# New mill Wells-Index 745



## dmittz (Apr 23, 2018)

I had been wanting a milling machine for a while now.

It is hard to find a good mill in B.C Canada.  After 1.5 years of watching craigslist I found a wells-index 745 down in washington state in a custom motorcycle shop.  Previous owner had it for many decades and said it was used a few times a year as a back-up to thier main mill, I think the owner purchased from a custom car shop in california who he thought bought it new.  which meant it never did production work and was proabbly lightly used.

I called wells index before puchasing it and they confirmed it was a 1hp 3ph, R8 spindle, Sold feb 4, 1969.

I ran it for 30-40 min and everything worked good.  Only issue I noticed was a little backlash in the X axis about 20thousands.  Table, and knee seemed smooth and tight along full travel.  They also included a vise, hold downs and some cutters.

Thankfully the motorcycle shop had a huge crane to load it in our truck.

My father inlaw and I transported it back to Canada in his truck then used his forklift and palet jack to unload it into my workshop.  Suprisingly the move was actually not that hard at all.

I am pretty excited to finally have a Mill.

I took the table and knee off for cleaning and discovered although, it was not very dirty that the oil ports had been greesed 

The good part is all of the precision surfaces look excellent.  Since I had to clean out all the oil ports anyway, the plan in to dismantle, repaint, clean, replace the XY nuts and reassembal.


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## Chuck K (Apr 23, 2018)

It was worth the wait.  Index mills are great machines.  Congrats!


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## dmittz (Apr 23, 2018)

Thanks Chuck K, I'm very happy with it.  Really cool that wells-index still supports all their machines too.


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## T. J. (Apr 23, 2018)

You got a good one!


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## dmittz (Oct 9, 2018)

Hi everyone,

Thought I might update this thread a bit and show the work I've started doing on the Mill.

So as mentioned I discovered that one of the previous owners had had greesed the oil ports, so before I started using it I thought I'd better dismantle it and clean out all of the oil passages etc...  Also I hate the color so I'm going to do a full on strip and repaint while its apart.  I will also fix anything else that I find is worn/broken.   I likley won't touch the ways as they look ok and I really never forsee myself needing extreme percision so a little wear is ok with me.

First step was to start removing the table and taking apart the knee...




Removing the table wasn't to hard. I  Cranked it all the way to the one side, removed the lead screw then pulled it off the saddle and carried it to a rolling cart and set it down the table is actually not as heavy as it looks.

Both the X and Y lead screws are in excellent shape with no noticable wear.




The ways on bottom side of the table also seem pretty nice. scapings still visible along the whole length. Its a little hard to see in the picture because the lighting was not great.



Next up I removed the saddle:



Lots of old greese clogging up the oil ports on the saddle.  So I cleaned them out throughly.





The saddle did seem to have a bit of wear.on thw ways where it rides on the knee, proabbly from the greese instead of oil.  I doubt it will matter much for my purposes as I really don't need extreme precision.

On the other side of the saddle however it was a different story, the scraping was relatively intact with some wear near the ends...


Next up was removing the knee. I used and engine hoist, when I put it back on I will need to figure out a way to rig it up so I can stop it from wanting to tip forward.





The ways on the top of the knee have some wear but it doesn't seem that bad to me.

The  Z axis ways look perfect.








I bought 5 gallons of purple power, as I was going to need to do some serious cleaning!



	

		
			
		

		
	
 More updates to come!


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## dmittz (Oct 9, 2018)

I mixed up the purple power 3 parts water to 1 part PP and filled up a large rubbermaid bin and let some of the smaller parts soak in it for an hour or two.  Darned it it didn't clean them right to bare metal.  Jackpot!








As soon as each part came out of the purple power bath they got a through solvent wipe down which seemed to prevent much flash rust and preserved the most of the parts in thier bare metal state. Anything that tried to flash rust got put in an evapo rust bath in another runner maid bin until the rust was gone.

I was really happy how nice the first batch of parts came out.  Too bad I can't use this method for the coloum and knee!

More Updates to come.


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## T. J. (Oct 9, 2018)

Looking good!  Your ways look a whole lot better than mine did!


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## Chuck K (Oct 9, 2018)

I did much the same thing to an Index mill once.  Keep in mind that the pedestal has a lot of body filler on it to smooth out the casting (At least mine did).  I ended up removing all of the filler and just painted the rough casting.  It still looked good to me, but certainly wasn't as smooth as a new machine.  I only mention this because it's really easy to get into the filler when you're scraping layers of paint off.  Nice job.  It's going to be a keeper.


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## dmittz (Oct 9, 2018)

Thanks for the very sound advise Chuck.  Ya they really put a lot of filler on these things, and that stuff was hard to get off!   I did end up stripping the coloum and knee down to bare metal and it was a ton of work but came out good so far.


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## dmittz (Oct 9, 2018)

Next up it was time to deal with the knee.  I carried the knee outside and began degreesing it with purple power and a pressure washer.

I wasn't able to get the quill dial etc... off the knee and I didn't want to get to aggressive and break something so I let it in place and covered it up well.

Once the knee was clean I used an aircraft paint stripper to remove 2 layers of paint and some sort of 'body filler'.








After that the knee was now bare metal so I immediately gave it a solvent wipe and left a space heater blowing on it.  That worked well as I didn't get any flash rust before painting.


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## dmittz (Oct 9, 2018)

I next seperated the head from the turret and put it on a rolling cart (to be delt with later).




After the head was removed next I removed the turret from the base.




Next up will be the coloum/base...

More updates to come!


