# Just Picked Up A Kent 4vk



## alloy

I just picked up a Kent 4VK mill  locally for $1000 off CL.

Has a Servo PF, Kurt power draw bar, Mitutoyo DRO.  The guy said the head was noisy and didn't have time to fix it.  For $1000 I just couldn't pass it up.  He has 2 other small CNC mills he's running.

I'm going to go get it on Friday and take it out to Jim Dawson's place and power it up with a VFD and see just how bad the head is.  And then if necessary  pull the head and bring it home to work on.

After I get it fixed and home I'll  sell my step pulley Bridgeport.  I don't need 3 milling machines.  Although having a backup mill or two couldn't hurt


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## middle.road

Whoa! looks like it has full power, even on the drawbar! looks like aheckavu score. _Dan


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## Wdnich

Nice find there. You are always lucking up on good deals. Things are getting thin here.


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## Silverbullet

Looks like you done good. Shoot even if you don't fix it you could part it out and make money. Or rebuild it parts should be out there. Let's see when your doing it. Yupp show us what's wrong with it and how you fixed it. See ya .


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## alloy

I sure hope it turns out to be a good score.  I worked pretty hard trying to get it.  The phone number in the ad was wrong and had to wait for them to reply to my email.  They put the ad in and went on vacation for several days.   But in the end I own it. 

I contacted Kent USA and parts are available for it.  In fact the same machine is still being made. Most of them are CNC's because they are heavier than the 3VK. 

I will post and show what I find out about it.  Picking it up Friday and may be able to put power to it that day.   If not then I can on Saturday. 

I have vacation to burn, so I may just take it and play with my new toy.


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## Silverbullet

Ive found lots of deals near me but no one to get them with me. Plus when you tell people your in a wheelchair they think your scamming . But I've picked up a few even tho I had to pay more to get them here. But nothing like yours . Hurry up it's hard to wait , yupp just like a kid .


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## hvontres

Nice score  I noticed that the Kent Office is close to where I work  Just let me know if you need anything picked up.


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## alloy

I'm like a kid with it also. Wanted to take Monday off and go get it, but then would have to work Tuesday so no time to play with it.  So I'll get it Friday and play with it this weekend.

Silverbullet : If you were near me I'd be more than happy to help you get the deals you find.  

Hvontress, I'll keep that in mind.


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## Bob Korves

I have a Kent KLS-1340A 13x40" lathe.  The parts gal at Kent USA is quite helpful and they seem to have a bunch of stuff in stock.  Most Kent machines are bigger stuff, sold to industrial users, so they seem to take parts and service seriously.  Still Asian stuff, but seem to be better than some others...


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## alloy

I'm glad to hear they are so helpful.  I emailed them about one small part I need and got a very quick response.

I'm not sure what the head needs yet, I hope to get it powered up tomorrow afternoon and give it a good going over.    Hopefully it doesn't need a lot.  Looking forward to getting it running and moved to my place.    I'm going to go pick it up in the morning and take it out to Jim Dawson's place.  I can pull power off the big VFD on my CNC mill to power it up temporarily. 

One of the engineers at work may be interested in buying the Bridgeport, but I'm not selling it until the Kent is in place and up and running.  I'll have to buy another VFD and tool it up for the NMTB holders.  I have to verify it is NMTB30 before buying anything though.


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## alloy

Got it loaded up and ready to go.  Naturally I picked the only day this week it's going to rain.
Found a couple of things that need to be repaired. The handle for the knee has the knob broken off,  not a biggie. Some of the power down feed parts are missing or broken. The handle is broken off, and looks like some of the linkage is gone. I think Jim may have a few parts that will fit from when he converted his mill to CNC.


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## alloy

The mill is at Jim's place and we got it hooked up to power.    The DRO works on Y axis, but X seems to have a problem with the scale.  Jim is looking into that. 

The power drawbar works, and so does the power feed.    The table doesn't have a scratch on it anywhere, and the ways are really nice. 

Now the bad part. The motor and vari speed pulleys are done for.  Looks like the key sheared off and they kept using it anyway.  You can see from the pics just what I mean. 

