Old Index mill?

[BrianT]

Picked this up recently. Seems in good condition from what I can tell so far. I was told it came out of the Dodge factory in Detroit. Apparently was sold in the early 1980s, painted black and sat in a garage before I acquired it. Everything was painted black even the top of the table. That may have helped as there isn't much rust. There is 3 heavy coats of paint on it. Looks like it was safety yellow once and originally green? Motor and controls look to be done in the 1960s.

I have been wanting a small vertical mill for awhile and this is perfect in size, etc. for my needs.

Not exactly sure on the model. Not a 40 as it doesn't have quill feed, etc. I have seen one other similar online. Otherwise it is close to a model 40.

Going to pull the table and check the ways tomorrow. Then it will wait until I have more time in the winter to freshen it all up. Thinking I will get VFDs for both motors? I like the ability to control speeds. I know the old motors are not inverter duty but I've done it before and those motors are still running.

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[jwmay]

I don't have any information for you, but I wish you many years of satisfaction from your purchase. Looks like a good one to have.

 

[Zack]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say your mill is a 1939 model. Looks identical to my 1941 except for the absence of a quill feed.
The earlier (earliest) model of 38 had a different base than yours. Like, they were constantly making small improvements and when they introduced the quill feed that was a big enough change to then call them 40s instead of 38s.
Being made prior to WWll it could have been and was sold to private industry (Dodge). All the mills manufactured during the war years were sold to the war industry. Or to private industry if they had good enough reason to have one and the War Department gave their OK.
They're neat old machines. The X and Y nuts are a little loose on mine and you have to take a light cut when climb milling but other than that it's pretty tight.
You didn't say if you got any tooling with it. Index will re-grind the spindle for R8 tool holders for 400 bucks or so, or you can stick with the BS#9 spindle that's in it and buy end mill holders from E-Bay for 50+ bucks a piece or collets from Little Machine Shop for 20 bucks a piece. That's what I did and it works well for me.
Zack

 

[BrianT]

Zack... before I forget, what type of grease are you using on the spindle bearings?

I didn't get any tooling. The owner didn't even know how to get the tool out. I tried there but it was stuck. Came out easily after some penetrate. I'm going to stay with bs#9. I saw an bs#9 er32 collet holder on Amazon that will cover most needs.

I think I got lucky on this one. I had the table and saddle off and didn't see anything strange. Minimal wear, seems tight for an old machine. I doubt it was used in production, doest appear to have that wear. The vise that came on it is huge, I think it may be from a shaper? Seems low compared to my other vises.

Neat old machine...so far I'm pleased with it.

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[Zack]

I use 30w oil in the spindle, no grease. The cone pulley bearing I pack with lithium grease.
I'm running a VFD on mine. Works well. I keep it above 40 hertz though.
For $25 you can call Wells Index and they will look up your serial number and tell you exactly when your mill was made and who it was sold to. Mine was made in Dec. 41 and sold to Curtiss Wright in Detroit. Zack

 

[BrianT]

I thought I read in the manual for model 40 the spindle bearings should be greased. Then online I read oil like you mentioned.

I plan on getting 2 VFDs, then I can controll spindle and table feed with fwd and rev. Like you mentioned I will keep the hz high as they aren't inverter duty motors.

Eventually I will paint it. There's 3 heavy coats of paint on it now so I will have to scrape and remove that. Unfortunately I don't like painting and most of my machines don't get painted but there is just too much thick paint on it.

Thanks for your help

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[Zack]

The guy I bought it from said 30w non-detergent for the spindle so that's what I do. Made sense; that's the way my lathe spindle bearings are lubricated.
My mill X axis power feed is my right arm. The mill didn't come with one when I bought it. I can see mounting holes where one had been somewhere back in time. Maybe part of it broke and rather than fix it they just took it off. I don't know.
I generally fix things rather than make anything new so most of the stuff I mill is small and not having a power feed is not a problem. Maybe later I'll pursue getting a power feed but it's not a priority.
Boy , there is a lot going with those original power feeds. 3p motor on the back, drive-shaft to the back of the mill table. That's what they came up with to power feed a mill table in the 30s. Zack

 

[BrianT]

Since the last posts I have been working on the mill quite a bit. It was completely taken apart, cleaned and painted. Installed new spindle bearings. Running the original motor with a vfd. The rpm on the original motor is 1150, I had assumed it was 1750. Not sure if that is good or bad but I can run over 60hz or play with the pulleys to get more if needed. Overall seems in good condition, nothing broken that I wasn't aware of. At this point I haven't installed the original power feed. Not sure if it will be used as my shop is tight and would have to have give up another foot against the wall, may just get an aftermarket unit as they take up minimal space. Should be making chips soon

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[brino]

Since the last posts I have been working on the mill quite a bit. It was completely taken apart, cleaned and painted. Installed new spindle bearings.

It looks great!

Brian

 

[Steve-F]

Nice job! That looks perfect for the space I have to put one!! NEED!!!!!!