Did I kill my Enco 30 Mill/Rill by dropping it on the lead screw?

[GlassMetalWood]

Hello all, new to the forum and I am seeking advice.

I have a great little Enco 30 round column mill that I got for free a few years back. I finally had a chance to weld up a stand for it, cleaned it up really well and installed it on the stand just before I had to move. Rented a truck with a lift gate to move it (thought the ramp on a Uhaul would be too dangerous). As I was lowering the machine to the ground on the lift gate it proceeded to roll off and land on the Y-AXIS table feed - front drive screw. I had removed the handle, so that did not get hit. Did I ruin the mill and what little bit of accuracy it may have had, or is there any chance that it is salvageable? I looked underneath the table and it seems that there is no broken cast iron. The table position locks were engaged. The brass nut that the screw rod mounts to under the Y axis table seems to still be properly attached. See attached pictures.

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

TIA

 

[GlassMetalWood]

Impact area. The central rod protruded before impact but was pushed back flush.

 

[GlassMetalWood]

The brass drive screw under the Y table (sorry if the name is misleading or incorrect). It appears to still be attached.

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

Take it apart and inspect for damage, if nothing obviously broken, put it back together and consider yourself lucky, maybe buy a lottery ticket

 

[GlassMetalWood]

Take it apart and inspect for damage, if nothing obviously broken, put it back together and consider yourself lucky, maybe buy a lottery ticket

Thanks! I hear ya on that! I am unfortunately in the process of packing up for my next move and am at the point where I need to decide whether or not to keep this machine. I'm just really pressed for time at the moment. Was hoping someone might have insight into the immediate workings of the impacted area. If I won the lottery I'd still try to get this thing 100%.

 

[DDoug]

Let's hope so.....Try over at one of the many homeshop forums.

 

[jccaclimber]

I'd go ahead and pack it, but I'd put some additional thought into safely moving it so that it doesn't land on a person next time. That's not big in the machine tool world, but it is big in terms of things I'd like to have land on me. Last time I needed to move something bigger than I could handle on a ramp I strapped it in a way that it couldn't escape the ramp, than loosened the strap as it slid down. Need to watch for sideways pull if the strap goes tight when doing this. Use two, or have the one well lined up.

As for this machine, checking for obvious casting breaks would be my first start. Unlocking the axis and seeing if it turns as expected by hand (is this possible on this machine?) would be the next check.
If that nose pushed in and didn't slide the table, then it went somewhere. Did it shear the teeth in the brass nut? Would just be a matter of replacing the nut if so.

As for keep vs. scrap, if there's nothing large obviously broken then whatever is broken is probably repairable in reasonable terms, depending on your skill level.

 

[rons]

Mount a indicator extension rod on the spindle with a collet.
Move the front dial back and forth and see if the dial graduation movements match what is really moving.
Even though that mill is a small one, it's still around 500 pounds.

 

[moonlight machine]

That thing was junk before you dropped it, prolly not any worse now.