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## Richard King 2 (Oct 9, 2018)

I have a good friend in Coquitlam and he has a BIAX  Power 1/2 moon Flaker and I bet he would flake the top of saddle for a few beers.  He has an amazing repair shop up there.  http://www.carrsmachining.com/   His name is Shane.   The 1/2 shapes are oil pockets and not scraping.   I hate to tell you this, but it doesn't look the 1/2 moon flaking is original from the factory.   I like Wells Index mills as they are still the only American manufacturer still making their machines in the USA.   I stopped by their booth at IMTS show.  They had a new machine like yours and one they will be importing from Taiwan.   The top of the knee looks like it might be chrome plated too.  Be sure to buy or make some new way wipers too.   Rich


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## dmittz (Oct 10, 2018)

Thank you so much for the tips Richard I really appreciate it!

I will definetly give shane a call about the flaking. If he can redo it would be awesome, I didn't realize anyone in my area did that sort of stuff, sounds like his shop is only about 20min from me.

I will for sure get some new way wipers, I was actually just on the phone with Wells-index today about getting some and a new bronze X&Y nut.  They are suppose to be sending me an e-mail with pricing soon.  Really cool that they still support this machine that they sold way back in 1969!

I am fairly new to machining, and was wondering if you could tell me how you knew the 1/2 moon flaking is not original?  so I know what to look for in the future.

Thanks again for taking the time to give me such helpful tips.


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## Richard King 2 (Oct 10, 2018)

A professional scraper tech can flake and the lines are even and straight.  Even when doing it by hand.  There are 2 ways of doing it.  By hand or using a Power flaker.  Both ways can produce a straight line.   Go to You Tube and search *Jan Sverre Haugjord* 1/2 moon flaking.
Jan is one of my students and has several great shows on scraping.  Jan is also a good friend and is the co-ordinator of all my Scandinavian Classes I have taught there.  Must be 6 now over the last 10 years.   He is an Engineer and his hobby is scraping.   Shane also took 2 of my classes.    He has a complete repair / rebuild shop.  Go there and you will be quite pleased.  He will probably charge more then a beer though...lol

PS:  on the brass nuts you can check out http://www.greenbaymfgco.com/ACME-nuts.php and Wells to get comparison prices.  I just bought a nut from them 2 weeks ago.  it was a 3/4 / 5 cast iron nut that I had to machine the OD.  It cost $46.00.


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## dmittz (Oct 10, 2018)

Thank you again Richard for the great info, that is super helpful.  I had a look at a few videos they are very informative.    I will definietly be giving Shane a call. (I also have an old south bend 13, I want to talk to him about, but that is a whole other project).    Thanks so much for the info about the brass nut that is another great option for me to consider if the wells-index part is too costly.   Thanks a million for all the great info!


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## dmittz (Oct 10, 2018)

The next step in my restoration is to deal with stripping and repainting the coloum/base.

Just a note on personal safety. Given when this machine was manufactured there might have been lead in the original layer of paint, so I used a full face mask with a filter approved for removing lead paint and asbestos.  I also tried to keep as much of my skin covered as possible.  I had the base on a pallet jack so I was actually able to roll it outside (on some 2×10's) and did everything with a fan blowing any dust away from me.  I would then just roll it back inside when I was done for the day.  As far as painting goes I have full facemask supplied air system so I don't breath in any fumes.

Here's the base/coloum in a pallet jack ready to be stripped.



The process of stripping the old paint and filler took many, many hours and was a nasty job but I wanted to be sure the new paint would have good foundation, I was worried the old paint/filler would be oil soaked and lead to adheasion problems.

I first used an aircraft paint stripper to take as much paint off as possible, next I used a scrapper to take off as much filler as I could, then another round of stripper.  What was left I used a wire wheel on my 7in grinder and an air sander to remove until I had nothing but bare metal left.  Here is is some pictures of the process.





	

		
			
		

		
	
And finally just the cast iron was left!  I sanded the cast with an air sander and 80grit paper to make sure the primer had something to bit into.













I was a still concerned about oil soak in the casting so after I had it down to bare metal I spent maybe 2 hours scrubbing it with solvent.  Then I took a little blow torch and tried to just mildly heat up the surface of the casting and then wipe each area wit solvent, giving the ways a wide berth of course.   O then left the base and knee with heater blowing on them and I came in twice a day and gave all the bare cast parts a through solvent wipe down.  I did this for 7 days until not one part was showing any trace of oil during the solvent wipes/scrubs.

Now I finally felt confident that I have a good foundation to start the paint/filler process.

More updates to come.


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## T. J. (Oct 10, 2018)

Make sure you're sitting down when you price that nut from W-I


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## dmittz (Oct 10, 2018)

I will make sure to have my chair ready, lol.


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## Richard King 2 (Oct 10, 2018)

Before I painted a raw casting I would wipe it off with a high quality lacquer thinner and I used Sherman and Williams fast dry primer.  I used an Wagner airless sprayer too.  Worked good and no air bomb and very little over spray.


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## dmittz (Oct 10, 2018)

Thank you for the very sound advise Richard.  Yes for sure I will be uing only quality automotive grade paint meant for metal I won't want to put all this work in an then use a cheap paint.  I did give it a through wipe with some dupont final prep solvent meant to do a final clean of surfaces before paint.


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## dmittz (Oct 11, 2018)

Now that the casting was all ready I got started on the paint/filler process.

I put several layers of automotive masking tape over all the ways and machined surfaces.  Once that was done I started with a catilyized expoy primer (automotive grade), 2 coats.  Applied with my HVLP gun.  As I mentioned before I have a supplied air system so I don't have to breath any hazardous fumes.

I waited about an hour for the epoxy primer to flash then applied 2 coats of 2K high build primer and let it dry over night.













Once the high build primer had dried for a day I sanded it as smooth as possible but the casting is fairly rough so I then applied some body filler.  After it had dried it was sanded and more high build primer was applied then sanded again...






