# Received my PM949 and PM1340GT!!!



## [X]Outlaw (May 29, 2017)

They are finally here!!!! 

I place an order with Matt for these two machines late December 2016 and finally had them delivered to me last Thursday. Their trip was long (Taiwan-->USA-->Trinidad and Tobago) but they arrived in perfect condition. 

The service I received from QMT was great. Matt was always very helpful and always replied to emails in a timely manner. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone.

Mark Jacobs was also very, very, VERY helpful in helping me understand everything involved in 3PH electrical setup. I am lucky enough to have one of his control systems for my lathe and I really appreciate all his help. I will be documenting the build of my VFD enclosure as well as the installation of Mark's control system in this thread as well.

I spent Thursday afternoon getting the machines moved to the back of my place, a task that was made easier by using a skid steer that my wife got borrowed for me from her work. Friday morning was spend getting them moved into the shop with a couple of pallet jacks. This went fairly smoothly and the only thing extra I had to do was remove the handles and lead screw from the Mill's table to get some additional clearance though the door.

After I got everything inventoried I started cleaning up the lathe. The finish on these machines are very very nice. The mill is beautiful!

I'm Hoping to get the Mill off the pallet and put in place weekend. 

I'll document my setup progress on this thread. Hopefully it would be helpful to anyone considering any of these machines.

Looking forward to making some good parts with them in the coming months 

Chevy


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## kd4gij (May 29, 2017)

Nice looking machines.


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## brino (May 29, 2017)

You're gonna have some fun.
Congratulations!

-brino


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## tweinke (May 29, 2017)

Nice machines! Please do keep us updated on your progress!


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## ACHiPo (May 29, 2017)

Congrats!


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## DrAsus (May 30, 2017)

Nice! Really nice!!


Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## Alan H. (May 30, 2017)

Chevy, Congratulations on two very nice machines.  You are off to the races now!  Hope your budget is plush for all the tooling you will now be buying! 

You are wise person to acquire a Mark Jacobs control system for your lathe.  His system is top shelf and so is his help!  The combination of a good lathe and Mark's system aboard make for a very nice machine indeed.

Looking forward to following your progress here.


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## wrmiller (May 30, 2017)

Congratulations! I'll go get the popcorn and wait for the show. We need lots of pictures of course.


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## bss1 (May 30, 2017)

This is definitely the most interesting color scheme for a machine shop yet! Love the lavender and sea green!  All kidding aside, congrats on the new machines!


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## MonkMan (May 30, 2017)

You chose wisely, congratulations.....


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## [X]Outlaw (May 30, 2017)

*Allan *the budget for tooling is always an ongoing thing lol! I remember when I first got my Taig CNC mill everyone told me you're going to spend way more money on the tooling than the machine itself...truer words have never been spoken! This time I set aside a good bit for some nice tooling to start with.

*wrmillewr *I'll post lots of pictures as I start to put everything together (power distribution, VFD, DROs, Powerfeed etc) . This forum has been a huge resource for me when I was looking for information on these machines, I' hoping to give back something.

*bss1 *what can I say, I love color. I just couldn't bring myself to have a grey floor lol! I chose colors that would be relaxing on my eyes since I'm going to be spending a lot of time in the shop.

Chevy


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## [X]Outlaw (Jun 5, 2017)

A little update for you guys.

This past weekend I was hoping to get both machines off their pallets and put into final position in the shop. This turned into quite the adventure!

Getting the mill put in place was my real priority. So my dad and a friend of mine started early Saturday morning. we cut the pallet to size for the legs of the engine crane to fit around. The engine crane we used did not have the legs angled out like most currently on the market. Instead the legs were parallel to each other and can be extended out. This allowed us to get up really close from behind the machine with what was left of the pallet fitting perfectly inside the legs of the crane. It was looking like this was going to be a walk in the park...yea right! By the time we got the arm of the crane to the height were we could hook the two straps placed under the ram, the crane maxed out on travel!

So then I thought to myself...hey maybe another crane might have just a little more reach. Called up a buddy, he said to check him in a couple hours. So while waiting we focused our energies on getting the lathe mounted and in place. Which we did with no trouble to talk about. The only thing worth mentioning is that all of the six holes on the lathe lined up with the ones in the cabinets.....except one. The front inboard hole on the head stock side. No amount of wiggling or shifting got us the few mm we needed on that one hole. This isn't a huge issue, later in the week I'll just take a rotary tool and grind of the little bit of clearance that's needed working from inside/under the cabinet.

Having gotten the lathe mounted and feeling the first sense of accomplishment for the day we hopped in the wife's car and she drove us  about an hour to my buddy's place to borrow his crane. However when we got back to my shop we realized because the legs in his crane are angled we can't get it to slide up to the mill. So in our moment of despair my buddy was like...why don't we exchange the cylinders out between the cranes...hey it was worth a try right? lol. Needless to say that didn't make a difference.

By this time it was pretty late and we were pretty much beat so we decided to call it a day. We talked about possible solutions to this problem on Sunday morning and formulated out next plan of attack. We're going to try to find a suitable  "A" frame gantry crane that can fit in my shop. If we can't find one to borrow or rent by mid week we're going to build one out of 4x4 lumber and use a 2ton chain hoist on it. Either solution would make moving the mill short work.

I will defiantly take pictures of the setup and if we decide to go the build route I'll take pics of the build.

I leave you guys with our one win over the weekend. The lathe mounted with a preliminary clean up.

Chevy


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## wrmiller (Jun 5, 2017)

Nice! I love machine por....err...pics.


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## Silverbullet (Jun 5, 2017)

If you build a gantry crane to pick it up why not keep it built to pick things up to your mill. Rotary tables , vises, dividing heads, come to mind even chucks for the lathe. Believe me you will need it again , I'm or was a very strong man used to two hundred pounds daily at times all day long lifting moving machining and repeat. But now I'm unable to lift five pounds without pain. My cranes and lift tables have kept me being able to do things. I'm still planning on a large gantry in front of my shop, maybe even a small one in the shop , that may not be needed if my rolling shelf lift works out I have a 36" actuator with over 300 lbs push and pull I'm planning on mounting on the off corner of the shelf unit I built should work , with the counter balance of vises ,rotary table and mag drill on bottom. A swivel jib on top with straps and hook will lift and move. Nice machines I only dream of things like those. Good luck and hi I'm SILVERBULLET


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## [X]Outlaw (Jun 5, 2017)

Hey Silverbullet, the usefulness of a crane in the shop has not illuded me. Even before I realised that I would need a gantry to lift this mill I had plans to make a small crane specifically to lift all the tools you listed, especially the rotary table and dividing head.

I'm coming from a miniature world (Taig and Sherline machines) where chucks, vises, rotary table, even an entire lathe can be lifted with little effort. I knew when getting into full sized machines that I would need some assist in lifting equipment, plus almost everyone told me something along on lines of "You won't be young forever and your back will thanks you later in life".

