Home Forums General Discussion Forum FINALLY Arrived

  • This topic is empty.
Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 85 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #49054
    chris mabbott
    Participant

      I just returned from a brief trip late last night and I had the wind knocked out of my sails upon hearing about our forum buddy, Mahlon, sudden departure from our midst. So it was a kind of bittersweet joy when I received the call shortly after, that my long awaited Mill would arrive this afternoon :? :?

      Many of you have helped me in regards to making my final decision, Mahlon was also one of those kind persons who volunteered his help & opinion based on his own experiences with his tooling.
      I was reluctant at first to post this with the sad news so fresh in my mind and heart, but I thought I would, because I know that I would want things to continue and people to continue their happy pursuits in my absence, I feel that our friend was also that type of person, something he demonstrated here on the forum.

      Anyway, Finally, after how many months of faffing 😆 here she be.. I took a few shots, unfortunately back lit because that’s where we left it and it’s a bit too heavy to boogie around alone..
      I just unboxed it and pulled out the accessories and extra tooling I ordered, which weighed about as much as the damn mill, the vice alone must weigh 50 kilos 😆
      So, I have to buy some solvent to give it a clean, I’ll get around to that tomorrow. It seems to be covered in oil rather than the thick transport grease I’ve heard mentioned from others, which is better because it’s easier for me to clean..

      Anyhow, stay tuned for updates and once again, thank you to all that helped me to decide and offered their advice & time, especially our very own Mr. Pierce who sent me many emails with various things I should be aware of and his good advice, consequently, highly influenced my decision.., you naughty boy David, making me spend more money on a bigger beast 😆 😆

      #57737
      willofiam
      Moderator

        So Chris, what do we get to make first? very exciting, wish I could be there to enjoy the moment with yah. William

        #57738
        chris mabbott
        Participant

          Hey William, you know you’re always welcome, just hop on a flight and come on down, or is it up?

          Well, it will be a while, I’m still looking for my industrial ball bearing castors to mount on the bench, I want it to be somewhat mobile as I believe that in the near future I will be moving things around. Then I have to find a decent welder to build me the supports and weld it up, which I could do myself if I had the equipment. I also want the table to be higher up so I’m not bending over like a dog doing naughty thing to a football 😆
          At my tender age I have to be gracious to the back, knees, neck etc you’ll understand in a few more years my friend as you’re a strong young fella at this time ;)

          Probably my first attempt will be to make a new tailstock lock for the Marshall spindle, from there the road is wide open :P

          I also have to make a mount to hold a vacuum nozzle, there will be some classic tooling I want to make. I also have a few movements that need drilling, broken screws etc. I’m sure that watching you guys will provide plenty of inspiration, I mean, until I joined this forum and was corrupted with all these great ideas, a mill wasn’t even on my wish list 😆

          #57739
          david pierce
          Participant

            Chris,
            A metal table is always a good sturdy support for a machine. You can also make an extremely sturdy and stable bench out of wood. I made one for my larger milling machine using 4x4s (two 2x4s screwed and glued together) for legs and a double layer of 3/4 inch plywood also screwed and glued together for the bench top. I made the top 3 feet x 3 feet and made a shelf on the bottom to hole the accessories like the dividing head, rotary table etc. I don’t know what materials are the most available in your part of the world but in the U.S.A. wood is fairly inexpensive and plentiful.
            david

            #57740
            arutha
            Participant

              Chris,
              if you are offering board and lodging I might just pop over for a few days so you can teach me watch repair :)
              Looking forward to seeing what kind of mischief you get up to with the new mill :)
              Paul.

              #57741
              willofiam
              Moderator

                Chris, David brings up a good point on using lumber for a bench, probably alot cheaper and you can incorporate all kinds of things for it, like a drawer or tool holders ect…change or add to it in the future. I built a 3′ tall box with wheels out of 4×4 2×4 and 3/4 plywood, glue and screws…for a 1000lb safe, very sturdy and can roll it where ever. William
                p.s. do you have fresh lobster over there? I may jump on the next flight

                #57742
                chris mabbott
                Participant

                  William, the lobsters are my Canadian brothers 😆 The Mediterranean is a tad too warm for them… BUT we do have those REALLY large red shrimps called caribineros.