A new motor assembly is $975 from Kent.  I'm going to see if I might be able to find a used one, don't have the $$$ to buy a now motor right now. I'll post a wanted ad here shortly.  Have to save up if I have to buy a new motor.

Found  a few other small parts I need for the quill power feed.  Jim had some parts off his mill that he sold me for a good price and have already put those on.


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## JimDawson

Alloy is trying to fill my shop.  Starting to look like a used machine tool dealer.  I still almost have room to move around in there, glad almost everything is on wheels.




The view from the drivers seat


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## coolidge

It looks like a toy hanging off that big orange machine. I'll have to buy a used Giddings and Lewis CNC machine to challenge you.


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## Silverbullet

You  should be able to find the parts , I'll bet there are some used , lots of them around it's just waitng that's sucks. Did it ruin the motor or just the vari drive parts? Yes I know those parts are pricey but still thunk can be found cheap enough not to sell the farm to fix it. Still it's a really good deal even if you buy a used head and install you will be ahead of what a descent machine cost , good luck and keep us up to date if I find any parts I'll put it here. Any model numbers for this or part numbers? Might help I'm pretty good at finding things .


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## alloy

You never know what else I'll find and drag out to your place


Silverbullet: Take a look at the first pic I posted.  The motor runs just fine, the shaft is completely destroyed along with the movable pulley.

It's a Kent 4VK 3hp.  Part# 213771.  I've been looking all evening for a used one.  No luck yet.  And yes waiting sucks, either to find a used motor, or save up for a new one.

If I have to buy a new motor and VFD, then tooling I'll have about $3k into it.  Not too bad I guess.  I'm hoping to sell the Bridgeport for close to that after I get the Kent repaired and up and running. 

I did find a 3hp single phase motor new for $979.  Wouldn't have to buy a VFD then, but do I want to not have the versatility of a VFD?


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## Silverbullet

Still with the new single phase it's , vari speed and reversible ? Wouldn't need the vfd? Unless you want all the soft start and extras that gives . Getting sleepy now it's 2 am here. Will ck when I can on the number and used if I can get cooks to email me he's been a used dealer for about 40 years here in south jersey . I'll try


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## REdington

I wonder if someone that rebuilds motors could just replace the shaft. I know I've done that on some small DC motors. You could try to get the armature out yourself, weld the shaft back up and then turn it back down. I don't think you have anything to loose to at least try it cause the motor is junk the way it is now.

Rodney


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## alloy

If I can find a used single phase motor I'd jump on it, but I guess I would like to have the extra benefits of a VFD.  Once you put a VFD on a machine it kind of spoils you.  I use the Bridgeport at work and it sucks with no VFD.  I'm trying to talk them into putting one on it even though we have 3 phase power.

I have considered welding up the shaft, but would it need to be heat treated or case hardened after welding?  I've not looked into a new armature yet.  But your right, it's junk and nothing to lose.


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## JimDawson

Normally motor shafts are soft, so welding should not be a problem.  It would be nice to heat it to stress relieve it after welding.  I think the shaft is pressed into the armature, so building a new one might not be out of the question.  I have never tried to replace a shaft, so not sure about any of this.  Maybe somebody could offer some advice here.


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## alloy

I'll pull the motor apart today and take a good look at it.  If the shaft comes out,   I think it would be much easier to just make a new one rather than trying to weld and machine it.    

What material would be best for a new shaft?  4140?


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## JimDawson

Any of you electric motor guys want to jump in here?  This is getting outside of my experience.  I would think that 1018 shafting would work, but not sure.


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## alloy

Got the top plate off the motor.  Found that the fan had no set screw in it to lock it to the shaft, and has 2 blades missing.   

I put it in my 20 ton press and there is no way I can press the shaft out.  Just don't have enough tonnage to move it.

I've looked for a motor repair place that may be open today but no luck.  Will have to be next Friday before I can take it somewhere.


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## JimDawson

We can try it in my 50 ton press, but I don't know how those shafts are actually put in.  I guess that the worst that could happen it that the armature would be totally destroyed.


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## alloy

I'm thinking of taking it to a local motor repair place in Vancouver I just found.  Hopefully they don't close before 5 on Monday.   They may be able to tell me something about it and if the shaft can be pressed out.   

