Cleaning up an old milling machine

[ml_woy]

Well Saturday was the red letter day in that I finally took delivery of my first vertical milling machine. It had been six months in coming and finally I got to experience all of the excitement of loading and unloading a 2,800# piece of equipment. But after two hectic days the job was completed.

Now comes the big chore of cleaning up an old piece of equipment and getting it functioning. Over the past months I have read many accounts of some fantastic restoration projects of old equipment. Many returned to condition better than the day they left the factory. Now I am looking for some advice on how to accomplish this with my old piece of iron in the easiest way possible. No need to reinvent the wheel when so many others have gone down the same road before.

My goal is to have a functioning mill that looks respectable. I am not planning on tearing it down to the last nut and bolt and rebuilding from the ground up. Just get it functioning properly and looking respectable. With that said, the machine has been fairly well cared for over the years, no rust, a few worn out parts and some expedited quick fixes. There is a lot of old way oil caked on it, some nicks and signs of end mills and drills tapping the milling table. All the dials are dull and coated with old way oil so you cannot read the numbers, some have been pinned so they do not rotate without removing a set screw because the tension has gone out of whatever was to hold them in place.

What is the best way to try and clean this up. I had thought about using the power washer on it before taking it into the shop but than had second thoughts about rust forming on surfaces which I could not get completely dry. Any advice from you old hands who have done this before is appreciated.

[PixMan]

Congratulations on the new-to-you milling machine! Pictures....or it didn't happen.

I've seen a couple of different ways of cleaning. One is to use kerosene, as it won't cause rust. The downside of that is the smell and fire risk.

Another way is to use a good powerful cleaner, such as Simple Green. If using that too concentrated, expect to dull any shiny paint surface though all the built-up grime will be gone. To prevent rust after using a water-based cleaner, immediately spray all exposed bare metal with a rust preventative such as the Sprayon stuff I have.

[Sunset Machine]

The only cosmetic "rebuild" I've done was a lathe. So dirty that I wasn't real sure what it was, but the guy said it was a lathe. I could see that it had the outline of a lathe, so be it. First stop, the car wash. Behold! An 11" South Bend. It air dried on the way home, the only rust was what it came with. The summer humidity is low here.

TSP from the paint store and a stiff brush to clean it, wiped down with a rag and water. It dried fairly quick, followed with a coat of paint. I had asked for a paint to use on oily surfaces, whatever it was it worked great. Benjamin Moore, the label said in bold print "contains Stodards solvent". I'm not sure if that was a brag or a warning, but it took a week to stop stinking. Applied it with a brush.

Looks nice. A while back the previous owner stopped by and asked whatever became of that lathe. I said, "you're standing next to it." Totally surprised him.

[dallen]

like they say no pictures it didn't happen

[truckin23]

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

[ml_woy]

           

(09-17-2012, 11:06 AM)ml_woy Wrote: Well Saturday was the red letter day in that I finally took delivery of my first vertical milling machine. It had been six months in coming and finally I got to experience all of the excitement of loading and unloading a 2,800# piece of equipment. But after two hectic days the job was completed.

Now comes the big chore of cleaning up an old piece of equipment and getting it functioning. Over the past months I have read many accounts of some fantastic restoration projects of old equipment. Many returned to condition better than the day they left the factory. Now I am looking for some advice on how to accomplish this with my old piece of iron in the easiest way possible. No need to reinvent the wheel when so many others have gone down the same road before.

My goal is to have a functioning mill that looks respectable. I am not planning on tearing it down to the last nut and bolt and rebuilding from the ground up. Just get it functioning properly and looking respectable. With that said, the machine has been fairly well cared for over the years, no rust, a few worn out parts and some expedited quick fixes. There is a lot of old way oil caked on it, some nicks and signs of end mills and drills tapping the milling table. All the dials are dull and coated with old way oil so you cannot read the numbers, some have been pinned so they do not rotate without removing a set screw because the tension has gone out of whatever was to hold them in place.

What is the best way to try and clean this up. I had thought about using the power washer on it before taking it into the shop but than had second thoughts about rust forming on surfaces which I could not get completely dry. Any advice from you old hands who have done this before is appreciated.

Well thanks for all of the help on getting this beast cleaned up. I am attaching some pictures of the project to prove it really exists. The first picture is it arriving on the trailer ready to be unloaded yesterday. Second picture is what it looked like close up. Third picture is what a little elbow work did to get through some of the grime.

So far I have found that the felt in the wipers for all surfaces need to be replaced. In the coolant tank in the bottom I found a ton of cuttings and a tie down block. The cranks on the end of the table had been fixed as pertinently engaged, but was able to free them up. The dials for moving the table in the x axis have been pined and need to be repaired. Have to figure out why they have no tension.

[TOM REED]

You will be able to do some serious work with that mill, I don't have room in my shop for something that big I guess I will just stay with my RF45 clone. tom

[PixMan]

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?

[EdK]

That thing is a beast. Great looking machine.

Ed

[stevec]

ML, What make is that mill?