So, I bought a BP..

I would clean it up then power it up and see how it runs. Heck, if the motor is not making noise why take it apart right up front. Run it and find any deficiencies it might have then fix them.
 
I would clean it up then power it up and see how it runs. Heck, if the motor is not making noise why take it apart right up front. Run it and find any deficiencies it might have then fix them.

Certainly not unreasonable. The biggest reason for removing the motor was that I need to for cleaning inside the pulley housing and replacing the belts. I wasn't planning on disassembling the motor further unless it made lots of noise, excessive vibration, or has a lot of shaft play.

I asked about the rest of the head just in case there is a common issue that is easily addressed while it's separated like this.

Reminds me, there were a lot of chips up in the turret gears that control the head movement up and down. Overall it was pretty clean in there otherwise. Is that something I should consider cleaning more than vacuuming the looser chips out? I think the ride home knocked most of them out. Sure, I could disassemble it and really clean it out, but I don't want to make a bunch of work that doesn't accomplish anything.
 
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The motor looks good, not that it means much. I figure I'll remove it, clean and inspect for bearing issues etc.. Then use my VFD to fire it up for some short tests to make sure it's running well and quietly.
My apologies, I misread your post, or should I say I didn’t completely comprehend what I read. Trying to concentrate on more than one thing at a time at this time of night is not in my best interest.
 
Any & all success I've had has been in letting the mechanism / machine / circuit say what is wrong. Simply address the problems as they occur.
 
I favor just a simple cleanup and start running it. If you begin taking it apart you'll be down the rabbit hole LOL
Mark
 
I would run it like it sits and see how things sound.
You don't wanna mess with the spindle bearings unless absoulatey necessary. They can be VERY expensive. I am in the process of rebuilding my Gorton mill right now.
Make sure the oiling system is working if it has one.
Joe Hynes
 
Yeah, I already had to talk myself out of stripping it down for a full rebuild. I am going to use it, not look at it. The paint only needs to be good enough to prevent rust. I think I'll try to power it up and get a feel for the condition of the motor and spindle bearings. I suspect a belt will break under much load, but that's a maintenance part.

There's no oiling system, just places to put oil. How can I verify they get oil where it needs to be? There's an oil cup up top for the spindle. I don't have the proper oil for it yet, but I will order some. The spindle does have a good amount of oil on it, so I suspect it is fine. The zerks have been greased, but I will pull them and clean them out so I can use way oil.
 
Looks like a nice buy! It might not be a bad idea to slide the table off and saddle to give everything a nice cleaning. While in there note what can be change or not. At least then you can clean all the ports of grease from the yahoo that put grease in there instead of way oil. A great place is H&W machine in Indiana to get parts for your machine. They have everything a good people to do business with.
Then at least you know what your dealing with and your oil ports will work correctly. It’s a easy job.
 
The more I read about it, the more I think I need to pull the table and clean all the grease out. There isn't a lot of info about removing the table from searching around earlier, but I did find a couple videos and some parts diagrams that make it look simple enough as long as you account for the weight.

Is it decently balanced or do I need to account for it being heavy on one side or the other?
 
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