Archdale Horizontal Milling Machine

Hi,

just recently bought an Archdale Horizontal Mill, but don’t know anything about it. The owner is a lady and can’t be of any help. Her dad’s machine it is. I don’t have the machine at my shop with me just yet so can’t ID it.
maybe yous could help me as to what exactly this machine is.

pictures are in my album:

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/albums/member_album.asp?a=52853

Edited By Ghost on 10/04/2020 22:45:38

The only tag she took pic of is ‘HM1906’

now it might be some help, but tbh I can’t really find anything online. Lathes website don’t really help either.

also if we can ID it, can anyone suggest what kind of vertical head is out there if any?

That is a lovely bit of kit. I reckon finding a vertical head for it will be like looking for hens teeth though but with the twin over arm plenty of scope to make something up. You should be able to rip some metal off with that!

Paul.

That’s what I guessed. But I’ve seen universal head for these type of machines.

its got some vertical “drill attachment” on it at the moment but I doubt it’s rigidity and the repeatability.

Maybe my first project on this machine will be cutting some 45 bevel gears. That’d come handy. I still don’t know what exactly this machine is. I’d like to do my homework before I get it so can get right to it. But infos are fat and few between!

Edited By Ghost on 11/04/2020 07:39:12

Instinct led me to search for ‘Archdale machine tools’

You may find things of interest here:

**LINK**

http://www.lathes.co.uk/archdale/

**LINK**

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/James_Archdale_and_Co

MichaelG.

.

Also: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Archdale-Machine-Tools-1868-1948/product-reviews/B0000CPDTR

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 11/04/2020 07:55:25

Thanks Michael,

unfortunately these books are not available. And can’t find a pdf version either. But I’ll give it a go once I got home from work.

Ghost

First of all the manufacturers plate starts with HM and in the simple Archdale terminology this stands for Horizontal Milling. Consequently it is highly unlikely you could fit a vertical head without reconfiguring the machine and drive.

Secondly the serial number of 1906 would make it well pre WW2. My serial number reference book has a number of 4096 for 1940. They would appear to have manufactured approx 500 machines of this type per year so that would make your machine to be approx mid thirties..

Hope this helps a little

Jonathan

Edited By Ghost on 11/04/2020 12:12:14

Also what kind of literature have you got on Archdale?

cos they are quite nice and robust piece of equipments, but hard to find anything on them.
Greg

it does not look like that old of a machine to me.

A friend used to have an Archdale horizontal mill. He claimed that there wasn't such a thing as a vertical head for it. From what I can recall, it would be a major job to graft on some other manufacturers vertical head. Not impossible but you would be better off getting a vertical mill for all the hassle it would entail.

As for the age of your mill, Jonathon Garside is correct. My friends mill was in the low 3000 region and he could trace its history back to the 1930s. It was purchased by his father, direct from the factory in which he worked, when it became redundant. That would be just pre war.

Andrew.

Just had a look at AbeBooks where they have two copies of the book "Archdale Machine Tools 1868 to 1948" for sale - at a price.

IanH

Ghost

I do not have an Archdale mill I was merely advising you of the type and age from my machine tool serial number records.

If you go onto the www.vintagemachinery.org website and search for Archdale or James Archdale they have a downloadable pdf of a sales leaflet which includes horizontal milling machines.

As Andrew says above I do not think Archdales ever made a vertical head for these machines as there do not appear to be any attachment points or suitable drive mechanisms.

Just as a matter of interest I was part of the Auction team that sold the Blackpole, Worcester works of James Archdale in 1973/4. Archdales were by this time part of Staveley Industries who had bought a whole tranche of British Machine Tool manufacturers in the 1950s and 1960s but managed to close the vast majority by the 1980s.

Jonathan

If you look up "Grace's Guide" under Im2001305Odds-jpg you may see a picture of the machine.

During the first year of my Apprenticeship, I operated one of these machines. It had been sent to the Training School, as too old for Production use.

It was a nice machine, capable of quite good work. With a copious supply of coolant, it would take a 1/2 inch wide, 3/16 inch deep cut with a 6 inch/minute feed on mild steel. The sound of the flat belt drive was quite soporific.

Howard

Edited By Howard Lewis on 11/04/2020 19:36:01

Wow guys,

thanks for your inputs. To be honest the less I know about this fine equipment, the more I love it.
just a bit of a pain to get started.

mill check those webpages out as soon as I get home.

am quite excited to finally get this sucker home and start refurbishing.

UPDATE:

the machine finally arrived at my workshop despite COVID19. I tried to keep 6ft from the machine but could not!

It was hell of a journey that's all I can say. I'll upload some footage after I edited them.

But still have absolutely nothing on this machine. Archdale has never given serial number to the its machines, just the type, this being a 20" Horizontal Mill.

Any chance of someone somewhere has any literature of Archdale???

uploaded couple of pictures of the machine:

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/albums/member_album.asp?a=52853