I get a free mill!

[vpt]

That looks like a winner to me. I think I have a right side bracket, but I'd just buy a power feed. For the Y, there should be an extension screwed into the screw, probably with locktite.

I have a bracket and some parts from my Lagun if they fit. I will check once I am able to get into this one. Thank you for the offer! I'll keep it in mind.

[vpt]

It had power feeders and they took them off. if everything else is ok, then then the money would be worth spending on.
Peter

From what I see so far I will definitely spend a couple dollars on it to get it back into shape. I don't even have a y axis power feed on my lagun yet. For now I think I will just try to get the missing dial and parts to get it back to functioning.

[vpt]

I thought the Frejoth I picked up was a deal at $400, but free, damn, definitely a you suck. About the same amount of grime, but cleaned up real nice. Love that mill. It has exceeded my expectations.

I couldn't believe it myself when he said "just bring a trailer"! Free tools are always the best tools!

[vpt]

The big trick on the rust is a single-edge razor blade. Buy a pack of 'em, and maybe a holder if you want (I recommend it) and simply "shave" the rust off like you're scraping a sticker off a window.

Do NOT "flip over" the blade, and when it gets dull, toss it and get a new one. They're cheap. I've done it dry, which I prefer but it makes a lot of dust, or I've misted it with WD-40 first, which makes a messy slurry, but it cleans up easily. Your grease will be about halfway in between.

Once the bulk of the rust is off, use small sections of Scotchbrite and a liberal amount of WD-40, to scrub the remainder back to fairly bright.

I know "they" say not to use abrasives on machined ways, but first, the rust has already damaged the ways, and second, you'll need a steam-powered and pressure-oiled elbow to remove even a full .001" off any given machined surface.

Scrape, Scotchbrite, wipe up the schmutz. A little patience and you can have it all back to shiny in no time.

Doc.

Thanks for the tip, I will give it a try. From what I see when just brushing on the grease is most of it won't take much work at all to remove. Must have been very well oiled all the time. I am excited to see what the ways look like!

[Tundra Twin Track]

The big trick on the rust is a single-edge razor blade. Buy a pack of 'em, and maybe a holder if you want (I recommend it) and simply "shave" the rust off like you're scraping a sticker off a window.



Doc.

Doc what brand of Razors do you use,I’ve tried some cheap brands and refuse to buy them anymore,Richard brand are head and shoulders better than anything else I’ve used.

[Jon Heron]

FWIW I have not tried a razor but navel jelly works well for surface rust like that.
Nice score!
Cheers,
jon

[DennisCA]

Some people get lucky. A guy I know got a free surface grinder, this one. People even pitched in on the forums (a swedish one) to have it sent to him.

[Doc Nickel]

Doc what brand of Razors do you use[?]

-Whatever Home Depot carries, though there's a couple other local suppliers I might grab a 100-pack from when I'm running low. Never really noticed a difference in quality or longevity- although admittedly, I keep the single-edges around kind of specifically for the ugly stuff. Rust removal, gasket scraping, slicing heavy cardboard, etc.

Doc.

[skunkworks]

This method works great for cleaning rust off of machine tools. Have used it often.

The big trick on the rust is a single-edge razor blade. Buy a pack of 'em, and maybe a holder if you want (I recommend it) and simply "shave" the rust off like you're scraping a sticker off a window.

Do NOT "flip over" the blade, and when it gets dull, toss it and get a new one. They're cheap. I've done it dry, which I prefer but it makes a lot of dust, or I've misted it with WD-40 first, which makes a messy slurry, but it cleans up easily. Your grease will be about halfway in between.

Once the bulk of the rust is off, use small sections of Scotchbrite and a liberal amount of WD-40, to scrub the remainder back to fairly bright.

I know "they" say not to use abrasives on machined ways, but first, the rust has already damaged the ways, and second, you'll need a steam-powered and pressure-oiled elbow to remove even a full .001" off any given machined surface.

Scrape, Scotchbrite, wipe up the schmutz. A little patience and you can have it all back to shiny in no time.

Doc.

[vpt]

Doing some quick searching around it seems very hard to find parts for this exact mill. Like many others this is obviously a Bridgeport clone. One of the things I noticed is the base piece for the belt housing is cracked. How likely is it that a base from a bridgeport would work on this mill?

[old mart]

I use blades like this one, commonly known as Stanley Knife blades in the UK. Holders can be found to use them as scrapers, but you can hold them in lots of ways. The rust can be scraped off cast irin without damaging the surface like abrasives would. I also use wire wool and oil which is very gentle on ground and machined surfaces.

[DR]

Doing some quick searching around it seems very hard to find parts for this exact mill. Like many others this is obviously a Bridgeport clone. One of the things I noticed is the base piece for the belt housing is cracked. How likely is it that a base from a bridgeport would work on this mill?

I recall seeing a magazine ad offering parts for off shore built clone machines like you have. I think the company was in California. The theory is most clones were probably made in the same factories so parts are interchangeable. The magazine might have been "CNC WEST" since that's the only trade mag I get any more. Give them a call.

[BigMike782]

The big trick on the rust is a single-edge razor blade. Buy a pack of 'em, and maybe a holder if you want (I recommend it) and simply "shave" the rust off like you're scraping a sticker off a window.

Do NOT "flip over" the blade, and when it gets dull, toss it and get a new one. They're cheap. I've done it dry, which I prefer but it makes a lot of dust, or I've misted it with WD-40 first, which makes a messy slurry, but it cleans up easily. Your grease will be about halfway in between.

Once the bulk of the rust is off, use small sections of Scotchbrite and a liberal amount of WD-40, to scrub the remainder back to fairly bright.

I know "they" say not to use abrasives on machined ways, but first, the rust has already damaged the ways, and second, you'll need a steam-powered and pressure-oiled elbow to remove even a full .001" off any given machined surface.

Scrape, Scotchbrite, wipe up the schmutz. A little patience and you can have it all back to shiny in no time.

Doc.

An old printers tip, stone just the very corner of the blade so it doesn’t dig in.
By the way, you suck dude!
Awesome score!!

[Paul Alciatore]

Good photos and everything. I say that rates a loud,"YOU SUCK!", capital letters and all.

Have fun!

PS: The RV in the background reminds me of my years in Iowa.

The free mill is home! I found a couple small broken bits, I feel from possibly being banged around with fork lifts and whatnot. I brushed on a layer of heavy grease for now as it will still have to sit outside for a bit while I make room in the shop for it. As I was brushing on the grease clean metal was being revealed in many spots! Gives me good hopes most if not all the rust that is there will come off with just a light scrubbing of a steel wool or scuff pad and some wd. Must have had power feeds pulled off of it. Also had a dro as the scales are still there as well as the cables. Has one shot lube system. Motor and spindle turns freely. Axis screws turn freely but I did not run anything far until I can clean the ways. I am excited for this one! Can't wait to dive into it!

[vpt]

Scanning eBay for hours I found the part I need in a big lot of parts. I messaged the seller and was able to buy just the part I need out of the lot. I don't have room for the whole mill in my shop quite yet. I think I am going to pull just the head off and bring it in the shop to go threw first.

I think I have a spot figured out in the shop for the mill to live but it will take a bunch of rearranging and taking out one small bench.