# Tecnico’s First Mill



## Tecnico (Apr 19, 2022)

OK, so that’s a play on words. It is my first mill but it’s also a First LC1 – ½ TM (Long Chang, out of Taiwan).

A few weeks ago I saw an ad for machine shop equipment for sale (and in my back yard for a change) so I went to have a look and with a few twists & turns I had a deal for the mill.

The machine is a step drive version and as it turns out it’s 2 HP and surprisingly wired for 110/220 single phase. So much for the idea of playing around with a VFD! It was bought new in 1987 by a one man machine shop with a “gun customizing” business so it wasn’t as heavily used as a production shop. He also had a lathe, surface grinder and some other gear to occupy his time.  Anyone interested in a K. O. Lee surface grinder?

There’s some visible wear in the flaking of the Y-axis but the end play is only .045 on the X and .020 on the Y with little variation end to end so all good indications. It also has an X-axis power feed, a coolant pump and by my eye has a 4” riser on the pedestal.

Everything works and generally looks to be a good machine but needs some TLC to get the grunge off.

It comes with a drill press vise(!), a Vertex dividing head, 3 jaw (Burnerd) & 4 jaw chucks (with no obvious means of mounting, probably missing something), no backing plates, a boring head, fly cutting tools, a Rohm R8 keyed chuck, a few ER collets, a hold down kit & a bunch of misc. slitter and slot cutting tools.  Basically I think the family wants to clear out the shop.  The bonus is I got the Illustrated Parts Catalog and I'm supposed to get the manual which I haven't been able to find on the web. 

So, there it is until Saturday when the move happens. I’ve decided to rent a U-Drive pickup and one of their dual axle trailers with a ramp. Thinking about Dabbler’s advice I scouted out the trailer on the weekend and decided that it would do. The two I looked at had a plethora of reasonably robust looking tie down loops and the trailer looks like it could transport a tank let alone something as light as a mill!

The bed is heavy corrugated metal over what look like plenty of 2 x 3 x ¼ tubes. The corrugated metal will play heck with the castors so I’ll put down a piece of plywood or maybe plate and I’ll have to protect the ramps with some plate because they’re only expanded grate but I have the plate so that’s not a big deal. I’ll plan to tilt the trailer with the jack or run the back wheels of the truck up on ramps or both to get a nice slope up the ramp although the trailer is actually quite low by itself.

The dolly should roll up and down that nicely and once it’s in the trailer I’ll jack it up and block it up on wood for the trip.

I'll post some photos when I figure out what's with my hosting provider.

D

Edit:  I meant to add that I'll continue the thread as I bring the machine home and come up to speed with it so it'll be a living thread.


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## 140mower (Apr 19, 2022)

Congratulations, and good luck with the move. Sounds like you are moving in the right direction....


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## Degen (Apr 19, 2022)

VFD easy, replace the motor and VFD......simple and worth it.


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## David_R8 (Apr 19, 2022)

Love to see pics as I also have  Long Chang mill. Very stout machine.


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## YYCHM (Apr 19, 2022)

David_R8 said:


> Love to see pics as I also have  Long Chang mill. Very stout machine.








						LONG CHANG MACHINERY CO., LTD. manufactures milling machine, machining center, roller guide way, box way, double column machining center in Taichung, Taiwan.
					

LONG CHANG MACHINERY CO., LTD. manufactures milling machine, machining center, roller guide way, box way, double column machining center in Taichung, Taiwan.



					www.first.com.tw


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## Darren (Apr 19, 2022)

New mill...you must post pics, i think its a rule here


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## Tecnico (Apr 19, 2022)

Trust me, pics are in the works but tonight my host is not cooperating, I have to figure what's going on there.  

It does look a lot like this though: LC1 1/2 TM

Oh, I see that Craig posted the same link.

D


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## Everett (Apr 19, 2022)

Nice taste in mills, lol, I have a First LC1-1/2TM as well!  No power feed yet, but was still thankful for the deal I got on mine too.  You got a nice haul of tooling with yours, nicely done!  I bought a copy of the manual from lathes.co.uk, so if you need any info, PM me and I can look it up for you.  It was a few bucks but I was so tickled to get a knee mill that I splurged for the book and shipping from the UK and was not remorseful following the purchase, lol!


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## Dabbler (Apr 19, 2022)

Happy 'First' club!! yay!


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## Tecnico (Apr 20, 2022)

Dabbler said:


> Happy 'First' club!! yay!


Good to see I have you @David_R8 and @Everett for company in the First club!

Counting down the days until picking up the machine - U-Haul booked.

D


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## David_R8 (Apr 20, 2022)

Tecnico said:


> Good to see I have you @David_R8 and @Everett for company in the First club!
> 
> Counting down the days until picking up the machine - U-Haul booked.
> 
> D


Strictly speaking I have a Long Chang, which begat First.