The gantry we're going to build will be all bolted together so most likely it would be taken apart and stored for future use. However I still have a good bit of equipment to be moved into my shop (CNC mill, CNC lathe, TIG welding equipment, welding table, tool boxes etc.). So space is a bit of a premium. So I'll store the gantry crane in a dismantled state but I am going to build a small crane with casters and a winch for lifting chucks, rotary table, dividing heads etc.

I'll have quite a few projects that I would like to complete before the end of the year for the shop. Top of that list is a belt grinder and that small crane.

Oh and sorry for the fuzzy pics guys, I only realised this morning my phone camera was set to a low quality. I'll have better pics next time.

Chevy


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## [X]Outlaw (Jun 13, 2017)

So guys I'm ecstatic to say that we got the mill safely off the pallet and put in place this weekend 

It took five of us (My Dad, three friends and myself) about 4 hours working very slowly to get this thing down safely. We ended up using a 3 Ton engine hoist that had more travel and  reach than the more common 2 Ton engine hoist. Many thanks to my friend Trevor for getting this borrowed from the factory he works at. 

I could see why a lot of guys go with the smaller PM935. That said, I am very glad I went with the bigger machine despite the hurdle of moving it.

Sunday morning I managed to reinstall the X axis lead screw and handles as they were removed to get her through the door way. Then I took my time and gave her a good clean up. All the precision surfaces we perfect with zero scratches or cosmetic defects of any kind. All axis moved smooth as silk which put a huge smile on my face.

The only thing I really didn't like was the crank handle for the knee. The one that came with the machine was kinda rough and really didn't go with how nice the rest of the machine is so I got a nice polished chrome one from ebay for $30.

Next order of business is getting these two machines wired up for power, then unto DRO installation. Meanwhile I've started aquiering tooling and work holding items. I went with a Kurt DX6 for the mill and a Dorian BXA QCTP for the lathe. 

I am leaning towards ER32 tool holding for the mill over R8 but I haven't decided yet.

Here's a few pics of the mill all cleaned up.

Chevy


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## Rich V (Jun 13, 2017)

Nice setup mannnn (said in Bob Marley's voice )

I have the same lathe & mill - great choices.
For the mill I use both the ER32 collets and R8. The ER collets are very useful since a set will cover everything from 0.02 - 0.787 inches so you can cover the full range of tooling commonly used in a mill of this size. The R8 collets are useful as they present a shorter (and hence stiffer) tool holding option and they can be had cheaply.
If you are looking for some indexable lathe tool holders I purchased this set https://www.amazon.com/Accusize-Indexable-Carbide-Turning-2387-2005/dp/B01MSBL5Y8/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497370804&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=7+Pc+5/8''+Indexable+Carbide+Turning+Lathe+Tool+Set and I'm very happy with them.

This site is a wealth of knowledge for us hobbyists with some amazingly generous people willing to help and answer our questions.  Good luck in your quest for a quality home shop.
Rich


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## mksj (Jun 13, 2017)

Machines look great! 

Similar comments as Rich mentioned.  You most likely want both, but there are a few other options to also consider. Part of this will depend if you are using a power drawbar or not. On my old mill without a power drawbar, I used an ER32 system most of the time as it has very low TIR and was quicker for me. Rigidity wise, I think you would not notice the difference. On my new mill with a power drawbar, I almost exclusively use R8 collets and R8 integrated shank tooling. I do have an ER40 setup with a set of 1/32 collets (gives a tighter overlap as opposed to 1 mm increments), this allows the ability to hold 1" end mills and I also have a MT3 for the lathe tailstock. I often used an end mill in the tailstock to square up the base of a hole. The ER40 is definitely bigger, so not so good for smaller stuff if used on the mill.  In most cases with end mills used with an R8 collet, the end mills have fixed sized shanks so something like a 1/8" set will cover about everything or consider getting a few better collets for the most common sizes used. I have not had good success with the quality of some of the generic Chinese R8 collets, and recently replaced a few from Shar's that had too much runout. Vertex is Taiwanese, and they may be a bit better, otherwise you might consider Lyndex or Crawford  if you can get them at a reasonable price. A few of us have purchased the Crawford R8 collets from Rotagrip and they are great, but they are no longer in production.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERTEX-R8-R...1-8-to-3-4-for-Bridgeport-Mills-/231863951469 
http://www.rotagriponline.com/index...tegory_id=324&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=29
http://www.rotagriponline.com/index...tegory_id=324&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=29
http://www.ebay.com/itm/R8-CRAWFORD...869263?hash=item1c59fd7d8f:g:1L8AAOSwiLdWAvY~
http://www.ebay.com/itm/R8-CRAWFORD...291589?hash=item1c59f4ad05:g:1L8AAOSwiLdWAvY~

A few people use a quick change R8 setup, only reasonable if you purchase it from the UK as it is 2-3X more expensive from US distributors. 
http://www.rotagriponline.com/index...rt&page=shop.browse&category_id=173&Itemid=29


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## wrmiller (Jun 14, 2017)

[X]Outlaw: Enjoy the new machines!

While in Co I had the chance to buy a very large Lagun at a real good price. But at over 3500 lbs. It would have cost 3-4 times the cost of the mill to get it moved to AZ. Ouch! I'll just have to suffer with my little 935. It as done everything I've asked of it so far. 

FYI, I have Vertex collets and they are pretty decent quality at a reasonable price. And a ER32 holder for spinning real small cutters and burrs when working on tiny stuff.


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## [X]Outlaw (Jun 14, 2017)

Mark, those two reasons are exactly why I've been cosidering the ER32 system, very low TIR and I most likely wont be using a powerdraw bar. At least not in the immediate future. 

Bill, thanks for chiming in about the Vertex collets. I will also get a set of R8 collets (Vertex) for any occasion where clearance with a ER32 chuck would be an issue.

Rich, I'll add those tool holder you've recommended to a few other sets I'm evaluating. Oh...and IIMON! lol!


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## qualitymachinetools (Jun 22, 2017)

Looking great, hopefully one day I can get down there and see the shop in person! (Maybe when it is winter here haha)


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## [X]Outlaw (Jun 23, 2017)

No problem at all Matt. As we say in Trini "Pass through nah". (Means come by anytime).


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## [X]Outlaw (Jun 23, 2017)

Hopefully this weekend I'll get all my other equipment moved into the shop. Last weekend we were preparing for a tropical storm (Bret) that hit us around Monday night. Very thankfully to say our area (North East) didn't sustain any notable damage, the south of the island suffered some major flooding however, hopefully the waters will subside soon. We are forecast to have more bad weather this weekend. I had to turn back from going to work this morning (Central part of the island) because the Caroni River (our main river) overflowed onto the Hi-way, spent two hours in traffic before deciding to work from home. 

I did manage to install an Align 500P powerfeed on my X axis. Though it was pretty straight forward here are some things to keep in mind if this is your first install as it was mine.

