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  1. #46
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
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    Sydney
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    666

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    Pete; the problem I’ve found with the spring is that it only adjusts the quill gear, not the quill itself. I have occasions when the tool bit drops down after a cut (when I undo the quill lock) and ruins my finish. Very annoying.

    Ideally I’m trying to find a pull gas strut, but haven’t been able to find anything yet unless you pay $100.

  2. #47
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Charlestown NSW
    Age
    65
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    1,669

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    Too bad there is no way of putting the quill pinion deeper into mesh with the rack.
    My Bridgeport clone also has play between the pinion and rack.
    I suppose if you had plenty of time on your hands you could get really fancy and make a pinion with a slight taper on it. With some means of adjusting the position in relation to the rack.
    Cant ever see myself putting that much effort into mine.
    peter

  3. #48
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

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    Another option, cheaper than a gas strut is a small weight on a rope over a pulley to act as a counter weight.

    Or, do what I do and keep your quill lock slightly nipped up until you are clear of your workpiece.

    Simon

    Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  4. #49
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    sydney ( st marys )
    Age
    64
    Posts
    4,887

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    Why are you running a cutter that you have locked in position to perform a cut in the unlocked/ released position after performing the cut back over the machined surface?
    I think work practices need to be looked at first.

  5. #50
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    666

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    Quote Originally Posted by pipeclay View Post
    Why are you running a cutter that you have locked in position to perform a cut in the unlocked/ released position after performing the cut back over the machined surface?
    I think work practices need to be looked at first.
    Good point. I’m trying to remember the scenario but if I had turned off the cutter and reset, you are correct it wouldn’t have done anything.

  6. #51
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    666

    Default What would you choose? Milling machine mods

    Trying to get my z axis working. The plan is to locate it in the head of the mill so it’s 1) out of the way and not hanging off the side of the machine 2) allows me to keep the depth stop and 3) provides potential support for a gas strut in the future.

    This complicates things a lot but once I have it setup I’m sure it will be worth it.

    To make it all happen I need a mounting structure for the linear bearing which will allow the top part of the scale to slide up and down with the quill.

    Here is v1.0 made from 3mm steel.



    The plan is to make it adjustable but that’s not working very well at the moment so I will be progressing on to v2.0 this weekend (if you can’t make it accurate, make it adjustable What would you choose? Milling machine mods).

    Why isn’t it working? The upper mount does not fit in the head opening as it’s too wide. I’ve been undoing it to get it in, but then tightening it back up again is not working. Other than that proof of concept seems solid.

    Also the nut and bolt setup for the linear rail is a pig to tighten. So instead of the Alu bushes I made with a nut on the back, I’m going to make some threaded ones that will still allow for lateral adjustment but will be made from steel, have a square head on them to lock them in the slot so I can just thread the bolt straight in.

    To address the issue of the top mount not fitting, I’m going to scrap this one and replace with one the same dimensions as the lower one. This will allow me to drop the mount straight in from the top. I will take up the upper gap with Alu spacers which will really allow me to set it up without any bloody knuckles or swearing What would you choose? Milling machine mods

  7. #52
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    666

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    V2.0 tonight and I think I’m getting closer. Step 1 was to make a new top mount, cut a strip of steel, milled out a slot in the middle and each end, then chucked it in my metal brake and bent the ends to 90 degrees.

    Then made 2 Alu spacers at 33mm each. Only to realise I needed 33mm total, so I parted them off again on the lathe What would you choose? Milling machine mods

    The whole setup is MUCH easier to drop in to the head of the mill and with some minor fettling I was able to get it relatively straight by eye.



    Only to realise I couldn’t put the bearing on without all the ball bearings falling on the floor. So I pulled it all out again and then put the bearing on the rail on the bench.

    Put a zip tie around the rail to stop the bearing dropping off and set about popping it all back in again. Adjusting it all by eye again. It’s not the most sophisticated setup but I’m hopeful I can get it adjusted in with a few taps of a wrench here and there. It certainly locks up solid once the bolts are tightened up.

    With the rail all in I set about putting on the spacer I made. I thought I’d have to pull the rail out again but was able to do it in situ. Wow did it go easy, using the dro for my hole spacings made for the easiest most accurate bolt up ever. Very impressive.

    With that part in I was able to bolt the scale to the bearing:



    It’s going to be a nice hidden install and I’m hoping I can get the cables up and out of the pulley cover without too much hacking. Worst case I’ll desolder the connector to keep a tidy exit.

    The only thing left to mount the scale is the lower mount. I’m planning on making a block that bolts to the spindle depth stop bracket:





    Once I have the lower mount done, I’ll get an indicator on it and make sure it’s straight in both planes before figuring out a way to mount the reader.

  8. #53
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Melbourne
    Age
    35
    Posts
    1,522

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    While you are in there maybe make a sheet metal cover to protect the quill rack, looks like it's got the potential to attract junk. Good idea though very neat installation.

    Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

  9. #54
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    666

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    Quote Originally Posted by caskwarrior View Post
    While you are in there maybe make a sheet metal cover to protect the quill rack, looks like it's got the potential to attract junk. Good idea though very neat installation.

    Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
    Generally it’s ok as the belt cover lid keeps stuff out of the top. However the insides are full of dirty oily crap from accumulation of grinding dust and all sorts of other rubbish over the years.

    My garage is significantly cleaner so I hope to keep it much cleaner in there, but will look at options to keep it clean in there.

  10. #55
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    666

    Default What would you choose? Milling machine mods

    Finally finished a job in the shed! I need a better completion rate but slowly working my way through things.

    Attaching the reader head was relatively simple in the end. I used one of the supplied brackets and notched out the lower corner so I could have it extend out and down from the head. This meant I had the appropriate reader position for all the travel on the Z axis. Here you can see the Alu bracket:



    This is the notched side. It’s notched to clear the casting on the head:



    Opposite side. Here you can see the steel mounting block I made for the quill, the Alu spacer to get the correct offset and the reader head at the back:



    From the front it looks like a stock machine, exactly what I wanted What would you choose? Milling machine mods

    Buttoning up the machine I was able to undo the connector on the reader and feed it through a hole in the belt cover. I had to move the sensor for the RPM gauge as that hit the scale, but a very simple fix:



    Also cleaned up the column with some scotchbrite and WD40 as it was looking a bit gross. Don’t think I’d cleaned that off since I bought the machine What would you choose? Milling machine mods

    All back together and happy to report it’s all working perfectly.



    Just need to make some small t nuts for my table covers and the machine will be ready for phase 2. Scraping the machine back to spec and replacing the nuts/screws.

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