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## Tecnico (Apr 30, 2022)

OK, so I promised pictures and more updates, here we go!

I talked about making a dolly to move the mill around on and to use as a base in my shop, here’s the dolly.






It’s 4 x 4 x ¼ angle with 2 x 2 x 1/8 tubing joining them and 720 lb. rated steel wheel casters. All the numbers worked out for the weight of the machine. The 1” tubes across each end are to keep the machine in place on the dolly and will be adjusted to fit.  Once the mill was in the trailer the dolly was raised and set on blocks to get it off the wheels for the trip home. I’m pleased to say that the dolly worked great as planned for the load and offload.

The plan is to move the mill into place and either take the wheels off and set the 2” tube on the floor or leave the wheels on and rest the dolly on 2 x 4s to take the weight off the wheels. That’s what the floor jack is for.

I arrived there with knocked down dolly in hand and a Macgyvered wheeled lever cobbled together from odds and ends including a rub rail from my last race car. If you’re ever going to move a piece of equipment you want one of these! I should have made the tab out of something a little thicker because I bent it sometime during the move.





My S.O. and I went, planning on having help from the late owner’s son, but we wound up with the whole family and it worked out great. I started by briefing everyone on what was going to happen and thankfully they all got with the program and let me orchestrate the show. Lucked in there! I can’t say enough how important it is to do a pre-operation brief so everyone knows what’s going to happen and that you know what you're doing. That and safety management.

The mill needed to be rollered out from against the back wall to where I could lift front & rear to block it up high enough to slide the cross members under, bolt the angles to them and then raise enough to get the casters on.





From there it was line up the trailer, line the ramps with steel plate and come-along the mill up onto the trailer, column first for stability. I had dropped the knee, rotated the head to motor down position and moved the table to the column to manage the c of g. Loading actually went very well with lots of hands to guide. Not much load on the come-along either. I think if I did it again (and had time) I’d arrange to lock the swivels or only have 2 swivelling castors – hindsight.









Once on board the trailer the mill was moved to slightly bias weight to the trailer tongue, put up on blocks and lashed down with the come-along, 4 @1300 SWL straps to the column and 4 @500 SWL kept the base in place.





The trip home was uneventful and the offload was OK although more hands would have helped but we managed by moving slowly and methodically. The one thing I regret when building the shop is to not have set a big eye in the floor at the back wall so I could winch things off of trailers. This is the second time I had to make do unloading something and in this case I couldn’t get enough slope on the trailer for it to self-unload.









Anyhow the machine made it home safe and sound!





Now a few words about the trailer. @Dabbler mentioned that in his experience U-Haul and other trailers did not have adequate tie-downs so the week before the move I went by the local U-Haul and checked out their 6 x 12 dual axle trailers and found that they had suitable tie-downs and an adequate ramp so I was confident that I was prepared. Well, to my surprise the 6 x 12 trailer they picked out for me and had hooked up when I arrived had tie-downs in it that looked about the gage of paperclips! Fortunately they had another and quickly swapped it out without a peep. Heed the warning from @Dabbler that the trailer you get might not be adequate.

Well, that’s about it for now, more to come as I go over the mill & bring it into service.

D


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## 140mower (Apr 30, 2022)

Tecnico said:


> OK, so I promised pictures and more updates, here we go!
> 
> I talked about making a dolly to move the mill around on and to use as a base in my shop, here’s the dolly.
> 
> ...


Well done! Congratulations on the new toy, looking forward to the updates and projects to come.


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## Tecnico (Apr 30, 2022)

140mower said:


> Well done! Congratulations on the new toy, looking forward to the updates and projects to come.


Thanks, I'm looking forward to lots of interesting and useful projects.  

Right now, clean up 35 years of accumulated patina and get set up to run.  Future?  I have some ideas including the requisite DRO!

D


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## Degen (May 1, 2022)

Forget DRO go straight to CNC.

I used Centriod Acorn system with the CNC4PC board for Clearpath servos and clear path Servos.

Commercial type controller and software, plug and play for the most part.  Total time invested to get up and running about a week, between money making work (actual time line about 3 months with about 2 days of downtime not including cleaning and setting up leadscrews and ways).

Well worth it.


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## Chicken lights (May 1, 2022)

Tecnico said:


> The trip home was uneventful and the offload was OK although more hands would have helped but we managed by moving slowly and methodically. The one thing I regret when building the shop is to not have set a big eye in the floor at the back wall so I could winch things off of trailers. This is the second time I had to make do unloading something and in this case I couldn’t get enough slope on the trailer for it to self-unload.


