02-09-2015, 11:13 AM
My mill drill was close from the factory.
I had to disassemble to move it into the shop though. This wrecked the factory shimming.
I mounted a dial indicator into a chuck, so that it would spin in an arc just as wide as the depth of the table and loosened the four bolts that hold the round post to the base.
By adding shims, I could get the head very close from front to back (checked by rotating the dial indicator around). The head of the mill is not balanced, and it will lean one way or the other when the bolts are loose, so tighten the bolts every time you check.
I then did the same for the left and right. After getting it close, I cranked the table both ways and checked again.
The factory shims are made of paper stock, but slipping metal shims in while adjusting is much easier.
The joint between the post and the table is often filled with Bondo, or some other kind of filler, and you will have to break this to adjust. I would suggest cutting a clean line through the filler with a hacksaw first, but I just knocked the filler out of the way with a chisel and scraper ( I wasn't going for looks).
It took me several tries to get it where I wanted it, but you only have to do it once (as long as I don't move the thing again).
I had to disassemble to move it into the shop though. This wrecked the factory shimming.
I mounted a dial indicator into a chuck, so that it would spin in an arc just as wide as the depth of the table and loosened the four bolts that hold the round post to the base.
By adding shims, I could get the head very close from front to back (checked by rotating the dial indicator around). The head of the mill is not balanced, and it will lean one way or the other when the bolts are loose, so tighten the bolts every time you check.
I then did the same for the left and right. After getting it close, I cranked the table both ways and checked again.
The factory shims are made of paper stock, but slipping metal shims in while adjusting is much easier.
The joint between the post and the table is often filled with Bondo, or some other kind of filler, and you will have to break this to adjust. I would suggest cutting a clean line through the filler with a hacksaw first, but I just knocked the filler out of the way with a chisel and scraper ( I wasn't going for looks).
It took me several tries to get it where I wanted it, but you only have to do it once (as long as I don't move the thing again).