Saunders Power Drawbar kit on a PM935TV

Alan H.

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I installed a Saunders Power Drawbar Kit on my PM935TV. I like the simplicity and it works well.

I discovered the kit a few weeks back and ordered one hoping to fit it to my mill. Saunders Machine sells the kit to fit a Bridgeport so I gambled that it would fit. I did have to drill an extra hole and slot two others in the mounting plate to get the right bolt circle but it was easy to do and it fits well.

The kit is built for a Harbor Freight wrench but after a trial, I ditched it. I am not a fan of that wrench. I replaced it with a Campbell Hausfeld which required a minimal amount of tweaking to fit. I have seen the internals of the air valve on both wrenches and the CH wrench is a step change in quality as compared to the HF offering.

I put 3/8” OD flexible tubing cantilevered off the back of the assembly for the compressed air supply.

To operate the drawbar you pull down on the lever to engage the socket onto the drawbar and then rotate the lever in the direction to tighten or reverse. The assembly works slick on the 12 mm posts with the linear bearings. Saunders has sized the springs quite well. I like this simple design which keeps everything including the air valve up top. It is compact, minimizes stuff hanging off my mill, and it all works via the simple lever.

By the way, the anodizing on the aluminum made me take a second look when I first saw it. For a moment I thought it was Delrin.

Bottom line, I think this is a very simple and economical solution. I am quite happy with it.

Saunders PDB installed.jpg
side view.jpg
Closeup1.jpg
 
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You just made my day and gave me a project for the week. Ive been searching for an auto drawbar solution for my 935 and this is it.

Whats the part number on the CH wrench? Worth me stepping it up to a Chicago Pneumatic or is that over kill?

Tim
 
Yes it is a simple solution that is not complicated and works.

Here is the Campbell Hausfeld wrench.

It has a working torque of 5 to 50 lbs. So it is not going to over tighten the drawbar.

I cannot give you too much advice on upgrading beyond the CH wrench. The CH works fine for me thus far and as I mentioned already, it was a step change in quality over the HF. If it goes south, I will move up from here and still do not have a lot invested.

I think all these wrenches of this configuration are relying on o-rings to seal the pivoting air supply and are prone to leakage. Once you have this one seated and working in the device, I think the rotation will be minimal and it will not be prone to leakage. However it is wise to have a metric o-ring assortment on hand just in case. I hate leaks!
 
Okay, good. Please keep us posted with some photos of your install.
 
Nice job on that Alan. The only thing I would add, would be an inline oiler for the gun, if you don't already have one. Cheers, Mike
 
Thanks but I cannot claim the credit for this.

John Saunders at Saunders Machine is the gent who put this idea into play. I simply adapted it to the PM935TV mill. I used the mill yesterday and was again very happy with the way it works.

Of course this idea is not new but John's execution of it made it a bit different and simpler. He initially sold the pieces and parts as a kit (w/o the wrench) but then evolved it a bit more with improvements. The improved anodized version is the one I bought and adapted. Here is the Youtube of the John's first run at it.
Saunders Prototype
 
I got mine installed today.

1.jpg
2.jpg


If you get one you need new longer mounting bolts. 6MM x 41mm

The ones John ships aren't metric since its for a Bridgeport.
 
Mine is installed on my step-pulley PM935 model and working well. For the step-pulley model you will have to drill and tap two or three holes on top of the cast iron pulley cover, but it was pretty easy. You will also have to make three spacers.

I'll post some pics later tonight of mine. For less than $200 this was worth it. I didn't feel like spending $500-800 for the alternatives.
 
I have seen several variations of power drawbar set ups and have always had this question in my head. On my mill r8 spindle I have to give the draw bar a slight tap to release the collet from the spindle, how would you be able to do that with the wrench in the way? Sorry if this is obvious.
 
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