I installed power feed, finally

[tiptop]

This was a Xmas present from my wife. Its about time I got it put on.

Another shot of it.

And one more.

[tattoomike68]

Sweet, why did you wait so long? It should have been on the mill by new years.

[ProGunOne]

Sweet why did you wait so long? It should have been on the mill by new years.

Yeah, What he said^^^ What you using that big ole Snap On ratchet on too?

[sidegrinder]

I'm impressed with your clean, seemingly well-organized shop. You might catch some flack here though

[tiptop]

Thanks for the responses.

Well I guess I waited, knowing that once I put it on I would be mourning having cranked that handle as much as I did. No actually, I have been busy with projects to make a buck for mmore tools and finally got a break. The snap-on ratchet, lets see, must be another knuckle buster in the crowd, Eh? I used to be a gearhead before I retired. Probably rebuilt most models of gearboxes on the road prior to 86'. I worked on road trucks, off road trucks, log trucks and the likes for a living and played with cars and pickups for fun. Used the 3/4" ratchet for places you couldn't get an impact into. The shop is not very clean, you just couldn't see all the clutter in the photos cause I didn't want to detract attention from the power feed. It was an interesting project. I can honestly saw that I do not care for the way the gears are set up in the drive. When I put marking compoud on them to check lash, I found the pinion or drive gear to be about a quarter of a tooth length lower than it should be. So you do not get full tooth contact and the mesh from being bottomed out to having minimal grease clearance moved the pattern way out to the outer third of the ring gear. Not proper contact area. But I guess that is what you get when you buy foreign. It ought to work OK.

[8ntsane]

I installed a power feed finally

I gotta agree with Tattoo Mike, that sucker should have been installed by new years LOL. Yup, those things are the greatest thing since sliced bread & power steering. You should enjoy having the power feed on your mill. I went through the same deal on my mill a few years back, but once I had one, well I just couldn,t help myself. I end up installing a power feed on all three axis.

I also had the same problem with the pattern after using gear marking compound. I spent a lot of time shiming the gear around to get a desent pattern, and well worth the time. I found the pattern not even close to being aceptable, and ended up sending one back because of it.

All said and done, I am a happy camper. I know, some say power feeds are for wimps, but I,m getting too old for cranking handles these days. Last year I wrecked my shoulder, and was forced to build a power draw bar as well, That was another add on that I,m glad I put on the mill.

Looks good Tiptop,,enjoy

Cheers Paul

[lane]

Interesting milling machine what kind is it never seen any thing look like that.A FRAY , when was it made looks 30`s or 40`s

[tiptop]

Lane,
I will go out to the shop and take a pic without the towels covering it up and post it in a bit. I am not sure of the production date, but was thinking it looked forties or fifties. Tony has some info on them. It is probably 2/3 or 3/4 the size of a Bridgeport. It's got an NMTB 30 taper spindle and an added X & Y feed right under the head. This allows it to reach well beyond the table if need be. Although it could be another source for wear I suppose. This one is in real nice condition. It hasn't got a lot of wear. I am real pleased with it. The man that had it before me, powered it with a washing machine motor he had cobbled onto it and his cats (23) lived on it also. Needless to say when I got it home, I completely disassembled it and cleaned it up. I built a couple of small parts for it and installed the VFD because I did not have the step pulleys and back gear reduction part.