A snatch block and a length of aircraft cable come in handy, letting you load and unload a trailer easily. Position the snatch block in the middle of the trailer, run the aircraft cable down the trailer to the piece being loaded, hook the cable to a vehicle/tractor and yank it on. Opposite for unloading. (And if it’s a janky pull you can move the snatch block to different sides of the trailer to change the angle of the pull) 

To actually get it into the garage you’d still need an anchor point inside the garage, for the snatch block, but it wouldn’t need to be heavy for just a mill. 

Nice job getting it home!!


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## 6.5 Fan (May 1, 2022)

Your going to have many hours of fun with that new to you machine, congrats.


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## Tecnico (May 1, 2022)

Degen said:


> Forget DRO go straight to CNC.
> 
> I used Centriod Acorn system with the CNC4PC board for Clearpath servos and clear path Servos.
> 
> ...


What kind of money are we talking about for the CNC hardware?  This mill for me is for personal use so not much prospect for payback.

D


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## Tecnico (May 1, 2022)

Chicken lights said:


> A snatch block and a length of aircraft cable come in handy, letting you load and unload a trailer easily. Position the snatch block in the middle of the trailer, run the aircraft cable down the trailer to the piece being loaded, hook the cable to a vehicle/tractor and yank it on. Opposite for unloading. (And if it’s a janky pull you can move the snatch block to different sides of the trailer to change the angle of the pull)
> 
> To actually get it into the garage you’d still need an anchor point inside the garage, for the snatch block, but it wouldn’t need to be heavy for just a mill.
> 
> Nice job getting it home!!



Hi @Chicken lights. In my case getting on the trailer was straight forward because the trailer had convenient & beefy tie down loops I could center a come-along on with a loop of chain.  Getting on the trailer was more of a cardio work-out with the come-along than anything!   It was the getting off the trailer part that was more complicated.

In my case I have a car in the shop (multi-purpose shop!) so I hooked a chain to a tow hook and all I needed to move the mill was to pull up on the chain span (which multiplied the force by geometry) but unfortunately the car was off center so I had to jig around a bit to pull & straighten.  I kept the come-along connected with some slack cable to manage movement/prevent overrun but the trailer & ramp were about level going into the shop so not much help toward self-unloading!

In the end it was done safely, that's the important part.  I'm going to have to put my thinking cap on for a loop at the back wall though for future need.

D


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## Tecnico (Aug 5, 2022)

It’s about time I got caught up on the story of my First mill, I’ve had my head down doing the clean-up and maintenance to get it to the point where I want to call it ready to put to use. Basically I wanted to set a baseline where the to-do list was minimal.

This is where I started: Lots of general grime and a fair bit of flaking bondo around the column/base.





​I spent a lot of time with a stiff bristle brush, scraping tools and a can of Varsol removing 35 years of accumulated grime, lubricant and cutting oil residue and even traces of Cosmoline. Some of the cutting oil residue was more like varnish and took a fair effort to clean up.





After clean-up, I’m pleased with the general condition of the machine, other than cosmetics it seems to be well cared for, little wear and not abused. The one shot pump reservoir was half full and there was oil on the ways so it looks like the pump works and was used. I notice that there is an oil feed to the lead screw nuts so that’s good for longevity.

The X axis play comes out at .035 and the Y is .020 and even through the travel so more reason to be pleased.






Digging into some of the components I decided to have a look at the power feed for the X axis. I needed to replace the circuit breaker/switch, the plastic lever had gotten bumped during handling and broke off so I had to dismantle the unit to get at it.

When I got it open I found the cable entry strain reliefs were in need of replacement and the neon(!) power indicator lamp was black inside so while it was open I replaced that too. Finally, the fast feed override push button mechanism needed cleaning (more brown varnish) and its flexible cap needed replacement. Other than that it got a thorough cleaning and re-greasing.

While I was at it I replaced all the cabling from the power distribution box and also the cable to the table limit switch because the jackets were cracking. I also overhauled the limit switch because it too was covered with and full of the brown varnish like cutting oil. In the end I also replaced the plunger spring (Grainger) inside because it was broken and I made an actual gasket for the cover to keep contaminants out.

Finally I gave the housing a thorough cleaning.

After that overhaul, the power feed will be good for another 35 years or longer than I expect to need it!





Talk about a quart of stuff in a pint bottle!

While replacing cabling on the power feed I had a good look at the junction box on the machine and I’m impressed with the layout & workmanship. Cables are neatly run, secured & labelled at both ends and there’s a schematic for the transformer.

The next thing to look at was the cutting oil/coolant pump. From looking in the drain back holes in the base I knew the sump would need some clean-up since I saw chips and even a shell casing in there so I drained the oil and dug in. As expected there was some debris at the drain back ports so that got cleaned out. I’m planning to put some sort of fixed retainer on the drop-in gratings but that will come later.

Next up was checking the pump. At some point in its life the pump bracket parted company with the pedestal casting (2x 6mm bolts) so the pump was kind of laying there over above the sump. Easy fix and the pump works fine.

