Downsizing workshop suggestion for smaller mill

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

The time in life has come for downsizing and moving home and workshop, looking to keep my S7 ,Fobco drill ,1 inch Meddings drill ,hydraulic press and Clarkson tool and cutter grinder, plus various attachments, age 84,the elliott 00 omnimill has been sold ,along with colchester master & Do- All bandsaw , space will be reduced, so I am looking at a smaller mill,How good is the Tom Senior E type with S head. I had a M1 35 years ago,it was a very good, well built machine that performed well,though very limited with space under the vertical head and would have been better with a 3 MT spindle, also a taiwanese mill drill ,a load of rubbish. So has anyone has good or bad experiences with the E type ,is the round column rigid enough at 3 inches dia and what is the space under the spindle nose? I would not be interested in far eastern imports though have considered Aciera /Deckel which  can very heavy nothing but can beat them for accuracy &  toolmaking.

[VicParticipant @vic]

What about a Centec 2A if you can find one?

[Vic]

On Vic Said:

What about a Centec 2A if you can find one?

 

There’s a couple on Facebook Marketplace at the moment, but with short tables and only short risers, though both have Mk3 heads with a quill.

I’d certainly consider keeping an eye out for a 2B & Mk3 head with a long riser and table.

Bill

[VicParticipant @vic]

I’ve always thought they were a very nice looking machine for a smaller workshop. And being a proper knee mill would be much preferable to imported machines of a similar size.

[Martin of WickParticipant @martinofwick]

I was keen on a Centec 2A once. Then I saw one close up. There is practically no daylight between the spindle nose and the table unless you get one with a raising block. See picture above and mark where the tool tip will be without the raising block in place! And… wtf thought it was a good idea to have the knee lift round the back of the machine? I guess it was the past, they did things differently then.

Ended up with a TwinMill instead, simple, solid, but very basic also slightly short of toolspace, but not as short as the 2A. The worst issue is the table traverse is on the right side only, with the leadscrew not extending through the left side. This has complicated fitting a motor drive.

The smaller VBA Beaver Mill might be worth considering. Almost secured one once, but by the time I’d finished umming and ahing it had gone.

The Senior E type never appealed to me due to the ‘spaghetti’ width column, but perhaps E type owners with lived experience may wish to make a rebuttal!

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

I don’t think the Senior is much smaller than an Omnimill which is about the same as a VMC and Centec 2B. The Centec 2A is a bit smaller but I think you might be looking at one of the Sieg benchtop mills though I don’t have a feel for their comparative size. A benchtop machine gives you the precious space underneath. Likewise you might consider putting the Clarkson on the bench (but keep the pedestal in store for when you sell it) or turn it over for a more compact variety.

[Dave WoottonParticipant @davewootton]

Blimey! That’s my old Centec in my old workshop, must be from around 2010 or so  has Elliott Omnimill just visible behind it. must be from the photo’s used on the Lathes website when I sold it. Not a bad little mill and it was in very good condition, but I remember finding it annoyingly noisy on the higher speed ranges with all that gearing (I was using it for long periods at high speeds earning my living with it) . Sold both the Centec and Omnimill and bought a Bridgeport which was more suited to the larger work I was doing at the time, bought back a few memories though!

PS the Omnimill was a very versatile machine. but quite a bit bigger footprint than the Centec. At the time the riser block cost more than I paid for the mill!

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