Well...the noise was not what I thought it was. I think it is related to the back gear that is High/Low speed, once I take it out of high it locks up solid? Hopefully I can track down Matt tomorrow and see what his thoughts are.
Well I did a little research and talked to Matt today and figured out what was going on. The biggest problem it turns out was I did not know how the hi/low part of the spindle works. When you push the lever on the top to the back it lifts up the spline that the front pulleys are mounted on and you are only running off the back gear. When the spline disengages the clearance between the "dogs" is quite limited, so the noise I was getting was the lower part hitting the top part ever so slightly. The reason I could not get the spindle back together was that the fit is quite tight between the two shafts so gravity was not enough to let it drop into place as you rotated the pulley. Matt said to just line the "dogs" up by eye and give the ring on top a tap with a plastic hammer. The travel is only about 1/4" so they popped together no problem. I worked them up and down a few times and the friction was a lot less. In doing a little reading this is a common "problem" with this style of Bridgeport head; the set screws that travel in the cam loosen up and you don't disengage the spline totally and get what sounds like horrendous noises.
After experimenting with the speeds a bit, I am just going to leave the head in high anyways; with the VFD you get a good speed range. The range is probably just as good or better than working the pulleys and back gear.
I am embarrassed for over reacting and will be e-mailing Matt in the morning to apologize for pushing the panic button. You have to be in the right frame of mind when experimenting with things, and after working for about 11 hours I was definitely out of patience.
Well that was bugging me so I went on you tube and looked around a bit on google. I realized that the lever on the top of the head that operates the clutch for the back drive should move freely. When you move it too the high speed position and rotate the pulley it should drop down to engage the clutch. Well the lever on mine was not moving freely at all, I pushed it to the back a bit and that stopped the noise. The sleeve that it slides in is completely seized not allowing it to engage and disengage. Obviously no one ran it on high and low speeds before it left the warehouse. To say I am upset is an understatement so I will be on the phone tomorrow, see what happens.:angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:
Gerry,
Sorry to hear you have an issue with the mill.
I am about to order the PM-935T-S mill and have been following your latest experience.
Thanks for sharing the effort and steps you are taking to restore proper operation.
Did the mill come with comprehensive mechanical drawings and electrical schematic and parts list?
The mechanical drawings I am used to would help to see how the critical parts are put together.
Praise God you are OK and there is no major damage.
Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving with your family.
Ted