New to me Sharp HMV knee mill

smoky4712

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Just purchased a mill. Cant wait to get it home.
I have been looking for some time for a used mill, getting sort of frustrated from time to time. Then I decided relax, don't worry about it. When the time is right it will happen. So when ever I thought about it I would look on the usual places. Boom I found one, and it is about 12 miles from my house. pretty much what I was looking for, and was able to pick it up for a fair price. The only abuse that I can see in that it has been not used for years everything functions with the exception of the DRO. When the Machine is turned on it says Error 2.
Anyone that has read my previous thread will be happy to hear that this one comes with the original book. I don't know what year it is, but was told that it has been in this fab shop for at least 10 years with power but nobody ever remembers seeing it being used.
Good lord Here I go again. Any of you that have one of these, Please Chime In. Let me know how you like it and any helpful tips with disassembly and clean up. I have another project with limited time. at least for awhile, Retirement is just around the corner.
 
I don't know what your error codes mean but the DRO just probably needs a reset. Hopefully you can find a manual for it. My DRO will find its origin by traversing the table fully. Have you used a knee mill before? I had very little experience on one before I got my used Jet 9x49. I had it for several years before I added a 3 axis DRO. I really like having the DRO. Has improved my accuracy and reduced my errors. Some of the functions I use all the time some never but I've tried all of them just to see if I could. Being able to have two 0,0 points and switch between them at will has been a big help. Half function used very often. Instant switch to metric & back to imperial saves those risky conversions. Car parts and most imported machines are metric and I use metric as my preferred system for my own projects.

It's always fun to get a new toy. I think many of us on this forum have at least on project machine going. Mine is a 50+ year old cold saw waiting it's turn.
 
Congrats! Sharps are very nice and nicely built
There may be a reset button for the dro, maybe on the back or bottom
-Mark
 
Thanks for the replies. I did a quick search and came up with a main power switched off or something like that. They did have it unplugged before we got there to look at it. So yes I think it is just a reset.
Just talked to a guy that will drop it off in my driveway. I have some dollies that I made for the lathe that should handle the weight no problem. I will have to rotate the head down to get it through the door. Then I can just wheel it around to the best location.
And to answer Larry, No I have never run a knee mill. I know apples and oranges.... I am just over a year from retirement as a Union Carpenter Commercial / Industrial heavy construction. Knock on wood, I still have all of my fingers and toes, and both eyes. Hearing not so good. Kinda scared of it to be honest, but I'm still scared of my table saw. I'm pretty good with numbers and critical thinking. I'm sure I will make some junk parts. I do need to buy a vise for it. My buddy that went to go look at it with me suggested that I buy a Chinese vise for my first one, so I can get my crashes out of the way before I get a real vise. Probably not a bad idea.
I'm hoping that I can figure it out, I ran a lathe quite a bit when I was a kid. They couldn't keep me off of it in metal shop. We also had a big old scary lathe in the home shop that I figured out how to run. I can't remember what it was but it was driven by a flat leather belt and had an open gear head, oh and stacks of change gears.
I'm sure that I will have lots of questions as I go. I want to just say right now some of them may be stupid, so have patients. Thanks guys for being here. And when I have some knowledge I hope I can pass it on.


I attached a picture of one of the dollies that I put together.
IMG_20210210_164029.jpg
 
The mill will be even taller with a higher center of gravity than the lathe, I highly recommend getting help from someone experienced when you move it....

John
 
I get that. I have moved some stuff much bigger than this mill. That said the mill will only be 3/4" off of the floor. I have large pry bars and wedges, and the concrete is all smooth. There is about a 1/4"difference in elevation from the driveway to the slab. I will also have the head tilted down to get it through the door, also the knee down.
The lathe sat on these dollies for probably six months and didn't faze them. The one on the head end had a good share of the weight on it. not a problem. Also I will tack the dollies together with a piece of angle or flat bar to keep them from spreading apart.
The mill only weighs about 150 pounds more than the lathe so it should be fine.
 
A knee mill weighs about 2500# and is top heavy. Get plenty of help moving it.
Not so sure about the vice idea. My mill came with a really crappy Chinese vice. Didn't take me long to buy a nice Kurt. Yes you may crash into the vice but most likely just the jaws and those are easily replaced.

Now comes buying tooling. You will find a long list of things you may "need." Did it come with any power feeds?
Now every scrap of metal is going to look like inventory.
 
Pics or it didn't happen ! :encourage:
 
A knee mill weighs about 2500# and is top heavy. Get plenty of help moving it.
Not so sure about the vice idea. My mill came with a really crappy Chinese vice. Didn't take me long to buy a nice Kurt. Yes you may crash into the vice but most likely just the jaws and those are easily replaced.

Now comes buying tooling. You will find a long list of things you may "need." Did it come with any power feeds?
Now every scrap of metal is going to look like inventory.
The book says 3100 pounds. Yes I need tooling, everything. I pretty much have nothing.
 
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