1. There is a little steel bushing that slides onto the lead screw. At first this part was very tight fitting and I thought I would have to polish out the ID with some emery paper. Before I committed to that idea I measured the lead screw OD and the bushing ID and there was enough clearance for a nice slip fit.  When I took a closer look at what was happening I found that the bushing was actually catching on the chamfer on that part of the lead screw. A very light pass with a stone on the chamfer and the bushing slipped right on.

2. Take your time and set the correct backlash with the bevel gear, it takes a fair amount of trial and error. Assemble everything and make sure it turns smooth with the hand crank. I ended up with one 2mm and one 1mm shim to get it nice and smooth.

3. When everything is setup and you test your new powerfeed, that loud click sound you here when you shift from neutral to your desired direction in normal. This is the clutch engaging. Now I did think that the sound was the clutch engaging but I didn't know if it was normal for it to make such a sound. I spend a couple hours searching online to find and answer to this till I gave up and emailed Mark and Bestline. The both told me the sound was normal. Believe it or not..this is way took up most of my time as I thought I installed something incorrectly lol.

This week I've been working on the general layout for my VFD enclosures and have it more of less finalised. Once my wire ferrules and termination ends come in tomorrow I'll be able to get to work.

Chevy


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## Kiwi Canuck (Sep 7, 2017)

Outlaw, nice machines and thanks for showing them off.

Hopefully you are far enough South East to have missed most of Irma and you and your family are safe.

Was in Trinidad & Tobago on my way to sailing in BVI recently, very nice people around those parts.

Be well and give us an update when you can.

David.


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## [X]Outlaw (Sep 7, 2017)

Hey David,

Thanks for the thoughts. Thankfully we are far enough south not to west to have Irma miss us completely, so we're ok. I do feel it for the islands that did get hit, especially Barbuda and Antigua. The pictures I've seen from the damage in Barbuda is truly heart breaking. Hopefully the other CARICOM countries will send aid to help the get back on their feet. I also hope by some miracle Florida is spared. I don't think I recall any past years where there was this much intense activity.

Talking about sailing and BVI, I saw pics of the damage done to scores of sail boats there because of Irma. Hoped you enjoyed your stay in my Country 

A little update on the shop. Most of my equipment has been moved in except for my CNC mill. I have finished my VFD, power distribution and control system for the mill. I ran her motor up for the first time a couple weekends ago and everything worked great. Big thanks to Mark for all his help! This weekend I'm finishing up machining the mounting bracket that attaches the switch control box to the knee of the mill and hooking it up to the VFD.

I will post a detailed write up about my VFD and control system installation next week with lots of pics.

This is the current state of the shop thus far 





Chevy


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## Rich V (Sep 8, 2017)

Great looking shop!
Glad to hear that nasty lady didn't drop by for a visit.


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## Robert LaLonde (Sep 8, 2017)

Silverbullet said:


> If you build a gantry crane to pick it up why not keep it built to pick things up to your mill. Rotary tables , vises, dividing heads, come to mind even chucks for the lathe. Believe me you will need it again , I'm or was a very strong man used to two hundred pounds daily at times all day long lifting moving machining and repeat. But now I'm unable to lift five pounds without pain. My cranes and lift tables have kept me being able to do things. I'm still planning on a large gantry in front of my shop, maybe even a small one in the shop , that may not be needed if my rolling shelf lift works out I have a 36" actuator with over 300 lbs push and pull I'm planning on mounting on the off corner of the shelf unit I built should work , with the counter balance of vises ,rotary table and mag drill on bottom. A swivel jib on top with straps and hook will lift and move. Nice machines I only dream of things like those. Good luck and hi I'm SILVERBULLET



I friend of mine recently gave me an old chair lift for an electric wheel chair.  My plan is to mount it to a heavy tool cart so I can use it to swing vises on and off my mills.  Just clamp the buckle in the vise and go.  I can easily lift the vises I have.  The two biggest ones I have (8 inch) only about 100 lbs, but lifting and leaning in over a table to set it in place is something I can feel pulling in my back.  I've done it a few times, but I know if I keep doing it I'll damage something.  One bed mill I have with an enclosure requires a real long reach in to set a vise on the table.  The arm on the chair lift would reach right in there.  It would be kind of like a pickup bed crane, but with an electric winch instead of a hand crank.


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## [X]Outlaw (Sep 11, 2017)

Hey guys,

So here's where I'm at in getting my machines up and running. So far all my efforts have been focused on the mill. Besides cleanup and leveling I haven't done anything with the lathe yet. Hopefully I should be able to start working on her later this month.

This is the VFD and power distribution system I built (Many thanks to Mark for his wiring diagrams). Apart from powering the VFD it provides 12V and 24V DC power for devices such as work lights, tachometer solenoids and relays. It also supplies 120v to the DRO and powerfeeds. This way all equipment for the machine is powered on or off with one switch.




The motor on this machine is a two speed, 3ph, 3HP, constant HP. Below is the motor name plate showing the wiring diagram for the two speeds. I opted to wire it on the low speed side (4(8)P) this way you get double the torque on the low end.  For top end speed I would run the VFD between 60-100Hz. On the highest pulley @ 100Hz I should get a top speed of ~4500RPM.




When I opened the motor wiring box I realized that the entry hole for the motor wires had a sharp edge to it. So I took out the box filed the edges of the hole then used some fuel tubing to make a grommet so that the wires have zero change of coming in contact with any sharp edges. 




Motor wire up in 4(8)P configuration. For motor to VFD I used 14 AWG shielded VFD cable that has both a braided shield as well as a drain wire.




Wiring for my control box. I should have really used a 9 conductor cable for this but I couldn't find any at a reasonable price. I had a good supply of shielded 3 and 2 conductor cable from previous projects so I opted to make use of those.




Now I bought legend plates for the direction switch as well as the speed pot. However when I installed them they looked..well I didn't like how they looked lol. So I decided to design and make my own  Below is my Taig CNC mill engraving my legend plate. I didn't have the proper V bit on hand so I just used my smallest spot drill and tested at different DOC till the engraving looked right.




Finished plate







I knew from the start I wanted the controls mounted to the knee in front the machine. I don't like (read loathe) drilling holes into machines unless its absolutely necessary such as mounting DRO scales. So I designed and machined a mount for the control box that utilizes the existing M8 bolts on the Y Axis end plate.

Top to bottom: 

1. Switch box mounting plate. The slots cut in it are for 1/2" velcro straps for some cable management.
2. Bracket that mounts to the Y axis end plate
3. Extension that connects the Bracket and the mounting plate together. These two parts could have really been made as one but the Taig mill doesn't have that amount of travel and more importantly I just didn't want to machine one half, index and then machine the second out of one piece of stock.
4. This is an isolator made out of some scrap .062" engraving plastic. The Y axis end plate is aluminum and I wanted to prevent any chance of it galling when the mounting bracket is bolted on top of it.




