Gorton Riser Block

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Russ Hanscom
Posts: 1955
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Farmington, NM

Gorton Riser Block

Post by Russ Hanscom »

My Gorton 1-22 mill has too short a distance between the quill and table, at least for the things I tend to want to do. I decide that a riser block was needed. The first plan was for one 8" high, which was the tallest that could possibly be machined on the mill. After I determined that I had access to a 17" swing lathe, the height was increased to 12". The column diameter is 16" so with some 16" pipe for the body, scraps of 5/8" plate for the ends, and a bunch of 3/8" thick strap for internal stiffeners, it was created.
Once the body was fabricated, it went to the 17" lathe to get the ends parallel and the joint created. I had no idea what the column joint looked like, so I had to separate the mill ahead of time to get the details.

For those interested, the lower join section has a 8.750" + hole and the top joint section has an 8.750"- spigot.

The mill riser is now in place; I still need to mount the control panel but the heavy lifting is done. Don't know why I had to make a 100#+ bit that had to go four feet up with no way to lift it other than by hand.

The last minute hitch was the big bolt in the center that sticks down 6" and cannot be removed. I did not have an extra 6" of overhead lifting room, so I tilted the top section and lifted the riser up at an angle and then over.

I have a paint sample so on some trip to the store, I will get some mixed that is a match; hey, at least it is painted.

I now have 21" between the table and quill tip so larger work pieces will be possible. The knee comes up 15" and I have an 8 x 10 x 16 rectangular block if small bits need to be raised. The only downside is now I need to keep a stepstool by the mill for changing speeds.
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Harold_V
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Re: Gorton Riser Block

Post by Harold_V »

Nice job, Russ.

Is it safe to assume that the ram is held by the center bolt? If so, how does one gain access?

Harold
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
Russ Hanscom
Posts: 1955
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Farmington, NM

Re: Gorton Riser Block

Post by Russ Hanscom »

The center bolt, 1 3/8" dia, does hold the top in place. It goes down to a three legged "spider" and one leg of the spider has a 1" jack screw which tightens the whole assembly. There is a small hole (too small) in the back of the column that gives access to those parts. Had I realized, I would have put an access port in the riser block; but once machined, it was too late to do any more cutting and welding. I had to make a special wrench to turn the 1 3/8 adjusting nut, even though it was a finger tight fit, I could not get enough fingers on it.
Russ Hanscom
Posts: 1955
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Farmington, NM

Re: Gorton Riser Block

Post by Russ Hanscom »

What a difference a foot makes.

Just had a 10" high part on the table and I was able to use the boring head and the tapping head without running out of space. Getting a on a stool to change speeds is a small price to pay.
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Harold_V
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Re: Gorton Riser Block

Post by Harold_V »

The real test will be if you can do small work without issues.
Notice any change in rigidity, Russ?

Harold
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
Russ Hanscom
Posts: 1955
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Farmington, NM

Re: Gorton Riser Block

Post by Russ Hanscom »

So far, I have not been able to detect any difference in performance. The two jobs on the mill so far have been RR work so cuts were heavy and in wrought iron so finishes were not great.

I really do not expect a difference in results, the riser is 16" dia, weighs over 100# and is full of stiffeners, I expect it to act like a big solid lump with minimal deflection!
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Harold_V
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Re: Gorton Riser Block

Post by Harold_V »

Heavy cuts should be a good shakeout of any problems. Sounds like there's no issues! Well done.

I mentioned small work. Can you still raise the knee high enough to work off the table with thin objects? I was thinking something on the order of a loco frame. That most likely would have been a controlling factor for me, especially with my penchant for small work. :-)

Harold
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
Russ Hanscom
Posts: 1955
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Farmington, NM

Re: Gorton Riser Block

Post by Russ Hanscom »

The knee travel is 16" and the quill goes 4" so that gets 20". The maximum quill to table distance, minus any tooling, is 21" so I can still hit the deck. At the moment, I have an 8" high block on one side of the table so I can handle different height work pieces without having to crank the table the full distance. It had power to the knee so I really do not have to crank it.
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ctwo
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Re: Gorton Riser Block

Post by ctwo »

We would call it the Kayan model, but we know that the Kayans do not actually have longer than normal necks...
Standards are so important that everyone must have their own...
To measure is to know - Lord Kelvin
Disclaimer: I'm just a guy with a few machines...
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