I did several rounds of filler, sand, high build primer, sand etc...





It took a few weeks to conplete the filler and primer process...







Finally I had the casting smooth enough for top coat painting.  I could have maybe saved time by doing one thick coat of filler to start with and sanding it smooth.  However my goal was not to add anymore material than necessary because I think filler is more likely to chip and get oil soaked so I wanted as little as possible for a smooth finish.

For a top coat I used a 2 part cateliyzed urethane single stage paint.  I used this same kind of paint on the suspension part of my corvette and it has held up very well over the last few years.

I choose to just do single stage rather than base clear because I think it will be easier to touch up and chips and scrathes.  I find an air bush works well for minor touch-ups.

I did 2 coats of the color/top coat:












I'm quite happy with the way the paint turned out and i belive it should hold up well.

More updates to come.


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## rtorres (Oct 12, 2018)

Excellent paint job. Your patience is paying off.


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## dmittz (Oct 12, 2018)

Thanks rtorres, it was a lot of work but i'm happy with the results


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## dmittz (Oct 12, 2018)

Before I went any further with the work on the milling machine I figured I needed to make a rolling stand for it as I may need the ability to shuffle stuff around from time to time.

So I made a low slung rolling stand, each wheel is rated for 750+ lbs. so it should handle the weight no problem.

Unfortunatley part way through the project my 20year old little lincon welder packed it in...   That's ok it gave me a good excuse to get a better welder...  I found a very lightly used Miller 211 with cart and tank of craigslist.  the guy selling it said he used it just a few times and it was still on its first spool of wire, I tried it out and it worked great, so I bought it.




For some reason the cart didn't have a handle so I made a nice sturdy handle with some brackets to hang the welding gun and ground wire on.  I also picked up a few accessories for it since most of my old welding stuff was worn out.

Miller 211 Welder with cart handle installed and a few accessories.




Anyway back to the mill:

So I was able to then finish up the rolling cart and painted it with the same epoxy primer and 2 part single stage paint as the Mill.





The stand is designed to keep the Mill less than an inch off the ground, I also put some home made leveling feet at all 4 corners so I can set it in place and not worry about it moving while I'm milling.   It was a fair bit of work but should be worth it in the long run.

I recruited my father to help me move the mill from the pallet jack to the rolling stand...
We used the same engine hoise we had used to lift the mill before.  Once we had it off the pallet jack I pushed the cart underneath the mill.  At this point the engine hoist suddenly decided to tip over forward!

We both jumped out of the way and to our amazement the mill dropped about 10 inches down and landed perfectly into place on the rolling cart!

That certainly got the heart pumping.

Anyway it wasn't how I planned to do things but the mill is on the cart safe and sound.

Rolls around very easily.





More updates to come.


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## Richard King 2 (Oct 12, 2018)

I sure hope you and Shane can do something to the ways, or guidance from the people here we can walk you through it, Shane has all the equipment you could use.  He has 2 way grinders, straight-edges, Biax Power Scrapers and the know how.   It would be a shame to let those crappy ways to not shine like your beautiful paint job.


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## dmittz (Oct 12, 2018)

Hi Richard, I just wanted to say I have great respect for your skills and really do appreciate the time you've taken to give me advise in the thread.  I haven't had a chance to talk Shane just yet but I will be giving him a call for sure.   Here's my thoughts/plans for the ways.  I'm just a hobbist and won't be making a living with this Mill and I don't plan on doing any really high percision work with it. But I do want it to be functional for my uses.  

When I inspected the Mill before disassembally quill/Z axis seemed really good (smooth top to bottom with equal effort).  The Y axis as far as I could tell seemed similarly smooth front to back.  The X axis was mostly smooth but it did notice it got a little tighter near each end (maybe last 4 inches of travel on each end)   But it wasn't terrible.

Of course visually the saddle has some wear...

So having said all of that my plan is to talk to Shane and see what he says and the costs involved. Assuming It is at a price I can justify/ afford I am planning to take the saddle and maybe the table into him and maybe have him grind or scrape the X axis and re-flake as he sees fit given my budget and intended uses.

I do want a functional machine NOT just a good looking one, but at the same time I just need it to fuction for my intended uses it doesn't have to absoutley perfect.


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## Richard King 2 (Oct 13, 2018)

If you only want visual...a"Cut & Flake" would give it better lubrication and it would look better.   That's what many used machinery dealers do after they give it a pretty paint job.


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## dmittz (Oct 13, 2018)

Yes, that sounds like it might be a really good option.   If the cost is within my budget ideally it would be really great to get the ways on the X axis redone so the table moved smoothly along its whole travel.  I'll have to see what Shane says then decide which option I will take.  Thanks again for the suggestions Richard its apprecited.


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## dmittz (Oct 13, 2018)

So my shop was feeling a bit cluttered with the parts from the Mill scattered about so I figured its time to start putting stuff back together.

When I took the knee off it wanted to tip forward quite a bit as it seems to be 'front heavy'.  So I knew I needed to come up with something that would help.me keep it rigged up level when I put it back on the base/ coloum.

I spent a bit of time and made some brackets that would allow me to keep the knee very secure and on a level plane when installing it.   It will also be nice to have these brackets around in the future as it will make taking the knee off pretty easy.

Here's the install of the knee.





Once the knee was in place I put some way oil on the ways and installed and adjusted the Gib I also oiled the screw and gears.

The knee seems to go up and down very smoothly along its whole travel so I think its good to go and if I ever want to take it off again the brackets make it pretty easy.

Knee in place...





I also spent a bit of time polishing up the way lock for the knee.  Here's what I started with: 
	

		
			
		

		
	








Installed on the knee:




I also cleaned up the way wiper brackets... here's what they looked like to start with:



I did my best to polish them up but, the casting seem to be very porious so This was about the best I could do...


