertical head and a skid of tooling for $250 from Mitchell Machine here in Houston

I can tell you for sure and certain that the vertical will in no way be much of a hole driller since all it has is a head that feeds and no quill of any descripton
I’m not looking to drill holes, I’ll keep my Bridgeport and I have a mag drill and drill press. Just want something that doesn’t flex like my bp.

I don’t think 250 will fly these days. He could probably get 750 in scrap.
 
Sure, he might get $750 in scrap for a 7000 pound machine, but he also has to get it to the scrap yard. Time plus fuel, etc.

I'd offer the $750 as long as it includes all of the tooling that he has for it.
 
I'd agree with the idea that $500 is probably too little and $1000 might be reasonable....so I think starting with $750 makes a lot of sense. I paid a bit less than that for my 2H Plain and was happy at that price...came with a fair selection of cutters and arbors, so that helped.
 
I personally think condition is everything and willing to pay a 2x premium for it. There’s still a lot of good old machines out there and this could be a diamond in the rough. When you say the machine is tight, what are you referring to?

This is what I do: Obviously run it through all the speeds/feeds. Indicate table top at the extremes. Back the saddle out all the way, put an indicator on the column, zero out against the table and tighten the knee clamps. See what happens, could be zero but I wouldn’t be surprised if you see .010”+ movement. Loosen the clamps and grab the table and try moving it. Tighten gibs and try moving to the ends of travel and see if they bind. It might check out ok or it’s a project. If you’re looking for a project, load it up for $750-$1k. Otherwise spend $2k on a nice near mint mill. They’re out there but you gotta sort the junk to get to them. Do forget to check the spindle for runout, nothing worse than finding out it’s been crashed after you get it home.

Maybe you did all this and if you did, ignore what I typed. I’ve been hosed to many times taking people at their word and a handshake only to find out they got me.
 
I personally think condition is everything and willing to pay a 2x premium for it. There’s still a lot of good old machines out there and this could be a diamond in the rough. When you say the machine is tight, what are you referring to?

This is what I do: Obviously run it through all the speeds/feeds. Indicate table top at the extremes. Back the saddle out all the way, put an indicator on the column, zero out against the table and tighten the knee clamps. See what happens, could be zero but I wouldn’t be surprised if you see .010”+ movement. Loosen the clamps and grab the table and try moving it. Tighten gibs and try moving to the ends of travel and see if they bind. It might check out ok or it’s a project. If you’re looking for a project, load it up for $750-$1k. Otherwise spend $2k on a nice near mint mill. They’re out there but you gotta sort the junk to get to them. Do forget to check the spindle for runout, nothing worse than finding out it’s been crashed after you get it home.

Maybe you did all this and if you did, ignore what I typed. I’ve been hosed to many times taking people at their word and a handshake only to find out they got me.
Admittedly I didn’t get out the indicator but I ran it from end to end and there wasn’t any more drag on either end than the middle. There was also only a couple thou play in the y and x handles. It did have about .040 play in the x though. I should have checked the spindle for sure…
 
I got my 2CH horizontal in the nineties with a vertical head and a skid of tooling for $250 from Mitchell Machine here in Houston

I can tell you for sure and certain that the vertical will in no way be much of a hole driller since all it has is a head that feeds and no quill of any description.

The H will be even as old as the thirties. Lot number stamped into machined cast iron on left face of column will date it
7MB "instruction" is on VM

Lot number thread - allows dating your mill to the month

Looks like we’ve lost just over half the value of a dollar since the 90’s. :willy_nilly:
 

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And depending on relative antiquity, the H could have either 40 or 50 NMTB - easy to tell - 40 is 3.625 and 50 is 5.0625 OD

Nice from those days - 2H vertical with 40 taper - over eighty years ago
 

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Story time...
Not too long ago,
a local machine dealer had a K&T #1 vertical
for sale. I got to searching the internet for pictures
and information on them, and I found what seemed
to be the exact same machine. It was sold by a
different dealer, somewhere in north Florida.
Then I saw a post of guys talking about this same
machine, for sale at the dealer in Florida, from like
6 years ago. One of the guys commented that, at
the time, he went and looked at the machine and
it had a bad gear tooth at one of the speeds.
Well this is surely not the same machine, now for
sale in N. Carolina and some 6 years later.
So I want to my local machine dealer to look at the
machine before the bidding. Ran it through the speeds
and SURE ENOUGH one speed had a clunk clunk clunk
like it had a missing tooth. It was indeed the same machine.
I could not believe it. The 6 year old info on the internet
was correct. Soooo I passed on the machine, as cute
as it was. I just did not want a multi year project of finding
or making another gear or gears for it.
But offer $750 or $800 for the machine you are considerning.
If it is in good shape, that is a sexy machine.

--Doozer
 
Should weigh about 4200 lbs for loading and/or scrap value calculations. That one looks like it's at the more recent end of 2H production (single lever speed selection, extended table screw supports) so may be a little heavier. I see the original control station buttons are missing. I'd agree somewhere in the $500-$1000 range would be an OK deal if it's not especially worn. It's probably a 5 hp spindle motor, but could be more depending how new it is.
 
I found a k&t vertical 2h (see pictures). I’m very interested in upgrading from my Bridgeport but I’m running into a snag. He won’t give me a price. He just keeps saying to make an offer. I want to be fair without overpaying. There’s some nmtb 50 holders (covered in rust) with it and a handful of used endmills. I ran the machine and everything works. It’s a pretty tight machine despite its looks. The only things wrong are that it’s missing the x axis handle and coolant pump. Can anyone help me with valuation? He says his forklift might pick it up to get it on my trailer but he’s not sure.
Any uodate? Did you buy it?
 








 
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