at the scrap yard......

cathead

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Yesterday I took a trip to the local scrap yard and found what I think is a 9J Gorton vertical mill
and a South Bend lathe with about a 12 foot bed. I have some interest in the mill as a restoration
project. I think the main motor is 460 volt 3 phase, not sure about the feed motor. If the motors could
be rewired for 230, it might be worth the effort. Also, the quill has an unknown to me taper in it. I think it
could possibly be a Brown & Sharpe taper but not sure. I need to take another look at this stuff.
It's kind of a shame to see these machines sitting outside uncared for. :(
 
Yesterday I took a trip to the local scrap yard and found what I think is a 9J Gorton vertical mill
and a South Bend lathe with about a 12 foot bed. I have some interest in the mill as a restoration
project. I think the main motor is 460 volt 3 phase, not sure about the feed motor. If the motors could
be rewired for 230, it might be worth the effort. Also, the quill has an unknown to me taper in it. I think it
could possibly be a Brown & Sharpe taper but not sure. I need to take another look at this stuff.
It's kind of a shame to see these machines sitting outside uncared for. :(
Gorton used a proprietary collet in their machines....at least the ones I've had. I still have a set of them somewhere.
 
Any chance you could get them home on billet, greased, and tarped for a someday rebuild or resell?
And while I would always prefer that the entire machine be saved, even some misc parts might be valuable to someone.
Depending on condition. And price. I might be interested in one as a summer project.

Daryl
MN
 
Most scrap yards won't resell the scrap to people off the street anymore.
 
Most scrap yards won't resell the scrap to people off the street anymore.
Still happens here.
Well at least at the rural scrap yards I frequent.
Certainly not in the metro.

Daryl
MN
 
Cathead,

The Gorton 9J mill used to be a nice mill in it's time. The precision of the mill was at least double that of a Bridgeport mill. The spindle quill only has 3-1/2" of travel. The taper in the spindle is a No. 10 Brown & Sharpe taper. Look for the tooling, too if you buy the mill. The mill weighs around 3400 lbs. It is stout! The spindle motor is a two speed motor and if 440v it will have to be rewired for 220v unless you set up a step up transformer. The feed motors are dual voltage for 220v or 440v. My family owned three of these mills back several years ago. I've since given away my manuals and stuff I had on the mills. I can get my hands on anything you may want. Also, there is a website run by a Gorton family member that is loaded with all sorts of information.

Ken
 
Most scrap yards won't resell the scrap to people off the street anymore.

None of the scrap yards in my area will sell anything. Someone said it has something to do with not having a sales tax number, but that sounds like an excuse. Also heard there might be liability issues. I would think that would be as simple as signing a release form. "Sign this and we can sell you scrap metal". I would do that in an instant.

I would LOVE to buy metal from the scrap yard, and I would gladly pay more than they get for sending it in to be melted down. Oh, the sadness... :(

GG
 
Any chance you could get them home on billet, greased, and tarped for a someday rebuild or resell?
And while I would always prefer that the entire machine be saved, even some misc parts might be valuable to someone.
Depending on condition. And price. I might be interested in one as a summer project.

Daryl
MN

I'm waiting for spring for the snow to go away. Then I can get to my tandem axle trailer and do some hauling.
Road conditions won't allow it at present due to ice and snow. I like the grease and tarp idea for temporary storage.
 
In the event that you score the 9j and are unable to source #10 collets/tooling I wonder if you could turn an arbor #10BS on one end and a more common cheaper collet system on the other.
Does the #10 use a nut or a drawbar? That might determine what the set up would look like.=

Daryl
 
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