Milling Rite

[pontiac428]

I like the eye hook plan. If it is light, then you can deflect the hanging part enough to set it aside. But I think a better plan would be to strap/j-bolt/anchor a 2x4 to the top of the knee in a similar way as the table is mounted. Then get your helper/neighborhood kid/dog to do a 2-person lift, standing on either side of the knee. The lumber extension handles will give you control to tilt, rock, and jimmy safely on and off. When you're done, there's nothing to worry about storing. I suppose you could do a cringing silverback lift that way too, using the small of your elbows and doing a power squat with your legs to keep from spitting your lumbar discs out the back of your spine. I'm sure there are better ideas in those old engineering mechanisms books with the endless diagrams of levers and pulleys. The ancient Egyptians did amazing things using little more than a plan and sturdy whips, so I believe in you.

 

[Dave Bonzo]

I like the eye hook plan. If it is light, then you can deflect the hanging part enough to set it aside. But I think a better plan would be to strap/j-bolt/anchor a 2x4 to the top of the knee in a similar way as the table is mounted.

So, curiously enough, as I was standing here and eating a banana - chimp fuel - I thought "You know...it's not that heavy; it's just awkward" and was wondering if I could ratchet-strap a 2x4 to it and create a lifting bar. I'm going to say "Yeah, that might be worth a shot"...mostly because it's simple and it'll keep me from futzing around with lifting it completely by hand.

Then get your helper/neighborhood kid/dog to do a 2-person lift, standing on either side of the knee.

In point of fact, I do have a rather large dog.

The lumber extension handles will give you control to tilt, rock, and jimmy safely on and off. When you're done, there's nothing to worry about storing. I suppose you could do a cringing silverback lift that way too, using the small of your elbows and doing a power squat with your legs to keep from spitting your lumbar discs out the back of your spine. I'm sure there are better ideas in those old engineering mechanisms books with the endless diagrams of levers and pulleys.

I actually pulled out one of my old climbing ropes and some progress capture pulleys to see if I could come up with anything, and I've been staring at all kinds of things adjacent to the mill to see if there's any place to brace a lever, or some kind of support that'll make this easier. I like the lumber idea best, so far.

The ancient Egyptians did amazing things using little more than a plan and sturdy whips, so I believe in you.

Well that's the problem: we don't have enough whips in this house.

 

[Dave Bonzo]

Well...that would have worked...

Two people can lift the knee without much difficulty. As suspected, it's really not that heavy...but it's definitely as awkward as it looks, if not more so. Therein lies the problem: I need a third person to control the pitch and attitude of the knee as it comes off the base; two of us can stand and hold it for a long time, but when it comes time to place it on the floor, there are only so many positions in which it can rest that will allow me to work on it with greater facility, and tilting it into that position isn't as simple as it might seem. I happened to have that third person on hand, but I didn't seem to be able to adequately communicate to them what needed to happen and where they could and couldn't grab it, so I had to scrap the idea of lifting by hand: it's just too dangerous to stand there holding a heavy piece of iron, trying to tell someone what they need to do when they clearly aren't getting it. I don't mind doing something stupid and hurting myself, but I'm not comfortable doing that to someone else. Time to look for a used hoist or rig something up, I guess.

 

[Ischgl99]

What about using something like these to make a temporary hoist? You could use your climbing rope with it to hoist it.

SWINGAN A-Frame Bracket Green Powder Coating SWHWD-ASB - The Home Depot

Create fun memories when you add this A-Frame Bracket Green Powder Coating to your swing set. It is resistant to weathering and corrosion. The powder-coated steel makes this a durable option for your home.

www.homedepot.com

Another cheaper option Is saw horse brackets, but don’t know how stable they will be when high enough for the knee to clear.

