Show us your milling machine!

Discussion on all milling machines vertical & horizontal, including but not limited to Bridgeports, Hardinge, South Bend, Clausing, Van Norman, including imports.

Moderators: GlennW, Harold_V

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Comstock-Friend
Posts: 157
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2010 9:05 am
Location: Sun Valley, California

Re: Show us your milling machine!

Post by Comstock-Friend »

OK, this is my first post. My Index 55 mill project started back in 2001 when I dragged it home from work (the boss gave it to me, it was left over from a batch of press breaks and shears he bought from a closed business). Got going hot and heavy then stopped after it got painted. I had reassembled most of it, but wanted to do something with the extremely ugly table. Reading this forum convinced me not to further mess with it, so I removed the rust and grime and put it back on the saddle. It moves very well with pretty much equal effort from side to side.

My next effort is to wire it up and assemble my rotary phase converter. I had the electric shop at work do the controls to my design, forward and reverse starters high and low speed windings on the main spindle motor, forward and reverse on the table feed motor. Controls are in the box on the left side of the column.

Current problem is that there is no nameplate for the table feed gear box, so I don't know which lever does what on the box, also, no instructions on the box. Can you shift while running??? (It's almost impossible to shift with the input shaft NOT spinning by hand.) Anyone have the lever functions and instructions??? (Rick Robison of Wells-Index hasn't answered me yet on this query. Wells-Index did the R8 regrind on the B&S #9 spindle, it will now hold BOTH, but you need different drawbars.)
Ugly Mill Table.jpg
Index 55 shows off her lines.jpg
Index 55 Table feed gearbox.jpg
Attachments
Index 55 spindle head.jpg
Index 55 less table.jpg
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GlennW
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Location: Florida

Re: Show us your milling machine!

Post by GlennW »

Welcome to the group!

I was traveling last week and was standing next to one of those machines last Friday in Wisconsin and could have easily snapped a pic for you. Unfortunately, I didn't see your post until Saturday night, and was in Michigan by then. :|

I had not seen one before and it caught my eye, so I walked over and checked it out. Looks like a stout little machine!
Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
Cary Stewart
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Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 5:54 pm

Re: Show us your milling machine!

Post by Cary Stewart »

There is still a company that makes/sells Index mills. Do a Google. They may be able to help you. Your Model 55 apparently is a later model than the Model 40H I sold many months ago. As to the table. Dimples are not a problem. Pimples are. If the table is still off the machine consider having it surface ground to get back to flat. Cary
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Harold_V
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Location: Onalaska, WA USA

Re: Show us your milling machine!

Post by Harold_V »

Cary Stewart wrote:There is still a company that makes/sells Index mills. Do a Google. They may be anble to help you. Your Model 55 apparently is a later model than the Model 40H I sold many months ago. As to the table. Dimples are not a problem. Pimples are. If the table is still off the machine consider having it surface ground to get back to flat. Cary
While surface grinding may improve the appearance, if the table has moved over time (a distinct possibility), resurfacing won't solve the real problem, the one of the ways no longer being in a straight line. Sort of leaves a guy with a do nothing or do it all (rescrape) choice.

What to do? That is the question.

Harold
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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Comstock-Friend
Posts: 157
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2010 9:05 am
Location: Sun Valley, California

Re: Show us your milling machine!

Post by Comstock-Friend »

The table is back on Cary and Harold, Chaski and Hobby-Machinist posts have convinced me to live with it for the time being, especially since I haven't powered the spindle yet! The spindle bearings are good (Wells-Index checks it out before the R8 regrind). As soon as the RPC is running we can power her up. I also need to play with the drawbar. I bought an inexpensive BP J head R8 drawbar, it's about 1.5 inch too long. I went to knock the cross pin holding the bar to the wrenching hex and chipped my Proto pin punch! I usually don't encounter hardened taper pins (I think the drawbar came from Enco). If I can get the sucker out, I can shorten the bar and redrill for the pin. I'm about to go looking for someone with an EDM...
stevec
Posts: 1949
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2010 12:40 pm
Location: N.S. Canada

Re: Show us your milling machine!

Post by stevec »

Comstock-Friend wrote: I bought an inexpensive BP J head R8 drawbar, it's about 1.5 inch too long.
Are you sure it's a taper pin? I've never encountered a hardened taper pin either.
You might be able to fit a 1.5" spacer under the hex to be able to use the drawbar as is. At the very least it would allow you to confirm the length of drawbar you require.
blackdog
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 12:01 am
Location: Orange County,CA.

Re: Show us your milling machine!

Post by blackdog »

Wow, there are some nice mills/shops out there. I didn't see any Rockwell's represented so here is a pic of my two. No beauty queens but they're good runners.

Image

David
Chipper5783
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2011 6:14 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Show us your milling machine!

Post by Chipper5783 »

Here is my Maho MH 600. Similar to the Stanko on page 13 of this post. The work envelope is small, but with the attachments it is a very versatile piece of kit. With 19 pages to this post, I'm surprised that there are not more of this style machine (quite a few manufacturers over the past 60+ years) posted.
Attachments
Auction site picture 1.jpg
DSC02662 - smaller.jpg
DSCF2520 - smaller.jpg
David C. Lathes: Enterprise 1550, Smart & Brown 1024, Mills: Maho MH 600 x2, Cinci Toolmaster, Kasto hacksaw PSB 210, Grinders: Cinc#2 T&C, Ingar 618 SG all but the first came as projects, now they support an endless list of more projects. Good thing I have a day job!
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rakort
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 12:01 am

Re: Show us your milling machine!

Post by rakort »

Well looks like this thread is dieing down. I went through every post and didn't see a mill quite like mine so here it is:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/119635371@N02/

Look through the "sets" it may make a little more sense.

The restoration has restarted, finally...

rakort
gravelrunner69
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Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2015 1:39 pm
Location: Zap ND

Re: Show us your milling machine!

Post by gravelrunner69 »

First off this is a great forum I've learned alot on here.I always wanted to redo a Bridgeport, I found a dirty but decent 1962 J-head thought I'd throw a few pics on here. Thanks for all the help and good reading
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neanderman
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Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Re: Show us your milling machine!

Post by neanderman »

Purty. It's a clean machine.
Ed

LeBlond Dual Drive, 15x30
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