I contacted HH Roberts machinery repair and they want to sell me a new electronic drive head for $4k.  Kinda pricey for a $1000 mill I think.  They didn't even offer me a standard replacement motor.  

http://www.hhrobertsmachinery.com/replacement-milling-heads.html


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## mattthemuppet2

can you not weld it up and then turn the whole thing between centers? That's how I've seen some people do it online. Weld it oversize in small goes then needle it as you turn it down? Alternatively, I've also read of people cutting of mullered shafts like that and then press/ pinning in a new shaft, with final dimensioning between centers to make sure everything is lined up. I couldn't imagine that either of those approaches would be beyond the abilities of either of you


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## alloy

I have the armature out now.  Wasn't easy getting the top pulley off it without breaking it.

I had to extend my draw bar on the Shizouka because it was too short and only grabbed 1/4 on the tool holder.  I drilled and tapped the original bar and extended it with some high strength threaded rod.  Worked out pretty well.   Was thinking of doing that with the motor shaft, but I just ran a file across it.  Slid off like it was on ice.  Not a mark on the shaft.  Hard as a rock.  So that idea is out.

I think the only option to try and repair the damage is to make a new shaft.  I can see what direction the armature is pressed onto the shaft.    I'm gong to try and make some blocks to put under the armature and see if I can press the shaft out.  I don't have much to lose by trying.

The shaft has  3 key ways milled into it.  Odd I think.


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## alloy

Well with a direct press on the armature with my HF press the shaft wouldn't budge.  It's really on there.

I looked closer at the fan blade and several of the blades are bent, and again  2 are missing.

Have to think about plan B now.


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## mattthemuppet2

wow, they really neglected that one. I wonder if the multiple keyways were attempts to fix the problem multiple times. If so, you would have thought they'd learn their lesson the first time!


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## hvontres

Just have Abom flame spray some material back on and remake the keyway


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## John Hasler

Can you turn the shaft down and shrink or press a sleeve on?


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## Silverbullet

I was on eBay a bit ago saw an motor for Bridgeport , chewed up like yours and multiple key ways milled in it wanted $260. Or so only 6 or 8 hrs left . Figure it must be a problem with maintance on that style , gotto take care of your machine or it won't take care of you. You could spray metal the shaft or weld and turn tuff job but it works , I use to do journals on rollers for US pipe and a steal mill near me years ago . Dang rollers where at least 4'  x  12" dia weld them with a stick set up with a power roller like a lathe , spray metal we did on an old lathe on the smaller ones. Hard work but it work may still be working as far as I know. Hard parts annealing to cut your key ways , the shaft at least you could grind to size. I'm gona try to contact a used tool dealer near me for ya tho .


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## alloy

The shaft is very hard, so no way I have to turn it down. I got an email this morning from a motor repair shop and the said generally the shaft can be pressed out and a new one installed. Unfortunately their repair facility is in Seattle. Their Portland store is just an outlet. There is a motor shop here in town and I'll take it by there today after work. The shop in Seattle says that after a new shaft in installed the armature needs to be balanced.   If the local guy can't do anything for me I may ship it to Seattle for them to evaluate it.


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## alloy

Got some info from 3 different motor repair shops, and got 3 different answers.
The second shop said just buy a new motor. Third local place says they can weld and machine it for $450.  A new lower pulley is $125.plus about $25 more parts plus shipping. So right around $600 to repair it.   New is $975 plus shipping. If I can save the pulley then that would make me lean towards a repair. 

I've been looking closer at the shaft and realized that the other 2 key slots are someone's attempt at repairing the shaft.

This makes me wonder what happened to it in the first place to fail like that.  And the only 2 conclusions I can come up with is the bushing in the movable pulley was so shot it couldn't take the load and spun, or a major crash. I wish I could check the head out under power before spending the money on this repair.


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## REdington

With all the info you have here in the thread, my opinion is it was the bushing for the variable pulley.
You say it look like someone tried to repair it before, hence the 3 keyways. Why would someone else try to fix it if the head had other problems??
Silverbullet noted another motor with the same problem. 
If it were me, I'd fix it.

Rodney


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## alloy

Thanks for that. 