Switch box mount assembled




Cable straps




So that's where I'm at. This week I hope to wire up the controls to the VFD and make the mount for the E-Stop switch which will go on the head, where the stock switch was located.

Chevy


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## Kiwi Canuck (Sep 11, 2017)

WOW, that is nice work.


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## 4cyclic (Sep 11, 2017)

Very nice work, impressive.


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## grantj (Sep 15, 2017)

damnit, now I need to redo my wiring...

Very clean install.


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## [X]Outlaw (Nov 14, 2017)

So a little update.

In the process of installing Mark Jacobs control system in the lathe I needed to modify the current control panel to add two additional switches; Proximity override and braking stage. 

Taking a bit of inspiration from Mark's custom panels I opted to make a new panel from scratch instead of modifying the original.
The panel consist of two parts, an aluminum back plate and an engraved legend plate.
The border around the legend plate was machined to 2mm thickness to keep the same fit and flow of the original panel. The rest of the plate is 2.9mm thick to give it a nice solid feel.
As always, all the work was done in my shop 

Back plate and engraved legend plate.








Assembled and ready for installation on the lathe.




Original panel vs mine.


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## [X]Outlaw (Feb 21, 2018)

So quite a bit of time has passed since my last update. In that time I've got a bit more done. Here are some pics of my progress.

Lathe VFD and power distribution box completed.




Mark Jacobs Control system installed



Control panel with custom legend plate installed.



Dorian BXA tool post. I spent a lot of time researching tool post and I really wanted to go with the multifix system but when I looked at the cost of the holders it became less attractive to me. Import holders for Aloris type tool post cost about $20 while a multifix holder cost around $70. I bought a couple holders from Shars, a couple from Amazon (Accusize brand) and a boring bar holder from Matt. All fit perfectly. The hardware included with them were not bad quality either, I actually tried to strip a couple of the set screws and could not. They did come covered with that gritty oil so before putting them into service they got a clean down with brake cleaner and oiled back up to prevent rusting.

IMO the Accusize were finished just a hair better so I got about 20 in those to hold all the tools I've been accumulated while I got the lathe ready.




Y axis DRO scale installed. I opted to make all my mounting brackets instead of using those that came with the kit. This allowed me to fit everything exactly as I wanted. 

When mounting the scale I was very hesitant to drill into the machine with a hand drill, so I made up a drill jig and clamped it to the machine. This work out great. I had to space my scale out about .25" since the casting wasn't perfectly flat. I also had to use a shim on one end to take out a bow of about .015". In the end I got my scale aligned in both axis to 1.5" end to end.







Cross slide scale spacer. The drilling and tapping of the M5 mounting holes into the cross slide was done on the mill. On top the spacer there are two M5 threaded holes to mount the scale shield.



Easson ES 12B DRO mounted on the electrical box. The holes were drilled on top of the electrical box before the control system was installed.



Compound graduations. Just having a little fun here but it does make the scale easier to read. I used my wife's nail polish to do the inlay, to my surprise it holds up perfectly against oil.



Knee powerfeed installed on the mill. Align Model AL-500P. They are about twice the price of other powerfeeds on the market but in my research the quality of these units are worth it. I also have one on my X axis. 

Installation was pretty straight forward and Matt from PM was very helpful when I ran into a snag removing the dial nut. After everything is installed and adjusted with the provided shims, the assembly is then drilled through and pinned with a 5mm roll pin as can be seen in the picture between the castle nut and the bevel gear. I made up a little jig that clamped onto this assembly to ensure I drilled this hole straight.  

I must say...I cannot (refuse to) fathom operating a knee type mill without powerfeed LOL!  






Tachometer and LED work light installed. Mark Jacob designed the tachometer and work light setup for this machine, its quite elegant in its design I may add. On of the problems with mounting a tach on this machine is there is no where sutabble for mounting the sensor. 

Mark overcame this problem by mounting the hall effect sensor into the housing that holds the LED ring light. This mounts on the end cap of the quill. The magnet for the sensor to read is embedded into a ring with is mounted on the spindle nose. The ID of both assembles where machined (by Mark) to a tight fit (based on measurements I provided) and secured in place by two tiny set screws.

The only change I made to the system was a toggle switch to turn the LED off when not needed.



Close up of the two assemblies. You can just see the magnet to the right.



Tach enclosure with LED switch. I got a few of these little enclosures from amazon for about $10 to house the tach display and associated wiring in. They are pretty nice for the price. The tach display for the lathe will be housed in the same type of enclosure.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014K8XJSM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1




Mitutoyo quill DRO installed. I've relied on this unit many times since installing it to do slotting and counter sinks to a precise depth.

Installation wasn't as smooth as I hoped. There were two holes that I had to countersink a little deeper for the bolts to sit flush otherwise the backplate would not sit flat against the head. Also four bolts that mount the backplate to the reader head were not long enough. Once I sorted out those two issues it was a bolt on and indicate straight affair. I also have a similar scale that I plan to mount to the tail stock of the lathe.

Once installed the unit performs very nice.



I've been using the mill almost everyday since the beginning of the year and I really enjoy the Kurt DX6 vise. As far as vises go its a real beauty. The only thing I added was a speeder handle. I didn't bother to install vise keys because it doesn't take me long to tram a vice in. I've been contemplating getting a second for when working with long parts. 




The mill itself is a beautiful machine, I enjoy every minute working on it. Even though I don't have DROs installed on it yet I am able to hit all my desired dimensions to within .001" using the handwheels and taking care to account for backlash. 

Well thats all for now, hopefully in my next update I will have the DROs installed on the mill.

Chevy


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## Kiwi Canuck (Feb 21, 2018)

Superb job, very tidy.

On the mill I see just the Tach and Emergency Stop, where did you put the forward reverse control?

David.


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## ch2co (Feb 21, 2018)

I'm jealous, both for the machinery and the place that you live. Great setup. Congrats!
and as mentioned above keep the photos coming.


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## Alan H. (Feb 21, 2018)

Chevy, Congrats on getting it all up and tuned up.  First class machines and upgrades.

I am curious about the powerfeeds on your mill.   What brand are they?  You mention Align but I see Bestline on one of them.


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## [X]Outlaw (Feb 21, 2018)

Thanks for the compliments guys.



Kiwi Canuck said:


> Superb job, very tidy.
> 
> On the mill I see just the Tach and Emergency Stop, where did you put the forward reverse control?
> 
> David.



David, all the other controls for the machine are mounted on a bracket bolted to the knee. Check out post #28 of this thread (linked below). Halfway through that post details the control box wiring and mounting.

https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/received-my-pm949-and-pm1340gt.59421/post-512098



Alan H said:


> Chevy, Congrats on getting it all up and tuned up.  First class machines and upgrades.
> 
> I am curious about the powerfeeds on your mill.   What brand are they?  You mention Align but I see Bestline on one of them.