Husky 5.5 in. D x 4.00 in W x 3.74 in H Steel Galvanized Sawhorse Brackets (2-Pack) SH107C - The Home Depot

Galvanized steel folding sawhorse brackets with 400 lbs. of maximum loading capacity, per pair. Accepts standard 2 in. x 4 in. not included. Each pack includes 2-brackets that make 1-saw horse.

www.homedepot.com

 

[Dave Bonzo]

Found a cheap engine hoist on Craigslist; it happened to be a Hobo Freight, so my air-over-hydro cylinder bolted right in and I pulled the knee up and off in about ten seconds. That...was actually very easy. And it's not that bad on the rear.

Pictured: I've seen worse.




The interior is much easier to access once the cover plate is off; it looks like the nut needs to be removed from the elevator screw, the screw should then drop out, and then the leadscrew should probably come out from the back...and then I can finally fix that stupidly-long taper pin.

Pictured: But the taper pin isn't actually the problem.




Anybody see it? I left a hint to the bigger headache that's about to hit me...but it's Monday, so guessing games can smurf right off.

Pictured: "Well there's your problem..."




So, now we have a gear to repair, because that's not one or two, but three seriously-broken teeth. A bunch of the others have light bits of damage, but I could deal with that...but I'm pretty sure the broken area is not only where the hesitation/pressure/stiffness existed, but also pretty recent; those breaks are still clean...and "clean" is the only thing I've done to this machine, yet. I don't know if this gear is a part that's available, or if I'm better off to try brazing some material into place and then filing it back to profile, or what; this is definitely outside of my experience.

 

[pontiac428]

McMaster? Boston Gear? There could be an off the shelf bevel gear (or gear pair) that can be spaced and adapted to fit. But I'm not averse to braze and file, either. Just use marking compound and lots of coffee. You can mold a lap outta lead-free lead, or epoxy, etc. using a different sector of the gear then finish the profile after filing. One thing is for sure, on a knee mill you're gonna want to have those teeth back.

 

[Dave Bonzo]

But wait... there's less.

Pictured: Why hast thou forsaken me, O Lord?




That, to my eye, looks like a vise jaw pattern...and the deformation on the tooth above it kind of makes me wonder if someone didn't put this thing in a vise and give it the business.

 

[Dave Bonzo]

McMaster? Boston Gear? There could be an off the shelf bevel gear (or gear pair) that can be spaced and adapted to fit.

Not a bad idea. I can't see the other one well enough to know what shape it's in; I may need more than just this one.

But I'm not averse to braze and file, either. Just use marking compound and lots of coffee. You can mold a lap outta lead-free lead, or epoxy, etc. using a different sector of the gear then finish the profile after filing. One thing is for sure, on a knee mill you're gonna want to have those teeth back.

Only reason I'm reluctant to brazing it is that my brazing skillz aren't up to that challenge; I'll have to find someone that can do a better job of it than I can. That, and I didn't bring my acetylene tank out here with me when I moved; hell, my torch and regulators just showed up...like, as of today. I could probably glob some metal onto it, but I would need to practice for awhile on other stuff before I attempted this...and it looks like I have several areas that are damaged. But: there are options...so, this is definitely fixable.

 

[pontiac428]

Take a break and flip through this catalog before you decide to jump off the High Steel bridge into the Skokomish.

https://www.bostongear.com/-/media/Project/Altramotion/shared/files/Literature/brand/boston-gear/catalogs/p-1930-bg.pdf

 

[Dave Bonzo]

Take a break and flip through this catalog before you decide to jump off the High Steel bridge into the Skokomish.

Yeah, that's solid advice; jumping off bridges is the only thing I'm good at, so I tend to gravitate - ha - towards it.

I do notice that they'll cut custom gears, so I guess that's always an option...at least, it's an option if I should need 24 backup sets. Hopefully they'll have a replacement that can be made to work; that's probably the fastest, simplest solution. If not, I can always email them the measurements on this gear and see if they know what could be done...and maybe work on a repair solution on my own, in the meantime. And I guess I can disassemble the rest of the knee and clean it up while I'm here; might as well work on some paint and finish restoration as well, at this rate.