At that point I propped the mill up on blocks and took it off the dolly so I could get full access to the base for paint touch up and also paint the dolly. My approach was to make the machine respectable looking and seal all the open surfaces rather than a full like-new overhaul (or quick cosmetic cover-up) so I smoothed up the old bondo as much as I had patience for (awful stuff) primed and painted. The (2K/epoxy) primer is important because it seals the bondo etc. against being softened by the top coat. I also used 2K top coat because it cures quickly and is very resistant to chemicals. I managed to get a good match from my local NAPA using their scanner, turns out the closest match is Mercede$ grey LOL!

So, here’s the finished touch up, not bad if you don’t look closely at the base but more importantly for me it’s all one color and looks pretty good when I look at it, ‘way better than when I got it.






After washing and cleaning the cutting oil residue I used some rust remover to clean up any red dust residue caused by humidity and gave the table a brushing and I was pleased to see how good a shape the table was all around. On the work surface it is “flaked” and doesn’t show uneven wear from end to end and there’s only one small crescent about 1/16 wide at the edge of one of the slots where someone got too close with a drill bit so I’m really pleased. There are what are probably typical dings from dropping things on the table and I have to come back to those.












There were a few other things on the to-do list, the quill feed wheel is damaged and a replacement is in the works and I needed to replace one of the drive belt adjuster lock downs because the handle was broken off. First work I did with the machine was to remove the broken handle from the lock nut, more later.

So, next up was getting it back on the dolly and doing a run-up. For that I needed to re-terminate the power cable since some of the jacket was getting tired (to be replaced once the machine has its own designated spot in the shop).

Running up I found what I thought may be some quill shaft (?) bearing noise but giving it a dose of lubricant seems to help that and the belts squeak a bit but that will probably quiet with use.

So, to remove the remains of the belt adjuster handle from adjuster I set up to drill it out and discovered two things, first, the R8 key grub screw was sheared off and the Rohm chuck I received with the machine has a run out problem.

The R8 key was solved with a new M6x1x8 dog point grub screw (pack of 100 and a week from Grainger). Replacing it I discovered that my SYOV 25(?!) collet holder has a shallower groove at key height than my other R8 tools and I also needed to use a little Loctite 222 (small fastener, removable) to keep the dog point screw in place while I set the outer screw.

The Rohm chuck is a different story. It would appear that there is some debris or something in the mechanism that is affecting its accuracy. Probably more of that brown varnish cutting fluid. It’s different at different sizes. So after fiddling with it for a while I decided that I would set it aside until later to take it apart and invest in a new keyless Tegara which came at a reasonable price from Shars.

The last little bit for this instalment is the update on the dolly I have the mill on. As you can see from earlier in this thread the dolly I made for handling the machine on the trip home and in the shop worked out great for the move but would have been better without all 4 wheels castoring. I fixed that. The dolly now has two fixed and two castoring and the castoring wheels are linked and steerable. The dolly update story will come in the next instalment.

So, there we are for now.  There will be more updates when I have time.  Coming are the dolly steering,  quill feed wheel, folding handle X axis wheel and the custom work lamp.

D


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## Susquatch (Aug 5, 2022)

Tecnico said:


> The X axis play comes out at .035 and the Y is .020 and even through the travel so more reason to be pleased.



If the wear is even across the length of the screw, chances are that you can tighten the nut a wee bit to remove a lot of that too. That's what happened on my Hartford. Just be careful not to over do it. A little backlash isn't a big deal as long as you know it's there and know how to work with it.

If you overdo it, you can accidentally accelerate the wear.


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## Tecnico (Aug 5, 2022)

Susquatch said:


> If the wear is even across the length of the screw, chances are that you can tighten the nut a wee bit to remove a lot of that too. That's what happened on my Hartford. Just be careful not to over do it. A little backlash isn't a big deal as long as you know it's there and know how to work with it.
> 
> If you overdo it, you can accidentally accelerate the wear.



That's one thing that's still on my to do list, I have to make up a special tool though.  If you didn't know, the Long Chang/First (& Sharp etc.) back lash adjuster/lock nut is not like a BP, you need the special tool to turn the adjuster sleeve and the ring lock nuts  - see the lock nut image below.







Tool designed but not yet built. 

Interesting to note that the leadscrews seem to be wearing very evenly (if at all?), probably because the nuts are part of the one-shot oiling circuit so they are regularly lubricated vs. what I have read about (some?) BPs that rely on splash/drip coming off of other parts (if I read correctly).

Making the adjustments is on the to do list but not at the top.  The rest of the story? I got zinged a few days ago, my S.O. is a sharp one, she recently pointed out that I seem to be using the mill to make things to go with the mill and not other projects LOL!  She encourages my play but sometimes those little zingers pop out! 

