Thread: Cincinnati #2 vertical mill questions

Hi gang, what [I]exactly[I] am I looking at here? It's clearly a Cincinnati #2 vertical- but I cannot find a year, nor can I find any similar pics of this model.



Any help on this is appreciated, especially if you can point me in the direction of an operators manual. The shop I picked it up from may or may not still have any documentation on it (they got it from another shop they absorbed 5 years ago.) It's a beast, and my blood pressure took three days to come back down after the absurdity of moving it into my shop. Thanks in advance,

Devin

4A High Speed Dial Type, Model ER. Serial will date it, and will start with 4A - you will find it on a big metal tag with lube instructions. Really great photos there.

I know, I know- all the micro scratches on my lens make all my shots look like a Farah Fawcett glamour-shoot. I'll grab a serial number when I'm back at the shop tonight.

Okay, serial number reads B4403-5. No 4A to be seen... Is there a Cincinnati serial number reference base I can look into? Where do you get information on specific models now that Cinci has gone ka-boom?

Serial will be stamped into machined cast iron at upper end of one or other vertical ways and at the end of the table. It will be such as 4A2V1K-110

Is there a Cincinnati serial number reference base I can look into?

Yep - in the book Serial Number Reference Book For Metalworking Machinery

Now THAT'S a REAL MILL! I sure miss the #3 I had at the pump shop. Tiawanese Bridgeport copy at the current shop is like being forced into riding a bicycle after driving a Rolls.

I have looked at a lot of different machines that I would like to buy after I graduate and get a garage... the old Cincinnati manual machines are high on my list, they are just so beefy. After the German machines, mainly Deckels, but that is more of a dream.

Vertical ways: checked. Serial number: B4403-5, same as the stamped lube-plate. It says made in Birmingham, England- is that the "B"? (pure conjecture.) So, since I don't have access to "Serial Number Reference Book For Metalworking Machinery," (the nearest library copy is in Urbana Champaign, IL...) can anybody tell me what that serial number gives, in terms of year, specific model, etc? I'm chasing the operators manual and I cannot for the life of me find an image of an identical machine. Any insight into this seemingly non-standard serial?

Now you said the magic word. (England) I'll look in that section in the book tonight, but it is very brief. I would not worry about the serial. The manual for the High Speed Dial type Model ER will apply.

On Edit:

B4403-5 was made between '43 and '46

B4312-40 for end of '43 and B4612-10 for end of '46

That's a golden oldie. For me that's the best manual vertical mill you could have got your hands on. Regards Tyrone.

If you have enough electricity to run that sweet thing you are going to love it. I run a K&T #3 and it is the cats ass. I can just sit back on my stool and cut huge amounts of metal with out ever cranking a handle, only pulling some levers. Get out of the chip wash it will set you on fire I can have a smoking pile of chips that I need a shovel to move in short order with a carbide insert face mill.

Lost a few pairs of shoelaces and one pair of boots to the chips coming off the #3 and the Pacemaker at the pump shop. Chips hit the laces and burned right through before you could shake them off. Leather held up on the boots, but the stitching went up in smoke. If it hits your clothes, there's a hole. If it hits your skin, you are branded, even just a glancing hit.

You can use the table position and feed rate to actually aim the chip stream. Welder thought it was funny to aim the sparks from his sidegrinder at me when I first got the #3 and was doing boring work on it near his area. Day came to face off some big steel blocks and I had him dancing a jig.

Wow, you guys are great! From all the comments, it sounds like I landed a good one. Here's the last part of the puzzle: actually getting my hands on the operators manual. I've found on Shamrockmachinery a manual called "Cincinnati No. 1,2,3 & 4 - Medium Speed & High Speed Dial Type Milling Machine - Service & Parts Manual - 85 pgs"- is this the correct manual, or would I be paying a pretty penny for a worthless stack of paper? Also, if anybody has the correct manual, I'd be happy to pay shipping both ways (and include some of Portland, OR's finest beer on the return trip) if you'd let me scan it. Anyway, thanks for the help so far- I'll keep chipping away.

Hey Devin,
If you want a manual you may want to contact mag-ias dot com. They own the rights to cincinnati-milacron and will get you the right manual for your machine... Just email them with the serial no# and you can get an operators manual and a service manual.. both well worth what ever you may have to pay for them.. Plus they tend to be less expensive than e-bay... and you know your getting the right manual (s).
Hope this helps
Stay safe
Calvin

Originally Posted by Impracticalmach

Wow, you guys are great! From all the comments, it sounds like I landed a good one. Here's the last part of the puzzle: actually getting my hands on the operators manual. I've found on Shamrockmachinery a manual called "Cincinnati No. 1,2,3 & 4 - Medium Speed & High Speed Dial Type Milling Machine - Service & Parts Manual - 85 pgs"- is this the correct manual, or would I be paying a pretty penny for a worthless stack of paper? Also, if anybody has the correct manual, I'd be happy to pay shipping both ways (and include some of Portland, OR's finest beer on the return trip) if you'd let me scan it. Anyway, thanks for the help so far- I'll keep chipping away.

For parts, and service, yes, not for operation

Well, thanks to the largesse of all you all, I've got the operators and parts/service manuals on the way from Mag IAS for much less than the cost of just one of those from all the other online manual sellers. Now- time to run some conduit and make some chips!