Technical Mill thread

I had a nice 9x42 SB mill and hardly used it. Came from a high school(so I was told) that they only worked with plastics as I recall. The guy I bought it from showed me the non-metal tooling for it (he kept it) was kinda neat. The table on that mill looked brand new. I guess they didn’t want the students harming anything. Times got tough and and a guy wanted it, so down the road it went.
I loaded it with my forklift on a roll back he got from work, made me edgy lifting and placing it that high.
The guy was going to use it to rent it out and sell patterns for people to make their own AR15 receivers.
Fast forward a few years and California changed laws and I knew he wasn’t doing that anymore so I got ahold of him to see if I could buy it back.
Seems it never got used.
He told me his driveway had a pretty decent slant to it, but he thought his forklift would keep it stable enough, guess it got off the forks, tumbled off the roll back and busted it up pretty good. He told me he’d a had a lot of work ahead of him if he wanted to use it as just a big drill press.

Man I could have used that Mill 100 times since it’s been gone.

 

All this talk is Greek to me, but I enjoy looking and marveling at the machines. I know absolutely squat about them, have no practical use for them, nor the space for one. The knowledge base on the HAMB never ceases to amaze a hack like myself.

 

I have a Harrison (U.K.) horizontal with a vertical head attachment, which I got from a local university as scrap.
It had hardly any wear, despite being around 50 years old, so I wired in a single to 3 phase converter, (I only have single phase power available), and it is worth it's weight in gold. After I got my mill and lathe, I wondered how I did things by hand for so many years before I got them!

 

I got my Bridgeport in 1988 when I started a machine shop in my garage. I have probably earned $300k using it. I got it for $2200 from a shop that was folding up. It is a hybrid 1962 frame and 1967 head, variable speed and has a power x-feed. The DRO is old and has quit over the last few years.

It is in bad shape right now, I am considering getting a newer one once I decide to expand the garage. I have lots of good expensive chucks, an OG Bridgeport vise (borderline scrap..) and a good Kurt vise I got a deal on. A couple of Tap-Matic heads, slitting saw arbors and loads of collets.

 

I am as fortunate as can be. I have a friend with 6 Bridgeports, a monster vertical mill, 8 lathes up to 24", 8 shapers, two surface grinders, a couple Acme automatics, a forge shop with induction heaters, a small foundry, and a couple board hammers and a lot more. He is a railroad hobbyist and I can use any machine at any time (if only I knew how ) so he helps me out with projects. He can make about anything. Is that luck?

 

Treat him like a GOD! And lots of his favorite beverages...

 

You are never too old to learn Bert, hang around there and pick up as much as you can. There is a lot of satisfaction when someone asks “Where did you buy that?” and you can say “I didn’t, I made it.”

 

I've got the Grizzly version of that mill with just a bit longer table and more travel. The main difference is mine is a geared-head, not belt drive. I added a power feed to the table. I wanted a full-size but just didn't have the shop space for one, this I could squeeze in. I know my limits as a machinist, this does everything I do.

 

maybe if i could find one in single phase, everything i see is three phase.

for now i use the boat adage.

would you rather own a boat or know someone who does?

 

Absolutely not a problem, both my Bridgeport and the 16x60 South bend are 3ph and happily running off HD static phase converters, especially made for mill and lathe use by Anderson Converters- got them off ebay, $79.95 IIRC. Average guys like us will never notice the bit of power you give up, and they are quite simple to wire up to your single phase plug

 

Phase converters are easy to get.

I know the guy who bought the twin of my mill, in the same sell off, from the same shop.

Mine is on 3-phase. His is on single-phase, with a static phase converter.

I have used both. I cannot tell the difference.

Neither of us are ripping off giant chunks at high speed. It's a simple matter of being patient, and working in a manner that is best for the machine.

 

Well, if you don't use one right, they can cost you exactly that!

 

I actually have 2 mills, and I'd venture to say the mill is more valuable than the lathe since some turning applications cn be handled on the mill as well.



The one on the right is a functional but beaten up 1966 Bridgeport J head. It has a second pulley reduction on the head. I rescued this one out of a local plumbing shop after the dude passed away, his grandson was selling everything off. The building was a beat up old garage in the back of the guy's house that had a leak in the roof that went directly into the top of the motor. This of course locked the motor solid and coated everything on the machine with some rust. I replaced the motor with a single phase 1hp motor I got from a local swap meet for $30. The power feed only works in 1 direction, the table has a bunch of scars and the head is real noisy. But it works, and is effective for general milling and drilling operations where accuracy is not the paramount objective. I also have a rotary table I'll throw on there from time to time if I need to make a curved cut.

The one on the left is a 1974 J head I acquired, which is in substantially better condition than the other one. This head is quiet and it has the one shot oiler, but it's still a 3ph motor. My plan is to hook this machine up with a DC drive, power feeds on the X and Y axis, as well as a 3 axis DRO, then get rid of '66, since I don't need both of them. I'd consider trading it for a lathe when the time comes.

 

Joe, Your shop floor is entirely too clean !!

 

Blue49 : I've got the same one & it has made a lot of things so much easier( just try milling keyways with a drillpress!!), but I don't use it as often as I should, so ever time I set up for a new project I'm almost starting all over teaching myself how to use it..... LOL...

 

I have a lathe but no milling machine. I do have a large older well built drill press. It ain't no milling machine but with a multi angle vice you can create some smaller parts....
And tooling is expensive for any machine...

 

Only you Mark.... LOL

 

One thing to keep in mind about phase converters.
Solid state converters won't handle the type of machine, mostly lathes with a heavy start load, i.e. ones that start the motor with the spindle engaged.
BPs and lathes that have an "unloaded" motor will do OK on solid state.

I went through a long process of having a hybrid phase converter made.
This was done by a competent electric company.
The machine in question was a Jet 14x40 lathe; which was as described above.
1st attempt was just a solid state converter...NOPE, blew the capacitor right off.
2nd attempt was a heavy-duty capacitor (might have been 2 in there) in the solid state.
NOGO; blew those out right away.
Next was a 7 1/2 hp electric motor wired with a large capacitor.
Built a special box for the components and wiring that attached to the motor.



That worked ! But it sure was noisy. By this time I had around $300 in it.

After dealing with the noise for a couple of months, I decided to get a "real" 3-ph converter. It was kinda expensive, but I've not regretted it at all.

Later, I sold the 7 1/2hp version for $300 to a guy that needed one on his farm place, so it worked out OK.

gatz

 

I use various milling machines at work, but here's my homemade milling attachment that I cast and machined for my drill press years ago. It's great for small projects, but I have done some larger machining projects with it as well... just had to be creative with the setup.