Cunliffe Horizontal Milling Machine

itsme_Bernie said:

Hey Reeltor

I am not an electrical expert, but have some experience, and a similar setup in my Hardinge Mill. I don't know if this Cunliffe is the same as my Hardinge, but there is a big lever switch on the side of my machine that cuts the speed AND HP in half. So 3/4 HP at full speed, and 3/8 HP at half-speed.

I hope this helps


Bernie

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Bernie, thanks for the info; I find it interesting how they did things in the "old days". I'd guess that to do the same thing today would be just too expensive.

I wish you guys would stop buying horizontal mills, your driving the price up on all the "worthless" old tooling! :rofl::rofl:

Brian, that's a nice arbor you got, if you don't mind how much did you have to give for it?

Hello Reeltor,

Yeah, the arbor purchase turned out real good. It looked so good in the pics on Ebay, that I wondered if it was photoshopped, but it is in real good shape. I paid $110.00 USD for it plus shipping. That same arbor runs around $600.00 new.

I haven't tried it in the mill, but I'm sure that it will be much better than the old one.

Brian

Although this is an older thread I just had to express my admiration for that old beauty ! It's amazing that you got all of the associated hardware that truly makes that machine "universal". (I have a German-made universal and I love it but it certainly is not as beefy as your Cunliffe ! I posted a comprehensive review and history of the machine today titled "An Unusual Universal Horizontal Mill".)

randyc said:

Although this is an older thread I just had to express my admiration for that old beauty ! It's amazing that you got all of the associated hardware that truly makes that machine "universal". (I have a German-made universal and I love it but it certainly is not as beefy as your Cunliffe ! I posted a comprehensive review and history of the machine today titled "An Unusual Universal Horizontal Mill".)

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Hello Randy

I've been away all week and had a quick boo at your thread. I'll have to go back and give it a proper read. Looks like you scored a great mill.

Yeah, I consider myself quite lucky to have all the gearing, gearbox, dividing head and tailstock... all original to this machine. I will revive this thread soon, as I am planning on tearing it down some, to clean up the oil passages... now, what button did I press to cause this font ?

Cheers...

Brian

Brain Coral said:

Hello Randy

I've been away all week and had a quick boo at your thread. I'll have to go back and give it a proper read. Looks like you scored a great mill.

Yeah, I consider myself quite lucky to have all the gearing, gearbox, dividing head and tailstock... all original to this machine. I will revive this thread soon, as I am planning on tearing it down some, to clean up the oil passages... now, what button did I press to cause this font ?

Cheers...

Brian

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I look forward to your further adventures

Hello all,

I am back with a bit of work done towards tearing down parts of the mill. I began by removing the table from the saddle.

Here's a few pics...









It looks like someone had the table off in the past, but put it back together with the two-peice bronze nuts in a position where it would be impossible to adjust them for backlash. In spite of that, the nuts aren't terribly worn and all of the bearing surfaces look very good.

I then removed bearing caps, the bronze nuts, adjusting collars, change gear fork, and then the feed change assembly as a whole unit...











Next, was the universal swivel part of the saddle. There were 4 sets of double grub screws and four 1/2" ball bearings that had to be removed, as well as two bolts and brass locking pins. Here is where a good telescoping magnet came in handy.





Two sets of the double grub screws were hiding behind this electrical housing, which had to be removed before I could get to them...





Now the swivel was free to come off...





Then I dismantled the change feed lever and rack and pinion assembly...





Tomorrow, I will remove the oilers from the swivel and clean out the passageways. I will have to order some new wicking felt, but will hold off until I am certain that I don't need some other felts. Then, it is on to the removal of the saddle itself. I don't have a parts breakdown of the mill, so it'll be trial and error.

Brian

Great photos and my word, what a STURDY machine ! Cunliffe took absolutely no short cuts in the design of that Universal. It was clearly intended to be used in a tool room for generations --- seriously, it looks quite capable of outliving three or four operators I'm still astounded that you got ALL of the tooling for it - usually the items that make a universal most useful have been separated and sold or re-purposed. (Mine was reasonably complete except for the missing dividing head.)

Thanks for the great documentation !

Hello Randy

Thanks... I am so glad that I found this mill. It needs a little internal cleaning and a few things repaired, but I also love to take machinery apart and learn how it ticks as I go. I am sure that I will run into some roadblocks along the way, but I'll figure it out with some help from this site.

I finally had a chance to thoroughly read about your Leitz mill. That is one finely crafted piece of narrative, Randy, and that is a wonderful piece of German engineering... !! To find such a mill in your location was lucky enough, but to find it in such great original condition... you must smile every time you see it...

Cheers...

Brian

All the gears look almost brand new. So do all the lubrication grooves. I agree with other writers you got a good looking milling machine.

Yes I was very lucky Brian, but then you obviously are too !!! These Universals are capable of such amazing work: they can chew off cubic inches of material per minute, achieve .0005 tolerances while producing a surface that easily is mistaken for ground. You're right - I smile every time that I look at the old girl !

When you get around to the narrative regarding cleaning out oil passages, I'll sure be interested in hearing about it. I have a bunch of old machinery and have tried some simple techniques for clearing out the ancient lube but always interested in better methods ! Thanks -