VN New to me Van Norman No 12

Stefants

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I managed to get this as far as my garage last weekend :). Looking forward to ripping it down and seeing what exactly I’ve gotten myself into! I’m a rookie, but I like to think I’m at least somewhat mechanically inclined. Should be fun. It’s eventually going to my basement and likely getting 120V motors...no 220 available down there, and I do t think I want to go the VFD route. We’ll see...
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I managed to get this as far as my garage last weekend........ Should be fun. It’s eventually going to my basement

It looks like the fun part will start after getting it into the basement!

Nice looking machine. I haven't seen one like that.
There's nothing on Tony's machine tool site about it (http://www.lathes.co.uk/vannorman/).
They only mention the "Bench Miller"
Any idea the age?

But Vintage Machinery has a manual:
Van Norman 12 Installation. Operation and Maintenance

I am "watching" this thread.
Thanks for sharing it.

-brino

EDIT: and the brochure here: Van Norman No. 12 Brochure confirms that it has separate main drive and feed motors.

Here's the page of Van Norman documents at Vintage Machinery: http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=2109&tab=3
 
It’s got a few years under it’s belt :). 1944-45 is correct. There’s a decent amount of info out there on Van Nomans (including from folks who have put them in basements). They’re small compared to a Bridgeport type mill. They lack a quill, but are “universal” horizontal/vertical mills, and as I understand it are typically more rigid than the alternatives. I liked the price for what it was. It’ll be a while before it gets to the basement. First up is a tear down and cleaning. That’s garage work :)


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You could likely get a 220 line run, and buy 2 VFD's, for less cost, and aggravation then doing the motor swap. I tried the motor swap on my VN22, but after fitting them, and looking at making the adapters, I decided to go with the VFD's.
 
At the suggestion of others, I’m also looking at the prospect of building a rotary phase converter (though that would still need a 220 line pulled). We’ll see. It’ll be a while before I get to electrical needs...there’s time to deliberate :)


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The no quill, can be a headache sometimes, But the extra rigidity and ease a t setting cuts up, makes up for it to me. I have found I do more stuff in the horizontal position, because it is right there where you can see everything.

$2-300 for a couple of VFD's, or $500 or more for a rotary? On this machine, there is nothing tricky on using a few VFD's, like trying to mate a VFD to a machine with a ton of switches.
 
It looks like a rotary of adequate size can be made for the cost of a motor (not too bad on the used market), some switches/contractors/breakers, and some capacitors. I’m game for that if it’s the right way to go. There *are* VFDs that could take 120 up to 3 phase 230, too. Lots of options. But we’ll see...


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Yea, you are looking at only needing a 2 to 3 HP rotary converter. I was needing a 7 to 10, and used machinery is scarce here, so I was looking at new costs.
 
Sweet! What's the plan of attach when you say 'ripping it down"? Any parts not moving or you haven't gotten that far? Going to paint or just make sure it all runs as it's suppose to. Nice bit of tooling too? I'll be watching...
 
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