New guy with a couple noob questions.

[Playtoy_18]

Hi,I've done alot of reading etc.. and decided to buy a mill.
I only need to do some smaller stuff,and have plenty of material to learn with.
I came across this machine pictured below for cheap and picked it up.

I plan to purchase a better machine later,but for beginning and experience I want something that I'm not too worried about damaging.

First question,what the heck is it?
A friend of mine that has worked in a machine shop said it's either a bridgeport or copy of one.
There are no identifying marks anywhere I can see,though I have yet to disassemble anything.
Any help with that would be nice.

Also,the mill does not have a head on it. When I pop the top where the belt drive is there is a rod (removable) with the bottom end threaded that goes through a hole straight down between the pulleys.
I assume the thread at the end is for the milling head,but embarassed to say i'm not even sure what I'm looking for.
Is it an attachment similar to a drill? or more like a chuck with a collet in it?
Pics of similar machines would help,just can't seem to find the right wildcard search words.

I would like to get started using the mill,right now it's just sitting on the table.
I am about to mount it and get it and my drill press better setup to use next to my metal fab table.
I am enclosing pics of a couple NOS/NIB craftsman parts that came with it.
The guy I got it from only used the lathe a few times,then found a bridegport lathe so didn't need this.
He never had a need for the mill and gave me all the parts the old man he bought it from gave him.
I don't beleive they go with it,but might even be the part i'm needing for all I know.

I hate asking dumb questions,but not really anyone to ask around here that would know.
Thanks for even looking and giving the smallest bit of advice.

[Torch]

Sorry, but that's no Bridgeport!

It's probably a CQ9107 made by Shandong Linyi Jinxing Machine Tool Co., Ltd. and sold under various house-brand names on this side of the Pacific. Here it is in Northern Tool colours.

That piece on top IS the mill head. The rod you describe sounds like a draw bar so it could be an R8 spindle taper, but it's probably MT3 or MT2. You then install a collet or mill holder with the corresponding taper to secure the tooling. Or a jacob's chuck for drilling, but it looks like you have a drill press handy so that probably won't be a priority!

What is the diameter of the draw bar and the hole? That would be a good clue as to what format taper it has.

[Playtoy_18]

I will go out shortly and take some pics and measurements.
Where would I look for an identifying mark or model number to confirm what it is IF there is one.

The drill press has been handy,I made an adapter so it could spin my work piece and then used some fixture's from an old brake lathe at work to turn down my peice.

But I would like the mill for making some plate adapters,I've yet to read a post endorsing milling on a drill press (I thought about it alot lol).

I'll get more info and post up,hopefully in just a few.
Thanks for your help.

[Torch]

The HF5980 is the same machine in Harbour Freight colours. Here's a thread of the HF5980 in action
Here's thread with the full specs.

[Playtoy_18]

Some more pics,I will look up the HF machine and see if I can figure out what goes there.
Thanks for the help.

[Torch]

Looks about the right diameter hole for an MT2 taper. Pop the chuck out of the tailstock and try it in the mill spindle.

[Torch]

Ummm, I should mention that with MOST tailstocks you can pop the centre/chuck/etc. out by backing the handwheel off completely.

Otherwise, you may find a hole in the centre or a slot in the barrel. If it has a hole in the centre you put a suitable diameter rod in there and give it a tap. If it has a slot in the barrel you should have a wedge shaped piece of steel to put in the slot and give it a tap to release the Morse Taper tooling.

[Playtoy_18]

As you said the tailstock came right off and was threaded in the taper.
Thread matched up with the rod and went right in.
I won't try it out yet though,it is not secure to table.
I'm in the process of reorganizing my shop and waiting for a friend to help move the bigger stuff.

Since those spare parts arent needed,where would be the best place to sell?
Or will they come in handy/work with that machine?

Thanks for the help,i'm off to shop around for bits now.
Any suggestions for a beginner appreciated.
Just working with Al for the moment.

[Torch]

Since those spare parts arent needed,where would be the best place to sell?
Or will they come in handy/work with that machine?

Which spare parts? The two pictures in the first post? You definitely want to keep the 4-jaw chuck! Aside from being nearly essential for gripping square/rectangular stock securely, the jaws on it move independent of each other making it possible to turn eccentric bits like lobes. The "tailstock chuck" may or may not be extra -- after all, that's what you just removed from the tailstock. So what's actually in the box? Another chuck? A lathe centre?

[Playtoy_18]

They have what is advertised on the box in them,however they are very small.
I will try and remember to take a pic of them out of the box and post.

I need to know if it's safe to turn a brake drum on this lathe?
I have a guy that does them for me,but scheduling issues don't allow me to use him for these.
If I can do them on the lathe then I can just do it at night when I have plenty of time.
I have what I need to do it,just wasn't sure if a 10in drum from a standard 10bolt GM rear end was too heavy or large or other issues.
Any tips on doing it safely would be welcome,i've been trained on brake lathes but this isn't the same animal and there's no easy adapters involved

I can figure out how to make it work i'm sure,but if it's gonna kill me I need to know ahead of time so I can moon my mother in law before it happens.

[Harold_V]

I'm of the opinion that you'll have two issues in trying to turn a brake drum. One of them is speed. You're likely going to have a needed speed under 50 rpm, and that's assuming you'd use carbide (C2 grade) and have enough rigidity to avoid chatter. I expect you won't have, which is the second problem. Slowing down speed and increasing feed tends to limit or eliminate chatter.

Gripping the drum and getting it to run true may be a challenge for you. All depends on how much experience you've had making setups. Needless to say, concentricity and perpendicularity of the drum is important if you want to avoid lumpy brakes.

It most likely can be done---but you'll earn every dime you save in doing them yourself.

Harold

[Torch]

It may be possible to turn a brake rotor or drum on a tool room, engine or screw lathe, but my understanding is that it won't be easy to get it right, especially a rotor. You would have to make up your own adapter(s) for a start, and there is limited room on the chuck side of the arbour. Brakes tend to have a work-hardened layer and rotors (especially modern light-weight designs) can flex as you try to break through that layer so rotors are usually turned with tools cutting both sides simultaneously to ensure equal pressure on each side.

The next problem is doing it on that little fellow. I suspect the tiny motor will have trouble spinning a large diameter piece while cutting a hard layer off both sides.

I see Harold replied while I was typing the above, so I'll leave it at that.