RF-type mill-drill, How to take the head off the column?

Discussion on all milling machines vertical & horizontal, including but not limited to Bridgeports, Hardinge, South Bend, Clausing, Van Norman, including imports.

Moderators: GlennW, Harold_V

Post Reply
User avatar
bulgie
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:15 pm
Location: Seattle

RF-type mill-drill, How to take the head off the column?

Post by bulgie »

Hello to all you round-column mill-drill sufferers out there.

I just bought an Enco, not sure of model, maybe you can help me with that too.

But my main question is how to get it into the basement. I have a 4-wheeled low cart that's strong enough, used it to move my lathe down there. But the lathe was completely disassembled for overhaul, reassembled downstairs. This mill is heavier and much more tippy, too scary for me to use that method on the whole mill.

Having taken the head off a drill press a couple times, I assume this will be similar, just loosen the column-clamping bolts and hoist the head unit with slings both in front and back of the column — that about it? But then where do I set the head down, there's no good flat surface on the head to lay it on. And how impossible is it going to be to lift it again, straight enough to lower it back onto the column?

Here are a couple pictures. The badge on the front of the head has (I think) "2050009", not beautiful penmanship but it does appear to be original from the factory. Googling on the number has so far gotten me nothing, so maybe that's a serial number not a model?
Enco mill.jpg
Enco mill head badge.jpg
Motor has a date on it, 2002, and appears to be original. In 2002, were Enco mill-drills made in Taiwan or in China? (Please let it be Taiwan! But it was cheap enough I'll live with it either way)

Neither the mill nor the motor have any country of origin marked on them. Though all the stickers are there and readable, looks like they just chose not to say! (Is that even legal??) I don't have any manual or other documentation.

Looking forward to hearing from you round-column wise guys.

Thanks
Mark
jcfx
Posts: 713
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 1:24 pm
Location: NY

Re: RF-type mill-drill, How to take the head off the column?

Post by jcfx »

Not a round column mill user, but I don't think think that design has changed since it first appeared
and in subseqent iterations. You might want to take a look at Grizzy, they have manuals posted on line
for their mill offerings, last I looked they still have round column mills, you can see what hidden gotchas
there may be in taking the head off in the exploded diagrams.
Bob D.
Posts: 381
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:43 pm
Location: Saco, ME. USA

Re: RF-type mill-drill, How to take the head off the column?

Post by Bob D. »

Maybe it would be better to unbolt the column base from the machine base and remove the column and its mount together.
Seems it would be much easier to assemble without fussy alignment.
3/4" Juliet II 0-4-0
3/4" Purinton Mogul "Pogo"
3/4" Hall Class 10 wheeler
3/4" Evans Caribou/Buffalo 2-8-0
3/4" Sweet Violet 0-4-0
3/4" Hunslet 4-6-0
3/4" Kozo A3. Delayed construction project

1 1/2" A5 Camelback 0-4-0
User avatar
Bill Shields
Posts: 10459
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:57 am
Location: 39.367, -75.765
Contact:

Re: RF-type mill-drill, How to take the head off the column?

Post by Bill Shields »

Agreed on unbolting column from base
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
User avatar
bulgie
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:15 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: RF-type mill-drill, How to take the head off the column?

Post by bulgie »

Sounds good, thanks guys. I'll make a note of any shims found under the column! I don't know if they ever shimmed them at the factory but I have heard that is the only way to tram the head, so possibly the previous owner did it.

This mill has close to zero use and I can sorta see why, the Boeing-subcontractor place I bought it from has a half-dozen big Haas CNC millers, and a couple Bridgeports for when they want to mill something manually. Why they ever bought this Enco I can't imagine, but I can imagine them tramming it in when they first got it. I haven't checked the tram yet — yep, bought it without checking... did some other tests though like spindle runout (within a tenth), full X-Y travel (equally smooth everywhere without noticeable slop), motor/pulleys/belts/spindle bearings (all smooth and quiet), fine-feed on the quill works smoothly. That's all I did before I gave the man his money.

Oh uh, taking the column and head off from the base still doesn't give me a great way to lay it down. I could bolt the column base to my cart the same way it bolts to the base in use, but then it's nearly as tippy as it is with the base attached.

I guess I'm leaning towards removing the pulley shroud thingum (whatever they call that) and the motor, then I can tip it back 90° and bolt the motor-mount to the cart. Since I'm thinking of swapping the motor for a 3-phase anyway, taking this motor off is no extra work, it just means I have to purchase the motor and VFD now rather than later. Yeah sounds like a plan unless anyone sees a flaw in it.
User avatar
bulgie
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:15 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: RF-type mill-drill, How to take the head off the column?

Post by bulgie »

Update:

Once the motor, pulleys, spindle and all the other little parts were removed from the head casting, I was able to lift it off by myself, no hoist. Weighs about 75 lb — not easy, but doable. Would have been a piece of cake with a helper. I did not remove the column from the base first, removed it after the head was off, then the column was doable, again by myself with no hoist needed. FYI the original paint at the base of the column was undisturbed (never disassembled since new) and there were no shims. I have not checked the tram yet, so it may still need shimming.

Reassembly after cleaning was the reverse, attached the column to the base first, then lifted the head onto the column, again by myself with no hoist. This was a little scary, so I probably should have had a helper! I thought it might slam all the way down to the bottom once I got it started, but it was more controllable than I expected and I was able to lower it slowly.

For reference, I'm not particularly strong but I am big, 250 lb. I'm in my late '60s and I do *not* work out! Lotsa guys here stronger than me for sure. This task was borderline for me, so it wouldn't be recommended for anyone smaller/weaker than me.
User avatar
Bill Shields
Posts: 10459
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:57 am
Location: 39.367, -75.765
Contact:

Re: RF-type mill-drill, How to take the head off the column?

Post by Bill Shields »

More awkward than heavy?
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
User avatar
bulgie
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:15 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: RF-type mill-drill, How to take the head off the column?

Post by bulgie »

Bill Shields wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 9:18 pm More awkward than heavy?
Yeah but also heavy! (for me)
Post Reply