At least I fixed the ice maker yesterday.  

D


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## Susquatch (Aug 5, 2022)

Tecnico said:


> That's one thing that's still on my to do list, I have to make up a special tool though.  If you didn't know, the Long Chang/First (& Sharp etc.) back lash adjuster/lock nut is not like a BP, you need the special tool to turn the adjuster sleeve and the ring lock nuts  - see the lock nut image below.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Ya, I didn't know that. Dipsticks! 

I'd guess your screws are not worn at all and it's all in the nuts. 

If I had that problem making a special wrench for that, it might not happen. At least yours are on your to do list. 

If my CFO ever figured that out they might be adding Yeti's to the critically endangered list.


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## Tecnico (Aug 5, 2022)

Endangered Yeti, LOL!

Dipsticks? Maybe for not making a piece by piece copy of a BP but on the other hand from what I've seen in BP documents the LC way might be better except for the tool.  In the small details it generally looks like they kept the interface/form factor of the BP but made small common sense mods for their production.  There are quirks in there, the M6 R8 key is one.  I was expecting to find the same oddball BP set screw pair but the First/LC parts are common off the shelf parts except they're metric.  The socket head cap screws holding the rear chip protector mat on the column are 1/4-20 but the head hex is metric - seriously!  I've learned to not assume what I'm going to find for fasteners when I put a wrench on this thing!  I'd still rather deal with the mix of metric and imperial in this machine than the unobtainum BSF/Whitworth fasteners in my Brit. Myford lathe!

Anyhow, you can probably buy a tool from Sharp, (they supply one with each new mill) don't know the price nor have I seen anything but a line drawing so I can't really say how good the tool is but it doesn't look convincing to me so with all that I'll go ahead and make my own version.

I'm not too worried about the teasing mill zingers, if it's going to be anything like the lathe there is going to be a steady stream of "I fixed that/made that using the mill".  It looks good when it's a Christmas present or fixing something around the house or a McGuyvered special tool for fixing her car!  It's all in good sport.

D


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## Susquatch (Aug 5, 2022)

Tecnico said:


> Endangered Yeti, LOL!
> 
> Dipsticks? Maybe for not making a piece by piece copy of a BP but on the other hand from what I've seen in BP documents the LC way might be better except for the tool.  In the small details it generally looks like they kept the interface/form factor of the BP but made small common sense mods for their production.  There are quirks in there, the M6 R8 key is one.  I was expecting to find the same oddball BP set screw pair but the First/LC parts are common off the shelf parts except they're metric.  The socket head cap screws holding the rear chip protector mat on the column are 1/4-20 but the head hex is metric - seriously!  I've learned to not assume what I'm going to find for fasteners when I put a wrench on this thing!  I'd still rather deal with the mix of metric and imperial in this machine than the unobtainum BSF/Whitworth fasteners in my Brit. Myford lathe!
> 
> ...



I have no delusions about how much better the First is. It's an awesome machine.

I was just expressing my frustration at the need for any special tools in any machine!

I spent a career in the auto industry. Hence the term dipstick! Nothing used to irritate me more than all the special tools the auto companies made their dealers buy. How is the average mechanic supposed to afford all that? And how about the car owner? Make the parts so they are easily serviced for Pete sake!

Anyway, I think you have an absolutely awesome machine. I didn't mean to imply otherwise.


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## Tecnico (Aug 6, 2022)

Susquatch said:


> I have no delusions about how much better the First is. It's an awesome machine.
> 
> I was just expressing my frustration at the need for any special tools in any machine!
> 
> ...


@Susquatch   No worries, I didn't interpret your comments to mean that the machine was not as good, it was more that the maker would go and change things so it was different from the machine that they were copying and making service/parts supply different from the original.  That said, if they were going to change it IMHO they didn't do badly on some of the details.  The imperial fastener with metric hex drive is odd though!

I agree 100% on the "special tools" and serviceability of some cars, what were they thinking?  Not the consumer.  I sat in a meeting where electro-mechanical integration was being discussed and the push was to integrate the engine ECU in a non-servicable assembly with the throttle body - because it lowered the initial cost of manufacture.  I inquired about the service scenario when the throttle body (servo/shaft/pot etc.) failed/wore out and the answer was that it would be covered during warranty and after that was out of scope = customer pays.  I understand the thought process but in my mind leaving a serviceability path available will pay dividends.  

I think that's why I enjoy fixing things that have been built to cost/throw away vs. quality like the two LCD monitors I'm using with my desktop, it's kind of like thumbing my nose at the bean counters.  They were about to be recycled when I scooped them up and for less than $10.00 investment (failed capacitors) they're good as new.  It just rubs me the wrong way to see the waste of throwing things away vs repair but that's not today's economy/culture.

