My new toy

[solarman216]

Thought I had better start a new thread on this, I have already mentioned it in Flyingtorquewrenches thread "Time to say good by" but easier here.

So it is a Mill, probably around the 1950's heavy great thing, but does vertical and horizontal work, it did however have some problems, first was the head bearings were shot, easy job for those and sorted, next is the bed lead screw nut, well worn almost stripped, so needed to do something about that, was toying with making my own but it is 5 tpi and my little Myford is only capable of 8 tpi.

So looked at getting one made, yea right, absolutely silly money so looked at other options but none seemed to fit the bill until I saw on a model engineers site a guy who had a similar problem and he made his own out of plastic, so this got me thinking.

This is pretty much the method he used, I will let the pics speak for themselves other than a problem I had to overcome which was the slot for the power drive, clearly I needed to fill that in to mould my nut and used a bit of ali bar and hand cut the threads

 

[solarman216]

So now with the lead screw supported and the plastic in the vice some gentle heat is applied until the two halves of the nut are back together again

 

[solarman216]

After it all cooled down wound it off the shaft with some big stillsons and stuck it in the lathe, this is the finished result together with the original bronze one, just some grease grooves to run and some bolt holes and job done, it will not last as long as the original but for the amount I use it it will probably last me out, and if it does wear quick then a few hours work and I can make another especially as I now have the ready made screw insert for the slot, Rick

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

That is good thinking Rick.

Another option might be to put a post on a Model Engineers forum. Quite often they are happy to produce parts on request.

We got a transport museum close by and they are happy to turn a few pieces for some beer money.

 

[solarman216]

Well got the mill up and running so started to do some tests to check on its accuracy, have to say I am well impressed, first job was to true up a 2ft straight edge that was out by more than 10 thou, it has not been used for a very long time, first problem was that it is quite hard having blunted a couple of cutters decided it will have to be ground, so quite a bit of setting up required on the horizontal mill, once all set up and dressed the stone it was just a simple 2 or 3 passes, job sorted I now have a really good straight edge once again, then a mate said I could have a redundant Cavalier head to play with, I jumped at it and after checking with my new straight edge found it dipped 12 thou around No 2 pot, again now had to set up for vertical milling, once done it was time to set the head on the bed and check over the travelled distance that the weight of the head did not distort the bed on the overhang, pleased to say my dial gauge registered 0, so on with the job using a fly cutter at its limit which meant as I was soon to discover only very light cuts could be made, which was fine by me as it gave me time to get used to the machine overall, took around 10 passes and removed 15 thou, this pic is the finished job and am well pleased, less than half a thou error, Rick

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

That looks really good Rick. Did you buy this mill with a specific job in mind or just for whatever comes its way?

 

[solarman216]

Big boys toys, retirement occupation, something to keep me off the streets, Rick

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

That is fair enough. Once I have the space i will be looking for a lathe. What I need it for does not really warrant buying one but it keeps me entertained.

 

[solarman216]

Successfully machined a 2 inch thread into the blank backplate I obtained and fitted it to the mill, now need to true it up and turn a register onto it to accept a 6 inch 3 jaw chuck, once done when I do my clutch on the Patrol, then if my flywheel needs facing I will be in a position to do it with room to spare, pics tomorrow, Rick

 

[solarman216]

Never having cut such a coarse thread on the lathe before decided to test it out on a bit of plastic, this is the result after a couple of failed tries, it was pushing my little super7 as it has an 8tpi lead screw and this thread is 7tpi, fortunately it is an imperial thread as is my lead screw so the dial indicator worked none the less it is a bit of a ass clenching moment when it engages will it or wont it line up? even at back gear very low speed it would do too much damage before it could be stopped

 

[solarman216]

Back plate mounted after thread cutting which went surprisingly well, now I need to face it off to make a base for my 6 inch chuck, it is important to face off on the machine it is going to be used on in order to obtain the best tolerance, I expect better than 1 thou, note the rough and ready tool holder, as time goes on this will be improved on

 

[solarman216]

First skim, it had a couple of imperfections in the cast so took around 10 thou off to get a clean face, next phase is to turn a register that precisely matches the chuck, no room for error here it has to be perfect, so poss start that tomorrow, if it is OUT then all subsequent work on this machine will be OUT, not acceptable, Rick

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Nice work Rick. I take it that your Patrol has a solid flywheel instead of a DMF?
DMF is a bit smoother but a pain in the backside as they can’t be faced.

 

[solarman216]

Register sorted, now to drill the 3 mounting holes

 

[solarman216]

Back side of the chuck

 

[solarman216]

Chuck mounted and ready for work

 

[solarman216]

Had an old disk laying around, so stuck it on for a test, all good well pleased, but got some vertical milling to do now to make a tool grinder so all this will have to come off again, Rick

 

[solarman216]

Have to say I was not too impressed with the finish on the disk, but never having turned such a large item before especially cast iron I did some research and found my spindle speed was a tad high plus on closer inspection the TC insert was dull, it was a new one for the job but guess the rust took the edge off, made another cut today and much better, so having sorted that, time to set it up again for vertical milling

 

[solarman216]

Down side of that is the head locating bolts are a little slack so it needed setting up again, side to side I had a difference of 4 thou and front to back 9 thou, the best way I have found is with a long fly cutter, get the bed close and measure with feelers, this way I do not scratch the bed, all sorted now and ready for work, but not tomorrow, I have my injector pump to change, Rick