Who made this horizontal mill?

[oldgoaly]

I know the name but have not found any info on the maker??? so maybe this was made by another company and sold by a local place out east? WW2 vintage, got it from H.S. auction (10$) they didn't have 440 (wired that way) so it has almost never run. I need to pull the jack shaft and wash the old grease out and put new in, had pulled the spindle re-greased it, was able to inject new grease into the motor bearings and force the old grease out. I just pull the plastic cover off of it and snapped a few pics.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

what do you think??? makes a nice paper weight!

[PixMan]

It doesn't look all that elegant or well engineered, though with a flywheel that size it's probably got excellent low speed torque. It really looks out of balance and certainly lacks symmetry.

I've never seen one like it, so no help on identification. Sorry.

So are you planning to use it or resell it?

[Rickabilly]

These Mills are often known as "Keyseaters" designed primarily for use by semi skilled operators for War production they were set up by a toolsetter to cut keyways and such like operations using lever operated tables and holding work in fixtures, often doing only one job on a production line for years at a time.

The "Lop sided" design was not uncommon prior to the standard idea of what a Milling machine should look like, came about with the success of the Bridgeport and Cincinnati machines. After the war, lots of these sorts of machines were picked up by hobbyists which is why some of the early home made mills have similar lop sided pillar designs, the Gingery is just one example.

I like it just because it's different, and it will do good work as long as it's owner uses some imagination, spindle speeds will be low though and these are not designed to drill holes as mass production drilling back in the day was done via drilling lines and jig plates. I s'pose that is why the ole BP was so successful, it can mill and drill

Regards
Rick

[oldgoaly]

Well I've had it so long it's hard to part with but what to I could use it for??? I don't make bunches of anything at one time, I get bored easy! I have found a little more info about or I think I have? they don't directly mention building these types of machine, but during the war they could have built or machined and assembled these for war production?

[Rickabilly]

It can be used for any horizontal milling work you can think of, I have seen them cutting gears, splines, even dovetail ways and slab milling flat surfaces. It's just that they aren't much use for drilling and you have to get your head out of "Bridgeport mode" to make best use of them.

If you are wondering why the "milling arbour head" is on a set of it's own ways many similar machines were supplied with a vertical milling head. I have also seen these adapted with a grinding arbour and used as a kind of tool and cutter grinder.

It is at least a big chunk of cast iron with ways and a table that would make a good foundation for any custom machine tool.

Regards
Rick

[oldgoaly]

Rick,
this has some Bridgeport (Connecticut) It's a Producto mill, made in Bridgeport. Very little info have I found, doesn't relate to the mill, but kind leads you to them. http://www.mooretool.com/about.html I'm still thinking (I know weakens the nation) that this was WW2 maybe they made them during the war under gov't contract then just after turned to more profitable products

   

   

[Rickabilly]

I would certainly guess WW2 era, just from the colour, roughness of the castings lack of screw feed on the table etc, even the spiral wound conduit is WW2ish. "War finish" was the name given to a lower grade of aesthetic applied to all machines produced during a certain period of the war, it meant that manufacturers were ordered to minimise the time spent on non functional areas of the machine build. so no paint just primer, no screw fed slides where they were not essential, cast on handles rather than turned knobs, many lathes were built without leadscrews and supplied with Automatic threading boxes, as single point threading required too much skill, the men having been replaced by unskilled women, so unless by special order some manufacturers stopped supplying lead screws altogether. One thing that was certainly "off the menu" was filling of cast surfaces so no shiny painted castings with pin striping, immediately pre-war this was standard on many machines, but the pinstriping never returned.

As far as "more profitable" don't believe it, throughout the 20th century no period was more profitable for engineering than WW2.