Just Picked Up A Kent 4vk

[alloy]

Yes it is the head from the auction. It's much quieter than my J head Bridgeport is and it's very powerful. I drilled those holes in 3/8" steel in high range and it didn't even slow the motor down. I just turned the knob down and drilled away.

The head was an amazing find, I don't really believe in coincidences but this one made me a believer. It was full of water from being on that pallet, but after a complete tear down and replacing one part and 2 bearings it's in great condition. Honestly I was willing to pay much more for it, there were only 2 of us bidding on it. He gave up at $150 and I got it for $200.

I'm pretty happy on how it turned out. Was a bit of work, but I have a really nice mill for a $2500 investment

When I sell my Bridgeport I'll be looking for my next project, probably one I can flip and make some $$$ on. If I didn't want the Kent I'm pretty sure I could easily get $7500 out of it.

 

[alloy]

Took awhile but the Kent is finally finished and moved into position and making money for me. Had a hiccup with bad scales on the DRO, but that's finally taken care of now.

The mill is very rigid and moves so smoothly. The table locks actually lock the table, and the power is incredible compared to the Bridgeport.. I was doing some hogging in steel at about 2000 rpm with a face mill and looked at the tach while I was doing it. The rpm's dropped 1 rpm on the tach from no load condition on the spindle. It's also hard getting used to the power draw bar, I keep reaching for my draw bar hammer.

I'd like to find some rubber sheeting to make some way covers for it.

 

[Silverbullet]

Don't look like the one you brought home . Turned out better than you thought I bet. Glad it turned out so well. Sometimes luck pays off. For your sheet rubber you can get a cheap backseat floor mat for a car. I've used them for lots of things like that. .. So I guess the road trip to jersey is off??

 

[coolidge]

I'd like to find some rubber sheeting to make some way covers for it.

Park Rose hardware has a big wide roll of 1/8 rubber sheet and they sell it by the foot or inch I forget. You may have to apply some car wax to it I find it a bit tacky. I have hung a vertical piece of it in front of my column to keep chips from flying to the rear all over the floor. I cut a few other pieces to protect the table and keep chips out of the T slots. It cuts pretty easily with a sharp utility knife.

 

[alloy]

It turned out much better than I ever imagined. The E-head was an amazing find. Jim said he just stumbled across it at the auction site. A road trip is out, at least with a milling machine in tow

Dang, not 1/2 hour ago I was at Parkrose. I never even thought to look there. I have to go to store tonight, I may just swing back by there.

 

[alloy]

I found some rubber sheeting on Ebay. I tried my local hardware store, but all they had was rems.

Took the guy a week or so to ship my material out, but I was out of town last weekend anyway.

It's amazing how much area there is behind the table as compared to my Bridgeport. I'm still getting used to the size of the machine and the extra power. No to mention I am still reaching for the drawbar wrench.

The power fed is nice also. I'm wondering if I should shut the PF power off when not in use. The power LED light on the PF doesn't work, and the switch is kinda loose.

No complaints though, I'm 110% happy with it.