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Power feed wanted

sundown57

Aluminum
Joined
Jan 5, 2007
Location
Freetown
I know its a long shot but does anyone have a used power feed I could use on a z-axis. Im retired and don't do much machining any more but I'm finding that knee a bit harder and harder to lift each time. thanks
 
If this is a "normal" bridgeport sized mill you might want to just make an adapter for a cordless drill.
I made one in 30 minutes and use it on my Tree mill constantly.


OK, maybe it was 45 minutes, but the point holds.
 
I had a bunch of 250lb gas springs for another project, which so far hasn't worked out, I tried a pair of them on the bridgeport propped under the table temporarily and it made it almost effortless to crank up and down, and I realized they would fit very slick.
if i wanted to make it easier to move... my FIRST move would be make a better handle that doesen't take half your effort to keep it from slipping off and has a bearing in the handle, that helped a ton, then if that isn't enough add two of those gas springs. get 200lb ones tho, 250 is slightly overkill. They were 30$ a piece on ebay, 200lb force, nitrogen charged gas struts for RV, 36" overall length.

I don't necessarily mean you have to do it My way, but the POINT is, if you put the gas struts ON it, then it's just as easy to crank as the table, so a normal table power feed like a servo 150 could be used NO problem.
 
The problem with struts on the knee is you have to make sure the knee is loaded downwards so that backlash is not an issue, so don’t go with too big of a strut


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my machine is a bit larger than most. It is a knock off Bridgeport but has a 48 inch by 10-inch table and the knee is huge. I'm guessing the knee alone 7 to 800 LBS. Im looking now at a pair of air cylinders that way i could regulate it and not bind the screw. But seems every solution cost more then the right feed.
 
I had a bunch of 250lb gas springs for another project, which so far hasn't worked out, I tried a pair of them on the bridgeport propped under the table temporarily and it made it almost effortless to crank up and down, and I realized they would fit very slick.
if i wanted to make it easier to move... my FIRST move would be make a better handle that doesen't take half your effort to keep it from slipping off and has a bearing in the handle, that helped a ton, then if that isn't enough add two of those gas springs. get 200lb ones tho, 250 is slightly overkill. They were 30$ a piece on ebay, 200lb force, nitrogen charged gas struts for RV, 36" overall length.

I don't necessarily mean you have to do it My way, but the POINT is, if you put the gas struts ON it, then it's just as easy to crank as the table, so a normal table power feed like a servo 150 could be used NO problem.

I have had a Servo 140 on my Bridgeport knee for at least 10 years of daily use, no trouble at all.
 
my machine is a bit larger than most. It is a knock off Bridgeport but has a 48 inch by 10-inch table and the knee is huge. I'm guessing the knee alone 7 to 800 LBS. Im looking now at a pair of air cylinders that way i could regulate it and not bind the screw. But seems every solution cost more then the right feed.

Shame you aren't down the street I'd give you a pair of these struts to try and see how it would work. Hard to say. My series II requires two gorillas working in shifts to crank manually, but it turns out it's not the sheer weight of the table, it's the fact
it as a 1 3/4-5 lead screw. Which.....is about the least efficient design ever :rolleyes5:
 
thanks but i really want to do it right. for one i don't use the mill every day so when i need to the batteries in the cordless are dead and its hard to use that all the time. Im going to try and set up somthing that works good and is ready to go all the time. thanks
 
There is a Youtube on how to make that adapter for the drill if your like me no imagination

Frank Ford has the detailed description of the drill adapter on his site.
And I saw them being sold on e-bay or Amazon for about $30 a few years ago.

I made one and used it till I installed a $400 Servo Dynamo Z-axis Power Feed. It's been working for about 5 years without problems. Installation is shown here: Servo Dynamo Z-axis power feed installation on Bridgeport
 
If you can get a purpose-built knee feed, great. But a beefy used corded 1/2” electric drill with the splined adapter permanently mounted in it would cost less than $100 and be always ready to use. That’s the set-up I use.
 
Sundown57: Try Jon at H & W machine repair in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He does repairs and rebuilds on Servo brand power feeds. He sometime has used or rebuilts for sale. Sorry I don't have a link to his business.

JH
 
well, i may have just got lucky. I bought a workhorse AL-500S. I got it for a good price but it does not come with a bevel gear. I have one from an old Servo 90, not sure if it will fit or not but we will find out once the 500s arrives. if not then i will need to buy one for it. Will keep you all posted on progress. thanks for all the input.
 
Thought this conversation sounded mighty familiar :D

I have tons of grass gears here, but no 500S to test it on. Lemme know when you get it what you find out?

Jon
 
Thought this conversation sounded mighty familiar :D

I have tons of grass gears here, but no 500S to test it on. Lemme know when you get it what you find out?

Jon
Well, not wanting to wait for the 500s to arrive then find out the servo 90 gear doesn't fit and have to wait another week for a gear I did a bit of research. From what i can see the 500s calls for a srtaight tooth gear, 76MM OD. so this morning I took apart the servo 90 to check it out and it does use a straight tooth gear and it is 76MM. So now i plan to wait for the 500s to arrive before i order a gear, It looks like the one i have will work.
 
thanks but i really want to do it right. for one i don't use the mill every day so when i need to the batteries in the cordless are dead and its hard to use that all the time. Im going to try and set up somthing that works good and is ready to go all the time. thanks

I tried an air-wrench. Gentler right-angle "ratchet" type, not brute impact "gun' style.

Worked "OK".

Even so, a variable torque cordED AND NOT cordLESS electric driver worked MUCH more gently.
Horror- Fright item, actually.

Task just isn't that hard on it as would justify the spend on a "dedicated" Metabo.

Adaptor is as easy as 3/8" or 1/2" drive four-point (usually) deepwell socket wrench. Yes, those have to be special-ordered, US or Metric, as they are seldom seen in Auto or Big Box blister pacs. But no, one need not DIY them.

Once you have the socket(s) (why buy just the one, then misplace it?) , a ratchet or breaker bar may serve for fine final adjustment, manually, too.

Not ALL "factory" knee handles suck. just most of them.

Now and then, we see an old tractor or auto steering wheel adapted. That is nowhere near as dumb as it looks.
 








 
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