South Bend Milling Machine - squaring the head

Jake,

When you sweep the table with the dial indicator, which side is high and low.

Ken,

When I sweep the indicator across the table, I start by zeroing the indicator on the table surface closest to the operator's standing position. I check for quill lock, knee gib lock and table gib locks. I then rotate the spindle by hand 180 degrees so I'm now showing a reading closest to the column. In that position the indicator is showing +0.002".
 
The .002" sag is honest wear. It can be repaired, or or it can be compensated for by the operator.
 
Well thanks everyone for your input. I think the best course of action is to use the machine as-is for now with the wear in mind. I'm just a hobbyist, so it won't be any big deal and it will give me some good practice compensating when machining something critical. I have used a lathe that was that way.

I will seriously consider scraping the ways and correcting the issue, although that's going to be quite a ways down the road for me. ('Ways' down the road... get it?) :rolleyes:

The investment in time for learning and practice (not to mention expensive equipment) to do the work looks considerable. I am intrigued in the idea, however, so I'll keep in touch if I decide to tackle this.

Thanks again,

-Jake
 
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