645 from Retired Machinist.

Ripdog38

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Found on Craigslist with not so enticing add but went to look and was very impressed. 80year old retired machinist said he used another mill but had this one around. I paid $1800 for the machine, shipped 3/9/66. R8 collet, 12” knee. 115/230v 1hp. Building a dolly for it now. The ways still have the original machining marks for the full travel.

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Congrats on a great find. I’m sure you will get many years of service out of it.
 
Wow! That looks to be in amazing condition.
Congratulations.

-brino
 
So after a few months of use, I love this machine. I’m on vacation now but when I get back, I’ll take the table off and check all the grease/oil holes and clean the ways off. I don’t plan on going to far, just ensuring the oil gets to where it needs to.

I have ordered a few upgrades while on vacation, Mitutoyo quill DRO, a few hundred in Carbide End mills and may grab a new leadscrew as I measures the threads at the end and middle and had more variation than I want but don’t remember exactly. I also have about .070 of end play.

Planning on a 3axis DRO for the knee and a VFD. Looking at the Speed-rite 3hp. $$ but like the Baldor and US stamps. I would likely enjoy/use the VFD more but not sure as I’ll need to get 220V run to my garage as it’s a home shop.

It just runs so smooth and quiet with the 115v right now. I can’t believe how smooth it all is for its age, no signs of parts being replaced.
 
With the ways displaying even wear, the lead screw is probably not OOS; the adjustment nuts have take-up. Correct, ideal end play is about .010-0.025. Testing with a gauge, an amount of dial should result in an equal displacement of table. A large vernier caliper, indicator and a 1-2-3 block will do. Put pins in the tee-slots [probably .625 Ø ] to align the caliper or a sine error will be introduced. Touch off one jaw [on the block] and raise the quill. Without disturbing the indicator, move X to other jaw face, lower quill and approach contact. A good approximation of error will show between the dial count and caliper. Backlash is not a dimensional error, it is mechanical. All Vee and ACME threads require clearance to operate. When for example you edge-find, the direction of movement is repeated for parts, backlash is compensated [actually not because it isn't introduced] for.
And save all that fluted carbide for serious alloys. They chip easily in soft materials, inserts less so.
Many people are disappointed, upon installing a DRO, and find little discrepancy between dials and digital.
Some masking tape on the table and another on the saddle marked with an inkpen can do the same thing. Believe me, there was a time 'we' machined parts and widely distributed features with no more tech than counting zero, two-hundred, four, six, eight.......16.938 or whatever. and no one can read a flashing DRO faster than watching the marks and catching increments with the dial.
 
Since we're talking about accuracy; ways to preserve that in a knee mill occurs during the move.
1.) Position the head upside down [inverted] to lower the center of gravity, it also helps if you are hooking [suspending] it from the ram with a cherry picker or full fledged crane. Using a hand ratchet wrench makes it not too strenuous.

2.) Position the 'Y' axis towards the back, also with wood blocking, compressed a little bit. This also lowers center of gravity.

3.) Lower the knee all the way, somewhat above limit of the elevating screw, on wood blocking packed between screw post and vertical ways. Just one bad pothole can bend the screw or deform the nut.
 
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