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I just got a Wells Index 860. Found it in Michigan in a place about 300 miles from were I live in Indiana. I had to make two trips to get it down to my place. It was running when I bought, now we'll see if I can get it back together. I know almost nothing about mills. I guess I'm going to learn now. I've been looking for one for over a year, and a friend of mine stumbled across it. We drove up on Friday and brought the heads down. On Wednesday we towed the base, etc. down. Although it doesn't look pretty because some one brushed painted it sky blue, the ways and screws seem tight and all the scrapping marks are intact. The ways look hardly used. If it hadn't been for you guys, I never would have known Wells Index ever existed.
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The 860 is on my "ultimate" mills list -- heavier and more rigid than a Bridgeport, and with a horizontal mill built into the base that acts like a riser block.
Sweet machine! Is it vari-speed?"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did." -
Yes and quiet. Aren't all the 847s and 860s variable speed?Comment
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According to the Army manual, there are step-pulley versions.
By coincidence, I've been exchanging email with Wells-Index tech support, asking how they build their Vari-Speed. It's the Reeve's drive vari-speed that people complain about in the Bridgeports and the Clausing lathes.
Wells-Index doesn't use a plastic bushing running on a nickel-plated pulley shaft like Bridgeport does (Clausing has a plastic bushing running on epoxy-coated cast iron). Instead, they have a bronze bushing running on a hard-chromed shaft.
Wells-Index claims that in the 30 years they've sold that system, they've never had to replace a bushing.
The hard chromed shaft makes sense (nickel plating is even better, because it has a lot lower coefficient of friction than hard chrome), but the bronze bushing surprised me -- a lot of the knowledgeable guys on PracticalMachinist were saying that a plastic bushing should be quieter, since it would absorb impacts better than bronze, and most thermoplastics have a better thermal coefficient of expansion than bronze."Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did."Comment
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First of all, I need to warn you that every thing I know about milling machines could be written on the head of a pin in inch high letters. That said, when I adjusted the speed, the speed control handles moved smoothly and quietly. I have heard several people complain about the Bridgeport variable speeds, saying they were noisy and failure prone; but I reall don't know anything about them. The 860 seemed very quiet to me. Especially compared to my Grizzly lathe.
Since I have you "on the line" so to speak, can you tell me if Cat 40 holders will work in an NMTB spindle? I'm assuming all I would need to do is use a longer drawbar for the Cat 40s since they lack the tail the NMTB toolholders have. The Kennametal catalog indicates the Cat 40s have the same dia. and pitch hole for a drawbar.Comment
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Sir John enlightened me on this a few months ago, easier to link it than repeat it as I might get something wrong........
Opportunity knocks once, temptation leans on the doorbell.....Comment
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You learn Quickly, You got one of the best mills money can buy, How Much?Originally posted by Tyro 001Comment
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POINT OF ORDER,
not the best mill you can buy, but good enough where it needs to be .Comment
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Thistle, POINT OF ORDER, Sometimes I say things just to get an argument.Originally posted by thistle
I am rarely disappointed .
And it was an Opinion, My Opinion.
But step up to the plate list some that are better.Comment
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Wolfie said "One of the best" -- which I agree with.Originally posted by thistle
Aside from the rarefied Deckel/Maho's which are collector's items with obscenely expensive attachments/accessories, what's on your ultimate list?
Another "ultimate" mill on my list (besides a Deckel FP-2, with the above caveats), would be the Abene VH-3, which is actually affordable, and people actually use them to cut metal
) Here's Scott (plastikosmd)'s. He paid $3,000 for a beautiful VH3 with likely the only movable quill in North America:
The Abene is heavily inspired from the Van Norman 16S, which is another one of my Ultimates
Then of course, there's the Brown & Sharpe Omniversal, which many people consider the Ultimate mill. When I was at Brian Healy's shop, I got to see his two (!) Omniversals. They're definitely cool machines, but my God, they're HUGE. The primary motor is 5 HP, and just eyeballing it, I'd guess it weighs 2 1/2 - 3 tons. It's a work of art though...Last edited by lazlo; 04-04-2008, 10:03 AM."Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did."Comment
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$3500. Can't be sure yet, but it looks like I got a good one. As I've stated before, it's really ugly. And dirty.Originally posted by IOWOLFComment
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Good God man, show some pics.
Some people can be so cruel.
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Wow, that really was a fantastic deal!
Dirty you can fix with mineral spirits and towels. Ugly just needs paintAs I've stated before, it's really ugly. And dirty.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did."Comment
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if its in the shop and working it's the best mill available. dirty or polished mine mill the same so far. although polised is rare.Comment
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