Republic Lagun FTV5

Summer 2015

Two years ago, while scanning Craigslist, I found an ad for a milling machine. I already have two vertical mills, and not enough space. The seller wasn’t asking much, though, so what does it hurt to look.

The FTV5 is the largest manual machine available from Lagun, and the company has a very good reputation.

As it turns out, it seemed to be in good shape. With a 40 taper spindle, it’ll definitely move more metal than my old Bridgeport. Also, it’s equipped with power feeds in all directions.

So what the heck. One of my neighbors offered to move it with his log truck, so it was a simple matter of pulling it straight out of the owner’s shop, and lifting it with the picker.

The problem, of course, is my perpetual lack of workspace. So we brought it back to the shop, and parked it under heavy tarpaulins until a time when I could make use of it.

The original plan was to raise the roof on the small part of the shop, rearrange the furniture, and then install the Lagun.

Then some space became available in the larger part of the shop, so I built a quick skid out of blocking, and shoved it in with the Hough.

I think this thing weighs quite a bit more than listed on the spec sheet. My big Prentice would just barely lift it knuckled in close.

Lagun1

At some point the pinewood skid will be replaced with something more durable. This part of the garage floor is broken concrete, so this will do for the time being.

Lagun2

Had to flop the head to clear the door opening. Two years under tarps left it none the worse for wear.

Lagun3

Lagun4

So now it’s indoors, but I still don’t know if it runs. The previous owner had never connected it to power but he was under the impression that it was functional.

I called the company (headquartered in California), and they were extremely helpful in reconfiguring the switchgear to run on 220v rather than 440. The knee feed lever was disconnected, but that turned out to be a simple fix.

I must have called tech support at least 4 times, and would like to emphasize just how polite and helpful they were. They treated me like I was their only customer, despite calling for help on a used machine for which I paid next to nothing.

Even though the horsepower rating on the main motor exceeds the start capacity on my phase converter, it powers up and runs with no complaint.

And it’s awesome.

Thanks Craigslist!