Left wrench on Mill spindle- wonder what damage I caused

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helmbelly

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got busy cutting today and frigged up- forgot my box wrench was still on the spindle nut and started up machine (a small Rockwell 21-100). Took me a second to register, no spin, straining sound and turned off. Removed the wrench, ran it again and noticed a slight racket that the mill never made before. Seems to cut fine, finish wise but the increased nosie is bugging me. I snugged the spindle down a little tighter than usual on the collet and that helped quiet things. So it seems spindle related. I

Wonder how bad I F'd up my mill- I figure I can't be the first guy to accomplish this feat of machining. I had the belt sorta loose and on the slowest (bottom) pulley. The 12" box wrench didn't even leave a mark on the motor housing. Appreciate and tips on my misdeed.

Thanks
 
You wouldn't be the first to do that, but normally you only ever do it once. :cautious:

Most likely no damage done. It would tend to loosen the drawbar so lots of give in the system.
 
Have you tried to remove the collet?
 
Yeah all good there. It popped right out. That was the first thing I did. Then I tightened a bit more that usual and that quieted the rattle a decent bit. So it's draw bar / spindle related i think.
 
Right Jim I didn't put that together, right it would throw CCW and loosen. maybe thats not good tho since its turning in a sleeve anything that loosens would lose its center and gall and bind on something. I'm afraid I bent the draw rod.
 
The bottom line: You probably stretched the draw bar a little bit, although probably not a big deal.
I have been there too.:grin:
 
Thanks for talking me out of my tree. That mill is my baby, only had it less than a year and this was my first boo boo. I think I'm going to make a new draw bar when I need a quick project - atleast the thought sounds good.

While we're at it, I dress out my belt squeal with a spray of silicon. Anybody use a diff solvent? And how tight are you running your belts on the pulley? I get them tight/firm and then back off a smack so the run relaxed. Just curious!
 
Your belts shouldn’t be loose at all, and shouldn’t require any dressing. Squeal is a slipping belt, which shouldn’t happen.
 
There is no slip, it's a newish belt. Squeal might be the wrong word. there is a little rub that makes a typical belt noise, my lathe belt does the same. I squirt a shot of silicon and its gone for a couple months. What I'm thinking of as 'belt noise' may be the sticktion between the rubber/Buna-N of the belt rubbing at speed against the steel pulley notch. I find belts dont run as free and quiet if they are snugged too much. I forget the rule but it's something like one finger of slack (5/8) per foot between hubs. My old Seneca has a handy adjustment wheel tensioner between the AC motor and the counter shaft that lets you calibrate the tension under power. With a mill that's not possible so I'm just trying to see what others are doing.
 
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