Wabeco F1200

[Wongster]

Hi guys,

I was thinking back at what I observed during my test cut yesterday. My bench isn't flat which caused the mill to rock a little when cranking the handwheels. I'm thinking of getting a piece of steel plate as base for the mill (don't ask me how I'm going to lift the mill on it, haven't figure that out yet...) and fix up 4 pieces of adjustable feet on the corner of the plate.

The base of the machine measures 250mm x 404mm. I'm thinking of getting a slightly bigger plate to allow for the feet and better stability. How thick should the steel plate be for the machine weighing 85kg?

Regards,
Wong

[DaveH]

Hi Wong,

Just some thoughts - the mill should be bolted down to the bench top ideally.

You could I suppose use the bolt down holes to put some adjustable feet on.

I wonder what others think?

DaveH

[Wongster]

Thanks Dave. Using the bolt down holes is a neat idea! I'll go get some adjustable feet later today. Wabeco mentioned 10mm diameter for the bolt down holes but I measured slightly more than 9mm. M10 bolt can't pass through it so I'll get those feet with M8 threads.

I'm not able to bolt the mill down to the bench top. The bench top is made up of 2 sets of 2 x 15mm plywood with space in between the set (there are some cross pieces to hold them together and to provide support).

The bench top is also not level. The feet would help to level things up.

Any recommendation on the size of vise I should get?

Regards,
Wong

[DaveH]

Hi Wong,

Have a look round for "Machine Vises" or "Milling machine vises"
Kurt and Vertex do good vises albeit expensive - just go for one with a screw.
100mm or 125mm jaws (jaw width) nice and heavy and solid. It needs to have 4 hold down holes so that it can be mounted either transverse or longitudinal. (I read that somewhere )
Then do you want it to have a swivel base. Some with a swivel base can be taken off the swivel base and used without the base. (Useful).

A small solid rigid vise is better for milling than a large flimsy vise.

Probably a 100mm jaw width may be best for your mill - Just a thought.


DaveH

[DaveH]

Wong,

The fact the bench top is made up of two spaced 15mm ply doesn't mean you cannot bolt through it.
Make sure the feet have a large diameter foot to help spread the load. A large (slightly larger than the mill base) 5mm thick piece of steel placed between the feet and the bench top will help to distribute the load. Aluminium would probably do.

DaveH

[Wongster]

Dave,

What about the length? How much over hang should I allow?

I saw Kurt vise on some US site. The cheapest is quite off my budget. So I'll have look for something that's as close without burning a hole in my wallet.

Regards,
Wong

[Wongster]

(07-08-2012, 07:42 PM)DaveH Wrote: Wong,

The fact the bench top is made up of two spaced 15mm ply doesn't mean you cannot bolt through it.
Make sure the feet have a large diameter foot to help spread the load. A large (slightly larger than the mill base) 5mm thick piece of steel placed between the feet and the bench top will help to distribute the load. Aluminium would probably do.

DaveH

Dave,

The top piece is made up of 2x15mm ply stick together making 30mm
and the bottom piece another 2.

Would I still need the steel plate between the bench top and the feet bolted onto the mill base? The bench top is not flat. The plate, with the mill on it, will rock. Will I have enough support with the feet on the mill base alone? I'll get a biggest diameter feet available with M8 threads.

Sorry to be a pain clarifying this over again.

[f350ca]

Wong
I've never had a bench top mill but I'd recommend bolting it down. A fly cutter or boring head or other unbalanced tool could make it slide around. Would hate to see it fall off the bench on you.
You could drill through both layers of the bench, then drill the bottom layer oversize, big enough to reach up on there with a socket to tighten a nut. Use shims to level the base to the bench

[Wongster]

Greg,

Would making a table out of steel fixed with vibration absorbing adjustable feet works in your opinion?

Regards,
Wong

[f350ca]

Wong
As I said I'm no expert as I've never owned a bench top mill. I don't see what the steel plate would gain you, other than a small amount of mass. The wooden bench should gain you a fair amount of dampening on its own. I've never used the vibration absorbing feet, if they absorb vibration then they probably are elastic, which must allow the machine to vibrate with respect to the bench as a car engine does in the frame. If so holding the handles might seem uncomfortable as they will be vibrating to some extent. Simple shims should take up the irregularities in your bench, can't imagine its too far off, you didn't here this from me but unless its real bad I'd bolt it down as and pull the bench to the stiff machine base.
Too often we over engineer things, I know I'm probably the worst offender.