Milling machine saddle/table rebuild?
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Anonymous
Milling machine saddle/table rebuild?
I started to tear the saddle/table off my milling machine for an extensive cleaning (the previous owner used grease on the ways) and installation of my Sony DRO. I was wondering if there is a good link for a webpage that woud help with explaining how to check for accuracy and gib adjustment? My machine is an old Rockford vertical mill and I do not have a manual for it. So a basic idea of what needs to be checked and how or a link to someone who has documented this adjustment for their machine would give me an idea of how to apply this to my machine? Thanks for any help anyone can offer.
Re: Milling machine saddle/table rebuild?
Sorry for my error in posting this as anonymous. I must not have been logged in.
www.flowbenchtech.com
Re: Milling machine saddle/table rebuild?
Bruce,
The "bible" of this sort of thing is a book called, _Machine Tool Reconditioning_, by Connelly, which has been reprinted and is available via internet. Try www.bookfinder.com .
There was a more recent book and video by Michael Morgan on hand scraping techniques. I don't know if they are available now. There was quite a bit of discussion on the old Chaski board last year about Mr. Morgan, his family's machine tool reconditioning business, and delays with orders being fulfilled. His website is up, and has good information: http://machinerepair.com/
I hope this is helpful to start.
For milling machine saddles and tables, there are quite a number of surfaces which must be flat. Also, each set of ways on opposing sides of the dovetails must be parallel to each other. Finally, the X, Y, and Z axes must all be perpendicular to each other.
I have never done a rebuild of a mill, and I think it would take a really long time, and require some expensive tools for reference, such as squares and straightedges. I think that there aren't many places that rebuild worn out machine tools by hand anymore, because the hours of labor make it uneconomical to do so. So, if the traditional craft is to survive, it will have to be from hobbyists like us, who appreciate and care about restoring old iron machines.
Good wishes,
Jon Spear
The "bible" of this sort of thing is a book called, _Machine Tool Reconditioning_, by Connelly, which has been reprinted and is available via internet. Try www.bookfinder.com .
There was a more recent book and video by Michael Morgan on hand scraping techniques. I don't know if they are available now. There was quite a bit of discussion on the old Chaski board last year about Mr. Morgan, his family's machine tool reconditioning business, and delays with orders being fulfilled. His website is up, and has good information: http://machinerepair.com/
I hope this is helpful to start.
For milling machine saddles and tables, there are quite a number of surfaces which must be flat. Also, each set of ways on opposing sides of the dovetails must be parallel to each other. Finally, the X, Y, and Z axes must all be perpendicular to each other.
I have never done a rebuild of a mill, and I think it would take a really long time, and require some expensive tools for reference, such as squares and straightedges. I think that there aren't many places that rebuild worn out machine tools by hand anymore, because the hours of labor make it uneconomical to do so. So, if the traditional craft is to survive, it will have to be from hobbyists like us, who appreciate and care about restoring old iron machines.
Good wishes,
Jon Spear