Its proabbly vanity but I figured while I was at it might as well take a couple min and polish all the little screws that hold them on to.




Well guys I have actually caught up with where I am on the Mill so the pace of updates is going to slow way down.  I have a young family and work full time so I only get a small amount of time each week in the workshop and I have some other projects on the go also.  But if you all can bear with me little by little I'll get this thing up and running again.

More updates to come.


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## T. J. (Oct 13, 2018)

It looks like you have the same style of way wipers I have. I bought new rubber strips from W-I. I got 3 feet of it and it was about $35.

Here's a suggestion regarding lubrication.  I have one of these little oil guns and it is great for pushing oil into those zerks. 

https://www.machinerypartsdepot.com/product/12PB20

My routine is to put one pump into each zerk, except for the back zerk on the left side of the saddle, which gets two pumps. (It supplies a larger area than the others)


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## killswitch505 (Oct 13, 2018)

Wow!!!!! Looks great


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## dmittz (Oct 13, 2018)

T. J. said:


> It looks like you have the same style of way wipers I have. I bought new rubber strips from W-I. I got 3 feet of it and it was about $35.
> 
> Here's a suggestion regarding lubrication.  I have one of these little oil guns and it is great for pushing oil into those zerks.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the tip T.J that is great info, much appreciated.


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## dmittz (Oct 13, 2018)

killswitch505 said:


> Wow!!!!! Looks great



Thanks killswitch505, i'm trying my best.


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## TerryH (Oct 14, 2018)

Excellent work and documentation of the process! I enjoyed reading the thread very much. Looking forward to more.


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## dmittz (Oct 14, 2018)

TerryH said:


> Excellent work and documentation of the process! I enjoyed reading the thread very much. Looking forward to more.



Thank you TerryH, that is very kind of you to say.  I am enjoying the process of fixing this old machine up.  Thanks for following along.


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## dmittz (Oct 14, 2018)

Hey Guys, so I did a little more work on the Mill yesterday.

Since I haven't heard back from Wells index about the parts and haven't had a chance to call Shane during his business hours I figured I would get started referbishing some of the smaller parts sitting in boxes.

I was able to punch out the rivets or what ever they are called to take the Index information plaque off the door.




I media blasted the coloum door, quill crank and the hand wheels.




I used the same paint process as for everything else.  It was a nice day so I painted the parts outside then let everything bake outside in the sun for few hours before bringing them inside.  I'll let them cure for several days before I take them down.





Forgot to mention... Before painting I masked all the parts off:



You'll notice I didn't paint the hand wheels as I have something different planned for them.

Instead of paint I decided to powder coat the handwheels low gloss black, should make the finish very wear resistant.

First step was to painstakingly mask off the wheels with high temp tape.



Then I powder coated and baked the hand wheels.


Next came polishing the handwheels:





Hand wheels all done...




I don't really like the original plastic spinner knobs on the hand wheels... I might replace them with some nicer metal ones.  Anyone know what size bolt hole is in the hand wheels?     
the holes are larger than 1/4 and smaller the 5/16, seems like Metric 8mm but had an unusal thread pitch. Worst case I can drill them out and tap to a standard size I guess.

That's all I've got for now guys, I'll update when I've done more work.


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## T. J. (Oct 14, 2018)

> Anyone know what size bolt hole is in the hand wheels?
> the holes are larger than 1/4 and smaller the 5/16, seems like Metric 8mm but had an unusal thread pitch. Worst case I can drill them out and tap to a standard size I guess.



Mine aren't threaded at all - the rod is pressed into the wheel.  Replacing them is on my to do list as well.


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## dmittz (Oct 14, 2018)

T. J. said:


> Mine aren't threaded at all - the rod is pressed into the wheel.  Replacing them is on my to do list as well.



Interesting, thanks T.J.  ya mine are just a bolt with a nut on it and the plastic spinner piece just sits between the nut and the bolt head.  I wonder if someone just jerry-rigged up the spinner knobs on my machine after breaking the originals....    Maybe I will just drill and re-tap the holes if that's the case.


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## dmittz (Oct 17, 2018)

Hi everyone,  this is just a very small update.

So I took down all the parts I had recently painted and unmasked them...







I also put the information plaque back on thr colum door.  I used a brass hammer to punch the little pins back in on the 4 corners.





I also polished up the hinge hardware.


The door reinstalled on the colum.






That's about all I have for now.


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## NorseDave (Oct 17, 2018)

Man, that is some epic restoration work.  I'd love to get my 645 looking like that, but based on the progress of my other projects, I'm not sure I want it in parts for like 3 years  

On a related note, on your Miller 211, are you using a 10 lb spool of wire?  I have a 211 and it welds great, but it took me a while to figure out that the plastic "nut" that they give you for securing the 10 lb spool onto the axle is terrible.  It's either too loose and starts to fall off, or too tight and it causes the wire to slip in the drive roll.  Once I finally figured it out, I ditched the nut and, drilled a couple of small holes 180* apart on the axle, and just use a piece of solid 12ga wire to keep the spool from walking to the outside of the machine.  Curious if you (or anyone else) has run into this.  I made that change like 18 months ago and never thought about it since.   /thread hijack over


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## dmittz (Oct 18, 2018)

Thanks NorseDave, I'm enjoying working on the Mill but it sure does take a fair bit of time.

In regards to the Miller 211.  So far I've just been using small (2lbs) spools of .030 wire.  I have quite a few small spools left over from my old welder I want to use up first.  I haven't had any issues with them.  I'll keep in mind that I may need to modify the 'axle' if I want to run the 10lbs spool at some point.   Thanks for the tip.