Hey Alan, they are both Align brand. 

The X  (AL-500PX) axis power feed I bough from Eisen Machinery via ebay and that came with an Align nameplate as well as an Align hologram sticker.
The Z powerfeed was ordered from penntoolco.com. I did call them before hand to make sure that they carried the latest model, AL-500PZ and not the older AL-500SX. They informed me that it would be the latest model since it would drop ship from the Bestline which is the Align dealer in North America. 

I could only assume Units that come from Bestline are re-badged with their nameplate, so I don't know if Eisen gets their units from another supplier.

Bestline website :
http://www.bestlinepro.com/power-feeds.asp

Align Powerfeed web page
http://www.align.com.tw/other-en/powerfeed/

In any case both came with Align documentation and packaging.

I know you are in the process of sourcing a knee powerfeed for your PM935 so here are a couple of extra pictures showing both the X and Z units. Hope it helps you out.

Knee powerfeed



Table powerfeed



Chevy


----------



## Kiwi Canuck (Feb 21, 2018)

OK thanks Chevy, I forgot you did that, but as soon as I went back I remember seeing how you did yours.

Not the first time I've forgot something and probably not the last time.

David.


----------



## Alan H. (Feb 21, 2018)

Thanks Chevy,
I think Bestline claims to be the distributor.  But if you look at Firestopper's thread on his new 1640 he bought from Acra, Paco posted a photo of Acra's warehouse.  In that photo you see they have a load of Aligns on the shelf.  In addition, as you mentioned, Eisen sells them too at an attractive price.

BTW, I spoke with the owner of Penntool and traded a few emails with him.  He confirmed that he gets his via Bestline.

I have been a bit confused as to why Bestline is rebadging Aligns and tried to find out why but gave up since it was low stakes to me.   Perhaps it is an arrangement with Align, who knows?   Meanwhile I also became doubtful that Bestline really has the exclusive distributorship in the US.  I suspect if you can do a large enough volume, Align will sell direct to you.  I see evidence that Eisen and Acra are examples.   Was your Penntool order shipped to you from Bestline?

So enough speculation, what is important is that the Aligns are top shelf.  Their turndown on the speed control is vastly superior to the Chinese made ALSGS units.  The ALSGS units are widely rebadged and their business model must be premised on this method of distribution.  The ALSGS units are okay but they are not equal to the Aligns.  I now have one of each since I actually now have an Align on the Z of my PM935.  I am now evaluating replacing the the X I have with an Align.   The PM935 and PM939 are fine machines and deserve the best!  

So congrats on the great equipment and thanks for the detailed background on the powerfeeds.


----------



## Kamloopsendo (Feb 21, 2018)

[X]Outlaw said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> So here's where I'm at in getting my machines up and running. So far all my efforts have been focused on the mill. Besides cleanup and leveling I haven't done anything with the lathe yet. Hopefully I should be able to start working on her later this month.
> 
> ...


Very nicely done, I  just ordered the same mill and am learning from what you are doing.  Thanks for posting.


----------



## [X]Outlaw (Feb 22, 2018)

Alan H said:


> Thanks Chevy,
> I think Bestline claims to be the distributor.  But if you look at Firestopper's thread on his new 1640 he bought from Acra, Paco posted a photo of Acra's warehouse.  In that photo you see they have a load of Aligns on the shelf.  In addition, as you mentioned, Eisen sells them too at an attractive price.
> 
> BTW, I spoke with the owner of Penntool and traded a few emails with him.  He confirmed that he gets his via Bestline.
> ...



Alan, That's quite an interesting insight to the Align distribution. I can't remember if the Penntool order was shipped directly from Bestline as that was some time ago. I think you would really like the Align unit on the X. I have nothing to compare them with but the speed control on the Align allows a nice fine speed control.



Kamloopsendo said:


> Very nicely done, I  just ordered the same mill and am learning from what you are doing.  Thanks for posting.



You are really going to enjoy that machine!


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## AirWolf (Feb 24, 2018)

Nice toys!... err - I mean tools!  
Very nice install work, especially like the legend plate and your idea of nail polish on the graduations, I'm borrowing that idea tomorrow!


----------



## Kamloopsendo (Mar 24, 2018)

Just really read your thread in detail today - VERY nicely done.  I have a 935 on order but am really thinking that despite the obvious hassle of the extra 1000lbs the 949 would be a better choice.  I noticed in your pic of the power supply it seems like only two cables come in and out of the box - what did I miss, 220/240 single phase into switch, 220/240 3 phase out to motor and at least on cable with control inputs from the panel on the mill and 110 out to DRO etc.  I'm getting a VFD from Matt to control the mill so plan to build a system very similar to yours.  
How has the location of your machine mounted controls worked out - any issue with swarf/lube etc on the controls?  I have a 1340 like yours with Mark's very slick control circuitry and love the set up.  I am basically a complete newby so please be patient if the questions seem a bit simplistic.


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## [X]Outlaw (Mar 25, 2018)

Hey Kamloopsendo,

Ask all the questions you want.

VFD cables going from back right to top left:

220v single phase in from line
120v to 15amp power strip. This provides power to the powerfeeds as well as the DRO
220 3Phase out to motor
Control wiring bundle from control switch box, E-Stop and power to LED light and Tachometer.







Also took a pic of the dro scale installation on the lathe cross slide.











This is how I routed my cables to keep them out of the oil and chips.






I myself went back and forth between the PM935 and the PM949. For me these machines would most likely stay with me for the rest of my life so I decided to bite the bullet and get the biggest that I could afford. I have no regrets with going with the 949. She was a beast to put into place but I
love every minute working with her.

This is the milI I've been using for the last 5 years (Taig CNC):





Every part that I made for the 949 shown in this thread was made on her, including the engraving of the switch plates. She being setup here in her new place opposite the 949 and most likely would continue making chips there unless I get a big enough demand for CNC'd parts that are outside of her work envelope. Then I would have to consider replacing her with something bigger.  

With regards to the placement of the control box on the mill. I'm happy as to its position. It is very comfortable for me to use. Chips do get on it when I use my 2.5" shell mills (but those make a mess everywhere). So when I use those I just put a paper towel over the control box to keep the chips off.

The next couple projects I'm currently working on right now is :

1. An outboard spider and tachometer sensor mount for the lathe. I'm using Allan's drawings for the spider (Thanks for sharing these Allan). 
2. DRO installation for the mill
3. Lubrication system for the lathe QCGB.

I'll share some pics of those as I make progress.

Chevy


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## wrmiller (Mar 25, 2018)

One of these days I need a legend plate made for my 1340.

And I look forward to your lube system for the Norton gearbox. This is something I need to do as well. Carry on Sir.


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## Kamloopsendo (Mar 25, 2018)

[X]Outlaw said:


> Hey Kamloopsendo,
> 
> Ask all the questions you want.
> 
> ...


