RF-31 Milling Stand

Thanks Ray. IIRC I used Cabot Pecan stain then bushed on Cabot polyurethane. My only complaint is the wood is soft. I'm not a wood guy & just picked up a cheap piece of wood from Home Depot. When it needs to be replaced I'll look for something better but it should last me a while.
 
The wood stain does give it a very nice appearance. There is red oak stain and polyurethane on some similar plywood under my Clausing lathe. I over do the oil when working the lathe but the stained bench top is still serviceable after 5 years, at least I haven't been cut by chips yet.
Have a good day
Ray
 
If you want to make a wood top more durable you could cover it with fiberglass cloth set in epoxy. Adding some cabosil to the epoxy will make it even harder.
 
I used the factory cabinet, I filled it with about 300 pounds of metal scrap pieces, so it's pretty wobble free [after leveling to my crooked floor]IMGP1468.JPG
 
Great ideas. The side access door in the factory stand of my King PDM30 was small and anything put inside had to go on the floor. Not very satisfactory so I removed the front panel and installed three full extension drawers. Never have enough storage space and having it handy from the front is even better.

Cheers
 

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Capt. Jas. said:
I would like to know from those who have the factory stands, if they are satisfactory. I have one that came with my used mil/drill but am considering using an antique heavy cast iron welding table instead.
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I have one would of really preferred something more functional then this i plan to build a heavy duty table for it with unique tooling draws as well
 
epanzella said:
Easy enough to make a stand so you can get what works for YOU. Welding is best but it can be bolted together as well.

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Epanzella, can you post some more detailed pics of your assembly to keep the head from rotating when raising/lowering?
Have you been happy with the results?

-Tom
 
hi Tom,
I'm very happy with the results of this indexing system. It will index to .001 with a torque wrench and .002 to .003 if I just wing it when tightening the pinch bolts. The vertical column is 3 x 3 x 1/2" angle held to the corner of the table with 2 bolts on each side so that they're 90 degrees to each other. The vertical track is ground drill rod and the follower is a 7/8" pillow block. I had to polish the drill rod on the lathe while sliding the pillow block on it to get a tight sliding fit. Apparently the drill rod was slightly oval. Only took about 15 minutes. A leftover piece of drill rod serves to align the track with the column. The bushing welded to a bar in the vice is a tight sliding fit on the drill rod in an R8 collet. To align I lower the head all the way down with the drill rod in the bushing then tighten the lower bolt on the vertical track. Raise the head and extend the quill as far as it will go while the drill rod remains in the bushing to hold the alignment. Tighten the top bolt and you're done. Obviously the holes in the vertical column have to be oversized to allow the vertical track to be adjusted. It's important that the pillow block be at the same relative height as the bottom pinch bolt on the head so It stays consistent when you cinch it down. I tighten the bottom pinch bolt first and then the top one. Almost forgot, I also put a split bushing on the vertical drill rod track to act as a depth stop of the head. You can just make it out in the last picture.
Ed P
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