Rig to hold B-port knee for scraping?

Seems like most of a B-port is easy to scrape. I find the angled part of the knee’s dovetails a pain. Usually make a rig to hold whatever part so the surface being scraped is horizontal. Tired of doing it at a weird angle without a rig on knees. Tried doing it with the y axis part of knee resting on angle cut timbers, but takes a long time for me to get it lifted and turned upright. Got to be an easier way- how do folks rig their knees? Or just take more Advil for an sore neck and back?

Thanks.

L7

I scrape the top of the knee on the machine and tape up the surface where the knee to column way wipers attach to keep the scraping chips from entering. I, my men when I had a shop, my Dad all did it that way. You have to check squareness time to time and it's easy when you have the Z axis screw with a 1/2 power drill or power feed unit. Once you get the top out of square ..High in front .0002 to .0005/12" so when the saddle and table are installed and vise the knee sags to zero squareness. Once I have the top square I pull it apart and lay it on it's sides and scrape the dovetails. Ed Hadley from Minneapolis and Foxboro WI who specialized in them planned everything first on special planners he had set up for column, table, saddle a knee and then scraped the machine marks out. He rigged up car engine stands to bolt the knee to, so he could rotate it on the stand.

Thanks, Richard. Haven’t had a problem getting the top of knees to the specs you suggested (although I had been wasting time taking them on and off for measurements), and I’ve been able to do the dovetails, just takes awhile. Like the car engine stand idea and will try it.

Got a lot of respect for those who can scrape all day out of position, as a welder would say.

L7

I lay the knee..on its side...on top of a pallet...to attack the dovetails. I do the positive side first...then the gib side.
JOHN

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This company now rebuilds many types of machines. Rick was Ed Hadley's foreman and now specializes in Bridgeport's. He converted my Cleveland planer to a planner mill, machines my straight-edges now and uses them.
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