C Clement
Aluminum
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2007
- Location
- Cedar Hills, UT
Gentlemen, I come seeking wisdom and guidance once again. With the kind help of members here I have managed to get a Hendey 16x30 lathe and a Van Norman No.12 mill up and running. Unfortunately, it appears that I, like many of you, am susceptible to the Old Iron Disease. A year or so ago a K&T 2HL Universal appeared on our local classifieds, the price was a little high but one little look won't hurt, right? After a long look, as well as a whole bunch of amazing stuff in a family-owned 4th generation foundry, I reluctantly left empty handed. After stewing for a couple of weeks and revisiting the classified ad daily, I called back with an offer that I admitted up front was probably low but all that I could justify sneaking from the family budget (dance, soccer, piano, etc. eat up a lot of a meager income). The owner said that as I was the only person who had come to look at it in the time it was online I could have it for the offered amount. After tying up a trailer and a tarp and a spot in the hay barn for about a year, I was finally able to clear a spot (barely) and wire up a rotary phase converter and get it moved in to the shop.
The previous owner had mentioned that they had not been able to get the power feeds to work but had not spent much time on it as the mill had proved too small for the job they had acquired it for (finish milling valve bodies that they cast). When I saw it operate under power at the foundry I had noticed that the feed shaft tried to turn when it was supposed to but seemed to be slipping, a simple clutch adjustment like my Hendey lathe I told myself in the fevered state of looking at old iron. During the ensuing months I have read and searched all that I could about the mill and it appears the feed clutch is not adjustable. Now that I have it under power I am thinking the problem is not clutch related but in the gearing (or keys that lock the gears) in the shaft in the column.
In the attached photos labeled Diagram 1 and Diagram 2 I have circled several gears and keys that I suspect may be the problem. I also attached a photo showing the bottom of the rapid traverse and feed drive take off shafts to show that they are different from the diagram.
For all of the K&T experts out there, I am wondering if I am on the right track or if I need to be looking somewhere completely different? By the way, the rapid traverse works in all directions without any problems.
I made a short video of the shafts running with the spindle off and then on, showing the rapid and then feed take off drive shafts rotating, a link to the video is below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLZzuibIoiM&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Thanks for all the great info.
Craig
The previous owner had mentioned that they had not been able to get the power feeds to work but had not spent much time on it as the mill had proved too small for the job they had acquired it for (finish milling valve bodies that they cast). When I saw it operate under power at the foundry I had noticed that the feed shaft tried to turn when it was supposed to but seemed to be slipping, a simple clutch adjustment like my Hendey lathe I told myself in the fevered state of looking at old iron. During the ensuing months I have read and searched all that I could about the mill and it appears the feed clutch is not adjustable. Now that I have it under power I am thinking the problem is not clutch related but in the gearing (or keys that lock the gears) in the shaft in the column.
In the attached photos labeled Diagram 1 and Diagram 2 I have circled several gears and keys that I suspect may be the problem. I also attached a photo showing the bottom of the rapid traverse and feed drive take off shafts to show that they are different from the diagram.
For all of the K&T experts out there, I am wondering if I am on the right track or if I need to be looking somewhere completely different? By the way, the rapid traverse works in all directions without any problems.
I made a short video of the shafts running with the spindle off and then on, showing the rapid and then feed take off drive shafts rotating, a link to the video is below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLZzuibIoiM&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Thanks for all the great info.
Craig