- Joined
- Dec 24, 2020
- Messages
- 1,042
Hey all,
I said a couple of questions, but I suspect that will continue to grow as I learn more!
I just brought home a "new" 1941 K&T 2H Plain that came from a fairly local estate auction. It came with a couple of arbors, a pretty good pile of cutters, end mill holders, a Morse taper holder, collet holder, and a bunch of stuff I can't even identify at this point. This was a home shop that had almost one of everything in it, and it was all commercial stuff, so I suspect a retired machinist or amateur gunsmith (there were gun barrels and other gun parts).
I set it on a pallet so that it will be easier to clean under when I make a mess draining fluids, etc. and spent about two hours pulling the vise off, cleaning dried chip piles, removing the arbor with rusty cutter, etc and then putting it under power. The prior owner changed over to a single-phase 5hp motor, which is a bonus. All of the speeds (forward and reverse) work as they should, with no unusual sounds and I'm seeing a decent flow in the top sight gauge. Power feed and rapid in all three axis works although I don't think I've run through all of the feed rate range at this point.
I knew the coolant system wasn't operational when I bought it because the coolant pump is missing entirely! The PO was using a small sump pump setup in a 5gal bucket with feed line up to the head with a valve and switch for the pump. He made a plate for the bottom of the table and fashioned a return line from the table back to the bucket...looks like it worked pretty well actually. Still, I'd really like to get a replacement pump if anybody knows where one might be hiding. The telescoping coolant return pipe and fittings were with the machine luckily.
The other thing I'd like to address is the telescoping brass tube from the back of the cross feed bracket is missing. I'd like to find a replacement, but if not it looks like a could use a modern bellows sort of miniature version of way covers since it's really just about keeping the shaft from getting covered in chips and oil. Like the pump...if you know of one I'd love to hear about it.
The overarm support needs a new sight glass, and the bolt that stops the nut from turning, but I think I can come up with something. The PO had an oiler handy and I suspect that was the work around.
I plan to drain the fluids, flush with kerosene and refill according to the manual. The fluid looks good, but there's no telling how long it's been in there, and it's easier to just include that in my overall clean and setup process.
I have a couple of questions about arbors and cutters. First, the larger arbor that came with it is the B style 1-1/4" with 24" from the face out to the nut. That seems fairly long for this machine and I'm not planning to do any huge work on it. Would something in the 18" range be too short? I've got a handful of 1" diameter cutters that came with it, so I was thinking maybe of finding a 1" arbor that would be shorter and let me use those cutters as well. I'm only starting to look at cutter costs...are some sizes more common and less expensive than others? I also got a 7/8" arbor that is the A style, but don't have the A style overarm support. I see those for sale a few places, so I'm considering getting one to be able to use that arbor. Does the A style give up as much rigidity as it would seem to compared to the B? On a related note, could I use the A style arbor with a B overarm support if I made a 2-1/8" running bushing for the A arbor?
Sorry for so many questions...I'll at least throw out a "before" pics and show the missing telescoping tube I mentioned.
Since I suspect someone might ask, in the picture of the cutters/tooling yes, you are seeing the base of a Little Giant 50lb New Style power hammer on the left. I had two, restored one and sold it to a buddy, now I need to restore the one I'm keeping....I have a long line of projects!
I said a couple of questions, but I suspect that will continue to grow as I learn more!
I just brought home a "new" 1941 K&T 2H Plain that came from a fairly local estate auction. It came with a couple of arbors, a pretty good pile of cutters, end mill holders, a Morse taper holder, collet holder, and a bunch of stuff I can't even identify at this point. This was a home shop that had almost one of everything in it, and it was all commercial stuff, so I suspect a retired machinist or amateur gunsmith (there were gun barrels and other gun parts).
I set it on a pallet so that it will be easier to clean under when I make a mess draining fluids, etc. and spent about two hours pulling the vise off, cleaning dried chip piles, removing the arbor with rusty cutter, etc and then putting it under power. The prior owner changed over to a single-phase 5hp motor, which is a bonus. All of the speeds (forward and reverse) work as they should, with no unusual sounds and I'm seeing a decent flow in the top sight gauge. Power feed and rapid in all three axis works although I don't think I've run through all of the feed rate range at this point.
I knew the coolant system wasn't operational when I bought it because the coolant pump is missing entirely! The PO was using a small sump pump setup in a 5gal bucket with feed line up to the head with a valve and switch for the pump. He made a plate for the bottom of the table and fashioned a return line from the table back to the bucket...looks like it worked pretty well actually. Still, I'd really like to get a replacement pump if anybody knows where one might be hiding. The telescoping coolant return pipe and fittings were with the machine luckily.
The other thing I'd like to address is the telescoping brass tube from the back of the cross feed bracket is missing. I'd like to find a replacement, but if not it looks like a could use a modern bellows sort of miniature version of way covers since it's really just about keeping the shaft from getting covered in chips and oil. Like the pump...if you know of one I'd love to hear about it.
The overarm support needs a new sight glass, and the bolt that stops the nut from turning, but I think I can come up with something. The PO had an oiler handy and I suspect that was the work around.
I plan to drain the fluids, flush with kerosene and refill according to the manual. The fluid looks good, but there's no telling how long it's been in there, and it's easier to just include that in my overall clean and setup process.
I have a couple of questions about arbors and cutters. First, the larger arbor that came with it is the B style 1-1/4" with 24" from the face out to the nut. That seems fairly long for this machine and I'm not planning to do any huge work on it. Would something in the 18" range be too short? I've got a handful of 1" diameter cutters that came with it, so I was thinking maybe of finding a 1" arbor that would be shorter and let me use those cutters as well. I'm only starting to look at cutter costs...are some sizes more common and less expensive than others? I also got a 7/8" arbor that is the A style, but don't have the A style overarm support. I see those for sale a few places, so I'm considering getting one to be able to use that arbor. Does the A style give up as much rigidity as it would seem to compared to the B? On a related note, could I use the A style arbor with a B overarm support if I made a 2-1/8" running bushing for the A arbor?
Sorry for so many questions...I'll at least throw out a "before" pics and show the missing telescoping tube I mentioned.
Since I suspect someone might ask, in the picture of the cutters/tooling yes, you are seeing the base of a Little Giant 50lb New Style power hammer on the left. I had two, restored one and sold it to a buddy, now I need to restore the one I'm keeping....I have a long line of projects!