That's why I'm on this site, to try to give and receive help.  You look at it a different way than I did.  What you say makes sense. I'm not going to repair it right away, that's unless I find a used motor at a good price.   I have my "new to me lathe" to get running first, but I want to keep looking at my options on the mill. 

It's not going to take much to get the lathe running,  so having everything lined up on this will make it easier when the time comes. 

And was just informed we are on overtime for October,  so that's extra $$$ for my projects.


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## REdington

You know that being you going to get a motor for the lathe, you might throw a pulley on it and mount on the mill to run the head to see if it makes any strange noises.


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## Silverbullet

Just left eBay found a looks new armature saved in my watch list it's a 2 hp don't know if it will fit . I'll get the number if you want to look sure looks the same tho. I'll be back in minute. Ok item number400608341289. He's asking $369.00 still trying cooks machine he don't answer email I guess.


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## rdhem2

Hey guys lets not over think this.  First--if the motor mounts like on a Bridgeport is is going to be hard to find another "C" face motor for a direct replacement.  Go to the frame number on the motor tag.  That number will tell you all you need to know, motor physical size, shaft size, shaft length and anything special about the keying or other shaft details.  Next, try to find an old dead motor and just swap the armature.  Single phase to three phase the rest of the physical dimension will probably all be different.
Yes those shafts are pressed in but are meant to stay.  Try heating the whole thing in an oven and hoping the size differential between armature and shaft plus the difference in metal properties between the two will give you that extra .001" or so to get them apart.  Just an idea.
Check HP--Voltage--Frame Size--Type--Phase-- for a replacement.  I have welded and re-cut shafts between centers also.  Pain in the butt but doable.  That is what soldered carbide lathe tools are for in my mind!

Remember, this is shop stuff, not precision rocket going to space stuff.  Boo-boos and close are good enough.  When the covers are back on who's gonna know?  As long as it works.


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## alloy

The ebay armature is different than mine.  Good find though and thanks.  

Thanks Russ.   Yes all that maters is that it works.  Here is a pic of the motor tag. 

I got an email from standard motor in Portland today.  Says he could help me and to call him back.  Called 3 times and no answer.  I'll try again tomorrow and see what he has to say.


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## coolidge

At those repair prices compared to new I would only repair it as a last resort as abused as it looks. Have you factored in new caps, do you know for sure it doesn't need to be rewound or dipped and baked?


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## alloy

The motor ran well, or at least it seemed to.  If I can find a way to repair it for say $300 total or find a used motor around that price I will go that way. 

For the $450 plus a new lower pulley and other parts that add up to over $600 I'm not willing to take a chance on a repair.  It's just too close to a complete new motor.  

But it doesn't cost me anything to keep looking to see if I can do it for less than a new one.


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## alloy

Well change of plans on the Kent.  Went to an auction today and picked this up.  Got it for $200.  Has a Baldor Super E motor on it and R8 spindle.  With getting this I'll save at least $2k buying a new motor and tooling up for the 30 taper.  Just have to get the new head mounted and figure out a problem with the X axis scale and I'll have to buy a VFD and make up a control panel for it. Then  it will be ready to run.

 It's mounted on a large angle plate for what looks like a second op setup.


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## rallycat

Bonus - includes a drill and 200 feet of wire!


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## alloy

Yes nice drill bit, and a 1/2" R8 collet  

The wire is small gauge control wire, wish it was power cord.  But Jim will throw it on his shelf and it will get used on some future project.

I'm heading out to Jim's today and we will put some power to the head. I'm hoping everything will be ok with it.  Chances are it's in good condition.  With no moving parts for a speed changer there isn't much that can go wrong.   And I have the Kent head to use for spare parts.


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## Silverbullet

Shucks the cord cost that much , well hope it fits right on . I see one problem needs a cleaning and a paint job. But while it's off you'll go over the head and ck belts and bearings ck the down feed and lube her up. Better to do it now then when you want to use it , at least that's the way I look at it.


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## alloy

Got out to Jim's today.  We powered up the head on a pallet and it runs great.  Nice and quite in both high and low range.

So we went ahead and put the head on the mill and every time we moved it water poured out of it.  We did some work on the power down feed and got that together.

We tried putting some WD40 into the head to displace the water but it wouldn't take it.  Every time we moved the quill down it had water on it.  So we decided it needed to come apart and get cleaned up and checked out.

