# Bolts They Say Do Not Remove Because They Are Set At Factory?



## 737mechanic (Sep 3, 2016)

After reading some tech data they say there are some factory set bolts that you should not remove. I watched a youtube video of a a guy saying you have to take the so called factory bolts out in order to work on the head and he was going to show how to get the factory setting back but he never made a part 3 to the series.

My question is does anyone know how to set this factory setting after reassembling the head.

I have my mill head back together and it is running great but if there is some wear and tear taking place because it isn't set to the optimal setting I would like to know.


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## dlane (Sep 3, 2016)

What is it


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## JimDawson (Sep 3, 2016)

I guess we are going to need a bit more information.  I have torn down and rebuilt a few BP type heads, and can't think of anything that you can't set up by feel.  But then I never read the instructions either


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## Ulma Doctor (Sep 3, 2016)

i'm curious as to what factory setting we are discussing?
anything wrong would usually have an auditory or visual cue.


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## 737mechanic (Sep 3, 2016)

I am still looking for the tech data I read that said do not ever loosen these particular bolts but I can not find it yet. But here is the video and at mark 16:00 the guy talks about the factory adjustment.


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## 737mechanic (Sep 3, 2016)

Ulma Doctor said:


> i'm curious as to what factory setting we are discussing?
> anything wrong would usually have an auditory or visual cue.



Most of the time yes but in some cases you may not hear or see anything and not realize something isn't right until many hours later and then something tends to be prematurely worn or broken because it wasn't setup right. I just want to be sure this isn't that big of a deal.


 I think it might be where the direct drive splined gear hub meshes with the spindle pulley hub. If these where slightly off center they would still mesh but as they turned there would be extra stresses from not being perfectly lined up. 

Of course that is only a guess.


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## derf (Sep 3, 2016)

I think I got this.....the "factory setting" has nothing to do with torque values and such.
The last assembly he removed has no dowel pins for alignment, and therefore has to be "floated" in to seek it's own alignment. I've done this before. To float it in, you have to drive the spindle with an auxiliary motor from the bottom, while you tighten the bolts.


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## Tony Wells (Sep 6, 2016)

Could be as simple as calibrating the Reeves drive speed indicator. As I recall, some machines have adjustments for such. I've never heard of any special "do not remove" bolts on BP heads.


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## 737mechanic (Sep 6, 2016)

Ok I found where it says it.

http://hardingeus.com/usr/pdf/Knee Mills/SeriesIPartList4302Plus.pdf

Page 2-14.

It says to snug the nuts then run spindle to align splines then finish tightening nuts.

There is a disclaimer that says to call hardinge before attempting this procedure.


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## derf (Sep 7, 2016)

That's the same as I described above, maybe simpler. You don't want remove the bolts on the turret, because they connect to an inner ring that will fall down in the casting.


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## Tony Wells (Sep 7, 2016)

derf said:


> That's the same as I described above, maybe simpler. You don't want remove the bolts on the turret, because they connect to an inner ring that will fall down in the casting.




And the turret will fall off if you remove all 4. That part inside is called a spider, IIRC.


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## gatz (Sep 23, 2016)

If the mill in question is the BP series I or a step-pulley version that has a similar head, the turret won't fall off ........
IF the ram/head are moved to the rear as far as practical; it's just a matter of balancing the weight.
But, taking out all 4 bolts won't do much good if the BP column casting is solid, i.e. no side access door.

The older BPs Series I had a side door that allowed access to the "spider". Even some of the clones had the side door.
 I've repaired a few of those spiders due to stripped threads (don't ask how...)  but they were all of the type that had the door.
As an aside, putting in a riser can be a challenge with solid columns.

Textron, in its efforts to reduce manufacturing cost made somewhat of a mess of the BP machines
by eliminating some of the features that made BP the machine that it was.  And their QC was not up to par.
I can relate personal experiences with problems that came on new BPs once Textron got hold of them.


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## Tony Wells (Sep 24, 2016)

LOL...I only said that to make people pay attention. If it isn't balanced, yes, it can fall off, so I encourage people to have their lifting setup made and be ready to take the weight once they do removed all those bolts. 

And I totally agree about the risers. Don't care for them anyway. A necessary evil I suppose.


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## Sendit (Sep 25, 2016)

So what does these bolts do and how do you set them correctly?   I need to take the head apart to prep it for paint


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## Bill W. (Sep 25, 2016)

Sendit said:


> So what does these bolts do and how do you set them correctly?   I need to take the head apart to prep it for paint
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


If I'm not mistaken... I think it is pretty well explained in the replies above.


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## JimDawson (Sep 25, 2016)

Pretty sure we are talking about the the bolts that attach the lower head to the upper head assembly.  Apparently you have to float them in.  http://www.hobby-machinist.com/thre...se-they-are-set-at-factory.50079/#post-421737


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## Sendit (Sep 25, 2016)

That's Jim.  I don't want to screw up my first machine and the restoration guide doesn't mention it


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