VN #12 crossfeed lever not staying engaged

D

deker

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After my little "incident" a while ago getting the table on my #12 stuck, I've been putting the mill to more use on a project I have starting up in the shop, and an issue that was an occasional minor annoyance is going to become more of a problem. When the crossfeed is engaged during a cut, the feed lever periodically slips its detent and pops the table out of gear. It seems to happen more with heavier cuts (this job calls for taking .125" deep cuts with a horizontal setup using a 2" diameter helical cutter to face the top of a workpiece that's about 1.5" wide). I have the speeds and feeds worked out so that the machine is pretty happy with the cutting, except for the feed disconnecting. Looking at the parts diagram, it seems that the feed lever is basically sliding part 12-567 to the left or right to engage the gears to power the table feed. I'm wondering if anybody has seen this issue before and might have some pointers on where to look to fix it. Is there an adjustment for tension on the detent ball/spring assembly(parts 5286, T-97, 12-503, 12-501, etc)? I'll admit that I haven't had the table off of the machine to check the condition of all of the feed gears because pulling the table would be a chore I'd prefer to avoid if possible. I'm a one-man shop and space for an engine hoist to support the table is a bit tight.

I'm going to have about a hundred of these pieces to cut, and standing there holding the feed lever (and having it jump out of gear sometimes even with me holding it) for 9 minutes per cut is going to get old really fast.

Any help is greatly appreciated!
 
I had a similar problem with a Van Norman, many years ago. It had never run properly since it had been set up. One journeman had crashed it and no one wanted to use it. I got an electrician to reveres the two hot legs and it worked prerfectly. This was 3 phase 220, don't know it would be applicable to your problem.
 
John , how ya making out up there ? Still making knives ? How's that Johnson holding up ? :big grin: I know , too many questions .
 
mmcmdl said:
John , how ya making out up there ? Still making knives ? How's that Johnson holding up ? :big grin: I know , too many questions .
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Still making knives, and now working on making material for making some pretty fancy guns (which is the project I'm talking about here). There's still a Johnson in the shop, though in truth I'm not sure if its the one I got from you, I came into another one and sold one to a buddy in MI. It's a great saw and I use it just about every time I step into the shop.

For reference, here's a prototype from the current project. I'm just making the steel, but we're going 100 of them, so it's bit of work. :)

How've you been?
9152_smudged.jpeg
 
T Bredehoft said:
I had a similar problem with a Van Norman, many years ago. It had never run properly since it had been set up. One journeman had crashed it and no one wanted to use it. I got an electrician to reveres the two hot legs and it worked prerfectly. This was 3 phase 220, don't know it would be applicable to your problem.
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All the motors seem to be running in the correct rotation., and swapping legs would just change the direction of the feed motor.
 
Oh man , they are nice looking ! :cool: I'm just hanging in there , still getting up to Westminster often enough . These weekend shifts are getting old now though . Did Kaydon move up to Hanover in the SKF plant ever take place ? I haven't heard a thing but I'm thankful I didn't take that position . :big grin:
 
T Bredehoft said:
I'm not into firearms, but were I, I would own one of them. Period.

The work in them is beyond quality, its art.
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I wish I could take credit for anything but the material, but I can't. I'm just making the steel and handing off great big billets that other, more skilled people are turning into chips and fancy guns. :)
 
deker said:
I wish I could take credit for anything but the material,
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I was speaking of the Damascus twist. The machined and finished surface of the material certainly does show it off, though.
 
I would be interested in learning how you make the metal for these. It is beautiful!

My biggest struggle with Van Norman blow up drawings is deciphering the assembly / rest of the story. I looked at the manual & saw the parts you referenced. There's got to be a handle that engages the F / R directions. Perhaps a shim behind the detent spring could work. Looking forward to seeing real experienced answers for you!
 
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