Round Column Mill Setup

Here is what someone did to solve the problem. Seems to me a bracket mounted to the head would work rather than replacing the belt cover plate.

 
I purchased my first mill, a round column Enco, way back in 1972. It was the larger of the 2 offered and had the larger diameter column so it was quite rigid. I can't begin to tell you the amount of work that I did with that mill. Yes the head truing was a pain but it became second nature over the years. I put digital readouts on it and it performed very well. My biggest gripe was that it never made a nice smooth cut, it always left tool marks. They were small and easily filed out but still somewhat irritating. One thing that helped was to go to segmented V-belts. This took quite a bit of the vibration out. The second was to clean, grease and adjust the spindle bearings. Here again not an easy task but once done properly they didn't need to be touched for a long time.
gbritnell
 
It is possible to mount a laser pointer to the side of the head, pointing toward an opposing wall. Put a small mirror securely on the wall, reflecting the beam back to a wall or other target near the mill. Secure a tool in the vise or similar so the head will go up and down in line with the quill. Turn the laser on and mark the point on the wall with the quill up, and then with the quill down, both times locked. Carefully connect the points on the target with a line and extend the line up and down a bit. Check again for repeatability. Now when you lose your zero you just need to get the laser dot back on the line.
 
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