D


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## Dabbler (Aug 6, 2022)

@technico  I sorta see why the 1/4-20 with a metric head.  On any machine you try to minimize the tool numbers for a variety of reasons.  I've gone to the trouble to modify fasteners and make new ones just to reduce the tool set by one. [edit]  The metric head prolly matched other fasteners on the lathe...

The nonsense is the thread:  perhaps it was to blindly copy the holes of the original, and they just kept doing it that way.  I dunno.


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## Tecnico (Aug 8, 2022)

Dabbler said:


> @technico  I sorta see why the 1/4-20 with a metric head.  On any machine you try to minimize the tool numbers for a variety of reasons.  I've gone to the trouble to modify fasteners and make new ones just to reduce the tool set by one. [edit]  The metric head prolly matched other fasteners on the lathe...
> 
> The nonsense is the thread:  perhaps it was to blindly copy the holes of the original, and they just kept doing it that way.  I dunno.


I get what you mean about minimizing interface tools, the flip side is that the 1/4-20/metric hex breaks the rules about non-standard fasteners when it's just not needed.  I can argue the 1/4-20 makes sense because it's the same as a BP and that's what a maintainer would expect to find on a cloned BP.  Less chance of messing up the threads by trying a metric in the hole by mistake.

I'm not complaining, I replaced them with longer STD 1/4-20 SHCS to enable me to add a lamp bracket held by the same fasteners.  I would have left them if I wasn't adding the bracket.  I did change out the smaller M2.5s that hold the rubber sheet in the support strips with #4-40 though since I had those on hand in a longer length and not the metrics plus it makes everything on that end all imperial.

D


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## PaulL (Aug 10, 2022)

Tecnico said:


> After that overhaul, the power feed will be good for another 35 years or longer than I expect to need it!
> 
> Talk about a quart of stuff in a pint bottle!


You're a better man than I am.  I broke mine open, counted the parts cost for new cabling, pin connectors, springs, neon bulbs, and my chance of fitting the quart back into the pint bottle, and decided to chip in the extra $100 to get the Vevor unit and hopefully not worry about for a similar 35 years!



Tecnico said:


> The next thing to look at was the cutting oil/coolant pump. From looking in the drain back holes in the base I knew the sump would need some clean-up since I saw chips and even a shell casing in there so I drained the oil and dug in. As expected there was some debris at the drain back ports so that got cleaned out. I’m planning to put some sort of fixed retainer on the drop-in gratings but that will come later.
> 
> Next up was checking the pump. At some point in its life the pump bracket parted company with the pedestal casting (2x 6mm bolts) so the pump was kind of laying there over above the sump. Easy fix and the pump works fine.



I'm just contemplating my pump now, and I suspect you'll know the answer better than me: does it just filter and pump out from the sump?  I don't see any obvious drain - I clear it out through those square ports?  I should ask these questions from in front of the machine instead of sitting at the cabin...

Great job - I hope to find the enthusiasm to clean mine up at some point, but right now that enthusiasm is directed to making chips!

Paul


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## Tecnico (Aug 10, 2022)

PaulL said:


> You're a better man than I am.  I broke mine open, counted the parts cost for new cabling, pin connectors, springs, neon bulbs, and my chance of fitting the quart back into the pint bottle, and decided to chip in the extra $100 to get the Vevor unit and hopefully not worry about for a similar 35 years!


Actually it wasn't that bad, just like shaving a Yak, one piece at a time.  Cable was a buck or two a meter and the rest of the bits were pretty cheap all told.  There were a few choice words before it was back together but in the end it's back on the machine and doing its thing.  If you do decide to toss it, let's talk......



PaulL said:


> I'm just contemplating my pump now, and I suspect you'll know the answer better than me: does it just filter and pump out from the sump?  I don't see any obvious drain - I clear it out through those square ports?  I should ask these questions from in front of the machine instead of sitting at the cabin...


I don't believe there are any filters in the pump system, it's just a centrifugal (impeller) pump like a sump pump with a hose up to the spout.  There is a drain plug at the back of the column, just pipe thread.  I (carefully) tilted the machine to try and get as much fluid out as I could but it didn't by any means empty it.  I also went in with a putty knife and scooped up the junk that fell in at the screens on the base.  I'm going to have to come up with a way to secure them because right now it's just gravity and that's not enough.

Any thoughts about what you're going to use for cutting oil?



PaulL said:


> Great job - I hope to find the enthusiasm to clean mine up at some point, but right now that enthusiasm is directed to making chips!


Hmmmm....  I decided that I'd do the clean up first so it wasn't hanging over me like the sword of Damocles!  Call it pride of ownership.  I wanted a fresh start before I got immersed in projects and never got around to the cleanup & main't.

D


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## PaulL (Aug 10, 2022)

Given the screens are just gravity-held, I'm surprised my machine still has them.

