A Kearney & Trecker #4 vertical mill is on the auction block in the near future not too far from me. It's a 450 TF. I'd love one of these monsters, but the biggest problem is that it's got a 50 hp motor. I don't need a machine capable of running a 12" face mill an inch deep. The long travels and the ability to handle large and heavy work pieces is very appealing though.
Would it be practical to swap out the 50 hp motor with something smaller? Seems to me you could get a #4 with a 25 hp motor as well? What is the horsepower loss through the gear train on one of these things? In all reality, if I had 7.5 or even 5 hp available at the spindle that would probably be plenty for what I'd do with it. Could a 10 or 15 hp motor drive it and have any kind of capacity left? I could power a 25 hp motor without any problem, but it just doesn't seem sensible having a big motor whirring away when most of the time I only need a few hp to do what I'd do.
Yes, I know rigging one of these won't be cheap. I know hauling one of these won't be cheap, but I have a connection that could do it very reasonably. I have heavy equipment available on my end to move it. I have reasonably heavy electrical service on my own transformer.
I just hate to see these beautiful old machines end up in the pot.
Would it be practical to swap out the 50 hp motor with something smaller? Seems to me you could get a #4 with a 25 hp motor as well? What is the horsepower loss through the gear train on one of these things? In all reality, if I had 7.5 or even 5 hp available at the spindle that would probably be plenty for what I'd do with it. Could a 10 or 15 hp motor drive it and have any kind of capacity left? I could power a 25 hp motor without any problem, but it just doesn't seem sensible having a big motor whirring away when most of the time I only need a few hp to do what I'd do.
Yes, I know rigging one of these won't be cheap. I know hauling one of these won't be cheap, but I have a connection that could do it very reasonably. I have heavy equipment available on my end to move it. I have reasonably heavy electrical service on my own transformer.
I just hate to see these beautiful old machines end up in the pot.