Milling Rite

[Ischgl99]

Could I reduce the load by locking the elevation screws and then backing off on the gear just a fraction? Kind of like setting the parking brake before shifting into Park?

No, it's going to see the most load when it you raise the table. It has to handle the weight of the knee as well as the weight of your vise and work piece. I don't know what the knee is rated for on these mills, it probably won't matter for the typical machining projects, but if you are putting items on there that weigh a lot, it might.

They're definitely easier to find; I just looked them up and found several options. I didn't find measurements yet, but the small gear is an 18-tooth and has a keyed shaft, so I know there's a difference...which makes sense.

I figured it would be too much luck for them to be exact, but close enough to modify might be good enough.

I've seen a modification to the knee that addresses this idea: gas struts that push some of the load up and off of the gear set. I'm not sure how I feel about that to be honest, but it's a solid concept...but by the time I buy a pair of gears and then install a set of gas struts, I could have just retrofitted a set of linear actuators to the knee/base and created a power elevator. ‍

That might help, but sounds like a lot of work.

 

[Dave Bonzo]

No, it's going to see the most load when it you raise the table. It has to handle the weight of the knee as well as the weight of your vise and work piece. I don't know what the knee is rated for on these mills, it probably won't matter for the typical machining projects, but if you are putting items on there that weigh a lot, it might.

I don't anticipate a lot of weight, but I'm wrong about almost everything, so let's not take my intuition to the bank.

Regarding the lifting and locking out; I was just thinking that the added assistance of a strut would take part of the load off, and then if the locking screws were engaged and the elevator shaft slightly backed off, the gears would never really see a lot of load. But again, I'm wrong about almost everything.

I figured it would be too much luck for them to be exact, but close enough to modify might be good enough.

I think that's what I'm going to have to go with. I got a couple of emails back, so I'm going to get some data together and send that here in a bit.

That might help, but sounds like a lot of work.

Agreed...but I'm already into a lot of work that I didn't anticipate; turns out that I'm even worse at anticipation than I anticipated.

 

[Dave Bonzo]

Decided to do a bit more cleaning up today while I'm waiting on answers from the gearus at Linn and Maeder...and I discovered something hiding amidst the grime on this whatever-it-is.

Pictured: Those had better not be snapped-off machine screws...




I don't have my bench vise set up yet - mostly because I don't have a bench, yet, but I may fix that tomorrow - so I threw it in the drill press vise to center-punch these things and try to get them out. Thankfully, I do have a couple of extractors laying around...but it turned out that they weren't needed: with nothing more than a firm tap, both of these broken pieces moved. And that's how I discovered...well, whatever these are.

Pictured: Register pins? Just more broken s***? Some of both?




As best I can tell, they're hole-fillers...but I have no idea why they're snapped off at the surface instead of being an actual cut-to-length pin. I guess I'm just going to put this down to more of Johnny Chimpo fixing the f*** out of this mill.

 

[pontiac428]

Murphy would expect the other halves of them dowels to be tucked away for safekeeping in a pair of blind holes near where the part was found. Murphy is a mothersmurfer like that... The part appears to be a trapezoid nut. If so, them broken dowels could be a source of backlash that you have the opportunity to fix.

 

[Dave Bonzo]

Murphy would expect the other halves of them dowels to be tucked away for safekeeping in a pair of blind holes near where the part was found. Murphy is a mothersmurfer like that... The part appears to be a trapezoid nut. If so, them broken dowels could be a source of backlash that you have the opportunity to fix.

If such a thing was true, it would be unassailable proof of my having angered one of The Old Gods, whom is now offended and consequently toying with my insignificant mortal existence.

Pictured: < sigh > I'll start building the altar.




Well, I know that I didn't break these, because I recall how the accompanying trapezoidal depression-widget came off and it was definitely not accompanied by a matching pair of regret-flavored breaking noises...so, I think this was cracked a long time ago and just now uncovered. I don't have much to grab onto, either; I don't think I have a magnet that'll pull them, and I bet there isn't enough resistance in the hole to drill them. It's funny how little challenges like this can offer so many minor time-losses...and when I say "funny" I mean exactly not-that.

 

[pontiac428]

Once upon a time I was in a similar situation with hardened dowels in a locking diff. Drilling was not an option. I tack welded a stub of heavy wire to the broken dowels, and with the help of the heat, was able to yank them out using the wire rod as a tampon string, er, pull handle.

I'm working in Lacey today an off early this afternoon, if you are on task and feel like some moral support.

 

[Ischgl99]

Yup, those pins are meant to secure the orientation of the Y axis nut and should be replaced. I don't even know how they could have sheared those pins off, that takes a special kind of stupid.

 

[Dave Bonzo]

Once upon a time I was in a similar situation with hardened dowels in a locking diff. Drilling was not an option. I tack welded a stub of heavy wire to the broken dowels, and with the help of the heat, was able to yank them out using the wire rod as a tampon string, er, pull handle.

That would work, yeah. Haven't even pulled out the baby MIG, yet, but this would be a good excuse to do so. Need to make sure it still works.

I'm working in Lacey today an off early this afternoon, if you are on task and feel like some moral support.

You are more than welcome to come by and laugh at the disaster of a life that I'm currently inhabiting. I'll probably be trying to get a to welder set up and running

Yup, those pins are meant to secure the orientation of the Y axis nut and should be replaced. I don't even know how they could have sheared those pins off, that takes a special kind of stupid.

What I don't know is how they broke without breaking anything else.

 

[Weldingrod1]

You might try a carbide bit first... decent chance the pins are case hardened! Try the loose ones first!

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk

 

[Ischgl99]

What I don't know is how they broke without breaking anything else.

That's what I'm wondering too! A break like that you would think the mill fell over, but you haven't shown any indication of that luckily.