Having a machine shipped - looking for insights

[Charlieman22]

Roll-a-lift safe moving thingies are much better than bars or pipes. Easy to rent. You will need to fab some wood blocks to go between the top of the roll-a-lift and the column; they are designed for classic safes.
Think: strap on rentable wheels with hydraulic adjustment!

https://images.app.goo.gl/h5qNowde6qNnQkcn6

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

There have been some excellent suggestions on here. I am getting my head around it and have a much better sense of how to tackle. Very much appreciated.

The good news about the CNC is that Centroid is still in business! https://www.centroidcnc.com I have a baby CNC milling machine run by Centroid's Acorn system. It works very well. Acorn is compatible with Windows 10 and communicates with the mother computer via Ethernet ... so no need to find a machine with a legacy parallel port.

I don't know if they still support their older CNC software. But a retrofit to Acorn would cost $300 for the controller. You could probably re-use all the existing motor drives, motors, etc. Give 'em a holler. They're good folks!

That was exactly what I was looking for. Went ahead and posted something in the CNC section as this thread was suffering some mission creep from: how do I move to - is this hardware usable. Thanks for chiming in.

 

[davidpbest]

Things I'm less crazy about.
CNC from this era. Do I want that? Seems ancient/clunky. 486 computer feeding it would not boot... (486!?)
1 HP motor
Ways scrapings show a little wear - but I wonder if having CNC wears out the ways quicker with all that compound quick movement?
X axis power drive is original
Step head vs variable speed one

Maybe I missed it, but I don't see if the motor is single or 3-phase. If 3-phase, I'd rather have that with a VFD than a Reeves variable speed mechanical setup any day. This is why. Looks like a nice BP. Jump on it.

 

[Charlieman22]

Thanks David. Yes - its 3 phase. I like the VFD solution. Only trepidation is the 1HP motor. I have 220 in my garage. Don't have enough experience to know if I will quickly outgrow/ be disappointed with the single HP.

 

[Dabbler]

if I will quickly outgrow

The key is to make chips as soon as you can, and keep using it until it is not enough. by then you'll have the experience to know what you need and how to get there. I have never noticed the difference between my old 1HP machine and my 2HP machines - but then I never take a big bite.

 

[Shootymacshootface]

Thanks David. Yes - its 3 phase. I like the VFD solution. Only trepidation is the 1HP motor. I have 220 in my garage. Don't have enough experience to know if I will quickly outgrow/ be disappointed with the single HP.

I don't think that you will ever be wanting for more power (hp) unless you are doing production work. Us hobbyists usually go slow an strive for perfection, rather than production.

 

[MyLilMule]

If the machine comes with a lot of tooling, that's where you end up spending most of your money.

I feel very fortunate to be living in Cleveland. Very machine rich around here. I just bought a Series 1, 1.5hp with the variable speed head. But it's a project. I figure I'm going to need to put $1k into it to replace the motor shaft and replace a couple missing handles, but I only paid $550 for the machine. It was the original owner, and had been sitting unused for 15 years, but has chrome plated ways with no discernable wear. I'll know more when I get it running, but I'm happy. I like projects like this.

Considering I would have to spend upwards of $2,000 to $2,500 for a comparable "complete" machine with no tooling, I did OK.

 

[mmcmdl]

*Edit: Son is in that part of the world finishing up school. Have to get him home with his stuff mid summer. Is palleted and placed in bed of 2500 pickup viable option for transport?

I sold a Bridgeport to a guy that came with a 1/2 ton pickem up truck . My neighbor loaded it into the back with his Bobcat and we heard a hissing coming from his rear tire . I filled the tire with the compressor and he took off with his bumper darn near dragging the asphalt . He called me about 2 hours later and informed me that he made it home . I don't know how !

 

[Charlieman22]

Hahaha. Painful.
Ok - I'll cross out plan C.
Thanks.