Thanks Chevy,  There are wires in todays pic I didn't see in last September's the work you've performed does indeed look VERY nicely done.  I will undoubtedly have questions when reality hits and the unit arrives (Mid May maybe?).  
Alex


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## Kamloopsendo (Mar 27, 2018)

[X]Outlaw said:


> Hey Kamloopsendo,
> 
> Ask all the questions you want.
> 
> ...


Chevy:  Couple of questions - first is how heavy was that head unit that has to be lifted into place.  I have only a 10' ceiling so the fork truck won't do it.  did you custom build a frame to get it in place?

2nd is I assume besides powering your coolant pump relay and the 12V P. supply for the tach that the 24V power supply provides lighting power.  Looks like a ring light that you had installed - if so does it work well for you, I have old eyes that need LOTS of light  I even thought about two of those articulated lights such as came with my 1340GT lathe but not sure that 120 watt MW unit would handle it. 

Thanks again
Alex


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## [X]Outlaw (Mar 29, 2018)

Hey Alex,

Are you talking about putting the mill in place? I also have a 10' ceiling so a forklift was out of the question for me as well. We used a pallet jack to move it into position. Once it was roughly in its final location we used two engine cranes to get it off the pallet. It was a big of a struggle to get it of the pallet and I was pretty stressed so I don't remember exactly how we positioned everything LOL. If I ever have to do it again I would build a gantry to lift it.

You are spot on about the 12v and 24v power supplies. The ring light works very well, especially for looking at your scribe lines. 

Chevy


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## Kamloopsendo (Mar 30, 2018)

Chevy, it appears the mill is broken down for shipping so I wondered about the challenge of lifting what I presumed to be the head ( motor / drive / spindle assembly) into place.  I had hoped to be able to use a pallet jack as well although I can get a fork truck with a low mast height in the shop if I have to.  I was wondering about getting it off the pallet, gantry might be the best (spelled safest) way but I've no use for one later in the shop . 

 I'm also thinking of installling a wall mounted light crane wirh a trolley (max lift 150# @ 4 foot radius) as it would service both the lathe and mill when I want to move heavy stuff such as chucks, vises, rotary table, dividing head, whatever but too light to help with mill install. 

Where did you get the ring light from - looks kike a  GREAT idea.  I'm thinking of using a simple mist system such as Kool Mist which requires no power (compressed air of which I have lots) as reviews seem favourable and it should be less messy (I hope)..  Gantry should be easy to build and I guess I could later use the steel for something else.

Thanks for the responses, hope the Easter Bunny is Generous down there!

Alex


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## [X]Outlaw (Mar 30, 2018)

Alex,

As far as I know these mills are not broken down for shipping. They are shipped fully assembled with the head turned 180*, i.e. spindle pointing upwards and motor towards the table. I also think that a gantry is one of the safest/easiest ways to get I of the pallet. However the majority of 935 owners on this forum have been able to lift theirs of the pallet with a single engine hoist.

The wall mounted crane is a great idea. I could manage with the lathe chucks but my 10" rotary table takes a crane (engine hoist) to put in place.

That particular ring LED was sent for me by Mark (mksj) on this forum. The mount its on also houses a hall effect sensor for the tachometer. This part was made by Mark. You can see the details in post #33 of this thread. However ebay is a great source for LED ring lights and there are quite a bit of aftermarket kits made specifically for mounting on the spindle of a mill.

On my CNC mill I use the FogBuster system and it works great at both clearing chips and making a huge mess but I guess you can't have it both ways LOL. I haven't had the need to use coolant on the 949 as yet, when I do it would most likely be another FogBuster system.

Have a great Easter! 

Chevy


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## [X]Outlaw (May 10, 2018)

Finished up my Spider for the lathe using Allan's drawings. Thanks for sharing these Allan! 

I did use metric hardware instead of what was called out in the drawing. For the adjusting set screws I used M10 with spring loaded ball bearings on the tips. M6 brass tipped set screws were used for mounting to the lathe's spindle. There is a 10mm pocket for the tachometer's magnet. A 3mm hole was drilled thorough the center of this pocket to aid in the removal of the magnet if needed.

Thumb nuts are made from 360 brass and the spider body from 2.5" 4140 tubing.



























Chevy


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## mksj (May 10, 2018)

Looking good Chevy, nice work. I needed to bore my cover to fit the spider,  I mounted it on my mill and used a boring head.
Mark


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## Silverbullet (May 11, 2018)

Nice job on the spider , clean and well made , like the ball barrel mounts. I think with those three would work really good. ...... but I guess four make easier set up.


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## Kamloopsendo (Aug 21, 2018)

Chevy:  I"m coming around to your thoughts about putting the control panel on the right front off of the knee rather than where I'd planned off the head.  Any second thoughts about placement or issues with it as I'm planning on a very similar layout for the control switches while mounting my DRO and Tach on the left side of the head (where the original motor control switch was mounted).   Thanks for the help so far.
Alex


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## [X]Outlaw (Aug 21, 2018)

Hey Alex, I've been using that machine almost every day for most of this year and I'm very happy with the location of my controls.

Main controls on the knee
Tachometer and emergency stop where the original drum switch was on the head

I actually recently started to install my DRO for this machine and mounted the display on an adjustable arm that mounts on the ram using the thread that the lifting eye goes in. I'll take a picture for you tomorrow.

Chevy


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## Kamloopsendo (Aug 22, 2018)

[X]Outlaw said:


> Hey Alex, I've been using that machine almost every day for most of this year and I'm very happy with the location of my controls.
> 
> Main controls on the knee
> Tachometer and emergency stop where the original drum switch was on the head
> ...


----------



## [X]Outlaw (Aug 22, 2018)

So these are some of the things I've been working on since my last update.

*Installed DRO display on an adjustable arm. The arm mounts on the 3/4-10 threaded hole on the ram.*
















The arms are 30mm square mild steel tubing that was notched to fit the round pieces. The round pieces were turned/bored on the lathe and welded in place.

Hinge pieces











Notched Tubing






Welded






The delrin washers and aluminum caps were also made on the lathe.






*FogBuster installed*

*



*

The head is installed on a Noga arm for easy positioning






And swings out of the way when not needed 






The brass part is an M8 threaded adapter I made to attach the misting head to the Noga arm.
The aluminum part allows the Noga arm to be mounted to the head of the mill.






Test fitting the adapter











*The proximity stop that Mark makes for his control system is beautiful. This is my final pass on this M8 thread @ 210RPM utilizing the proximity stop. *


__
		https://flic.kr/p/28HtXBM

*The lathe also got a pump oiler to lubricate its QCGB*






I did not make a manifold like Mark, David and Alan did. When I was testing this setup I found that two pulls of this pump was enough to fill the entire gallery with oil. After two pumps I checked the gears inside the QCGB and all the gears had oil dripping on them. 

So instead of making a manifold I just ran the Tygon tubing from the pump to the gallery. I lined the base of the gallery with medical gauze secured by magnets at each corner. 