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## dmittz (Oct 18, 2018)

Hey Guys, While the 745 is all apart I have been contemplating if I should retrofit a 1 shot oiler system for it.   I found a kit online for series 1 bridgeport... Would it be almost the same as the my index 745 or are they a totally different number of ports etc? 

Trying to decide if the expense and effort is worth while...


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## T. J. (Oct 20, 2018)

I think those systems are fairly easily adapted to different mills - just count up the ports and make sure you get enough parts. I've never installed one though, so hopefully someone who has will chime in. 

I had originally thought about installing one on my 645. I have since discarded that idea since finding the little oil gun I referenced earlier. It takes maybe 15 or 20 seconds to oil all the zerks and leaves zero mess.


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## dmittz (Oct 20, 2018)

Thanks for the info T.J

It looks like my 745 has more oiling points than a comparable bridgeport, so adapting a one shot oiler kit (for a bridgeport) may be not as strait forward as I had hoped.    Since you say it is very quick to just use an oil gun I think for now I'll just get the mill up an running as is and I can take on adding a one shot oiler down the road sometime.


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## dmittz (Oct 21, 2018)

Hi Guys,  I did a little more work on the Mill.

I figured it was time to get started dealing with the turret and over ram.

I flipped it upside...



The chain on the underside of the turret can be disconnected at both ends which allows the over ram to be removed from the turret.








Next I removed the worm gear head nod mechanism.







Next I removed the gear mechanism on the turret...The gear is retained with a set screw and a pin which both have to be removed.







Now the Turret, over ram and head knob mechanism were all separated.


More updates to come...


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## dmittz (Oct 22, 2018)

Just a small update:

I decided the next thing I would do was restore one of the bags of small parts.  I decided on the over ram slide mechanism.

It was a bit grungy and the 'bolt head' part of the handle that you put a socket on to move the over ram forward and back has some surface rust on it.

I polished up the gear and shaft, than I sand blasted and re-did the black oxide part of the handle.  I think it came out nice...










The chain part of the slide mechanism had a lot of dried out grease, caked on dust and metal chips.  So i scrubbed it clean in the parts washer and then lubricated it with some mobile Valcera.



The mechanism is now all ready to go when I start putting everything back together.

More updates to come.


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## T. J. (Oct 22, 2018)

That looks like one place where they made improvements over the Model 645. That shaft on a 645 isn't near as beefy. There must have been more 200 pound gorillas like me who broke theirs trying to get it unstuck with the big wrench!


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## dmittz (Oct 23, 2018)

T. J. said:


> That looks like one place where they made improvements over the Model 645. That shaft on a 645 isn't near as beefy. There must have been more 200 pound gorillas like me who broke theirs trying to get it unstuck with the big wrench!



Interesting, yes I believe the model 745 is a bit different from the turret upwards but everything below that is more or less the same as the model 645.     That shaft actually requires a 1 inch socket or wrench to fit the head on it.   It moved pretty easy on my mill but as you say it might be a place they did a redesign on the 745.  Sorry to hear yours broke, hope you were able to get it unstuck...


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## dmittz (Oct 24, 2018)

Next I started working on cleaning up and stripping the paint on the turret, over ram and head knod assemablly.   It took quite a few hours but eventually I got them all down to bare metal.

I first cleaned them with purple power and scrubbed off all the hardened old grease, next I used aircraft paint stripper to remove as much paint and filler as possible.  What was left was then removed with a wire wheel on a 7in angle grinder.

After paint stripping...




Finally down to bare metal....





It probably goes without saying but I was very careful around the precision machined surfaces....

Also, just a note about safety,  since the original coat of paint might have lead in it, I used a supplied air system and did the whole process out doors.

Next up will be start painting and filling, more updates to come...


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## dmittz (Oct 30, 2018)

I got a little more work done on the Mill recently.

I spent a bit of time painstakingly taping off the turret and over ram parts in peparation for paint.





After the taping was done I applied 2 coats of epoxy primer, followed by 2 coats of 2k high build primer.




I'm going to let the paint cure for a bit, then it will be time to start the process of filling. sanding and applying more high build primer until the surface in acceptably smooth.


----------



## dmittz (Nov 4, 2018)

I made a little bit of progress today on the Mill.  I managed to complete the first round of sanding on the turret and over ram.  I was actually able to get it to a fairly smooth finish, just a few spots where I need to fill some casting flaws then hopefully I can epoxy primer and topcoat.

Parts after first round of primer and sanding:


----------



## dmittz (Nov 6, 2018)

Next I filled all the rough spots on the casting with filler and sanded them smooth.
	

		
			
		

		
	




I started to do another coat of epoxy primer but unfortunately my spray gun broke part way through so I will have to re-sand and redo the epoxy primer next time.


I also managed to get the table cleaned up.  I just used paper towel and WD40 to remove some stains and rust.  The table is in really great shape, not even one drill or cutter mark one it.


----------



## dmittz (Nov 7, 2018)

I got the pieces I started to paint re-sanded and ready to be painted once I get another paint gun. 

I also took a bit of time to clean up the bronze XY nut.  I had assumed it would be well worn given the age, but after getting the grime off it doesn't look bad at all.  In fact I doubt there is much to be gained by replacing it. And I think the 20 thousands backlash I observed when I first inspected the machine is reasonable for my intended uses.


----------



## dmittz (Nov 12, 2018)

So work on the mill is moving forward.

I finally finished painting the turret and over ram parts.











Next was to install the slide mechanism.



Then I wrestled the over ram back into the turret.


The next step is of course to install the turret and over ram back on top of the mill.   I briefly considered trying to power hoist/lift them on the mill by hand but since the 4 bolts on the turret have to line up with the holes in the mill colum I figured I best use a hoist to install it.

