I must be bonkers....
Discussion
Not content with having two old lathes in assorted states of undress, I've just acquired.... wait for it... a milling machine.
Well, it was on Ebay, the price was right, and it seemed rude not to take it, once I had the top bid
Now, it seemed like a good idea at the time: have it delivered to the office on a pallet, fork it off and then power it up for a test, before stripping it down and bringing it home in bits. It worked fine, so it was out with the spanners (good old Imperial stuff, none of that Metric nonsense, thanks!).
I managed to find a reference to it weighing 1500 lbs, but I think they must be American pounds or something, because the column alone damn near had the Combo van down on its bump stops!
It took two of us 4 hours to reduce it to a pile of bits and get just the base into the van, along with a pump-up trolley. Then it took half an hour to extract it from the van and site it, and a further 1.5 hours to bring the column from the office (2 miles away, crapping myself in case the column fell over and ripped the tie-downs out of the Combo's floor - they're only spot-welded bits of wire!).
Another trip to bring all the detached parts home, and two nights so far cleaning and reassembling. I've just got the knee back in place, set up the gib alignment and cleaned out the one-shot oiling that was full of emulsified crap: I think the lube oil reacted with the degreaser I was using.
The miller came from a school, so it's had sod-all use in 23 years, just needs a good clean. Biggest problem is that the 2hp motor is 3-phase: I can either swap it for a BIG single-phase and fit a 110v transformer to run the contactors etc., or try to find a single-to-three-phase inverter. I favour the inverter, although a motor swap would be cheaper.
There's a guy on Ebay with some ex-baggage conveyor motors that are 3-phase, but I think he's hoping he can pass them on as single-phase to those thick enough not to do an internet search on the type number...
So, what to do with a 3/4-ton milling machine, once it's up and running? OhIdunno, watch this space...
Ian
Well, it was on Ebay, the price was right, and it seemed rude not to take it, once I had the top bid
Now, it seemed like a good idea at the time: have it delivered to the office on a pallet, fork it off and then power it up for a test, before stripping it down and bringing it home in bits. It worked fine, so it was out with the spanners (good old Imperial stuff, none of that Metric nonsense, thanks!).
I managed to find a reference to it weighing 1500 lbs, but I think they must be American pounds or something, because the column alone damn near had the Combo van down on its bump stops!
It took two of us 4 hours to reduce it to a pile of bits and get just the base into the van, along with a pump-up trolley. Then it took half an hour to extract it from the van and site it, and a further 1.5 hours to bring the column from the office (2 miles away, crapping myself in case the column fell over and ripped the tie-downs out of the Combo's floor - they're only spot-welded bits of wire!).
Another trip to bring all the detached parts home, and two nights so far cleaning and reassembling. I've just got the knee back in place, set up the gib alignment and cleaned out the one-shot oiling that was full of emulsified crap: I think the lube oil reacted with the degreaser I was using.
The miller came from a school, so it's had sod-all use in 23 years, just needs a good clean. Biggest problem is that the 2hp motor is 3-phase: I can either swap it for a BIG single-phase and fit a 110v transformer to run the contactors etc., or try to find a single-to-three-phase inverter. I favour the inverter, although a motor swap would be cheaper.
There's a guy on Ebay with some ex-baggage conveyor motors that are 3-phase, but I think he's hoping he can pass them on as single-phase to those thick enough not to do an internet search on the type number...
So, what to do with a 3/4-ton milling machine, once it's up and running? OhIdunno, watch this space...
Ian
I sooo want a mill (don't know why, I just think it would be usueful..)
I too am biiding on one in ebay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=633&item=2558233162). Great minds etc
I too am biiding on one in ebay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=633&item=2558233162). Great minds etc
Boggy, that Senior is being sold by the same guy I got mine off. Looks to be a comparable machine, with the advantages of being single phase already and having the vertical head (didn't get one with mine, but I know where there are a couple).
I wouldn't be surprised if it reached £500 or more (any less and it's a bargain!): there was someone who doubled the bidding on a Beaver Mk. 2 last week, from £230 to £510 in the last few seconds. I was bidding on that as well!
If you miss the Senior, watch that 'honest-malc': he gets a lot of good kit.
Meant to say, mine's a Bridgeport 1ES-G: nearest I've found to it elsewhere on the net is over twice the price at £500; there's one ex-Jaguar training school for £900, then a couple at £1500 with plenty of tooling, one at £1625 and then one in the USA at 4000 dollars (immaculate). The 1ES was originally an Adcock & Shipley machine, they were UK distributors for Bridgeport, then became a subsidiary, then BP themselves became part of Textron and are now subsids of someone else...
Funnily enough my miller was built about 5 mins from where me Julie works, in Leicester.
If you haven't found it already, check out www.lathes.co.uk - the archive is stunning and some of the machinery on there defies belief.
Found my Mellor lathes on there when it seems no other reference exists anywhere!
Also, check out http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~chrish/homepage.htm for loads of technical stuff and a good selection of ads (though a lot of folk want top dollar).
Incorrigible: I actually bought one of my lathes as spares for the other, but then decided to try and resurrect them both. I may need the space, though, so I'll keep you in mind!
Ian
I wouldn't be surprised if it reached £500 or more (any less and it's a bargain!): there was someone who doubled the bidding on a Beaver Mk. 2 last week, from £230 to £510 in the last few seconds. I was bidding on that as well!
If you miss the Senior, watch that 'honest-malc': he gets a lot of good kit.
