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Abene S/N 3864 Overhaul Thread

cwilcox

Cast Iron
Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Location
Canada
I'm starting a new thread to document the overhaul of my recently acquired mill. Abene S/N 3864.
Purchased in October 2015. Originally manufactured in 1966.

Mill was purchased on impulse as I have wanted (any mill) for years and after 5 or so years of casually searching kijiji this one came up with no one interested apparently. I made an offer and it was accepted. Paid a flat deck towtruck to drive it the ~100 km to my house and dragged it (literally) into the garage.
It came with two endmill holders, one 1" arbor and several hundred horizontal cutters of various types and arbor sizes. It was missing several small parts and of course the flat belt.

The mill sat for several months as I installed a bridge crane and painted the walls and now I'm trying to get it running. Parts are being accumulated for a rotary phase converter.

The cleaning process began early Feb 2016.

Picture of it from delivery.
DSC_7364.jpg
 
The headstock came off fairly easily although a special tool was fabricated to remove the slotted nut. It turned out that the slideways were full of chips preventing movement of the headstock.

DSC_8242.jpg DSC_8241.jpg DSC_8244.jpg
 
On Feb 24th or so I tried removing the knee transmission without remove the table and saddle and am 90% sure I damaged a gear in the process. Abene parts are expensive so i'm eager to open it up now and see what damage I stupidity inflicted on the old machine.
 
Trying to get the table off has been much more than the quoted 1 hour job of another member. First I had to make a 55mm wrench to loosen the handle holders and then I found the locknuts were stuck. Not having a pin spanner or being able to find one locally I made a tool and was able to loosen them tonight. Next step remove heavy parts and hopefully see what is wrong with the knee gears.
First is the 55mm wrench cut from a piece of 3/16 plate with a grinder zip disk. Simple but effective.
Second took about an hour to make. A 3/4" drive 19mm impact socket with two 1/8" dowel pins hammered in on a 34mm BCD. The center of the socket had to be opened up with a carbide burr to slip over the handle shaft.
DSC_8278.jpg DSC_8279.jpg
 
Trying to get the table off has been much more than the quoted 1 hour job of another member. First I had to make a 55mm wrench to loosen the handle holders and then I found the locknuts were stuck. Not having a pin spanner or being able to find one locally I made a tool and was able to loosen them tonight. Next step remove heavy parts and hopefully see what is wrong with the knee gears.
First is the 55mm wrench cut from a piece of 3/16 plate with a grinder zip disk. Simple but effective.
Second took about an hour to make. A 3/4" drive 19mm impact socket with two 1/8" dowel pins hammered in on a 34mm BCD. The center of the socket had to be opened up with a carbide burr to slip over the handle shaft.
View attachment 164296 View attachment 164297

You don't have to remove the handle holders to remove the table. You can take the plates of (after you've remove the locknuts) using the 8 M10 screws.
 
Good job !Keep those results and pictures coming ; I'm in more or less in the same spot with my Abene.Waiting for the lubrication (Interlube )pump. Then I hope top be able to place the table back and run the mill.
 
Gotta say, I'm quite enjoying all this Abene activity of late, and it's working wonders at getting me back to rebuilding mine. Looking forward to watching this rebuild. :)
 
Table and saddle removed this morning. The bevel gear has 3 broken teeth. I'm currently thinking I can swap it with the one on the knee handwheel as I doubt arm strength would be enough to break the rest of the teeth off. I'll get a price on a new one anyway.

Transmission came out which you can do without removing the table.
Prerequisites:
1. Remove the ujoint driveshaft.
2. Put both Y and Z power feed handles in neutral.
3. Saddle moved forward.

Steps:
1. Remove the 4 bolts.
2. Remove the dowelpin (it is drilled and tapped so that you can pull it out.
3. Rotate the transmission counterclockwise just until the knee handwheel gears are no longer in mesh or just until the dowel pin hole almost disappears. If you don't rotate the transmission you WILL break a bevel gear.
4. If the holes where you removed bolts are tapped M10 then use them as jacking screws to start the transmission casting outwards. If they are not (as mine weren't) bottom tap one or two. Check the knee gear is not in mesh by engaging the powerfeed and it should not backdrive the transmission input. Put it back in neutral.
5. Pry the transmission out and it literally falls out.

Unexpected was how bad some of the bearings are. One has the cage broken and has fallen apart. Hoping with all new bearings things will run nice and smooth.

Pictures include an overall and several closeups of the gear, inside knee, and the failed bearing in the last picture where you can see remains of the inner race still on the shaft and a few balls in the hole along with a bunch of mess.
DSC_8281_rotated.JPG DSC_8283.jpg DSC_8282.jpg DSC_8284.jpg DSC_8288.jpg
 
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Dear CWilcox,

When I've taken apart the innards of my Deckel mill, they have looked very clean in comparison. Is this transmission normally supposed to be filled with oil? From the brown rusty appearance I have the impression that water or coolant or some other corrosive substance got inside.