For fluid I have no real idea formed yet.  KMS has some 50:1 stuff kicking around that I expect I'll try once I figure out some shielding.

You may have an auto-feed, slightly mangled, coming your way.  DM me if you're serious.


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## Tecnico (Nov 14, 2022)

It’s about time I got around to updating what I promised back in August. 

Dolly Updates:

The dolly was nice to have for loading & unloading but with 4 castoring wheels it was a challenge making it go where I wanted at times. I’m still not sure where the machine is going to eventually reside in my shop so having it readily mobile is useful. To that end I changed out two of the swivelling castors for fixed and added steering to the others.

Pretty simple, I added steering arms to the castors using the wheel axle to mount them and linked them to a tow bar. That mod makes moving the machine around the shop much easier. In fact I have to chock the wheels to make it stay put. Big difference.













Quill feed wheel:

I mention this in case someone decides to pick up a low cost replacement from AliEx like I did. The speed handle on the quill feed wheel got knocked off some time in the life of my machine so I ordered up a replacement and I suppose it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that even though it was touted as being “Bridgeport” it came in with a metric bore that was too big and the alignment dowel was in the wrong place.

I wound up boring out the hub and making a proper fitting bushing from Acetal and pressing it in. I witnessed the pin location with a point in the hub and fit the pin in the right place. Done!

Folding Axis Handles:

I started out on this to replace just the handle on the power feed end of the X axis as a safety improvement (AliEx folding handle) but after using it I liked the ergonomics for fine adjustments so much that I bought hand wheels for the other end of the X and the Y as well. To my eye these look exactly like what H & W are selling for $US 132.50. A small spacer is needed to make them fit correctly.





LED Work Lamp:

I wanted something a bit better than an IKEA lamp so I repurposed a few things from Princess Auto and rolled my own. The arm is a microphone stand PA had in the surplus aisle and the lamp is a 9 – 30VDC, 5 LED mini square automotive spot light.  A small adapter was needed to mount the lamp to the arm.











I made up a double ended receiver bracket that uses the way guard fasteners on the column so no drilling required.





The lamp is powered from a 12V tap on the power transformer via a bridge rectifier/capacitor arrangement. The lamp cable is connectorized at the box.

The lamp itself puts out lots of light and I like that it is not hot to the touch so I can grab it and move the head to where it lights what I want. Definitely worth the trouble to design & build it.

Well, that’s about it for the story of bringing the machine home and getting set up. There are more stories to tell about using the machine to make things but I think that’ll become a thread in the “Projects” category.

D


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## PaulL (Nov 14, 2022)

I also didn't have the quill feed wheel - I now have a cheap-deluxe plastic thing.  Given how much I use it I'm amazed how every mill seems to have lost them!


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## Tecnico (Nov 14, 2022)

PaulL said:


> I also didn't have the quill feed wheel - I now have a cheap-deluxe plastic thing.  Given how much I use it I'm amazed how every mill seems to have lost them!


Hah!  I think deluxe-plastic is standard, it's only cheap if you replace it from AliEx! (and don't count your labor).

D


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## LenVW (Nov 15, 2022)

Hey Dave,
That is a nice mill trolley.
I bet it makes moving and re-positioning a breeze.

Is that a VEVOR Mill Vise ? 
I bought the small VEVOR swivel vise and found the quality to be ‘A1’.
How is your vise screw standing up ?
I an not sure about the screw and nut material so I am using synthetic grease on it.


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## Susquatch (Nov 15, 2022)

LenVW said:


> How is your vise screw standing up ?
> I an not sure about the screw and nut material so I am using synthetic grease on it.



This is interesting to me Len. 

I found that grease had a bad effect on my drill press vice screw. I had hoped it would improve the performance but it ended up being a trap for steel particles that subsequently chewed away at the screw and the nut. For about 10 years or so I've been using way oil and compressed air to keep the screw both well oiled and clean. So far so good. No more aggressive wear. 

I'm just guessing here, but I tend to think that grease doesn't really work well on exposed surfaces that can get contaminated by dirt and swarf. On the other hand grease works very well in cavities that can be flushed with fresh grease using a grease gun.

Anyway, your comment caught my attention and I wonder what your thoughts are.


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## Susquatch (Nov 15, 2022)

Tecnico said:


> I made up a double ended receiver bracket that uses the way guard fasteners on the column so no drilling required.



I just noticed this @Tecnico . It looks really cool and I love not having to drill. Can you provide some more details on how you did your way covers?


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## Tecnico (Nov 15, 2022)

Susquatch said:


> I just noticed this @Tecnico . It looks really cool and I love not having to drill. Can you provide some more details on how you did your way covers?



