I have a 2B that is in my cellar. The swarf tray is not detachable from the base.

The dimensions are:

Base: 24" front to back at the bottom section, 20" wide, 19" high, with another section 7" high that protrudes 6" to the front – this contains the switch gear.

The swarf tray is 41" wide and 34" front to back. The front protrudes 3" in front of the top of the base.

The distance between the bottom of the base to the top lip of the swarf tray will go through a doorway that is 29" wide – that's the width of the doorway to my cellar, which is where the mill is now. I can't remember, but I think I had to remove the door.

All three sections are welded together and cannot be separated without sawing them apart.

IHTH

Gary

Adam – I also have a Centec 2B on welded base – I think Gary has it about right. (I'm not near mine at the moment)

The steel is heavy construction; I forget how I got mine down to the basement, but probably was slid down on its back. Probably strapped to some timber bits.

Another JohnS.

Mine is heavy gauge sheet steel. Two strong people can handle it; we got it down the cellar steps, one step at a time, there wasn't room for three. Once in the cellar, three of us easily moved it. It required an engine crane to lift the body onto the base, and that was without the table, which needed removing to get it down the steps.

Gary

Hi Putney man and Hugh Allen, the scan below may give you a good idea.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 06/03/2016 13:58:06

Thanks, Nick,

I stand corrected 

Hopefully my error has not caused too much grief in the intervening twenty months.

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 06/03/2016 15:08:44

As with T.B; but I measured in metric earlier today.

1) base on anti-vibration feet, 25mm higher than if it sat on floor;

2) duct work, 1,910mm from floor to bottom of duct work;

3) vertical head, quill retracted, 261mm clearance from top of spindle to duct work;

4) have to add the drawbar removal distance. What I have to do (the odd time when I actually change from my ER-25 collet holder) is to extend the quill, which gives me room to remove the drawbar, so I'd expect that much less from the 261mm might be problematic. The quill moves down about 50mm, which makes removal of my drawbar very easy.

The base did go quite easily into the basement, through two doors, and down a set of stairs.

(doing the math for you: 1910 – 261 -25 = 1624mm overall height, vertical "quill feed" head, without drawbar inserted- 1624 == approx 64 inches, correct?)

(my drawbar has a longish bit of hex rod on the end, yours will most likely differ, so I did not include the drawbar head in calculations)

John.

Hi Hugh;

I really like my Centec 2B. It is well made. It is better made than my Asian mill, by a long shot.

Only you can decide if the price is worth it.

How will the electrics work? Right voltage?

I'm overseas, so I can not comment on price/worth.

Also, I have a small drill chuck stuck on a straight shank, it fits in a collet in my ER25 collet holder. Something to think about… larger drills will also fit in a ER collet holder, so if you do fit an ER holder, you might find that you do not need to remove it often, if at all.

John.

Hugh,

2K for a good condition 2B with Mk3 VH and power feed is about right. A friend also has one and we both paid around that price some years ago. Originally they were 3ph machines wired in star format. I converted both motors to delta and added VFDs. A very worthwhile conversion.

Hi Hugh,

Everything on my 2B is Imperial – BSW and BSF.

Hugh,

If you go to the centec yahoo forum there is a file for setting up these machines. It includes spanner and allen key sizes required. An Imperial adjustable wrench will do for most nuts, I would think. Shame yours is metric!

I can send you an alternative version (or both). One is longer than the other, but the shorter one has a slightly better drawing (can't remember what extra detail, but I know I keep both of them).

The headroom for the drawbar is not necessarily a particular problem. A bit of lateral drawbar design would allow you to feed it in from below. That is what I will need to do if I have my 120mm riser block in place. Turning the head and then needing to re-tram seems a pain to me.

I, too, was lucky with my machine. Good order, with stand, long travel power feed and dro (3 axis + one on the quill). Just needs a repaint to almost look like new!