By the way, I like your overhead beam hoist, very nice! Now you need a nicer floor: lay down some 50mm rigid foam with 25mm tongue-and-groove OSB or plywood on top.

Cheers,
Bruce
 
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These mills seem to have a flaw, that is that coolant slips through the sliding covers and enters the gearbox area. There is a special overflow tube that is used to drain it but if you don't do the maintenance you get the results seen in my mill. I'm currently cleaning and gathering all new bearings and seals.
I need to figure out what that rubber sheeting is that I see used to protect the ways on some mills and install that on mine as it should prevent most coolant and fines from entering the knee.
 
Wouldn't use water based coolant on those machines.....Straight "clear" cutting oil is where i would go like Master Chemical OM 303...
Less efficient than water based coolant as to taking heat away, but it won't make your gear box look like its been salvaged from the Titanic......
Cheers Ross
 
My Abene gearbox looks fine. I'm not completely convinced this is really a design flaw.More like lack of maintenance I think.
 
I've been busy cleaning parts in lots of varsol. The chipped gear is 296 Euro so it looks like I'll be swapping it with the hand feed position and running it there. I feel it will hold up to just my arm strength. Will post more pictures and updates in a few days. This disassembly and cleaning is a long process. Luckily the other two gearboxes look perfect inside so I'm leaving them together. Wasn't planning on doing this much to the mill but it is really the only way to make it right.
 
Would someone with a VHF-3 in good condition be able to let me know if the knee and cross slide power feed levers have detents in just neutral or do they have detents in both neutral and when engaged? Alternatively, what is typical for a mill with powerfeed?

My parts are worn out to the point that the place the ball rides is just grooved out into one long groove. I plan to braze a piece of steel in and grind some new slot(s) but want to do it right.

Grooves worn out.
DSC_8306.jpg

Clean Parts
DSC_8303.jpg DSC_8304.jpg

Most of the mill is in good condition luckily.
DSC_8307.jpg

edit: In other topics I found a picture of a mill that has a rubber cover over the headstock ways that looks functional. Might have to copy.
Headstock Waycover.jpg
 
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My Abene VHF-2a was missing one handle and 3 of the crankpins/crank handles. I made new ones and have the cad files for all three parts if anyone is missing those parts and has a cnc lathe.
 

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Would someone with a VHF-3 in good condition be able to let me know if the knee and cross slide power feed levers have detents in just neutral or do they have detents in both neutral and when engaged? Alternatively, what is typical for a mill with powerfeed?

My parts are worn out to the point that the place the ball rides is just grooved out into one long groove. I plan to braze a piece of steel in and grind some new slot(s) but want to do it right.

Grooves worn out.
View attachment 165009

Clean Parts
View attachment 165010 View attachment 165011

Most of the mill is in good condition luckily.
View attachment 165012

Also just noticed that a second Abene has been listed on Ebay for $1700. Usually I just see the one for $4999. Why I mention this is that it has a rubber cover over the headstock ways that looks functional.
View attachment 165018

You could save a few bucks if you just buy direct instead of thru eBay.......

Home - HGR Inc.

Kevin
 
For a broken gear it is worth contacting forum member Zahnrad Kopf - his business is making gears. Check the monarch forum, lots from him there as he is refurbing a 10ee. I believe he has made some gears for deckel's for other members. High probability he can make it for less than ordering from Abene.

Paul
 
Hi all,
I'm in a bit of a crisis : New pump and new metering units installed :
NO oil coming out of the metering units !?
Pump sinks down , so there must be oil going somewhere !
Oil IS coming out of the distribution blocks.
Finally I decided that something must be leaking in the kneesection.
So I tried to remove the saddle but got stuck with the gear not coming loose.
So then I blocked the exit to the the knee in that distribution block : NOW oil is coming out of the holes in the saddle !
So there IS something wrong/leakiing in the knee !
Now I have to get the saddle of.
Can any of you give me advice on how to get the gear loose ? ( see image )20160312_151903.jpg
How did anyone of you got the saddle of ?

Help much appreciated ! Greetz, Jack
 
On mine, that gear stays with the knee. Don't do anything to it. I had a circlip on top of my gear.

Starting where you are, to get the saddle off I:
Removed the little oil line from the Tee. Looks like you already did that from your picture.
Remove (actually i only loosened) the Gib 303.036
Remove the slides underneath 300.117, 300.103
Lifted straight up.

Here is a comparison picture (note I have stored the 4 bolts back in their holes so they don't get lost)
You will see the gear teeth scraped the grease off as is barely passed through the hole.
Saddle Removed 2.jpg

Best image i have of knee just after removal.
Saddle Removed.jpg
 
The image I posted is of a gear in the saddle , not in the knee !?
Why can't I get the saddle off then ?
 








 
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