The gauze does a few things:

1. Helps distribute the oil throughout the entire gallery
2. Acts as a time release for the oil. Without it the oil just drains out in a very short space of time
3. Acts as a filter for the oil ports.






*Lathe Tachometer sensor mount*






Alex,

The only reason I mounted my emergency stop on the head was because it just felt more natural to me to reach up and hit it in case of an emergency.

Chevy


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## external power (Aug 22, 2018)

X   That's some very nice work and a fine set up you got .


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## Kamloopsendo (Aug 23, 2018)

VERY slick Chevy, I too love  that proximity switch Mark builds into his lathe controls, it makes internal threading a joy without having to thread in reverse to be safe and consistently stops within less than .0005" and usually within 2 or 3 ten thou.  Given my height I think my emerg stop is going on the panel off the knee, I need a step  ladder to do a belt/pulley change for mine so that position is a bit too high to work for me.
I do love the DRO display set up tho' and might copy that and might put my tach on it as well along the line of what I did with my lathe DRO.






I'm thinking that that is one place to look for all my digital info and I really like your idea of that adjustable arm - any decent monitor mount would work also with minor adaptation to fit the bolt hole you used.  Interesting thoughts on the lube set up for the quick change gear box - I have picked up a pump and tubing to install and planned to make a header with 1/2" copper pipe and had planned to solder in a 1/2 dozen or so 1/8" copper tubes to the 1/2 copper header to distribute the oil but I like simple so might try a version of what you did - Great Idea.
My tach mount is pretty mickey mouse compared to what you did, I'd no Mill when I hooked it up (still don't have on running!) and simply hammered one out of 1/8" MS plate - works but looks a bit tacky!






Do you have Marks proximity sensor for the back gear on your set up?  The idea of having forward always forward and reverse always reverse appeals to me.

Must say it's hard to believe you actually do the work in you shop, that place always looks so CLEAN and neat, VERY impressive set up!  Thanks for posting and responding to questions.
Alex


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## [X]Outlaw (Aug 25, 2018)

Sounds great Alex,

The most important thing about placement of controls is the it's comfortable to the operator.

I don't have Mark's proximity sensor for back gear, for me it's not a big deal to switch the motor to reverse.

Anyone that visits the shop always ask if I do actually work there lol. I like starting my day in a clean shop, so the last hour of everyday I clean up and oil down my tools.

Chevy


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## Kamloopsendo (Aug 25, 2018)

[X]Outlaw said:


> Sounds great Alex,
> 
> The most important thing about placement of controls is the it's comfortable to the operator.
> 
> ...


----------



## [X]Outlaw (Oct 22, 2018)

Finished up the X and Y axis scales on my mill.

The X was very straightforward.

The Y axis required a little more effort. Since the casting on the knee is not perfectly flat I made a mounting bar out of 1/2" x 1.5" aluminum bar with adjusting screws on each end. Once this was indicated in it provided a flat parallel surface to mount the scale to. The scale was then dial indicated in to be parallel with the axis travel. I didn't want to use those hideous angle brackets that came with the kit so I machined all the brackets myself. The mounting bar also has two M5 tapped hols on top of it to mount the scale cover. I did this to keep the installation compact as possible. The cover is made from .0625" aluminum angle.

The Z axis is all that's left to be done now. After depending on dials for the last year I'm looking forward to using this machine with the DRO.
































Chevy


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## Janderso (Oct 22, 2018)

I am wiping up the druel off my chin...


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## wrmiller (Oct 22, 2018)

That mill is way too clean...


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## Kiwi Canuck (Oct 22, 2018)

I'm impressed, it just keeps getting better.

Thanks for the motivation to go clean my shop.

I like to start in a clean shop each day as well, but the last guy in there never seems to cleanup

I'll have a talk with him tonight.

David


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## Kamloopsendo (Nov 1, 2018)

GEEZ Chevy, now I gotta get into my shop and finish up my mill install, you've done a FABULOUS job of that install AND of motivating me!  I've spent the last two weeks catching up on Yard work that got behind since we were basically out of the country until the 15th of October.  VERY nice install, you set a high standard for the rest of us (well me at least)
Alex


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## Kamloopsendo (Dec 6, 2018)

Chevy,  I'm not mounting my DRO and I'm doing the X axis first, should be straightforward but the mounting for the sensor which bolts directly to teh knee has NO adjustment option as far as I can see.  AND, I have serious doubts as to my ability to drill two 4mm threaded holes in the knee to hold it within the tolerances (about 4 thou) spec'd in the instructions.  How did you handle that - or am I being a bit to anal?
Alex


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## [X]Outlaw (Dec 6, 2018)

Hey Alex,

Having to drill holes that have no provision for adjustment can be a bit nerve wracking.

Here is how I did it. First of all take your time, no need to rush.

1. Install the scale to the table first. This way its held in place. I mounted the bottom of the scale body flush with the bottom edge of the table. 
2. I then trammed my scale in to within .003" over its travel. Its beneficial to do this first so that when you drill the holes into the saddle there is little to nothing to adjust after.
3. Center up the read head on the back of the saddle.
4. Find a drill bit that fits snug into the holes of the reader and use it to center mark your first hole. Be sure that the spacer for the read head in installed so the head is gapped properly to the scale.
5. Move your read head out of the way and carefully center punch your marked hole.
6. Center drill your hole.
7. Drill and Tap for M4.
8. Move your read head back into position and bolt down the side that you just drilled and tapped on the saddle.
9. Mark your second hole.
10. Move your read head out of the way and punch, spot, drill and tap the second hole as you did the first.

I did it that exact way and it came out perfect. It helps if you use a stub (screw machine length) drill instead of a jobber. The shorter drills are easier to control especially in a tight place.

Regards
Chevy


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## Kamloopsendo (Dec 6, 2018)

[X]Outlaw said:


> Hey Alex,
> 
> Having to drill holes that have no provision for adjustment can be a bit nerve wracking.
> 
> ...


Chevy, thanks for the quick response, the block on the sensor is threaded M5 0.8 so running even M4 bolts thru does run into threads, did you ream out the threads on the sensor block? to allow the M4 bolts to pull the sensor to the knee?  That's my plan at this point.
Alex


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## [X]Outlaw (Dec 6, 2018)

Alex,

The M4 bolts pass through the M5 threads without any modification to the reader head.

Chevy


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## Kamloopsendo (Dec 6, 2018)

[X]Outlaw said:


> Alex,
> 
> The M4 bolts pass through the M5 threads without any modification to the reader head.
> 
> Chevy


Indeed they do, I actually did try an M4 bolt and it felt like the threads bit but guess I had it a hair off.  Sounds pretty straightforward if a bit fiddly to do.  Thanks for the response and patience!
Alex


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## gyromike (Dec 6, 2018)

I used the same procedure as Chevy, except I marked the hole location with a transfer punch.
And yes it was a little nerve wracking drilling holes in a new machine!