                  I already have the bench, it’s one of those very sturdy stainless steel ones from an industrial type kitchen, it has shelves and the SS square tubing legs, I just need to make supports to attach the coasters to. I want them to extend a little wider than the table profile for added stability.

                  It’s a relatively simple addition, but not here, where everything is complicated 👿 You know the kind I mean, I had the same wheels on a Snap-on tool box I had, one of those big shop models, that must have weighed about 1200lbs full. Two of the wheels will rotate and have locks, the other two will be fixed. Basically all I need is 3/8 angle with flat plates for the wheels to bolt onto then weld it to the legs..

                  Let me see if I have a pic of the bench

                  #57743
                  willofiam
                  Moderator

                    O.K. Chris, my turn for the senior moment, I now remember that you had already told me you had the table. sorry, still cant wait to see it all set up though, William

                    #57744
                    chris mabbott
                    Participant

                      Man I’m having a really weird day today, I can’t remember anything, I’ve just been struggling on my neighbors name, then the Jacot tool, not to mention a variety of other entertaining and mildly irritating things things I’ve forgotten 😯 As long as I don’t forget to drop my shorts while going to the loo, I can live with the rest 😆

                      William my American brother, YOU KNOW, you have the exclusive :D

                      #57745
                      bernie weishapl
                      Participant

                        Chris that is a great looking machine. Can’t wait to see what comes off it when you get it set up.

                        #57746
                        tmac1956
                        Participant

                          Chris:

                          That is one kool tool my friend. Did the doggy christen the shipping crate? ;)

                          Enjoy!
                          Tom

                          #57747
                          chris mabbott
                          Participant

                            Guys you have high hopes for me, that’s a lot of pressure to live up to 😆

                            Tom, I think she would’ve if I hadn’t taken her photo, very temperamental & stubborn those little Westies and Mrs Peoples is no exception :?

                            #57748
                            david pierce
                            Participant

                              Chris,
                              I am sure you already know this but if not the round knob facing you sticking out of the quil feed is for a controlled feed of the Z axis. This is necessary if you use a boreing bar and boreing head. A boreing bar will give you a hole that is precisely located and actually round. Because a drill bit uses multiple cutting lips (2) the hole produced is actually cam shaped. The job of a boreing bar is generally to clean up a drilled hole. The actual size of the hole is then determined with a reamer. A reamed hole is sufficient for general precision work. If a hole is just drilled and reamed, the reamer will follow the lobes of the hole produced by the drill.
                              david

                              #57749
                              chris mabbott
                              Participant

                                Thanks David… Of course I DIDN’T know that LOL

                                I’m afraid the manual that came with it is basically for use as paper towel, I mean the little I did know wasn’t in the 12 page safety first, through fifth , but I do know now that I shouldn’t operate it while drunk or stoned! I should unplug it if I’m going to stick my fingers inside, and…. Hmm what else was it… Oh yeah I have to wear something called….. Safety glasses ?? LOL

                                David I , and possibly others here, need you to start putting video tutorials in the site for us, really, I’m serious :-)

                                Well, I’ve decided after much Hmm,ing and Ahh, ing that I’m going to do a complete tear down, clean and lube.
                                I’ve done a superficial degrease, but I have found that there is a good amount, not a lot, but enough, of casting sand or whatever the gritty bits were in my rag, around the leads screws and all over. So I figure that the spindle bearings will not have been greased and are possibly contaminated slightly. Although the guide states that removing the bearings will possibly damage them, if so then ill replace them with a good quality FAG or SKF set.

                                I have the tear down guide which is pictorial and pretty well detailed.
                                David I can post a link if you have the time to have a quick look and give your thumb up or down…

                                #57750
                                willofiam
                                Moderator

                                  Chris, I had found a utube of a guy doing a comparison of mills like you have, he also did a complete tear-down and noted some of the same things you have, but with my dwindling memory I cannot tell you where I found it….. 🙄 . @Chris Mabbott wrote:

                                  I should unplug it if I’m going to stick my fingers inside, and…. Hmm what else was it… Oh yeah I have to wear something called….. Safety glasses ??

                                  you might also want to get one of those rags you put on your head to keep hot chips from burning your noggin… 😯 . 😆 . @Chris Mabbott wrote:

                                  but I do know now that I shouldn’t operate it while drunk or stoned!

                                  great idea BUT when are you going to be able to use it then???? 😆

                                Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 85 total)
                                • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.