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New K&T Autometric Model B user

rke[pler

Diamond
Joined
Feb 19, 2002
Location
Peralta, NM USA
After lusting after the K&T Autometric Model B I finally ended up pulling the trigger on one on eBay. After a few weeks waiting on a friend bringing it out it finally came in this past week, and I've moved it into the shop:

Autometric_in_shop.jpg


I'm making a 2-part nut to be able to use 40 NMTB tooling in the spindle, I have a bunch of PDQ S tooling that'll work great for this. The DRO had a trivial problem to fix and will be remounted this week. Power is going to be a 5HP RTP, once in place I'll move the mill back and drop it on some Vliers.

I have the right parts manual (scans available on request) but the operator's manual is for the older round way model - can anyone point me to a scan of the newer prismatic way operator's guide?
 
The mill has a nicely engineered automatic lubrication system. It uses a Lincoln Centro-Matic 83667 pump driven by air from a timer operated solenoid:

autometric_lubricator.jpg


autometric_lube_timer.jpg


Played with applying air and all the lube points seem to be getting hit.
 
These cool little machines were sold at the Hanford site auctions in the 1990s, but no one I have talked to that had worked out there knows anything about them or where they were used.
There was another Autometric that was like a vertical jig borer, had a long quill travel, but not much distance under the spindle.
The horizontal machines sold in the $5000 range back then, I wanted one, but had no work for it. The machines are top quality, and must have been hugely expensive.
 
I found a price of $20,750 in 1953. That would be $200,000 in 2020.

I disassembled the cross feed(?) dial last night to get the zero setting dial working. Just needed a long bath in decreaser and some clean oil - there might have been some paint glue involved as well. Many years of scuzz on this mill.

Still looking for an operator's manual for the prismatic way machine - I have the manual for the round way machine but the controls are very different for this machine.
 
The machines are striking in appearance being a tiny HBM with a look of high precision. Its one of those machines that catches my attention, and I have only heard of a handful, and seen two since the 90s when they started showing up at local gov auctions.
They look to get along well with the Monarch ee class of machine.
 
The machines are striking in appearance being a tiny HBM with a look of high precision. Its one of those machines that catches my attention, and I have only heard of a handful, and seen two since the 90s when they started showing up at local gov auctions.
They look to get along well with the Monarch ee class of machine.

See if you can find a " Kearns " S Type. Maybe not as precise a machine but I would argue more versatile. Roughly the same footprint.

Regards Tyrone
 
Tyrone, have been looking for an S type for roughly ten years in Canada and northern US. They don’t seem to be as common here as UK. Bigger Kearns (and other HBM’s) are easy to find..

To the OP, congrats on what looks like a good condition machine. I only knew about the round bar version like in Oxtools shop, neat to see a beefier machine along the same lines.

L7
 
Tyrone, have been looking for an S type for roughly ten years in Canada and northern US. They don’t seem to be as common here as UK. Bigger Kearns (and other HBM’s) are easy to find..

To the OP, congrats on what looks like a good condition machine. I only knew about the round bar version like in Oxtools shop, neat to see a beefier machine along the same lines.

I'm hoping to get the power up this weekend so I can get some time in on it, but my impression is that operation would be very different than the operation of the round column version. On the round column you had the provision of mounting a tool on a motor driven spindle on the table set up to operate on work held on a plate on the nominal "spindle". Further, there was an outboard support made to support a long boring bar in a similar manner to a HBM. Neither of those options exist with the kinematic way machine.

I think I tracked a user manual down, will know by next week.

Yesterday I spent much of the day trying to get the indicator out so I could clean and get things working. Finally had to take the whole housing out only to find the head of a screw sticking out the left side, aligning with a hole in the mill base. The hole was not visible in the inside of the bed until I shoved a drill through it to dislodge a 'plug' of crap. So I spent most of the afternoon turning a 2 minute job into an 8 hour disassembly/reassembly of the longitudinal feed assembly. Oh, well, at least it's all cleaned and oiled now.
 
