[PROJECT] New to me "Ferro" Bridgeport clone mill.

[Kennyv]

A Machine re-building a machine . Nice work Johnny C..
its going to be a gem when your done with her .

[johnnyc14]

Thanks Kenny, here's todays installment.

One of the bolts holding the head on was broken off and when I removed the head I found the other 3 were badly stretched. They were 12mm metric bolts but I just bought some 1/2" by 7" square headed bolts and they fit perfectly. I cleaned up and re-lubed the worm gear system for tilting the head sideways. 







The screw that holds the power down feed forward/reverse handle was broken off in the shaft. It is only a 4mm screw and it did not have an easy out small enough so after carefully drilling a small hole in the center of the screw I used a small Robertson screw driver bit as a screw extractor and it came right out. I cleaned up the threads with a 4 mm tap and made a new handle from 303 stainless.









I bought a 4" cast aluminum hand wheel for the manual downfeed and bored the center hole to fit the shaft on the mill and then drilled a 1/8" hole to match the one in the hub on the machine and installed a 1/8" roll pin so the handwheel can drive the downfeed hub.



The original draw bar was very beat up so I made a new one using 7/16" CRS and welded a 1/2" nut on one end and threaded the other end to 7/16"NF. I made the shaft and spacer 2  separate pieces. I added a small shoulder to the bottom of the spacer to help center the drawbar in the spindle.







I'm on a roll! This thing is going to be a nice mill I think. I think it is worth investing more money in it and installing a DRO. More on that next time.

Cheers,

John

[PixMan]

Nice milling machine and well worth the effort you're putting into it. The drawbar you made is cool. While you say you welded a 1/2" nut onto the end, I don't see any weld and the hex appears to be milled. ??

I've got those long drawbars on my machine but not a fan. I find that while the length allows you to change tools without retracting the quill, that extra length is rattling around too much at the higher speeds that I so often use. I'll cut mine down to be accessible only with the quill retracted, if I can ever find the time to tip the head over enough to take it out.

[johnnyc14]

(07-09-2015, 08:06 AM)PixMan Wrote: Nice milling machine and well worth the effort you're putting into it. The drawbar you made is cool. While you say you welded a 1/2" nut onto the end, I don't see any weld and the hex appears to be milled. ??

I've got those long drawbars on my machine but not a fan. I find that while the length allows you to change tools without retracting the quill, that extra length is rattling around too much at the higher speeds that I so often use. I'll cut mine down to be accessible only with the quill retracted, if I can ever find the time to tip the head over enough to take it out.

The 7/16" CRS rod if a friction fit into the threads of the 1/2" nut. I used a connecting nut for threaded rod for the extra length. I drilled through 2 flats on the nut with a 3/8" drill then inserted the rod into it leaving it about 3/8" from the top of the nut. Then I filled the drilled holes and the top of the nut with weld using a circular button weld technique. After cooling I milled all 6 flats and the end of the nut to give it a finished appearance with the final wrench size being 18mm, the same size wrench I use on the PM932 mill. It came out dead straight and with the little centering shoulder it does not wobble in the spindle. I'm lucky that I have enough ceiling height to remove the drawbar without tilting the head.

John

[Pete O]

Great thread John. Must be very nice to have another mill on hand while doing repairs to this one, has me wondering how I can raise the suggestion with my wife of buying another mill so I can get the one I've just bought up to scratch. She is convinced that the only use for a lathe and milling machine is to make parts for the lathe and milling machine.
I was going to ask why you used socket-head capscrews on one end of the feed nut and hex bolts with washers at the other end; am I right in thinking that one half of the nut is indexable to adjust backlash?

[Mayhem]

(07-09-2015, 08:03 PM)Pete O Wrote: ...She is convinced that the only use for a lathe and milling machine is to make parts for the lathe and milling machine...

Smart woman you have there Pete.  I cannot think of any other uses for either of them

[johnnyc14]

You are right Pete. One of the feed nuts has slotted holes to allow backlash adjustment. I used some 6mm hex bolts I had on hand because they have built in washers to provide a good grip on that nut to keep it from turning. My wife has the same opinion as yours and actually told me I should keep both mills in case I need one to make parts for the other! I need to work on a new floor plan that will allow that and still give me enough room for all the other stuff I have jammed in my half of the garage. I have come to terms with parking my truck outside but I can't convince her to do the same.

[Pete O]

I haven't even finished building the foundry furnace yet and already she is saying that it will only be used to make parts for the mill and the lathe. Unfortunately this just shows that she has been paying attention.
I wish I had thought of that backlash adjustment method when I was making the new crossfeed screw and nut for my lathe, it would mean that everything is not dependent on how accurately the thread is cut, as effectively only one side of the thread is used in each half of the nut. I haven't got it finished yet (need the mill running to finish that part of the lathe.....) but too late to incorporate this idea.

[kingcreaky]

Very much enjoyed reading this thread, very inspiring. Thanks for all the information and pictures. Keep them coming.

[johnnyc14]

Thanks kingcreaky.

Getting back to the issue I had with wheels to help position the mill where I wanted it in the garage. The previous ones I made were not strong enough so I wanted to make up a set that are really robust. In my scrap box I found a set of old arbor spacers for a brake lathe that were discarded by a shop.



I machined them on the lathe to an OD of 1.975" and a width of 1.490". The center hole in them is 1" diameter.
I machined 4 axles for the rollers from 1" CRS with a 1/2" threaded stub on each end. I used my bandsaw and cut 1 side out of four 2" long pieces of 2" square tube (1/4" wall thickness). I milled a 1/2" slot in each side for the stub portion of the axle to slide into. Each stub on the axle has a 1/4" length non-threaded and a 3/4" threaded portion for the nut. I then welded a 3/4" nut to the top of each one so it can be threaded onto the height adjusters on the base of the mill. With these mounted the machine rolls quite easily and they are plenty strong enough for the weight of the machine.















I forgot to take any pictures of the wheel assemblies mounted to the mill base. The last 2 pics above show the wheel assemblies after they had been mounted on the mill base and had been on the garage floor for a couple of weeks so some rust developed on the rollers. The machine sat on the wheels for a couple of weeks while I figured out the best place for it in my garage. Then I made up 4 stainless discs to put under the threaded height adjusters for permanent placement of the machine. They are 3/4" thick and I drilled a center hole to a depth of 3/8" then machined a tapered end on each threaded adjuster rod to match the angle of the 3/4" drill bit I used to make the holes. Then I removed the wheels and put the disc pads in place and leveled the machine in it's final resting place.



Still a work in progress but I'm getting close to getting the machine set up like I want it.

John