The column side is sandwiched between a couple layers of ~1/16" steel, the other end is attached to the Y base using an identical strip.  There's a flat sheet of ~1/16" rubber in between. According to the First Illustrated Parts Catalog that's how they're built.  There isn't a cover on the front of the Y axis and I've been pondering what/whether to do there.  

I like the flat sheet cover, it doesn't fill with chips like the 1000 fold accordion type. 

Trivia:  The column side came with 1/4-20 SHCS with metric heads. 

Upgrades coming for the Hartford?

D


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## Tecnico (Nov 15, 2022)

LenVW said:


> Hey Dave,
> That is a nice mill trolley.
> I bet it makes moving and re-positioning a breeze.
> 
> ...


Thanks Len, a lot of thought and a few calculations went into the dolly.  I knew I had to plan the (trip home) loading/off loading thoroughly because I was unsure if I could count on a lot of help on the day and the dolly was as sure a thing as I could come up with.  Next best would have been a cowboy with a roll back truck and I didn't like the sound of his idea of offloading; tip till it slides off!  I'm really pleased, even surprised with how easy it is to move the machine around in my shop.  When it finds a long term spot in the shop I'll probably chock it up off the wheels or take them off and let it sit on the floor.  The height isn't a problem for me. 

I don't have a lot of time on the vise but I'm glad you brought up the grease, I've been looking at the swarf collect with some concern.  After cleaning all the grease off my lathe leadscrew (the grease recommended by Myford) I put ISO 36 (I think) oil on it (also recommended by Myford) because I thought it was gathering up too much swarf.  Same thought with the vise and @Susquatch 's comments support the thought.

Just a few words on the 6" Vevor vise:  I weighed up the tradeoff of the "economy" vise vs. stalking something like a Kurt and came to the conclusion that I immediately needed more than the little drill press vise or the hold down kit that came with the machine and Kurts don't grow on trees in these parts so I went for it.  I don't regret it at this point.

The Vevor is definitely built to cost WRT features and finish but is also surprisingly precise, at least by my measurements on the table of the mill.  I was surprised by this after reading various sources on the web.  I did some deburring to clean up the castings before I put it in service and I had to mod the handle before it was usable but it's fine after that.

Where they skimp is on the lock down ball, it's cast in, not a separate ball and the casting needed smoothing up and the leadscrew has a plain bearing not a ball but I think I might be able to retrofit.  I'm thin on experience with a Kurt (the office had one) and with the hands on time with the Vevor I can say that I haven't found glaring shortcomings so far.  For me it was the right tool at the time and who knows what the future will bring.

Anyhow, that's the story for now!

D


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## Susquatch (Nov 15, 2022)

Tecnico said:


> I like the flat sheet cover, it doesn't fill with chips like the 1000 fold accordion type.



Ya, but if it's like mine some do end up in there and lord knows what hell they are planning for me down the road...... I'd like to stop them completely if I can. 



Tecnico said:


> Trivia: The column side came with 1/4-20 SHCS with metric heads.



I am starting to believe the fastener industry is corrupt.



Tecnico said:


> Upgrades coming for the Hartford?



Only a few more.  I want effective way covers and an rpm sensor. But perhaps at some point a power x feed too.


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## LenVW (Nov 15, 2022)

Tecnico said:


> Thanks Len, a lot of thought and a few calculations went into the dolly.  I knew I had to plan the (trip home) loading/off loading thoroughly because I was unsure if I could count on a lot of help on the day and the dolly was as sure a thing as I could come up with.  Next best would have been a cowboy with a roll back truck and I didn't like the sound of his idea of offloading; tip till it slides off!  I'm really pleased, even surprised with how easy it is to move the machine around in my shop.  When it finds a long term spot in the shop I'll probably chock it up off the wheels or take them off and let it sit on the floor.  The height isn't a problem for me.
> 
> I don't have a lot of time on the vise but I'm glad you brought up the grease, I've been looking at the swarf collect with some concern.  After cleaning all the grease off my lathe leadscrew (the grease recommended by Myford) I put ISO 36 (I think) oil on it (also recommended by Myford) because I thought it was gathering up too much swarf.  Same thought with the vise and @Susquatch 's comments support the thought.
> 
> ...


The VEVOR vises are definitely milling vises and don’t let anybody tell you they are drill press clamps. I know this from four years in a machine shop, years as a designer and more years as a  project manager at a process developer.
I am experimenting with synthetic grease, because I am not sure about the vise materials.
If I find that there is too much metal grinding causing abrasive wear on the screw . . . I may have to switch to a flushing oil.
Observations will follow in the weeks ahead.


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## Tecnico (Nov 15, 2022)

Susquatch said:


> I am starting to believe the fastener industry is corrupt.


@Dabbler had a theory for that, it was to minimize the number of tools for assembly so metric makes sense.  That said I was thinking that it's 1/4-20 to keep with the cloning concept so two worlds collide and have odd offspring!

D


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