When we pulled the top part of the head off we found a broken part of the down feed drive setup.  Thankfully I have the Kent head for spare parts.  I tore the spare head apart and got the part I needed out of it.  Looks like it should fit.  We found a few manufacturing differences, but most parts will interchange.

Washed some of the parts up and I'll take the top part of the head into work and put it in the hot parts washer.   And I think I'm going to paint the new head to match the rest of the mill.

I need to make a control panel setup for the front of the head for the controls and a tach.  Jim put a contact tachometer on the motor and the spindle and found out it's an 1800 RPM motor.  So they must have had it set up to run 120 hertz for full speed.  With the Super E motor it should take that all day.

Got some work to do, but I'm pretty happy with how it's worked out so far.


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## middle.road

So it's got a built in 'flood coolant' system - EH? 

Serious question: I'm not picturing what type of drive system it has. Is variable speed or just single belt on pulley?


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## alloy

It apparently had some sort of water based system yes.  I have removed that feature. 

Just a single belt with a VFD rated motor.  The motor turns at 1800 rpm and you use a VFD to slow it down or run it up to120 hertz.  I need to buy a VFD and a pot along with switches and a tachometer.

  Without a tach there really is no way of knowing how fast your turning.  I briefly considered one of those little eBay tachs that use reflective tape, but I'd rather have a readout on the machine.


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## mattthemuppet2

I've used an eBay tach that has a Hall effect sensor, works pretty well as far as I can tell but I have no means to check its accuracy. Before I changed the motor, the speeds it gave pretty much matched the ones in my lathe manual, so it's at least in the right ball park. $12-13 plus a 9-15V wall wart to power it.

oh, there's also the Maxtach too - quite a bit more and a serious amount of self assembly required, but a lot more features (SFM/ tool diameter etc). Couple of people on here (Masteryoda?) have them and like them a great deal. I just couldn't spring for the extra


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## alloy

Jim said the VFD we are going to use has a simulated tach output, so not sure what will work with it.   Have to do some checking on that.

I'm swapping my power drawbar over to the Acer had and will need a new drawbar.  I found Kurt has a build your own kit for $73.  I need to get that ordered.  Looking for paint to kind of match the Kent base, but no luck yet.  My local automotive paint shop say they can match it and make up spray cans for $23 each.  Kinda pricey I think.


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## middle.road

alloy said:


> Looking for paint to kind of match the Kent base, but no luck yet.  My local automotive paint shop say they can match it and make up spray cans for $23 each.  Kinda pricey I think.


Since you're not going for a spot-on restro, what would be wrong with a contrasting two-tone scheme?
Better yet - I've got it! Truck Bed liner for the head. $7/can.  (I'm running for the door now...)

Gotta love how it worked out though. Finding that Acer head on a pallet at just the right time was good, instead of a week after buying a new motor.


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## alloy

Hmm........ I think I'll pass on the bed liner  

Since we have it apart I might as well paint the head, and unless I can find an close paint match in a rattle can I may just paint the entire machine. I'll do the head at Jim's, and do base at home.  I like to have a decent looking machine so when a  customer brings his irreplaceable transmission housing over he doesn't see an ugly old machine sitting there.  I've actually got comments on my Bridgeport, and they don't believe it's a 1962 machine.  

It is interesting how things happen.  I bought the Kent on a Friday, and I even told Jim now that I bought the mill a perfect lathe will come up while I'm out of play funds.  And that's exactly what happened 2 days later.  But thankfully the EBay god's shined on me and I sold a conversion and I barely had enough to get the lathe.  But it's exactly the lathe I was looking for.  And it's up and running, just need to find a couple of chucks for it. 

Now this milling head came up. I thank Jim for finding it. Saved me big bucks and is a big upgrade also. And it gives me a new project to work on.  I'm lost unless I have something going on like this.  My GF says I'm driven man. She has never been with someone like me. 

One of these days I'll stop buying machines.  

Oh no, what did I just say??? I think I may need to go lay down for awhile. I believe I'm experiencing temporary insanity


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## sanddan

Tell us more about the lathe you got.


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## alloy

You can read about it here.

