Pulled the Trigger on 12x37

[Steve M]

19 posts and no pictures yet ?!!!!

Good point. I will try to get some sent. It is a bit tricky for me here because I have satellite internet and it doesn't always like pictures being uploaded. I get a limited amount of gigabytes a month as well. Sucks but that's that price of living in paradise in the TX Hill Country.

Steve in Central TX.

 

[LEEQ]

I wouldn't let the size of the Bridgeport put me off. You can have someone else do the moving. Once it's moved it's size won't hurt you. You are probably going to need help moving about any mill. The price with no tooling might put me off though. I would tell the guy to call me if he changed his mind on my price. That works great sometimes, sometimes not. Either way your not hurt on it. Whatever you get happy machining!

 

[turner505]

Steve, Glad to hear you have things up and running. I sure wish I had your customer service. Would be nice to see a picture or two of your machine.
I still have no stand. Went back to ebay, they said I can't reopen my case but thuey would call the seller. Doubt it will do any good the lying *****. I'm going to order a stand from Grizzly and try to get a partial refund through PayPal. This BS is taking all the fun out of getting a new toy.
Get us some Pics if you can!
Best,
Houston.
Get us som

 

[Steve M]

Re: Pulled the Trigger on 12x37 Photos

Here are some photos of my new machine. Anyone familiar with the 12x series will note that the machine is pretty much like the rest of them with a few warts but with the all the capabilities as well. You can see the three rather than four electrical switches (no power on switch, just the red panic button). Gearbox is pretty much the same as well but I have an issue with the short spindle shaft that isn't threaded or long enough to put on a spider if I decide I need one. I guess each factory that makes these does things a little differently. Has allen head capscrews to hold down the compound rather than bolts - slightly harder to access for changing angles. Also, the tailstock and other levers are chrome with black plastic knobs rather than shotpeened stainless and knurled ends. Seems to run fine but I hae one small issue I am trying to chase down. Basically when I go for a good surface finish I get darker "banding" at approx 1/8" intervals on the workpiece using both carbide and HSS. I can't pick up the bands with a fingernail or a sharp scribe. I rechecked the gear train to make sure the gears were well meshed, sharpened the cutters, and tried again using a tailstock. Helped a little but didn't eliminate entirely. Seemed to be there even when I was taking a half thousandth off. I will post the full story and a photo in the Q&A section.



Steve

 

[dave2176]

Could the finish problem be a harmonic or chatter type thing? I was thinking about that issue jamespvill had which turned out to be spindle bearing preload. Just a thought,
Dave

 

[Steve M]

Could the finish problem be a harmonic or chatter type thing? I was thinking about that issue jamespvill had which turned out to be spindle bearing preload. Just a thought, Dave

Seems like a harmonic thing rather than chatter because the bands or stripes are at regular intervals. Wish I had a really good magnifying glass so I could look at the areas in question. The machine seems to cut nicely for a short ways then not cut quite so cleanly for a shorter distance and just continues to repeat the cycle. The patterns are very regular. I plan to play with it some more today to see what I can learn. I read the post on the bearing adjustment and plan to look into that as well. Right now the machine isn't mounted very solidly so that could contribute but on the other hand the cuts are really light. It is on wood sitting on some rollers. I am redoing my shop and need to be able to move it around. Steve