Cleaning up an old milling machine

[ml_woy]

(09-17-2012, 10:53 PM)PixMan Wrote: Wow, that machine looks GOOD! It's a very heavy duty one with a 3HP spindle and 10x50 table if my guess is right.

So where are you located anyhow? I've never seen one that looks like that, with the Y-axis screw off-center like that. What brand is it?

I am located in Sacramento Ca. The machine is deceiving, the spec sheet said it came with a 1hp or 2hp motor, actually what is has is 1/2hp and it uses r8 tooling. Table is 44" x 10" table with 22" of travel. Machine was made by Balding Engineering in England and is their small "training or light duty machine" named a PAL. Big brother was the Beaver VBRP.

[ml_woy]

(09-18-2012, 08:19 AM)stevec Wrote: ML, What make is that mill?

The mill was made by Balding Engineering in England somewhere in the 60-70's. It is their "PAL" model which was the little brother to the VBRP model and was designed as an instructional or light duty machine. Spech. sheet said it came with a 1hp or 2hp motor but actually this one has a 1/2 hp motor. Table is 10" x 44" and it has an R8 spindle. Balding Engineering sold a lot of their big mills in the US in the 60's although I have only seen one here in Sacramento Ca, that was a couple of weeks ago at a used equipment dealer, but this is the first PAL I have seen. Machine came from a guy who had bought it to notch tubing for sprint car chassis from a speed shop who had it setting around about ten years ago. Since then it has just been setting for about five years. He sold it to me for what he paid for it ten years ago $1,200. I thought it was a good deal. Finding parts, if needed, will almost be impossible, that is the downside.

[ml_woy]

(09-17-2012, 07:52 PM)truckin23 Wrote: Congrats ml_woy I'm in the process of revamping my vertical mill also
http://www.metalworkingfun.com/showthread.php?tid=708

Good luck with it

Been following your project since you picked that thing up in the Bay Area. You are going right down to the bare metal and the pictures look good. I don't think I have the ambition to take this one apart that far. Yours is a one of a kind and probably should end up in a San Francisco museum.

I'm in Sacramento with my project, not far away.

[DaveH]

ml,

That is a fine mill you have there, worth the wait

DaveH

[ml_woy]

(09-17-2012, 10:53 PM)PixMan Wrote: Wow, that machine looks GOOD! It's a very heavy duty one with a 3HP spindle and 10x50 table if my guess is right.

So where are you located anyhow? I've never seen one that looks like that, with the Y-axis screw off-center like that. What brand is it?

I'm located in West Sacramento, Ca. The mill was built by Balding Engineering in England in the 60's or 70's. It is their light duty machine called "PAL" and was sold under the brand name of "Hunter Prince". It is powered with a 2/1 hp motor, whatever that means, motor made in "Jelly Old England". It is 230 volts, 3-phase, with no amperage listed and is a two speed motor. Table is 44" x 10" with an R8 spindle taper.

The Y-Axis screw is centered on the machine,probably the picture does not show the proper perspective.

The machine has been setting idle for about 5 years, the last owner had it for about ten years and only used it to cut notches in tubing for building sprint car chassis. Before that it was housed in a speed shop getting minor usage because the boss liked Bridgeports and had three of them.

For the last six month I have been looking for someone else who might have one of these to compare notes but so far only one gentleman in the Netherlands has come forward with knowledge of its's bigger brother the model VBRP.

That's about all I know about it at this time. Looking forward to getting it running but first have to figure out how to change all of the fluids.

[truckin23]

Well howdy neighbor it looks a lot like one I saw at an estate sale about 3 weeks ago in Sunnyvale it was a Balding also . I was lucky mine was mostly apart already just taking my time so I do it right and time is something i'm a little short on right now lol

[ml_woy]

Well here are some more pictures of the PAL now that it is cleaned up, or at least fifty years of way oil and grease have been removed. You find out a little about something when you clean it up. All of those things which have gone wrong with the machine over the years are brought to the fore front. I discovered that the adjusting bolt which controls the tilt if the head had been broken off and the 5/8" , 20 spline head where the wrench is to attach is missing. A few gib screws have been twisted off making adjustment of the knee a little difficult. The wipers which keep swarf from getting under the ways have totally deteriorated. A prior owner had used grease rather then way oil, assuming that all "Grease fittings" were for grease and not for Way Oil. And the biggest thing, there seems to be no place to fill or drain the gearbox. Actually I am not sure it has a gearbox as the limited documentation I have is for another model, the Mark II and VBSR models. Both have gearboxes and show fill points and site glasses for fluids but this model seems to be missing both.

All that said I think the unit has survived pretty well for all if its' years of service. I am still looking for someone who has operated a PAL and may have some clue to the lubrication.

[stevec]

Great work ml, its coming along nicely. I've never seen X ways like that before.
Keep us informed.

[DaveH]

Ml,
Looks a really good mill

DaveH

[Mayhem]

I would assume that the gearbox reference would be for a feed box for the x axis, which your's doesn't appear to have. My Kondia has a gear box where more modern mills have motor controlled feeds. Of course, I could be wrong - but that is my guess.

Either way that is a nice looking mill.