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/picked-up-a-ghb-1340-today.38742/


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## alloy

More progress on the mill yesterday.  I got the head cleaned and painted this week and took it out to Jim's to put together.  Took most of the day for us to get it put together.  We had a problem wit the quill being very tight, way to tight to use.   After a lot of head scratching we discovered that the back gear section was mis aligned with the quill housing.  When I put it together there aren't any dowel pins to align it, just the bolts.  Jim said his identical head went together without any problems.   This was a new one on both of us.

Today Jim is working on making a new switch housing for the front of the mill.  It will have the FWD/REV, Speed, E-Stop, and a tach in it.

After this all that's needed to finish the mill is getting a VFD and wiring it, and figure out why the X axis scale isn't working.


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## JimDawson

A few pictures of the new switch box on the head.

The Acer VS head has a built in switch panel like the picture below.  The head that Alloy got at auction did not have that feature.




So why buy one when you can build it?  Not having an aluminum foundry to cast one, the next best thing is to just carve it out of a solid 3x6x12 chunk of aluminum.




So first make sacrificial base plate to attach it to.  6x12x3/8 aluminum over a chunk of 3/4 MDF bolted to the T-slots with flat head cap screws.  NOTE: the holes at the red arrows, these are dowel pin holes so to insure precise alignment when it's flipped over to do the work on the front side.  The other 3 holes are to bolt down to the T-slots through the entire piece while profiling the outside.  The 1/2 inch holes are drilled through where the switches and tach will go.  The four 1/4-20 holes are for securing it once it's flipped over.




This pic just kinda gives some perspective.  This is the original speed control from the Kent head.




Aligning the block to the base plate.  5/8 from the edge, this is so the holes in the part can be aligned to the T-slots.




Clamped in place for drilling





OK, now it's drilled and secured with the bolts.  First a face cut just to make sure it's flat.  Again the mating dowel pin holes.  The other two 1/2 inch holes are where the tool is going to plunge for the inside pockets.  Just gives the tool a bit of relief.




A couple of passes into the outside profile.  The end mill is a 1 inch, two flute, with a 4 inch length of cut.  Because of the long end mill, DOC was limited to 0.100 to prevent too much deflection and chatter.  900 RPM, @ 5 IPM feed.  This gives a chip load of 0.005 per tooth.  Coolant is WD-40 fogless spray mist.




Pocketing the inside, a couple of passes in.  Same conditions as above, but with the 1/2 inch bolts removed.  Clamps added to make sure it stays put.  This pocket will be 2.75 deep when finished.  It's running as I write this.  By the time it's done, we will have removed about 90% of the material in the original block.




More later, Stay tuned!  
.
.


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## coolidge

That's going to produce about 2 gallons of chips, keep the pics coming!


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## JimDawson

coolidge said:


> That's going to produce about 2 gallons of chips, keep the pics coming!



A bit more than that I think, this is just what is on top of the mill



OK, got the pocket done!   644 minutes of run time, I didn't think the end mill was going to make it through the last couple hundred thou!  Was getting pretty ragged, about 1000 minutes of total run time on it, well past it's expected service life.  I kept the chip load pretty high and the spindle speed down, with lots of coolant.  So that's how it survived.




Tomorrow I'll flip the part over and do the work on the face.  That won't take too long to run, only going about 1/4 inch deep on the face pocket.
.
.


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## mattthemuppet2

dayum. That's pretty crazy when a part takes that long to machine that the tool might not make it to the end!


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## JimDawson

It's done.  \

Adhering to the hobby machinist creed, why buy it when you can make it at 10 times the cost?  Pretty sure this part is available from Acer for a couple hundred bucks, but what fun is that?  Turning a hundred bucks worth of aluminum into a pile of chips is just too much fun.

OK,  the final operations.  I flipped it over and took a light skin pass on the top just to flatten it out, then pocketing the face 0.201 deep.  This will leave 0.150 for the face thickness.  3/8 solid carbide, 2 flute end mill.  3000 RPM, 10 IPM, .125 DOC, and a 40% stepover. 




The final pocket pass, about 61 minutes run time.