That ended up being a big production as the engine hoist would not fit past the rolling stand the mill is now on.  So I had to put it up on blocks so the engine hoist's forward wheels could 'straddle' the mill without running into the mill's stand.  Anyway to was not the way I wanted to install the turret but in the end it worked.






And finally the mill back in its proper place with the turret/over ram installed.


----------



## middle.road (Nov 12, 2018)

Were you ever able to hook up with Shane?


----------



## dmittz (Nov 12, 2018)

middle.road said:


> Were you ever able to hook up with Shane?



Not yet, but that's why I haven't installed the table and just have the cross slide sitting on the knee, so I can easily remove it.    I don't think I will be getting anything re-scraped but I'll ask him about re-flaking (to help with oil retention).


----------



## Superburban (Nov 12, 2018)

NO! do not take the chop saw to the table!




Just kidding. Great job. I wish I had the time and dedication to fully rebuild a machine. I'm doing about 1/4 on my 16"SB, but I need to get it going to get some other stuff done.

Good to see the bronze nut is good. I have seen it in the parts diagrams, but did not realize its size. I bet it would not be cheap to replace.

Great job with the pics, thanks.


----------



## dmittz (Nov 13, 2018)

Superburban said:


> NO! do not take the chop saw to the table!
> 
> View attachment 279674
> 
> ...



haha ya I guess it does look like that in the picture.  

Thanks, ya its a bit of work for sure but I'm having fun. I will say the size and weight of the components has made it challenging at times, much harder than the South bend 9a I redid.     That's cool you have a south bend 16.  I also have a South bend 13 that I'm planning to restore after the mill is done, I have seriously considered leaving the patenia on the SB13 and just getting it functional as referbishing these machines is lots of work!

Ya I was happy to not replace the bronze nut.  I called Wells-Index 3 times about it and e-mailed them once.  They were very pleseant on the phone, they said they were out of stock on the, but still have the moulds and could have thier foundry cast some new nuts if I was willing to wait...they were going to call me back with a price but I never did hear back about pricing.  However, I assume if they were casting one and machining it just for me it wouldn't be cheap.


----------



## dmittz (Nov 14, 2018)

Just a very small update.  I removed the studs on the turret and cleaned up /polished them.  
	

		
			
		

		
	







All the studs replaced...



I also polished the nuts and washer too..





I really like the look of the polished hardware, adds a nice little detail IMHO.


----------



## ACHiPo (Nov 14, 2018)

Looking great!


----------



## dmittz (Nov 14, 2018)

ACHiPo said:


> Looking great!



Thanks!


----------



## dmittz (Nov 21, 2018)

So tonight I decided to restore the components in another parts bag.

These are some components that allows the head to 'tilt'.

The first step was to sand blast the slightly rusty shaft that turns the worm gear.



After sand blasting the shaft went in the black oxide bin for a bit, then I oiled it and it looks new again.






I also cleaned up the other head 'tilt' components, which had lots of old caked on grease.




That's all for now.


----------



## ThunderDog (Nov 21, 2018)

Keep it movin'.  Looks great.


----------



## dmittz (Nov 26, 2018)

I got another bag of small parts refinished.  These are the components for the Head 'nod' mechanism. 

The worm gear was encased in dried out hard grease but cleaned up very nicely... The shaft that goes into the worm gear was pretty rusty and the bolt head part was stripped fairly round.  I was able to use a bench grinder to fix the rounded corners on the head, then I media blasted it before putting it in the black oxide tank and oiling.



Here's all the components cleaned up and ready to go...



Interestingly, the worm has 'BOSTON  U.S.A' engraved on it.

Question for the form, I have not yet put this assemablly together and I am wondering what type of grease should be used? 

Is the orginal grease still recomended or is there another type that is considered better or does any industrial/automotive grease work?


----------



## dmittz (Dec 3, 2018)

Hi everyone,  

I got another bag of parts for the mill cleaned up yesterday.  This bag contained some X axis components.



everything was pretty grungy, but otherwise functional.

I was able to carefully clean up the dials nicely. Had to be very careful not to remove the 'satin chrome' finish.




I love the quality of this little bearing, with  the metal bearing cage....  I was able to remove all the ball bearings clean and reassembal, now its ready for fresh grease. 







Here's all the parts cleaned up...


----------



## dmittz (Dec 10, 2018)

I got a couple more small parts media blasted and painted.

Before:



After cleaning and media blasting...


After primer and paint...



Next up, now that all the parts were cleaned up. I figured I would try assemballing the Y axis and saddle and see if I would be happy with the way it works or if the machined surfaces would need attention.




I was very pleasantly surprised at how nicely the saddle (Y-axis) works.  Once oiled and the Gibs was adjusted it seemed to work very nice.  Very little backlash and felt smooth but reasonably tight along the whole travel.  

So I think for my uses the machine will work quite well.

I still need to re-finish a couple small components on the saddle so I have to take a few things back apart, but its nice to see the machine starting to go back together, albeit slowly.

That's all for now.


----------



## dmittz (Dec 16, 2018)

I did a little more work on the mill.

I got the head knob mechnism all put back together, I didn't get any pictures of the process because I had to hold the piece up in place and then line-up the 4 bolts with the other hand. Then I installed the worm gear.







I also polished and installed all the 'turret' bolts.



Sorry about the slow progress everyone, I have a 5mo. old son at home so my Shop time is is pretty limited.  But little by little this machine will get finished.


----------



## ConValSam (Dec 16, 2018)

Really great progress, especially with a wee lad in the house.

But gotta tell you: I kinda miss the green paint!


