Trying to rotate the head into position. The seller said to loosen the 4 nuts in the front, but when I do that, it only moves about 5 degrees and then runs into a hard stop.
Also, make sure you’re not watching CSI or the Dollhouse or any other distracting program while milling.
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You seen “The Dollhouse”? Josh Whedon project on Fox.
Steve,
When rotating the head, try to “help it along”, don’t depend entirely on the worm/gear. You might have to loosen it a bit more than you think necessary, and wiggle it a bit in addition.
Read everything you can on tramming, there’s a number of different opinions on the ‘best’ way to do it.
Worm gear? Is that the little nut under the head? I thought you just rotated it by hand. Mike is fooling with it, and he got it to move by turning that nut.
Steve,
If you look closely, you’ll see a bolt head on the RH side of the head (as viewed from the front, with the head in its proper, upright position). Get a ratchet and socket and wind on that bolt head, it should be 3/4″ if your machine is a B’Port clone. There’s a worm as part of that bolt head that engages with a worm gear to rotate the head.
But, you probably have figured it out by now. 🙂
There is a large nut that you turn with a wrench to rotate the head. The four bolts in front are for locking it down. You couldn’t turn it by hand- it’s too heavy. Check the manual.
Great looking machine Steve. Jealous here. I want a one-piece high scope mount for a 30mm tube to fit a 1913 Picatinny rail, in stainless if you please.
Yup, there’s a worm gear to rotate the head. You couldn’t really rotate it by hand – it weighs something like 200 pounds. The idea is to kinda lift the head in the direction you want to turn, and then crank the worm gear at the same time.
I will say, you might want to move it farther out, to give you more room around the table – remember, it moves something like 15-18″ off center at max table travel in either X direction.
Congrats Steve. That is a fine looking piece of machinery. Gotta love new toys. Obviously, I haven’t been anticipating this as much as you have, but am glad it finally arrived. Loved the books and recipe forum, and enjoyed hearing your interview on KQ92 here in Minnesota.
July 29th, 2009 at 10:49 AM
The Head’s on upside down! Send it Back! Send it Back!
July 29th, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Also, make sure you’re not watching CSI or the Dollhouse or any other distracting program while milling.
–
You seen “The Dollhouse”? Josh Whedon project on Fox.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Congratulations. That is a nice looking piece of steel, not that I really know what nice mills are supposed to look like…
July 29th, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Finally! I was beginning to wonder if this milling machine was real or only mythical. Looks pretty real to me, congratulations!
Here’s a thread on lathe tool sharpening that might be of interest:
http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/showthread.php?t=35818
How’d the unloading and placement of the mill go?
July 29th, 2009 at 11:17 AM
Steve,
When rotating the head, try to “help it along”, don’t depend entirely on the worm/gear. You might have to loosen it a bit more than you think necessary, and wiggle it a bit in addition.
Read everything you can on tramming, there’s a number of different opinions on the ‘best’ way to do it.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:20 AM
AWESOME!!
Congratulations! And best of luck (and safety) to you.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Worm gear? Is that the little nut under the head? I thought you just rotated it by hand. Mike is fooling with it, and he got it to move by turning that nut.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Steve,
If you look closely, you’ll see a bolt head on the RH side of the head (as viewed from the front, with the head in its proper, upright position). Get a ratchet and socket and wind on that bolt head, it should be 3/4″ if your machine is a B’Port clone. There’s a worm as part of that bolt head that engages with a worm gear to rotate the head.
But, you probably have figured it out by now. 🙂
July 29th, 2009 at 12:25 PM
the nut drives the worm gear.
July 29th, 2009 at 1:50 PM
There is a large nut that you turn with a wrench to rotate the head. The four bolts in front are for locking it down. You couldn’t turn it by hand- it’s too heavy. Check the manual.
July 29th, 2009 at 2:45 PM
Great looking machine Steve. Jealous here. I want a one-piece high scope mount for a 30mm tube to fit a 1913 Picatinny rail, in stainless if you please.
July 29th, 2009 at 3:04 PM
Yup, there’s a worm gear to rotate the head. You couldn’t really rotate it by hand – it weighs something like 200 pounds. The idea is to kinda lift the head in the direction you want to turn, and then crank the worm gear at the same time.
I will say, you might want to move it farther out, to give you more room around the table – remember, it moves something like 15-18″ off center at max table travel in either X direction.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:23 PM
Congrats Steve. That is a fine looking piece of machinery. Gotta love new toys. Obviously, I haven’t been anticipating this as much as you have, but am glad it finally arrived. Loved the books and recipe forum, and enjoyed hearing your interview on KQ92 here in Minnesota.