It seems like each one that has showed up is different in some ways, other then these, the smallest HBM I have seen is a Universal, about twice the size of the Autometric.
It would be interesting to know some of the applications of small HBMs.
 
It seems like each one that has showed up is different in some ways, other then these, the smallest HBM I have seen is a Universal, about twice the size of the Autometric.
It would be interesting to know some of the applications of small HBMs.

Look up " Kearns " S Type horizontal boring machine on Youtube.

Regards Tyrone.
 
Thanks for directing me to the Kerns, the Autometric is more like the DeVlieg-probably got that wrong, or horizontal jig borer.
I have zero experience on this type of machine, makes me more interested in them.
 
Thanks for directing me to the Kerns, the Autometric is more like the DeVlieg-probably got that wrong, or horizontal jig borer.
I have zero experience on this type of machine, makes me more interested in them.

The " S" type was designed with beginners and the new wave of " training schools and colleges " that came out over here in the 1960's in mind. Having said that a couple of shops I worked at used them for the production of smaller components. The fully equipped ones were very versatile machines. The only drawback was they didn't have a travelling spindle but you could mount attachments for drilling and milling on the facing slide.

Regards Tyrone.

A member " PDW " has one our in Australia and he appears to use his a lot.
 
I wanted to thank both Mister Honey and Charles for hooking me up with the user manual. Got it in no time at all and read the whole thing. Thanks guys!

I got a little further yesterday, got power pulled and tried to start. The control power contactor isn't. Transformer is getting 240 and putting out 120, so the voltage is in there. I pulled the panel and started looking at the switches, all SD 9001 KA-1 bodies. I was waiting on some help (switch panel is 6' from the contactors) and figured I'd check the coolant/cutting oil through the cleanout - pulled a few screws and was surprised with the volume of oil. I hadn't thought of checking the level in the sight before pulling the panel marked "cleanout" and kind of assumed that it would be above the level... bad assumption. About a half gallon of oil came out onto me. Got it closed back up and came back i, figuring to check the switches today. Either the master start doesn't close or the E-stop remains open.

I'm assuming that with the SD switch bodies being sold separately there's somewhere with a source of the top pushbutton assemblies? I have a couple I'd like to refresh as well as one needing new. Both of these are 2 position switches on a KA-2. One has the lever broken and the other is just missing.

If there's anyone out there with the dial indicator attachment I need to replace the "reach rod". I've got some 5/32 square rod to use as a replacement and am planning on using a 1/16 roll pin as a stop to keep it from leaving the housing but some dimensions might be useful as I'm not sure how much stickout would be appropriate at the tail.
 
Bad e-stop. Funny thing is that it's listed as a NO switch and should be a NC. I shorted the switch and can now get control power to the other contactors. So that's the 'good' news, bad news is that I'm still not getting any spindle action. I'll replace the bad e-stop and continue, I suspect that someone's messed with it since it was rewired from 480 to 240.

I know that it's not original but does anyone have a pointer to getting the original wiring diagram? The replacement may have followed the original in wire numbers and that'd save me some time tracing everything.
 
I have most everything working - master start/stop (replacement stop switch had a 'twist to reset feature' but I like the original better) is working and spindle works for both the run and 'inch' (momentary run) features. Rapid traverse works in both directions. Speed changes work, fine adjust is a little stiff. Only thing not working is the regular traverse feed tied to the spindle.

I was in the manual traverse housing - had taken the housing off and so I suspected that I broke something putting it back in. I was talking to Hugh at Hugh Machinery on some other issues (he was kind enough to send me images of the original wiring diagram) and he thinks that I'm ok on the manual feed since it's working but that there might be something with the clutch from the power feed. Looks like I have to take off the big panel under the speed and feed dials to see what's up. Anyone been in there before and/or have advice?
 








 
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