And the pocketing is finished, including the tach and switch mount holes.  Same end mill and conditions as above.  I again proved that the sign is important in entering the work height, the switch and tach pockets start at -0.201 in the Z axis, I entered 0.201 which means that it took three air passes before it started cutting metal.  Not very efficient, but the run time per pass was reasonably short and I'm not in that big of a hurry.  If I had to make another one I would fix that.




And the final operation; rounding over the edges.  For this I'm using a Harbor Freight, 0.062 radius, carbide router bit.  0.031 DOC per pass, 3000 RPM, 10 IPM.  I modify the bearing type router bits by removing the bearing then mill off the bearing stud so it will cut flush.  Don't get to greedy with the cut using a 1/4 shank router bit in a mill and keep it chucked up as short as possible..  




The nearly finished part, ready for deburr and a little filing in the tach hole to remove the corner radius so the tach will go in the hole.




And ready for installation...




Don't have the M6 cap screws yet, Guess I'll just have to hold it in place..


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## alloy

That looks great.  Thank you.

I have the legend plate for the on/off switch. It came in yesterday.  The cap screws are in my vehicle.


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## Silverbullet

Great job . Plus if you come across a motor for the other head you'll be in like flint for 50 years. Looks good even if you don't paint it , I think it's the perfect show off that your a true machinist. Yupp way to go.


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## alloy

If I run across a motor really cheap I'll pick it up and might put the head back together,   but doubt if I'll use the original head.  I like that new one is R8 and that great Super E motor would be hard to let go of and go back to the manual speed changer.

But Jim and I have lots of spare parts now. He has a project that he can use the old head to design the parts head needs to build for his mill.  Getting this mill was a win win for both of us.

And when I get the mill home and into service I can sell my Bridgeport and that gives me cash for the next score I run across 

  Hmm....... The question is can I bring myself to actually sell a tool??? Especially one that I rebuilt from the ground up.


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## mattthemuppet2

alloy said:


> Hmm....... The question is can I bring myself to actually sell a tool??? Especially one that I rebuilt from the ground up.



that all depends on what you can get with the money. Mortgage payment = no tool sale. CNC lathe = tool sale


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## alloy

My household money is separate so that's all covered. All of this is done with money from my business or money made from wheeling and dealing. 

So if I can bring myself to sell the Bridgeport I can spend it on any new toy I find.   

And I'm sure I can find something eventually


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## alloy

We got the mill pretty much done and we moved it to my place from Jim's.

I rented a drop deck trailer and we put skids under the mill and when we got it to my place I used a come along to pull it off the trailer.

I rotated the head up and it just clears my garage door by about 3/4". I plan on painting it so it's in the middle of the garage for now.

The X axis scale for the DRO is bad, so I'm going for a new 3 axis DRO for it, and have to get the power draw bar set up.

When it's all done I'll sell my Bridgeport.  My GF says she was shocked, couldn't believe I would want to sell a tool, specially one I rebuilt from the ground up.  But when I sell it there will be more money for new scores


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## coolidge

That thing is a beast and it came out really nice congrats!


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## alloy

Thanks.  Not done with it yet, but pretty happy with my investment in it.

 By the time I get a DRO on it I'll be in it for $2300.


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## alloy

Got the painting done today.  Took longer than I had hoped, a failed in tank fuel pump I had to replace on my daily driver set me back a week.

It's amazing what a little elbow grease and a few cans of paint will do to a machine. The name plates had a dingy brown paint on them, so I decided to give them a little bit of color to make them stand out some.

I'm going to drop by my local bearing supplier tomorrow after work and pick up a couple of bearings for the head.  Took one off and it feels good, but I can shake it and hear it rattle.  So better to replace them now than later when they seize.

All I have left to do now before I put it into service and sell my Bridgeport is get a DRO on it.


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## coolidge

Looks super!


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## JimDawson

Looking good.  Looks like a new mill.  Nice looking switch panel too


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## alloy

Thanks. Was a lot of work but well worth it I think.  I may not have painted it if it wasn't for the cream colored Acer head.   Yes the switch panel looks great. I considered painting it, but then you couldn't see how nice it looks.  