----------



## azshadeguy (Dec 16, 2018)

dmittz said:


> I next separated the head from the turret and put it on a rolling cart (to be dealt with later).
> 
> !


You are doing a very nice job on this mill 
I am patiently  waiting [not really] for you to get to the head 
I am stuck trying to figure out how the brass fork of the downfeed goes back together


----------



## ConValSam (Dec 16, 2018)

But consider the source:


----------



## T. J. (Dec 16, 2018)

You're going at lightning speed compared to me. It took me 14 months to get mine operational, and I didn't repaint anything!


----------



## dmittz (Dec 16, 2018)

Thanks for all the support guys.  I'm doing my best and having fun with fixing up this mill. 





azshadeguy said:


> You are doing a very nice job on this mill
> I am patiently  waiting [not really] for you to get to the head
> I am stuck trying to figure out how the brass fork of the downfeed goes back together



I will be sure to take lots of pictures when I get to the head.  I know it is very easy to forget how things go back together especially if a little time has past since disassembally. 



ConValSam said:


> Really great progress, especially with a wee lad in the house.
> 
> But gotta tell you: I kinda miss the green paint!



I really like your clausing mill, it looks great!
I like green machines too, I painted my South Bend 9a in green:



For some reason I just wanted the mill in grey.

Thanks for following along everyone!


----------



## dmittz (Dec 17, 2018)

I got a little more work done on the Mill.

Got the table put back on the saddle. haven't installed the gibs or lead screw yet though.







I also got the way wipers installed.









Its slowly starting to look like a milling machine again.  I still have a ways to go yet but can't wait to start using it.

Also this isn't mill related, but I have a new addition to my shop:



42in husky tool chest.  I'm quite happy with it.  It replaces an aging 26in waterloo tool chest as my main tool chest (for hand tools)  The old 26in one will now be used for storing machine tooling.


That's about all I have to share for now.


----------



## dmittz (Dec 23, 2018)

Merry Christmas everyone!

So I got a little more work done on the mill.

I have to confess in my vigor to get the the mill torn down I didn't.really take pictures of anything. (Don't make the same mistake as me) 

Up until now I was able to figure it all out without much trouble... Well, the X axis and all the associated parts were not so straight forward.  Anyway after quite a few tries and a few hours. I got it all back together and working, with no 'spare parts'.










I still need to install and adjust the gibs but that will be a job for another day.

When I take the head apart I'll be taking lots if pictures, I've learned my lesson about not taking disassembally photos.


----------



## dmittz (Dec 26, 2018)

Hi everyone,

I have a bit of time off until the new year, I was hoping to really get some work done on the Mill, but just my luck, I came down with the Flu today (lots of sick people at our family functions). So progress is going to be a bit slower than I hoped.

I did however manage to get out to the workshop for a little while today.

I got the gibs components for the X axis (table) all installed and did a rough adjustment.  I don't yet have an oil gun or the oil nipples installed, so I will have to fine tune the gibs adjustment once I can get some oil on the sliding contact surfaces.

Mill as it sits now:




Gibs intstalled:





Just a couple more small things to do then I'm no to dealing with the head.


----------



## dmittz (Dec 31, 2018)

Small update, got all the oil nipples cleaned up...


I should have put plugs in all of the holes for the oil fittings before painting, since I had to run a tap down each hole to get the paint out...



Oil nipples installed:


----------



## DiscoDan (Dec 31, 2018)

Did I miss it somewhere where you explain how you are refinishing the natural metal parts? Are you just buffing? Looking great!


----------



## FOMOGO (Dec 31, 2018)

Your "oil nipples" look to be regular standard grease zerks. I think you would be light years ahead installing a one shot oiler. Not all that expensive, or hard to do, and so much easier to use. Mike


----------



## dmittz (Dec 31, 2018)

DiscoDan said:


> Did I miss it somewhere where you explain how you are refinishing the natural metal parts? Are you just buffing? Looking great!



Nope you didn't miss anything.  For the most part I use a 3M multi surface pad on an 8in buffer followed by a buffing pad with various compounds for bare metal surfaces that I want shiney.  If somthing is rusty and I don't want to have it shiny I have a tank of evapo rust I can use or WD40 and a rag works to... depending on the situation.


----------



## dmittz (Dec 31, 2018)

FOMOGO said:


> Your "oil nipples" look to be regular standard grease zerks. I think you would be light years ahead installing a one shot oiler. Not all that expensive, or hard to do, and so much easier to use. Mike



Yes, the 'oil nipples' seem pretty much the same as grease nipple to me, they are just what came with the Mill. The previous owners had in fact used grease on them, which was a big part of the reason for doing this tear down... so I could clean out all the oil ports and swarf.

Yes, I am really considering a ons shot oiler they seem like a nice upgrade.  My index mill has a different number of oil ports than a comparable bridgeport so I haven't really found a plug and play kit for it yet.  If you know of one please let me know?

If no kit exists I can proabbly make a one shot oiler from off the shelf parts, I just would have to spend a bit of time thinking it out. But, I want to finish the rest of the mill and get it all working as is before I try to make my own oiler kit.


----------



## dmittz (Jan 13, 2019)

Hey Guys, sorry for the time its been since my last post.  I got quite sick for over 2 weeks and didn't feel up to working on the mill.

Anyway as promised I'm now starting work on the head.  As requested I will also try to take really good pictures of the disassembally as a resource to others.

 Please note the head was working fine so this just a tear down with the purpose of cleaning and painting.  If anything seems really hard to get apart I may choose to leave it since it was all working.

The head with the 3ph motor removed:






I first removed this handle first.  It had a small pin holding it in place which can be driven out with a punch.



Next was to remove the pulley from the belt guard.


