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Schaublin mill question

taiwanluthiers

Cast Iron
Joined
Dec 6, 2016
Location
Xinjhuan District, New Taipei City
I was watching the youtube videos from This Old Tony and he mentioned his Schaublin mill has no quill at all, every control is done with the knee and table. So I was wondering, how does one use boring bars when the only way to advance the Z is raise the table? Because I know when you raise or lower the table with the knee it tends to wander in both the X and Y direction (and not show up on the DRO). Are Schaublins somehow able to eliminate this problem?

I think the mill in question is a Schaublin 13
 
At the University where I spent many happy years we had two Schaublin 53 milling machines.
They were (and still are) truly excellent machines and very accurate.
The boring head was often in use for days at a time.
We got one particular job as a local oil equipment manufacturer couldn't get their bores accurate enough on their CNC mills but we could produce what was required in the vertical and horizontal planes with sizes from 25.4mm to over 400mm diameter.
No special setups were needed and some of the work was interrupted cutting with less than 2mm to remove.
I cannot remember what the tolerance was but they measured with a laser based system and we never had to re-work! The 53,s were always well maintained and the gib strips were as big as they possibly could be.
 
I'm only asking because my Taiwanese mill does not have a quill power feed and I can't think of any way to add it. However it's not hard to add power feed to the knee but I'm just concerned about the knee moving while traversing. I don't know how I can mitigate that. My mill has box ways for Y and Z axis, and I'm not all too clear on how to adjust it.
 
Because I know when you raise or lower the table with the knee it tends to wander in both the X and Y direction (and not show up on the DRO). Are Schaublins somehow able to eliminate this problem?

I think the mill in question is a Schaublin 13
Part of the reason that the X and Y locate better on the Schaublin is that it is built in the Euro style in which the Y axis is separated from the saddle and relocated to the top of the column. This means the vertical ways have to deal with one less set of slides and less overhang to cause wear. Another part of the explanation is that it is Swiss, and a notch better than a typical Bridgeport in terms of fit and finish. Lastly, the owners tend to recognize Swiss precision and are more likely to take good care and not let the slides get worn and loose. Of course there will always be counterexamples in both directions, that is, antique, pristine Bridgeports and clapped out Schaublins (and Acieras, my favorites). My Acieras have hardened vertical column ways that show negligible wear despite being 40 and 50 years old.
 
This should probably be over on the deckel/Euro mill forum but really it is no problem to bore with a fixed head on a Schaublin 13. It is really better than a quill as it is stiffer and you should be using power feed anyway.

I do have a high speed head with a quill for my 13 in addition to the fixed head which is nice for small drilling operations which are a bit scary without a quill. Also the over 3x speed increase is nice for small drills.
L
 








 
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