New Project - Benchmaster MV-1 mill

[AR1911]

Picked up something last weekend that I had been looking for for a while. It's a Benchmaster vertical milling machine.



Picking up the MT2 collets and the motor pulley tomorrow.
Not sure the age, but I'm figuring 1950 more or less. trying to nail that down.

 

[AR1911]

Table cleaned up pretty nice



I can't help myself. I went ahead and took it apart. It's about as simple as they get. I can't decide whether to strip off that original paint. I don't care for the colors, but I value originality and the "patina"

 

[David M]

Nice looking little mill, I'd like to find one of those. I'd paint it if it were mine, the green is bad but that yellow is more than I could take.

 

[the gentleman]

Nice looking little mill, I'd like to find one of those. I'd paint it if it were mine, the green is bad but that yellow is more than I could take.

You got a great mill . . . Keep the colors original

 

[AR1911]

I am leaning toward a slightly nicer shade of green plus pure white on the hood and "B"

I wonder what happened to my photos?

Right now this one is on hold. I started another project which needs its own thread. Back shortly

 

[AR1911]

Waiting for parts on the BB4, so back to the Benchmaster. Everything is apart except the spindle, and soaking in cleaners



I was taking the spindle apart and realized I had damaged the spindle pulley.
This is the "before" photo. I bent up 3 1.5" crescents out of the lip at about 30-degrees apart. :angry:

Up till then, there was nothing on this machine that actually needed repair - just clean, paint, lubricate, assemble.

 

[AR1911]

Here's the color I am using - Alpine Green, which is an engine color used on HD diesels. It is pretty close to the original color, though a bit brighter. Kind of an art deco color



On the original, the spindle cover was painted off-white. The "B" on the column was plain white originally. It was obviously brushed on. Now, I'm not going to paint the spindle cover off-white or even white, but I'm not sure what else to use that would look right. Suggestions?

 

[partsproduction]

I had one of these, mine had a rack for the vertical table travel, I tried to convert it to conventional crank and screw but though it worked it wasn't the best solution. R-8 spindles spoiled me and I couldn't get behind the MT spindle.

 

[AR1911]

A few years ago you could buy a set ofER-type collets with MT2 arbor, chuck and wrench for < $60. Now they have disappeared from ebay. That would have been a good, inexpensive option. I'll probably end up with an ER collet setup.

 

[partsproduction]

That ER collet adaptor would be a great option for anyone with a mill with MT spindle. I owned mine long before I heard about ebay, long before ebay started. The machines were well made, designed to be a bench corner relief mill for jobs that didn't need the larger mills I believe. When they were made there weren't many people who could afford a home shop equipped like we have now I think. I know in 1959 when I was 10 my dad sure couldn't afford it. In a way we are very blessed.