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## Kamloopsendo (Dec 7, 2018)

Thanks for the guidance Chevy (and Matt and GyroMike) got it installed, As you can see it ain't perfect the reader head is slightly askew but within 








tolerances, I'll hook it up tomorrow to be sure it's correct but as far as I can measure it seems correct.  Bloody awful instructions with it tho'!
Alex


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## [X]Outlaw (Dec 8, 2018)

Looking good Alex!


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## [X]Outlaw (Feb 13, 2019)

Things have been quite busy in the shop that I forgot to post the pics of my knee scale install. 

As usual I opted to make my own brackets and mounting hardware than use the supplied "L" brackets. This was a bit of a challenge because of the taper on the Mill's column but everything worked out great. 

The mount can be dialed in via two setscrews on the top and on the bottom end of the mount, similar to how the Y axis scale mount was done. The only difference is the top of the mount uses four standoffs because of the column's taper. These standoffs got the mount roughly parallel to the travel of the knee and the set screws were used to dial it in to within a couple thousands over the entire travel.


















Chevy


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## 4cyclic (Feb 13, 2019)

Very nice job. This is quite interesting as I'm also preparing to do the 3 scales install on my 949TS.


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## Praeger (Feb 14, 2019)

The read head on the Z axis is cantilevered some distance from its mounting point on the knee.  Any issues with vibration shaking the reader?  Like a tuning fork effect?


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## [X]Outlaw (Feb 14, 2019)

Nope, no issuses with vibration or accuracy.


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## ConValSam (Feb 15, 2019)

Chevy

I think I need to purchase a ticket, fly down and inspect exactly how you accomplished such a clean install.  While I'm there I hope to figure out how you keep your shop so pristine.  I'm thinking all of the work will require about 10 days.  Okay if I bunk down with you for the duration?

Mind you, this has nothing to do with the endlessly dreary days here in New Endland or the fact that you live in a tropical paradise; it's all about setting up a better shop....


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## 7milesup (Feb 15, 2019)

I thought it was an operating room...

Very nice install.


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## [X]Outlaw (Feb 15, 2019)

ConValSam said:


> Chevy
> 
> I think I need to purchase a ticket, fly down and inspect exactly how you accomplished such a clean install.  While I'm there I hope to figure out how you keep your shop so pristine.  I'm thinking all of the work will require about 10 days.  Okay if I bunk down with you for the duration?
> 
> Mind you, this has nothing to do with the endlessly dreary days here in New Endland or the fact that you live in a tropical paradise; it's all about setting up a better shop....



Haha Come visit anytime man. We're far from a paradise as we have our own problems just like any other place but I can't argue about the weather, its beautiful most of the year with the exception of a some bad days during rainy season.

Thanks for the compliments.

Chevy


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## Kamloopsendo (Mar 2, 2019)

Nice work Chevy, As ALWAYS!!  I did finally get my Z - axis hooked up - similar to yours but I did cover the scale with the shield (presume yours is off for photo purposes?).  Due to the standoff from the mill frame I hung a piece of rubber I had lying around to block debris from getting in from 
the backside.  It looks a bit sloppy but works well and is very easy to clean around as it moves.  As you can see I have no aversion to using the cast 





brackets to support the sensor with a couple of add on plates to complete the mounting.  Can't say thank you enough for the ideas and help.  Between you and Mark Jacobs I was able to get this set up and running which would have taken me MUCH longer and not turned out as well had you guys not been there.
Alex










The frustration of that power cord for the X axis power feed hanging down is a tough one, if I tie it to the power cords to the control panel mounted in front of the knee I still have a big droop but then it hangs closer to where I work (not sure that makes sense but it is annoying)
Alex


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## [X]Outlaw (Mar 2, 2019)

Looks great Alex! 

I have a cover on mine as well but it was off for the sake of pictures..if you look at the bar my Z scales mount to you can see the threaded holes for it.

Chevy


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## Kamloopsendo (Mar 2, 2019)

Thanks Chevy, I meant what I said, you and guys like Mark Jacobs and David Best certainly inspire people and enable some of us to do things we've never done before or had any knowledge of.


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## Kiwi Canuck (Mar 2, 2019)

Kamloopsendo said:


> Nice work Chevy, As ALWAYS!!  I did finally get my Z - axis hooked up - similar to yours but I did cover the scale with the shield (presume yours is off for photo purposes?).  Due to the standoff from the mill frame I hung a piece of rubber I had lying around to block debris from getting in from
> the backside.  It looks a bit sloppy but works well and is very easy to clean around as it moves.  As you can see I have no aversion to using the cast
> 
> 
> ...



Looks good Alex, I did something similar but I did not install the cover, (yet) figured it was far enough away from the chips that it wouldn't be an issue.

Cable management is an art and I'm still working out the best way for me to clean them up and out of the way but not restrict any travel or functionality.

BTW, what's with the colour of the floor, you copying Chevy?

David.


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## Kamloopsendo (Mar 2, 2019)

David:  I copied Chevy on lots of stuff but not floor paint!  Friend of mine built a house 2 years before we did (we finished our build about 5 1/2 yrs ago) and did his garage and shop floors with that blue epoxy paint and the color was simply that of his favorite shirt, I liked it so I copied it.  That paint is AMAZING, tough and easy to clean - really happy with it.  
As to the cables, I did not even try to hang one of them until I had everything wired and hung and then tried a number of ways to deal with it but there ain't no purfect way I guess!
Alex


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## Cletus (May 26, 2021)

Inspired by Chevy (and I've had the pleasure of being in his "Operating Room") I'm about to purchase my mill.  Hope to emulate some of his fine work and tap his resources when I get stuck.  Great build log Bro!


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## Tipton1965 (May 26, 2021)

Excellent work on all of the setup!!  I love the clean shop.....a man after my own heart.  I've had people in my shop ask if I even use it because it's so clean.  Of course I do but cleaning up afterward is always part of whatever project I'm working on.  I'm the same way with my home......you wouldn't think somebody even lives there.  Again great work and nice machines!


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## Cletus (May 26, 2021)

Hardest part is telling the wife
I started dropping hints last week! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



Shipping from Coraopolis, PA to Miami, FL is US$500, Shipping from Miami Florida to Trindad is US$270 …No duty, 12.5% local tax, brokerage fees and transport.
Factory across the street will lend me their forklift to get it off the truck and into my garage. Once uncrated, my cherry picker will get it off the pallet and onto a delrin skid I will build.  The table will have to come off to clear 32" doorways. Then its a straight shot from the garage via kitchen, laundry and into the shop. Will use a 12v winch mounted on the skid and a floor mounted anchor point in the shop to drag it through and over the porcelain tiles which will have some soapy water thereon, hence the delrin skids. Once in the shop, the cherry-picker will be used to pick it up off the skids and inch it into final position.
Best laid plans are those of men and mice!


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