New here, help ID'ing my knee mill?

[Crashnburn]

Hi everyone. I'm a very seasoned gearhead with lots of experience fabricating and building goofy stuff, but just getting started machining. I've recently decided that I've reached a plateau, and in order to get to the next level, I need to start being more precise. So I got myself a benchtop 9x20 lathe, and this monster.
It's a vertical knee mill that was described as a "Bridgeport clone". It's a 1.75hp 3 phase, with a turret that rotates and moves back and forth, and the head tilts 90 degrees side to side and also 45 degrees front and back. Combine that with an X axis power feed from Servo and the fact that it's a knee mill, it really is everything I could ask for in a mill.

That being said, it's missing a few parts, like the gear that goes on the quill crank and meshes with the worm gear for the fine adjustment hand wheel. Also missing a shaft for the quill power feed, though I can live without that. And I have no idea who made this thing so I can search for parts.

The mill has no name or model numbers anywhere on it except for on the motor. Can anyone help me ID this mill? It was made in Taiwan in 1977. Googling "Super Line E" really didn't get me anywhere.

 

[Earl]

I have a 1980 Taiwanese mill. It is labeled as "Enco." Mine is a true Bridgeport clone. I have even replaced one of the castings that hold the "back gear" with a casting from a Bridgeport machine. I have also used other Bridgeport parts such as the downfeed hand wheel. There is nothing to secure that handwheel to the machine. Just pull it off and then try to find it when you need it! H&W machine repair in Indiana can supply you with most of the parts you will need. The only thing to be careful about is the bearings. I replaced most all of the bearings in the machine. Some were metric and others were imperial. I purchased imperial (Bridgeport parts) and found out later when I was replacing them that all of them didn't fit. While most of the fasteners on the machine are imperial, there are a few metric ones thrown in just to complicate my life. Mine has a 2 speed motor. I have a cheap vfd running it. Since the motor was designed and built before VFD's were invented, I change the belt position to make major speed changes. Small changes are made with the vfd. I try to run the vfd between 50 - 60 hz. I put a power feed on the "Z" axis. 10 turns per inch wore me out raising and lowering the table. It is a good investment.

 

[Earl]

Here are some pictures of my mill. Note the company name on the speed chart.

 

[ltlvt]

As Earl suggested H&W is a good place to start. Mine is Badged as McClane but What research I have done they all come out of the same plant in China and Tiawan. The spindles or should I say the head comes from Tiawan and the Bigger parts are cast and machined in China. If yours is that old, it may not have Turcite Ways. Does it have Block Ways or Bevel Ways. Mine is a 2005 model and it has Turcite ways and that means they are replaceable. The closest I could find as far as a manual is concerned is a Birmingham. My mill came with 3hp 3 phase 2 speed motor. I gutted the electrical pannel and got rid of the old relays and transformer and replaced it with a Fugi Frenic Mini VFD. I love how quite it is and how smooth it operates. The longer you have it the more pictures and the better you will get to know it.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Here are some pictures of my mill. Note the company name on the speed chart.

That power quill. LOL.


Its brilliant! Personally I don't like these, but that is truly out of the box thinking.

 

[Earl]

That power quill. LOL.


Its brilliant! Personally I don't like these, but that is truly out of the box thinking.

That ebay power drawbar is one of the oldest accessories that I have. It has been on 3 different mills over the last 10 or 12 years. It actually just sits on top of the housing. If you need to remove the drawbar for any reason, just lift the thing off the machine. It works great and mounts to existing brake hardware. No modifications to the machine at all. If you have a sticky collet, just use the thing for a drawbar hammer.

 

[MyLilMule]

A guy to reach out to is Tim Bessmer. He used to work for Bridgeport and has also been rebuilding them and the many clones for 40 years.

If you have Fakebook, you can find him here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bridgeportusergroup

He can tell you if what you have is indeed a clone or a look-a-like. There are mills out there that LOOK like Bridgeports, but none of the internal works are the same. Then there are others that are true clones in which every part (or nearly) is part-for-part a true clone. Hopefully, you have the latter, as Tim sells every part for the Bridgeports and the clones, as does H&W Machinery and High Quality Tools. HQT is actually the source for many of these parts, they make them right here in Cleveland, OH.

You will never regret having a knee mill.

 

[Crashnburn]

Here are some pictures of my mill. Note the company name on the speed chart.

Great info, thank you! Unfortunately mine does not have a name on the speed chart, but you've provided me with a place to start and I do appreciate it.

 

[Crashnburn]

A guy to reach out to is Tim Bessmer. He used to work for Bridgeport and has also been rebuilding them and the many clones for 40 years.

If you have Fakebook, you can find him here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bridgeportusergroup

He can tell you if what you have is indeed a clone or a look-a-like. There are mills out there that LOOK like Bridgeports, but none of the internal works are the same. Then there are others that are true clones in which every part (or nearly) is part-for-part a true clone. Hopefully, you have the latter, as Tim sells every part for the Bridgeports and the clones, as does H&W Machinery and High Quality Tools. HQT is actually the source for many of these parts, they make them right here in Cleveland, OH.

You will never regret having a knee mill.

Excellent, that sounds like a heck of a resource!

As Earl suggested H&W is a good place to start. Mine is Badged as McClane but What research I have done they all come out of the same plant in China and Tiawan. The spindles or should I say the head comes from Tiawan and the Bigger parts are cast and machined in China. If yours is that old, it may not have Turcite Ways. Does it have Block Ways or Bevel Ways. Mine is a 2005 model and it has Turcite ways and that means they are replaceable. The closest I could find as far as a manual is concerned is a Birmingham. My mill came with 3hp 3 phase 2 speed motor. I gutted the electrical pannel and got rid of the old relays and transformer and replaced it with a Fugi Frenic Mini VFD. I love how quite it is and how smooth it operates. The longer you have it the more pictures and the better you will get to know it.

I'm new enough to this that I know what ways are, but Turcite, Block or Bevel, no idea. But this is how we learn, right?