What's new
What's new

U. S. Machine Tool Company, Vertical Mill, Model V, cutter head will not move, ideas?

gkbikers

Aluminum
Joined
Mar 3, 2012
Location
Buford, GA, USA
I've recently purchased an old vertical mill, made by U.S. MACHINE TOOL CO. The tag says it is a Model V.

100_0076.10PC.JPG


The yellow straps are wrapped around a horizontal arm. The vertical cutterhead is mounted on one end of the arm (the left side in the picture). The motor is mounted on the opposite end of the arm. The arm is round and runs through the body of the machine. Two handles mounted on the side of the machine seem to hold the arm still.

The problem is, the cutterhead is supposed to slide in and out on the horizontal arm through the body of the mill. The arm is also supposed to rotate 90 degrees. However, the horizontal shaft is frozen inside the machine body and will not move. I've used penetrating oil and have hammered on the back side of the cutterhead mount (one inch thick steel plate) with a 2x4 and a mallet. Nothing is moving.

Is anyone familiar with this machine? Any ideas on getting the arm moving?

Thanks,

gkbikers
 
Hi gkbikers--

I recently restored one of these that had been left outside to die (working on writing it up to post here sometime soon). Yours looks a heck of a lot better than mine did, and I had no problem freeing up my ram. I'm pretty sure your machine should have an access door on the left side. Open it up, stick your head in there, and shine a flashlight on the clamping mechanism. The locking handles bear on pivoting cast iron flaps that are machined to match the contour of the round ram. Hose all that stuff down with WD-40 and try to knock it loose again. I ended up removing the ram and mounting it in a lathe to clean it up with various abrasives. Works as slick as can be now.

I have done a lot of research on these obscure machines. Yours has the bracket for a power table feed--did you get the motor and gearbox for that along with the machine? It also looks like you have the cool "Lima drive" 4-speed transmission.

I miraculously obtained the owners manual for my machine--let me know if you need a copy.

Stay tuned for a writeup of my USMT mill restoration in the next couple of days.

Glitch
 
Hi Glitch.

Thank you for your reply. You have given me some real hope that I can get this mahcine up and running! :D

I would really like to have a copy of your manual.

When I removed the two handles that must bear on the cast iron flaps you describe, one of the screw ends appears to have a machined end, but the other one has that end broken off. The broken one only has the outside circumfrence, about 1/8 inch from the tip, broken off. It sounds like I many need to pull the overarm or ram out as you did. I will not know until I do as you suggest and start getting up into the machine. Thanks for that idea.

Unfortunately, I did not get the table motor or gearbox, but it would be nice to have. And yes, you are correct that this machine has the four speed gearbox. Of course, I will not know what works until I can get power to the machine (I've got to build an RPC and some wiring in my shop). Regarding running, the pulley on the cutter head has some damage; the bottom sheave or groove has a chunk out of it. Also, the motor either has a bad bearing or the shaft is bent, because when you turn the motor by hand, the pully wobbles and goes up and down.

So, some real work to do here before the machine is work-ready. One other good piece of news is that this machine appears to have an R8 spindle.

Thanks again for your comments. I really look forward to your post up on your rebuild. Please let me know how I can get a copy of your manual. :)

gkbikers



Hi gkbikers--

I recently restored one of these that had been left outside to die (working on writing it up to post here sometime soon). Yours looks a heck of a lot better than mine did, and I had no problem freeing up my ram. I'm pretty sure your machine should have an access door on the left side. Open it up, stick your head in there, and shine a flashlight on the clamping mechanism. The locking handles bear on pivoting cast iron flaps that are machined to match the contour of the round ram. Hose all that stuff down with WD-40 and try to knock it loose again. I ended up removing the ram and mounting it in a lathe to clean it up with various abrasives. Works as slick as can be now.

I have done a lot of research on these obscure machines. Yours has the bracket for a power table feed--did you get the motor and gearbox for that along with the machine? It also looks like you have the cool "Lima drive" 4-speed transmission.

I miraculously obtained the owners manual for my machine--let me know if you need a copy.

Stay tuned for a writeup of my USMT mill restoration in the next couple of days.

Glitch
 
Wood RR tie or similar heavy dead blow/non damaging device suspended from a pair of ropes is a fine helper-alonger.

I.E., a battering ram that you don't have to hold up - just swing it back and let it go.
 
Now THAT is a unique approach! :D

I'm going to get up inside the base as soon as feasible and spray it down liberally with break-free or WD40. Then we'll see about the batterning ram approach.

Thanks!

gkbikers

Wood RR tie or similar heavy dead blow/non damaging device suspended from a pair of ropes is a fine helper-alonger.

I.E., a battering ram that you don't have to hold up - just swing it back and let it go.
 
I agree with you.

One of the reasons this mill was probably sold three years ago as part of a large lot of machinery. Probably the same reason the owner I bought it from never used it. However, I'm not employed as a machinist, so maybe I can bring the poor thing back to life. Seems like a very worthwhile machine if everything is working properly.

Thanks for your input.

gkbikers
 
Bill,

I'm a real newbie when it comes to machine tools, but I think I read recently that the Quartet is Some-Kinda-Machine. Sounds like it must be according to your trip to get it.

I'll be very happy just getting my little machine running. Of course, next to it is parked a much nicer (and bigger) Kearney & Trecker 2K Plain horizontal that is also awaiting my attention. The difference is, I saw the K&T run before we loaded it and it is very good condition as compared to my Model V.

