Looking at an Index 645

[David2011]

Fortunately the table is already down. The belt guard is sitting well off to the left. I need to mix some ATF and acetone. A couple of years ago I found out that not all ATF will mix with acetone. The newer formulae with synthetic components won’t mix but the older all mineral oil ATF blends easily. Ok, I see what you mean about rotating the head rather than nodding. Hopefully there’s a crank on this one, too. I’m completely on my own for getting it ready to move. The seller is due to get the support from rotator cuff surgery off next week so all he can do is watch.

There’s nothing to rig to where it’s sitting right now. Just a tarp and sky over it.

[Bill Shields]

On mine, the hex that rorates the head is at 2o'clock

[David2011]

Is this it? Sorry to sound so clueless. It's very different in some respects to the Bridgeports and clones that I've run in the past.

645 Head Rotator.JPG (34.49 KiB) Viewed 665 times

[Bill Shields]

Yes

[Bill Shields]

Loosen the 4 bolts generously and give it a nudge with a socket.

Doubt it will have rust on the mating surfaces.

[David2011]

Good point on the rust. There's not a lot of rust on the machine. I'm really surprised that the spindle and quill don't want to move considering that everything else moves easily. Maybe I overlooked a locking device. It has enough residual oil and cutting lube all over the machine that most of it moves OK.

Do you have 3 phase power or are you running a device to create/emulate 3 phase? Just wondering about VFDs. Looks like I'll need one for the spindle and a second one for the power feed.

[Bill Shields]

VFD because no 3 phase

Small units are cheap enough.

My index has a servo brand 110 vac table feed.

The only lock is the handle on the quill, typical BP location

There may be rust on the spline where it is driven by the pulley.

You might try putting something down the center of the drive pulley.

[Bill Shields]

Or it may be in mechanical quill feed mode, which means the quill feed gears are engaged.

That is the handle with the white knob on the left side which engages

[David2011]

You're probably right about the splines being rusted. That's an area that didn't get cutting oil spatters and is very dry. The spindle hand feed lever only moves a few degrees, like the tolerance of the mesh of the gear. The spindle hand feed wheel turns without doing anything so I'm assuming the gears are not engaged. When I attempt to engage the spindle feed lever I can feel that things are touching inside but not moving far enough to work. That area is caked with thick black oil. The manual shows a spindle lock pin which I forgot about when I went back yesterday to try to remove the knee elevator rod. It's in the center front of the head at the bottom of the belt guard. Could be that there are multiple issues in the quill/spindle. Can't wait to get it to the house to start working on it.

By "something down the center of the drive pulley" do you mean a penetrating oil? I'm planning on hosing the entire quill/spindle area with ATF/acetone or Kroil or both alternately.

[Bill Shields]

Whatever will make things move

It might be just caked hard grease.

It is an area frequently overlooked.

[David2011]

The great news is that the quill was not frozen. The lock just needed a little tap to disengage and the quill moved freely. There's a problem with the counterbalance spring that will need attention eventually. The spindle turns as well. I just put a wrench on the collet adapter and gave it a tug and it broke free.

The much less good news is that the collet is still stuck and it appears to be a B&S9 taper instead of an R-8 as I was told. The drawbar is 1/2" all thread rod. It laughed off a 16 oz. ball peen hammer. Apparently they can be a real bear to break out if overtightened. Maybe it will respect the 4 pound hammer a little better. I know I could send the spindle in and have it reground but I'm not sure it's worth the cost. The only decent R-8 tooling I have is a set of import collets, a 3/8" end mill holder and a set of 3 indexable end mills from 1-1/4" to 2". I'm inclined to get an ER-40 chuck in B&S-9 taper, a fly cutter and a boring head and be happy. Maybe the buyer of my Jet-16 will want the tooling when I'm ready to sell it. Maybe it's worth sending the spindle to Wells-Index to never have the stuck collet issue again.

[Bill Shields]

Jackson machinery will grind it to r8 for you..did for me. Well worth it.