New Almost Clausing 8520 Owner

Nice mill you've picked up, can't wait to see the final assembly.
 
Got the new motor and VFD temporarily wired up and programmed. The idler pulley seemed to spin smoothly, but when I put a belt on it made a terrible rumbling noise. Gee, I wonder why?

IMG_1431.JPG

So, do I sleeve this one too, or do you think Loctite retaining compound might take up the slack? I have some 648, but I think I'd need 680. I'd have to install the shaft and other bearing, squirt some compound, then push this one on and hope it all lined up properly. I don't know if I'd ever get it apart again, either.
 
How many people actually have an unbroken brake plate? I decided to give silver brazing a try. This is a bad design. The hole creates a stress riser, guaranteeing that they will break there.

View attachment 241067
That hole eliminates the stress riser.
But it is a bad design, mine broke there too. I had it nickel welded.
 
Got the new motor and VFD temporarily wired up and programmed. The idler pulley seemed to spin smoothly, but when I put a belt on it made a terrible rumbling noise. Gee, I wonder why?

View attachment 241079

So, do I sleeve this one too, or do you think Loctite retaining compound might take up the slack? I have some 648, but I think I'd need 680. I'd have to install the shaft and other bearing, squirt some compound, then push this one on and hope it all lined up properly. I don't know if I'd ever get it apart again, either.

I sleeved mine. And used perm loctite on the sleeve. I made a plug larger than the ID of the cleaned up pulley. I heated the pulley and pressed it in. Then bore it out. Then pressed the new bearing in.

After using this mill a while, the VFD seems like a good idea. I didn't want one, but now would like it.
 
That hole eliminates the stress riser.
But it is a bad design, mine broke there too. I had it nickel welded.

Agree to disagree. What I want to do is clamp it up to a rotary table and cut that little hole and slot out with a 1/2" end mill, and traverse at least 1/2" both sides of where it was. Then it would almost be a real flexure. My wife doesn't know I need a rotary table to go with my mill yet :fat:.
 
I sleeved mine. And used perm loctite on the sleeve. I made a plug larger than the ID of the cleaned up pulley. I heated the pulley and pressed it in. Then bore it out. Then pressed the new bearing in.

After using this mill a while, the VFD seems like a good idea. I didn't want one, but now would like it.

I decided to go with a 1/2 hp motor and Fuji "Frenic-Mini" VFD. I guess I figured I ought to restrain myself with just a #2 Morse taper.

Of course, my drill press also has a MT2 spindle, and I put a 1 hp motor and Teco-Westinghouse VFD on it, but I wanted at least some low-end torque over a broad speed range (all the way from 250 to 3100 without changing the belt). It's been working great, and I can always temporarily reinstall the idler and two belts if I really need some grunt.

The Teco VFD has more bells and whistles, but the Fuji seems okay, and it's tiny. Got them both from Wolf Automation.

ADDENDUM: I wanted to mention that one reason I got the Fuji is because all the wiring comes out the bottom, and all the terminals are covered, which is nice if you're going to mount it on the wall next to the mill like I am. The equivalent Teco also has all the wiring coming out of the bottom, but the terminals are more exposed.
 
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That hole eliminates the stress riser.
But it is a bad design, mine broke there too. I had it nickel welded.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm planning to restrict the VFD speed range on the mill, so that it really just gives overlap between belt changes.
 
Agree to disagree. What I want to do is clamp it up to a rotary table and cut that little hole and slot out with a 1/2" end mill, and traverse at least 1/2" both sides of where it was. Then it would almost be a real flexure. My wife doesn't know I need a rotary table to go with my mill yet :fat:.
Yep, it's just my opinion.
Did the silver soldering work?
 
Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm planning to restrict the VFD speed range on the mill, so that it really just gives overlap between belt changes.
That makes sense. I don't use the top speed, not yet at least. I haven't cut anything with that small a cutter that needs it, but I do find myself in the mid range often and low range quite a bit . The VFD would be great for tapping.
 
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