So since its a mix of Kent and Acer,  should I make up new name plates the say "Kacer"


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## Silverbullet

Super looking mill, gona be tuff to make it dirty at least at first , then . A quick wipe down and she will look good as new, I really like it great job. I still dream of a nice shop with perty machines yupp only a dream, my shops so full of tools I don't get to hardly use them . Wish somebody would trade or by my wood working shop. Oh well I keep trying . Good luck with your mill it really turned out super.


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## mksj

Really nice job, appreciate sharing the information. We sell so we can buy more.


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## alloy

Thanks everyone.  I'm really happy how it turned out.  

When I sell my Bridgeport I can buy a DRO for my lathe, and a 3 and 4 jaw chucks for it.

And I'll be looking for anther project when this is done.  I like to stay busy


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## JimDawson

alloy said:


> And I'll be looking for anther project when this is done. I like to stay busy



You'll have another project I ever get the programming done for your Shizouka, you'll have to learn how to use it!


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## alloy

That will keep me busy for at least a weekend or two


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## alloy

Pulled the head apart to replace a couple of bearings and decided to pull the caps off the motor.   Got a petty big surprise when I did.


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## John Hasler

That is, unfortunately, not very much of a surprise.   Every mechanic knows that you pump grease in until you see it come out around the seal, right?  Except you never see it come out on a motor...

Fortunately the grease won't hurt the insulation (but could cause the motor to overheat).  Clean it out with mineral spirits followed by hot soapy water followed by thorough drying (apply low voltage to the windings to warm them up).  It'll be fine.  Relube according to manufacturer's instructions.


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## alloy

The motor has a zerk, and on the opposite side a relief valve.  From what I can see apparently when the motor was new it had bearings that needed to be greased.  We are pretty sure the motor has been rewound and looks like the non sealed bearings have been replaced with sealed bearings so when you pump grease in it has no place to go but into the motor.

I found some Berryman electric motor cleaner listed at a parts store but even though it was supposed to be in stock I was told I'd have to order a  case.   So the next best thing I found was contact cleaner.  Did an OK job on the grease.  My main concern with the motor being controlled by a VFD was overheating at low speeds.  It's back together now.  Am waiting on a bearing to come in to finish putting the head back together.


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## coolidge

(channeling Todd Hoffman Gold Rush) What the freak?


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## alloy

Well the mill is officially done.  Made my first chips with it tonight. It was only drilling a couple of holes into a fixture base, but it is making chips.

Got the DRO on and have a little cable management  to do on the DRO cables and then move the Bridgeport out of it's spot and move the Kent into it's place.

This thing is quite.  I was drilling some holes tonight and all I heard was the drill cutting into the steel.

I'm going to have to do something with my down feed handle.  It hits the hi/low range lever.


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## Silverbullet

Major problem , two handles hitting , ok tell ya what I'm willing to do . Load that trouble making mill up on your trailer , then you drive that no good machine to New Jersey and you give it to that silverbullet guy. let him have it for four or five years and he will work those troubles out. Or you could just heat and bend the down lever to the right a few inches. Up to you I'm willing to see if I can teach it to operate correctly .


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## JimDawson

I dunno, you may have to scrap it.  Bring it on over and I'll take it in with the next load


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## alloy

Hmmmm...............that's a pretty long road trip and I only have 4 more days of vacation left.  I may not make it in time.  Can you do a youtube video on how to run it for me instead???   

But I just may end up scrapping it, I don't have a way to heat that darn handle to bend it


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## JimDawson

Just a thought, is the hinge pin in that handle?  Mine fell out and then the handle hit the Hi/Lo range lever.  I put a roll pin in mine.


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## alloy

I'll check on that.

Today I'm going to clean the Bridgeport up and take some pics of it, then work on moving it out.   I have to go get some pipe or maybe some conduit for rollers to move them.  I think conduit would be ok, it's much cheaper than pipe is.


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## alloy

The hinge pin is there.

I did a little "adjusting" on the down feed handle.  Works well now.

Looks like the road trip to New Jersey is out for now.  But...............something else may come up that changes that 


​


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## middle.road

And that's the head you scored at auction - right? 
Now that is some timing. And it is nice and quiet? I could go for that.
Considering it was bouncing around on a pallet for who knows how long...
That puppy is looking sharp.


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## 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.


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## 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.


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## 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??


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## coolidge

alloy said:


> 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.


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## 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.


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## 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.


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