Vertical machining centres
The workhorse of most shops. Box-way or linear guides, 20 to 40-plus tool carousels or arm changers, any spindle taper.
Mills and machining centres
Sell your CNC mill or machining centre
VMCs, horizontals, bed mills, drill-tap centres, 5-axis and bridge mills. Making parts every day, down with an alarm, or parked under a tarp since the last big contract ended, we'll look at it as long as it's over 1 ton.
Picking up across Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Sea-to-Sky, from Squamish and Pemberton down to Chilliwack.
Min1 ton
1 ton is 2,000 lb, about 907 kg. Benchtop mills, desktop routers and hobby lasers usually come in lighter, so we can't take them. Not sure about yours? Here's how to check.
Quote requestTell us about the machine
Waiting- Running or deadWorking machines, crashed spindles and dead controls, as long as it's over 1 ton.
- Quote from photosThe make, model, control and nameplate usually tell us enough to price it.
- We load and haulYour electrician disconnects the power. We take care of the rest.
- Squamish to ChilliwackMachine shops, fab shops, cabinet shops and plants across the Lower Mainland.
Mills we buy
Machining centres and CNC mills we take
These are the mills we see most from BC job shops, production shops and in-house maintenance departments.
Horizontal machining centres
Including twin-pallet machines and pallet pools. Tell us the pallet count and whether the fixtures stay on.
Drill-tap centres
Fast, compact 30-taper machines. They look small but most still clear 1 ton.
5-axis and trunnion machines
Full 5-axis machines, and 3-axis VMCs carrying a trunnion or 4th axis. Mention the rotary when you get in touch.
Bridge, gantry and double-column mills
Big machines that need a proper plan. Send the footprint, the table size and how the shop is laid out.
CNC bed and knee mills
Bed mills are usually well over 1 ton. Knee mills sit close to the line, so check the nameplate first.
Photos
Photos that help us price a mill
Five or six phone photos usually tell us what we need. Shoot them in daylight or with the work light on.
- The whole machine from the front, doors open if they'll open
- The control screen switched on, on the alarm page or the hours page
- The nameplate with the model, serial number and year
- The tool changer, so we can see the type and the number of pockets
- The spindle nose, which shows the taper (CAT40, BT40, HSK and so on)
- Anything extra: rotary table, probe, chip conveyor, through-spindle coolant unit
Before pickup
Getting a mill ready to move
Machining centres are tall and top-heavy, so a little prep makes the move a lot safer.
Send the axes to the shipping position given in the manual, before the power goes off.
Have your electrician disconnect the machine and make the supply safe.
Refit the shipping brackets or axis locks if you still have them.
Drain the coolant tank and empty the chip pan and conveyor.
Disconnect the air line and take any loose tooling out of the enclosure.
Tooling
Holders, vises and fixtures
If the holders fit the spindle, sell them with the mill. A rack of CAT40 or BT40 holders, the vises off the table and any fixtures that only work on that machine all count toward the quote.
Loose tooling can go in a box or on a pallet next to the machine. Keep cutters and inserts in their cases.
Where we pick up
Mills from shops across the region
We pick up from industrial areas like Port Kells, Campbell Heights, Annacis Island and Gloucester in Langley, as well as Mission, Abbotsford, Chilliwack and the Sea-to-Sky, up to Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton.
Selling something else as well? See everything we buy, or go straight to:
Questions
Questions about selling a CNC mill
My VMC throws a spindle alarm. Will you still buy it?
Yes. If the control still boots, write down the alarm number or take a photo of the alarm page. It tells us far more than "it's broken" and keeps the quote fair for both of us.
Do you take horizontals with a pallet pool?
Yes. Tell us how many pallets it has and whether the fixtures on them are part of the sale. Pallet pools add length and weight, so we plan the load around them.
Should the tool holders go with the mill?
If they fit the spindle, it's usually worth including them. A full set of CAT40 or BT40 holders with the machine is part of the quote rather than a separate sale.
Can you get a mill out of a tight shop?
Send us the door width and height, what the floor is like and any steps, ramps or posts in the way. Most shops are straightforward. If yours needs extra equipment, we tell you before pickup day, not on it.
Is a CNC knee mill heavy enough?
Sometimes. Knee mills tend to sit right around 1 ton, so check the nameplate or send us the model before you book anything.
Got a mill or machining centre to sell?
Give us the make and model and we'll tell you quickly whether it's one for us.