Member postings for not done it yet

Wipers on the dovetails are secured with countersunk screws with tiny allen key drives - can be awkward to remove. Rest comes apart easily. Base from column is a good plan (only 6 set ecrews).

After dismantling I was able to lift the parts into position, on a very sturdy bench, for assembly.

The stand is very heavy, too, especially if it has the cooling tank at the base.

Sean,

Looking at lathesdotco, the ally one is def hollow.

If I were making it in steel, I think the top dovetail would be cut and the bottom one fabricated, tack welded in position then bolted on securely. If slow set loctite were used in the joint (away from the heat), it would be pretty secure, I would think. Several options of how to do it, I suppose.

The main bulk would likely be a welded fabrication as well. Wouldn't need to be as thick on the sides as the ally one appears to be - and most certainly does not need to be made of solid steel! Probably could make it with more height and no more costly in materials.

Measured my riser block last night. Raises the head by 115mm, is ~ 450mm long and 90mm wide. I'm fairly certain it is either hollowed out or had a casting core. Stilll heavy, but nowhere near as heavy as heaving the vertical head into position.

In solid steel it would weigh approx 35kg!

l seem to remember a similar method of producing a fine, intense flame for chemical analysis in the school lab, but with glass hardware.

Was it blowing across a bunsen flame with either a metal, or hard glass, blow jet to heat up substances placed in a recess in a block of carbon?

Simple experiments for the effect of heat on a substance in a reducing atmosphere. Not allowed as soon as health and safety took over. I suppose sanitation of the blow jets, pupils sucking in hot gases, and idiots blowing hot powders around the lab, etc, etc put a stop to those interesting experiments.

Behaviour in schools has nosedived since the 1960s, to the point where this type of experiment can on

ly be undertaken under very close supervision or by alternative, less personally involved methods.

But I don't expect the secondary modern pupils of the time got the chance to investigate with chemicals like those in the grammar system, so the system of mixing all abilities together, in the comprehensive system has had a lot to answer for. There are always downsides to every system, I suppose. Comprehensive compromises is what I called it.

Noo, don't risk crushing it in the vise - make a bored holder same diameter as the tube, with a slit along the length. Use this for holding the tube in the vise.

If you make it long enough, you can avoid swapping in the horizontal arm when changing modes. Just hang your arbor support from the underside. Mine is, but I would not want mine made of steel - it is already heavy enough as it is!

Doubled speeds? You mean no 2800rpm motor version?

It is clear, from the specs that these spindle speeds were offered by the factory.

Andy,

This tiny line - is it on the same side of every tooth? If so it has likely shifted. If on only teeth part way round you would see where it shifted (unless it moved just before starting the second cut).

Do you really need to make that second cut? One cut would avoid the problem.

If on one side or the other, I would look at your methodology - consistent tightening of the dividing head for every tooth. Maybe leaving some friction applied while advancing the wheel.

Are the wheels supported sufficiently?

I don't make tiny/flimsy gear wheels, so I'm just throwing out ideas.

If that is a good guess, at 400mm, he would need to have two stabs at it. Table travel is only about 225mm on a 2A. A 40mm riser is neither here nor there, I would say. My ally riser is about 120mm - and that is on a 2B. The work entailed would be considerable and a decent sized riser would only cost extra material. Could bolt on the other dovetail, I suppose....

That item was clearly not fit for purpose. The vendor would not like to hear of an accident with one of their products that was so poor that it needed shimming to run even close to balanced. "Better" is subjective - I would not accept it being anything other than true and vibration-free..

Contact them and get it changed is my advice. Any half-decent company will change it. Midland Abrasives are far better than half-decent, I would think, and would be pleased to replace that dodgy cup wheel.

Andrew,

The vertical head is belted from the horizontal spindle shaft at 1:1 and the input to output on the vertical head is also 1:1. So the vertical head revolves at the same speeds as the horizontal.

There are twin Vs on the motor to gearbox, for an initial speed reduction but only a single V for the vertical head drive. The 2A only had a single V belt from the motor to gearbox so the change presumably reflected the 33% power increase of the 2B over the 2A. The one horse single phase motor apparently was unable, at times, to start in the highest gear while the machine was cold.

For once, I agree with MG. After all, the inverters are much more expensive for that very reason?

If you're not in a rush have a look at BangGood for collets and chucks. I've been pleased with mine.

I would strongly recommend you do not buy from Banggood. Buy cheap, buy twice. Speaking from recent personal experience here.

I expected the holder to be similar quality to RDG, Chronos etc but was totally disappointed - and they are really bl**dy-minded regarding refunds.

In a nutshell, the MT2 taper was not accurate and it only touched at the narrow end.

I have pics of marking ink being smeared at one end and only one in four stripes contacting further down. Checked with other MT tools on two machines (and a friend didn't even try it in his machines as one can actually feel the looseness). Soon sorted but one end mill destroyed by the induced chatter. Banggood are not decent vendors when it comes to complaints and refunds. They employ bots, not real people, I think, to give standard unhelpful responses.

The collets are (so far) adequate for my purposes. Bought a holder from ArcEuro as the first was worse than useless. Yep, bought cheap bought twice.

As I say, beware of what you buy from Banggood!

I now have 3 phase

Ahh, right. Was not aware that you had a 3 phase supply - most of us don't, so have to rely on 220V single phase input VFDs. Yes, there are cheapish 3ph in - 3ph out inverters (but 220V single ph to 415V three ph are rather more expensive). And not all 3ph 415 motors can easily be changed to 220V operation.

I was assuming you had single ph supply and not all single ph 230V motors can easily be speed controlled.

You have choices, but 1425 motor speed is best for you, I am sure.

Often bad news, having to assume!

Looking at some ME books on vertical milling it seems that speeds as low as 30 rpm are recommended for some vertical milling. So Maybe I should go for the 1400 rpm motor and eventually use a VFD to cut the speed back.

That would be a good decision but do make sure the motor you get can be wired in both delta and star. Some are not. While the top speed rating was 2800 on the Centecs, raising it further might not be a good idea - and that means a VFD was only useful for slowing the drive (and slowing reduces the motor cooling).

There is always the opportunity, with belt drives, to change the pulley sizes if one really wanted different speeds. But I don't know the input torque rating for that gearbox. It had already been uprated from the 2A, which was fitted with a 550W motor.

Edited By not done it yet on 02/10/2017 12:01:33

Looks left handed to me. 😂

Looks ambidextrous to me!

Either1425 or 2800 would be better with a VFD. I would prefer to run the motor faster, rather than slower, by altering the VFD, but not by a factor of two.

If you intend using it as a horizontal, you will likely need those lower speeds. Running motors at half of normal speed is not the best scenario - particularly from heating/cooling and motor power output. 3 phase motors are somewhat superior to their single phase equivalents.

Is this normal for cup wheels?

It should not be. Vibration is likely to shorten the life of the whole machine. Not good, and extra stresses could eventual (sooner or later) failure

I saw 2 x Abwood 6" milling vises for sale recently. Very good make and these were in very good condition. Maidstone or Maidehead. A bit too big for my needs, otherwise there would only be one for sale now.

Good on yer. Like I said, hunting for information is often the 'usual' and is just not necessary if the OP gave the info up front.

Keep posting.