first mill and its a Wells Index 745

Nice mill , there a bit beefier then the Bridgeport . Well made and I bet it'll work really well for you. The super spacers an added extra , worth having but other ways of doing what it can do almost makes the obsolete. But since you have it use it to its fullest potential. It can do lots of jobs as you will find out. There heavy as heck but that's good in my book.
A good bye for what you paid I think . Good luck , like the pictures
 
Been quiet lately cuz i've been a little busy :). I did video most of the teardown but i didnt do it as a "video". I did it as a memory recall device :). I'll try to get all the clips put together and cut out the long stretches of my overthinking simple stuff. The more i dug into it, the more i was thankful i did it. It was a disaster. Fused bearings, all the 'grease' zerks had been greased. The oil in the oiler, well, i dont what that stuff was. One thing i learned that i wont soon forget, the table is heavy and it would be a good idea next time to not just grab it and yank it off the ways :). I did get that on video.
Current status: Below the turret is 95% completely rebuilt. Just waiting on the last parts to dry on their second coat.
On the knee, saddle, and table, all bearings have been replaced, all old oil and grease removed, all parts fully disassembled, scrubbed, primered (if a paintable surface) or hand scrubbed/wire wheeled depending on which surface it was. Painted it with some rustoleum enamel, in safety blue (remember kids, safety third), thinned with naphtha and added some catalyst hardener that sped up drying time nicely.
Owners manual is on the way as well as new way wipers. One of the ones on this one was broke and the cost plus time to have these cast aluminum ones tig welded would have been a wash on just getting the new style ones.
I also ordered some bijur fittings which should be here tomorrow.
 
One thing i learned that i wont soon forget, the table is heavy and it would be a good idea next time to not just grab it and yank it off the ways :). I did get that on video.

That'll be handy to show the hernia surgeon exactly what happened!

Current status: Below the turret is 95% completely rebuilt. Just waiting on the last parts to dry on their second coat.

Great progress, congratulations!
We would love to see photos/video when you can post 'em.

-brino
 
Here is a few but it's still a work in progress as is obvious in the pics :)
When i called Wells-Index, i asked about getting a gasket set for the head. They said there is no such thing. I assumed there was and that i needed one because of the oil leaks from the numerous places in the head. I guess i'll find out what is causing those leaks soon enough.


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LOL it's been a lot of work so far but nothing overly bad. The pretty stuff was the least time consuming of it all and i had to do something to protect the metal so figured may as well make it look decent. Brought all the parts in the house after degreasing them and just polished them while watching movies and stuff. Took the knee and saddle to the car wash for a nice cleaning HAHA. That saved a lot of time and was the best 8 bucks i've spent. Should have done it with table too but really didnt feel like hossing it into the back of the truck. I did kinda go overboard on the bijur pump. Polished it and then inlayed the bijur logo with epoxy that i colored with the same enamel paint :). Pic is below.
I think overall the table half was the easier part of it all. The head will be interesting but i guess i'll know for sure when i'm done. On the plus side, i'll know the mill inside and out now.

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This looks normal right? :)
I had a feeling this head was going to be interesting. Was really hoping i could get away with not completely tearing it down but that hope is now but a distant memory. Luckily i picked up an ac unit at an auction yesterday so the garage is a little more bearable now.

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Yuuuuuck!

Either it was filled with white lithium grease, or it got water in there..........and that green looks like copper corrosion. Is it a piece of brass(copper/zinc) or bronze(copper/tin)?

You are gonna need a few rags.......but from what I've seen it's in good hands.

-brino
 
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