Good luck with your work. I hope to read more about it.

gkbikers AKA gary
 
On that broken bolt.... get a decent set of left hand drill bits. Champion sells a nice set with Eze-Outs. Unless the bolt is corroded in place, the left hand bit usually grabs and backs it out instantly. Worth their weight in gold in any shop. To make sure it doesn't run off on you, make a little bushing (if you can) that will guide the drill.
 
Thanks Mike.

I've never tried the left hand bits. I do have a set of easy-outs, but they don't always work.

On that broken bolt.... get a decent set of left hand drill bits. Champion sells a nice set with Eze-Outs. Unless the bolt is corroded in place, the left hand bit usually grabs and backs it out instantly. Worth their weight in gold in any shop. To make sure it doesn't run off on you, make a little bushing (if you can) that will guide the drill.
 
Left hand drill is far superior to eze-outs. If the bolt is just broken from being wrung off due to overtightening, it will usually back out instantly. Same for broken bolts in crashed parts. Corroded in bolts or galled ones are no fun no matter how you cut it.

No left hand drill or eze-out will remove one that has been wrung off on the way out due to either of these reasons. Only choice there is as thermite says, shell it out and pick out the remains... if you are lucky. Stainless bolts and plugs in those aluminum pump housings I used to repair became one powdery, galling, frozen mess. No amount of heat, vibration, penetrating oils, etc... would get a really bad one out. I finally got to where I would drill a circle of closely spaced 1/8" holes around the bolt, then drill at an angle in the same circle until I got about 90% of the surrounding metal out of the way. The take a hammer and punch and knock the stuck bolt sideways in all directions until it loosened up enough to get it out. Over to the radial drill to punch the hole out to whatever was closest, then MIG up the hole, dress, redrill and tap.

Problem with eze-outs, especially the spiral ones, is that they just wedge in and expand the bolt in the hole. If it was just broken off and removable with your fingers (except for being to deep to get hold of), once the eze-out is driven in, it locks the bolt in solid. Square eze-outs work best off any of them. If they don't take the remains out, all they do is round the hole out, instead of locking the bolt up worse.
 
FWIW ......i removed a hardened flush dowel pin on bridgeport M head locking the "nod"...after swearing at the guy that did not use a threaded dowel so i cud pull it , i took the torch to it to soften it so i cud drill it out. i let it cool & then center punched , started to drill & it spun out ....then i remembered that years ago, i had heated up red hot the exterior race of a frozen rear axle bearing on my son's van,after which when cooled it became loose enuf to remove by hand ......when heated red hot it can only expand axially cause it is constrained by the housing BUT when coooing ,ALL surfaces contract including the circumference .....first time i saw this . a buzz box was used to lay a bead all around & whne cool ,the outside race FELL out ....hate to admit ,but i needed an explanation at the time............this same back country genius mechanic , wud sometime place a copper tube over the top of the broken bolt & weld up the stump, then putting a nut on top ....time after time he had a better & quicker way of doing whatever it was i was contemplating ...after removing starter bolts on 8N ford numerous times to free up a jammed bendix ( delaying replacing a chewed up ring gear) , i mentioned that the bolt heads were now a problem & that i was going to grind/file them down one wrench size.......waaal he said , i just weld another nut on them ......not pretty , but SO simple,,,,,.miss him .....
maybe this will help
doc
 
Could was .. but a vintage U.S. Machine mill is both rather harder to replace bits of and greatly less forgiving of failure than old Fords and natural stone, so I'd stick with gentler methods.

Bill

Yes, I'm really trying to go easy. As Glitch said in the #2 post above, inside the machine housing where the ram passes through, there are two flaps or "shoes" or "brakes" that bear against the ram when the screw handles are tightened down. Those shoes or brakes have rusted onto the ram and, again, all of this happened at the inside top of the machine body. So, I'm trying to spray WD40 onto the ram and the shoes upside down inside the machine - as Glitch suggested . Then, start pursuading the ram from the outside.

The screw handles are out now and I don't really know if there is any material left inside the threaded holes. I poked around with an ice pick and heard several small "tinks" of metal hit the concrete.

gkbikers
 
Hi gkbikers...me again! Thanks for providing the impetus to finally post my USMT mill experience. I hope you find it interesting and helpful. In looking through my photos, I noticed one that shows one of the "flaps" that we have been talking about:

100_5269.jpg


In reading your description, I think my mill had the same scenario as yours with one of the ram locking levers--one of them had an issue with the tip. I think the only difficulty was that it let that flap dangle down in the way of inserting the ram. Once the ram was inserted the clamping lever worked just fine. As I recall, the tips of these clamps are sort of like the swivel on a c-clamp, and you pulled the swivel off when you backed the lever all the way out. I don't think it is going to be an issue for you.

I scanned my owner's manual and will send it to you if you will PM me your e-mail address. Maybe I'm just dense, but the Forum e-mail feature does not seem to allow attachments. I obtained the manual from the shop that originally bought the mill. The current shop manager stumbled across it while digging through some ancient files and knew I was mucking around with the machine.

I actually recently ran into the shop manager who bought the machine for the Duke shop back in the '40s, if you can believe that! We use the same barber shop. He's pushing 90, but clearly remembered the machine. His work with the Physics department at Duke was deemed so important that he was excused from military duty during World War II. He was still managing the shop when I began working at Duke in 1984! I need to get a picture of him next to his old mill!

Let me know if I can help you further.

Glitch
 
Glitch,

First, thank you for all your assistance. I really appreciate it.

Second, I am stunned at how clean and perfect your base came out. WOW! Great work.

Now, I'm going over to read your thread on the restoration.

gkbikers
 








 
Back
Top