Meant to say, mine's a Bridgeport 1ES-G: nearest I've found to it elsewhere on the net is over twice the price at £500; there's one ex-Jaguar training school for £900, then a couple at £1500 with plenty of tooling, one at £1625 and then one in the USA at 4000 dollars (immaculate). The 1ES was originally an Adcock & Shipley machine, they were UK distributors for Bridgeport, then became a subsidiary, then BP themselves became part of Textron and are now subsids of someone else...
Funnily enough my miller was built about 5 mins from where me Julie works, in Leicester.
If you haven't found it already, check out www.lathes.co.uk - the archive is stunning and some of the machinery on there defies belief.
Found my Mellor lathes on there when it seems no other reference exists anywhere!
Also, check out http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~chrish/homepage.htm for loads of technical stuff and a good selection of ads (though a lot of folk want top dollar).
Incorrigible: I actually bought one of my lathes as spares for the other, but then decided to try and resurrect them both. I may need the space, though, so I'll keep you in mind!
Ian
wedg1e said:Thanks Ian, but they're probably a little more serious than I'm looking for
Incorrigible: I actually bought one of my lathes as spares for the other, but then decided to try and resurrect them both. I may need the space, though, so I'll keep you in mind!
I've got a really nice size drill centre that came with the house (that needs loads of work (the house not the drill)) looking forward to getting that going but Mrs Inc wants a bathroom first
Hi Ian,
Congratulations on the purchase. Soon you'll be thinking of stuff to make just so you can use the machine!
We've got a Myford mill which has a 3-phase motor, but that we run with an inverter. It works OK, but you have to run an idler motor along with it to smooth things out and you won't have as much torque as if it were running proper 3-phase. Have you thought about getting a 3-phase supply to your workshop/garage? We can't do that as there's no supply over our house, but the new house we're moving to (purely conincidentaly you understand!) has 3-phase over head and the neighbour has had his garage connected up so we thought we could do the same. You need to contact your electricity board, but hopefully it shouldn't be too much hassle.
LET THE MACHINING COMMENCE!
Tom
Congratulations on the purchase. Soon you'll be thinking of stuff to make just so you can use the machine!
We've got a Myford mill which has a 3-phase motor, but that we run with an inverter. It works OK, but you have to run an idler motor along with it to smooth things out and you won't have as much torque as if it were running proper 3-phase. Have you thought about getting a 3-phase supply to your workshop/garage? We can't do that as there's no supply over our house, but the new house we're moving to (purely conincidentaly you understand!) has 3-phase over head and the neighbour has had his garage connected up so we thought we could do the same. You need to contact your electricity board, but hopefully it shouldn't be too much hassle.
LET THE MACHINING COMMENCE! Tom
Well you could always put it on some wheels and pull it down the road like in David Bowies video (Let's dance I think?) what the hell that was about is beyond me, I think it was a Bridgeport though
Cheers
LeeBee (desperatly trying to find a decent bench top milling machine, the older the better!)
Cheers
LeeBee (desperatly trying to find a decent bench top milling machine, the older the better!)
T.K.E said:
Hi Ian,
Congratulations on the purchase. Soon you'll be thinking of stuff to make just so you can use the machine!
We've got a Myford mill which has a 3-phase motor, but that we run with an inverter. It works OK, but you have to run an idler motor along with it to smooth things out and you won't have as much torque as if it were running proper 3-phase. Have you thought about getting a 3-phase supply to your workshop/garage? We can't do that as there's no supply over our house, but the new house we're moving to (purely conincidentaly you understand!) has 3-phase over head and the neighbour has had his garage connected up so we thought we could do the same. You need to contact your electricity board, but hopefully it shouldn't be too much hassle.
Tom
Tom:
Is your use of 'we' as in the royal sense? I seem to recall it was always a popular trait amongst radio hams and eccentric engineers...
I know that there are ways of running a slave motor to create the third pole for a 3-phase; this sounds like hassle to me. Next up is the selection of assorted capacitors to phase-shift each winding slightly: this has some merit but not if it means having to buy a shed-load of caps just to experiment - money would be better spent on a single-phase motor.
A mate was telling me that he knew someone who ran a 3-phase generator (alternator, I suppose) that was driven by a big single-phase motor. I bet it was horrendously inefficient in running cost terms!
Tonight's exertions have seen the carriage cleaned up and installed, X and Y-axis leadscrews fitted and the cardan shaft drive for the table installed.
A measure of how little use this machine has had is in the debris I've been cleaning out of it: apart from a fair bit of sawdust (due, I presume, to the woodwork department being next to the metalwork one, if it's like my old school!) I have mostly been digging out brass chips. Hardly anything ferrous at all.
I keep scanning Ebay for 'bits'.... well, you know how it is
One guy emailed me to say he has a vertical head for sale, but he wants twice what I paid for the miller so I won't be going there.
And yes: I'm already thinking up things to make...
Ian
Just looking through a copy of model engineer and there are a couple of companies that produce cheap phase convertors. The cheapest being Danebury Electric ltd in Bournemouth, tel 01202 524888 or truephasesales@daneburyelectric.co.uk though not advertised I can summise that they have a website also ( www.daneburyelectric.co.uk ). My dad has used this company in the past, and they seem to be quite good.
Incorrigible said:
Ian,
In case you're in the market for some more kit check here
Huh. After the hassle I had last night, I'm not clicking THAT. I just know it'll be a link to a porn site...
Just found this on Ebay....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2557112599&category=633
Ian
>> Edited by wedg1e on Thursday 18th September 14:43
Another company that can supply solutions www.newton-tesla.com for your problem!!
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