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Let's undertake yet another project - Jackson No. 2 Vertical Milling Machine

Right, and that's a whole other topic. I'm specifically responding to finding out the minimum required live load of a very typical Toronto condo floor according to law, and also to you regarding "first the national building code, then provincial ones, then local ones". This is not about customer architecture or engineering solutions or what an American engineer thinks vs another.
 
Great! Happy to have heard your insights. Barring a concrete core test or finding the construction documents, it's safe to assume the answer to "You got me wondering now what amount of weight do they design residential floors to be able to safely support?" is in the OBC. :)

Happy to talk more construction with you on another thread as well! I don't want to out myself too much on the internet but the clue is in my username.
 
I sort of assumed ;)

I am a civil engineer by training and my wife practices. Guess where we met?

I always want to learn more, and where the things that I do know can help others, I am happy to share them.

Professionally, I work in finance and mostly program computers to count money in sophisticated ways. It is a far cry from metal working, but that's why they call it a hobby right!
 
I practised for most of my time in full-service firms where all the main consultants (architecture, electrical, mechanical, structural engineers) are in-house. This means we got to work closely and learn from each other, which I valued. I've worked on residential condos and coordination of all the mechanical penetrations with structural and the tiny unit layouts really strained our relationship :p

But I made a big career switch two years ago into social science research...
 
skippyelwell said:
@TorontoBuilder , newbie question here, your Jackson mill certainly wins the charm award but are there any advantages-disadvantages to a mill like this over a newer design?
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Okay, so I'm a newbie too but let me see if I got most of these right. We need to differentiate between knee mills, round column mills and square column mills.

Knee and square column mills have the clear centerline registration advantage. The head rotation around the axis of the column when the head is raised or lowered can shift the centerline, which is a disadvantage.

Knee mills usually offer greater travel in the x-y dimension which means larger working area without having to reposition workpieces.

Older small knee mills are way less expensive than newer larger square column mills on the resale market. Hence why so many find the round column mills attractive.

At 700 pounds small knee mills usually have larger heads and columns so their offer greater vibration dampening, and less chatter cutting as a result. Larger motors and more power can be fitted on more robust mill. Single piece column and base versus two piece square column mills.

The cost to purchase an older mill can be on par with that of a round column mill.

Downside... older mill likely has older style collets that do not have the same capacity of new R8 collets. May be issue if you want to use a large facing mill

Potential downside, may need work to restore tight tolerances, lack of manuals and OEM parts. Mine for instance had an oil filled column with open bearings and oil seal. The seal seat is worn, the oil was leaking and new seals and possible repair needs to be affected, or a conversion to permanently sealed bearings needs to be made.

As far as space is concerned, my opinion is buy the biggest machine you can fit into the space.
 
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I picked up all the parts for the Mill today, with the exception of the main casting. Got them safely tucked away in my friend's shop in Guelph to ready for sand blasting, painting and assembly.

Picked up an align power feed from the old fellow too. The last time I was at the seller's he said someone else had already stated they wanted to buy it, but he asked me again today and I couldn't turn the deal down.

Got my first really good look at the main screws and while the table has gouges, it doesn't even look as it the lead screws have been used.
 
TorontoBuilder said:
As far as space is concerned, my opinion is buy the biggest machine you can fit into the space.
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^ This

My observation is that the price gap between big used machines and small used machines is shrinking. I started milling with a beefy drill press that I outfitted with an x/y table. It worked "good enough" for me for 30 years or so. It did what I asked of it. Then I got a much bigger bench mill/drill that worked much better for another 10 years. For the last 5 years or so, I've had the pleasure of using a full-size Hartford Bridgeport knee mill clone. The differences at each level was very real. But I could never have managed the bigger machines in my older smaller shops. Getting smaller machines first allowed me to learn and make stuff. Without those early phases, nothing would have been possible. So I have no regrets.

My machines are all right sized for me at my stage of life now, they fit my shop space just fine, and I love using them. Most of my focus now is on tooling, accessories, and metrology.

Yes, "buy what fits". Affordability is much less of an issue today than it once was.

I also think that an eye towards buying machines and accessories based on future proofing the tooling is wise but certainly not essential - eg R8 vs MT3. Just do such things if you can cuz you can always sell that stuff too.
 
Gennady said:
I have similar design Becker #3 mill with table in similar condition (weep, weep). Planning to convert to CNC, most likely on my retirement.
Anyway - how are you fixing these things?
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Because my defects are broad gouges in a limited area I'm planning on drilling and filling with epoxy. My next step depends on what feedback I get.

I can either go right to lapping the plate to level the epoxy area even with the iron surface, or I could mount the table on our bridgeport and give the top and bottom surfaces a super light skim with our best facing mill, followed by lapping and finally hand scraping. Not sure how that will work when I hit the epoxy areas
 
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