CX601 Milling Machine

[mattthemuppet]

from what was written in the OP I wonder if the ball detent holding the lever in place isn't working the way it should. Sounded like it popped out once, then popped out again resulting in its need to be replaced. Maybe the spring behind the ball is not as springy anymore or some gunge in the bore is stopping the ball from properly seating.

Assuming it is a ball detent, but that's often how these things are done.

[Sparky_NY]

If you shut the mill down completely before shifting the hi/low speed lever, you have to turn the spindle by hand to get it to completely shift.

Probably safer to do it that way. The danger of stripping a gear is LOTS less if they are not moving. I always switch high/low range on my bridgeport that way, yes you have to turn the spindle a bit by hand but thats a minor inconvenience compared to stripping gears.

[Cuttings]

Looking at your picture of the gear again, it appears that maybe your machine had the same poor assembly as mine. All the plastic from the teeth is pushed to one side. In mine the position of the 292 lever on the end of the high/ low shift shaft #290 was off a little so in one direction that gear did not completely mesh with the spindle gear. It was quit a while ago I worked on that part but I believe they drill a little indentation in the #290 shaft for the #291 set screw to go into and maintain the position of the lever. On mine I found that the easiest way to fix it was to machine a new shaft, them carefully mark the position with the setscrew before drilling the indentation. You will have to wait until you get it back together before you know if that is the case.
There is a detent ball and spring in the back of the high/ low shift knob # 285. Looking at the exploded view again on page 13 there is a set screw #282 that will adjust the tension on the spring for the ball detent.

[flathead4]

I don't really know why the gear chewed itself up. I always turn the mill to it's lowest speed before changing from one speed range to another. If it chews the gear up again, I may buy a knee mill.

My guess is that gear was designed to be a wear/failure point instead of a more expensive part.

Tom

[brian Rupnow]

Okay, we're good here. I drove down to north Toronto this morning and picked up a new gear. (I get lost every time I drive into the city, and usually get lost when I try to get out again). Brought the new gear home, installed it, greased everything well and the mill is a runner again. No strange squeals, groans, or thumps. I knew before this all happened that my mill had to be trammed, so after I finish this post I will tram it.---Brian

[Cuttings]

That was a quick fix, even though you got lost for a little while. Imagine what we have to do out here. Phone up Busy Bee and order the part, then wait a week for it to show up.
Good job and happy milling.

[Tundra Twin Track]

I don't really know why the gear chewed itself up. I always turn the mill to it's lowest speed before changing from one speed range to another. If it chews the gear up again, I may buy a knee mill.

A couple of freinds that have the Craftex CT 089 13"x24" lathe from Busy Bee,it has a plastic toothed gear with steel hub on main spindle that failed.The second time it failed my one freind showed me the failed gear which is same tooth count as the all steel gear that contacts the plastic one.He ordered the all steel gear which hub bore is different and I bored the all steel gear out to match the hub of the plastic toothed gear hub.Machined it to tight press fit then Tig welded together and has worked flawless since then,that was about 15 yrs ago.

Brian I used annular cutters a lot when I had a Belt Drive Mill Drill they work great and would tax your drive system less than twist Drills,I still use them lots with my upsized Varnamo Mill.I'm sure you could do 1-1/2" cutters with your Mill with no issues.

[brian Rupnow]

Today I have some new news to share with you. Last week, in the middle of a heavy cut, my mill stopped dead, as if the switch had been shut off. I checked all of the obvious things,--glass fuse, circuit breaker, e-switch and power to the outlet. All seemed to be in order. I called the technician at BusyBee in Toronto, and he said that he is 99% shore that it is an electronics control board in the control box. It is not a big problem to take my mill to Toronto for repair, (It's only 70 miles from where I live) but it is a horrible job to move my mill from my shop out to my garage to load into my truck. The technician knows that I am a fairly handy guy, so he suggested sending the electronics board to me so I could install it on the machine. So---Here is the board and what it cost me. It looks like fairly simple "plug and play". I am going to dive into this, and I will show you my progress, as a lot of people in Canada have this same mill, and it's always nice if somebody puts up pictures of a repair job. In other news---Wife and I just got our first shots of Phizer vaccine for Covid this morning. No drama, no hurt, and no adverse reactions. we go on 14th of April for our second shot.

[nickel-city-fab]

Brian -- just from looking at it, the board looks like an ordinary power supply for the DC. Hope it all goes well for you.

[brian Rupnow]

This shows the mill in it's home position, and as you can see there is no access to the back side of the box with the controls on it. However, since I very seldom get rid of anything, I hunted around until I found the wooden platform that I laid the head on when I changed the plastic gear in an earlier post. It seems that that is the simplest way to gain access to the back side of the control box, so by removing two large bolts I should be able to access the back of the control box.

[David Powell]

When you buy from Busy Bee you are in a lottery! I have some good stuff I bought from them, and I have had some disappointments
. If you really expect reliability and long life then do not buy there.
The 60 odd year old Atlas shaper and 80 yr old Atlas mill I have and use daily are , in my opinion, far better machines than most of those offered by Busy Bee.
. Incidentally both are apparently on their original motors, or perhaps those supplied after the local change from 25 cycles to 60 cycles..
Regards David Powell

[Cuttings]

Brian - I have the same board here. It is the board that caused my RPM readout to go out. That is what they call the filter board and it is attached to the underside of the top of the control box. You will see four screw heads on the top. It is a little trickier to get out and back in. I believe each screw has a standoff spacer on it and then a small nut on the bottom of the circuit board. You will have to open up both ends of the control box to access all of them. I will stand by for any long distance assistance I can give you.

[brian Rupnow]

Cuttings--thank you for that.--I didn't even see the board attached to the underside of the control box. I was ready to call the technician tomorrow and tell him he had sent me the wrong board, because the one he sent me is obviously different than the one immediately inside the rear control box panel. A look at the under/inside of the box shows me that they sent me the correct board.

[Cuttings]

I hope Arthur Itis has gone from your house now. Your fingers need to be a bit nimble to get the screws spacers and nuts back in there.

[brian Rupnow]

It's been a long day. Wife and I drove 185 km to Bancroft, where my 100 year old mother lives in a nursing home. I am an only child, so wife and I have special status as "essential caregivers" for her. That's what entitled us (along with all the workers in the home) to get our covid shots today. Left knee is swelled up like a balloon and hurts like Hell. I'm wearing wrist braces on both arms for suspected carpal tunnel syndrome. Setting here at computer with heating pad duct taped around my knee. Days like this I wonder who's older---my mother or me.----Brian