Here is what it looks like with the cone belt pulley removed:



Here's the cone pulley:


At this point I realized working on the head with it on a rolling tool cart was unwise so I picked it up and move it to my work table.  Wow, this head is pretty heavy!  Be careful if you lifting it by hand like me, its heavier than it looks.

With the head in a safe spot the work could now continue...




After removing all the allen bolts I was able to remove the belt guard:






The belt guard is very heavily built. No way the belt guard would ever break in normal use, looks to be made of at least 3/8 or maybe 1/2 thick cast iron!

Here's the head with the guard removed:



There is a sturdy metal cover under where the pulley sat that just sits in place and can be easily removed:


Under that cover is a large gear drive, maybe the back gears?


These gears spin very easily and smoothly.

There are 3 nuts at the bottom of this assembally which you remove to take it off. Then just gently slide the assembally off:





Here'a what the underside of this gear drive assemablly looks like:


And here is what is under that assemablly:





Here is a real life exploded view of the top of the head:










Hope the pictures will serve as a resource for Wells-index owners.

All the best until next time...


----------



## dmittz (Jan 13, 2019)

Next up was to start working on taking apart the cone pulley assemablly. After taking the 4 bolts out, then used a magnet to remove this top cover, it sits flush to the housing and its hard to remove otherwise:





After that there is a collar that is threaded onto the spindle.


Next this 'spring loaded' washer is removed:


That revealed a nice bearing labeled: 'Made in USA' 


Question for the forum: How do you separate the pulley from the bearing/housing?

I tried gently using a puller but it didn't seem to want to come apart and I didn't want to force it and break something.

  I would like to repack the bearing with new grease if possible but since its working fine I can leave it if its badly stuck together.


----------



## azshadeguy (Jan 22, 2019)

dmittz said:


> Question for the forum: How do you separate the pulley from the bearing/housing?


I did not even try to remove that bearing on mine


----------



## dmittz (Jan 22, 2019)

azshadeguy said:


> I did not even try to remove that bearing on mine



Thanks for the reply, yes I am leaning toward not taking it apart. I have a hydraulic press and I could make it come out if its a press fit, but since its working fine Indon't think its worth the risk of breaking the casting.


----------



## dmittz (Jan 22, 2019)

So I did a little more work on the mill.

First of I decided to clean up the belt guard. I removed the 2 retaining pins and took off the name plate.





I let the belt guard soak in my purple power bin for a few hours.  That did a good job of removing all the grime and most of the green paint.





I'm trying to decide if I should actually strip this casting down to bare metal of just scuff and repaint as the original gray paint is not in to bad of shape....

Next up was to start work on the back gear:

There is a small set screw that is removed first.


Next the threaded retaining ring is removed.


Then a second threaded retaining ring is removed.


After that the large gear can be removed.


Here is what is underneath the gear:


Next remove the pins on the lever on the side of the casting.
	

		
			
		

		
	



Then remove the internal bearings and 'spindle'


I was able to disconnect the internal linkage to the lever system that moves the gear up and down, so I could remove the 'sleeve'.


There are some set screws and pins on the internal linkage to remove before it can be taken apart...




After removing the nut on the pulley I had to use a 3 jaw puller to remove it.






Speed range tag removed:


I also was able to remove the top bearing for the small gear... however the even once the bottom bearing is unseated the gear there isn't enough room to remove the small gear from the casting... I guess it doesn't really need to come out.

Casting after a scrub in the parts washer, the small gear is just sitting in place.





Here's where I left things for now:


----------



## dmittz (Feb 25, 2019)

I was able to get the castings in the top of the head all cleaned up and stripped to bare metal:




I also got some of the components degreesed and cleaned up:




After cleaning all the parts look like thier brand new.

More updates to come...


----------



## brino (Feb 25, 2019)

This is a great "photo essay" and a wonderful public service.
I am sure all these pictures will really help someone get their machine back together.
Thanks for sharing!
-brino


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## dmittz (Feb 26, 2019)

Thank you Brino,  I certainly hope this thread can be of some help to others.


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## dmittz (Mar 4, 2019)

Made a little more progress on the Mill.  Spent some time taping off all the non-paint surfaces on the upper head castings, then laid down some epoxy primer followed by some high build primer.


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## azshadeguy (Mar 14, 2019)

You are doing an excellent job. When are you going to get to the head?
I am trying to figure out how to get this fork installed


----------



## dmittz (Mar 14, 2019)

Thanks, I'm doing my best.  Sorry if progress is a little slow.  I have a young family so between that and work I don't get to too much time, i've also been sick lately too.

  Once I finish refurbishing the parts in the top of the head I will have a look at the lower part of the head and post some pictures.

What does that fork your trying to install do?


----------



## azshadeguy (Mar 15, 2019)

I am sorry to be such a pain. I remember young ones and the hassles of life.
This is the clutch lever for the downfeed. I took it apart a while back and I don't remember how it went back together.
The clutch adjustment eccentric is drilled off center. I know it came out without any trouble.


----------



## dmittz (Mar 15, 2019)

No worries, I know it is frustrating to be stalled on a project when something goes wrong (won't go. back together). 

I work saturday's so I won't have time tomorrow but I will see if I can find some time this week to take a few pictures of the down feed mechanism on the head.


----------



## dmittz (Mar 17, 2019)

Hi Guys, so a bit of bad news my phone died without warning today, which means I have no camera to take any pictures.  I had planned to photograph the disassembly of the head today, but with no phone/camera that was not possible.  This afternoon was the only time I had available to work on the mill this week.  Sorry Azshadeguy I wanted to help you out but looks like it will have to wait until next weekend/week.     On the positive side I used my time today to get the final color coat put on the parts of the upper head, so the upper head is ready to be reassembled once the paint hardens up.


----------



## azshadeguy (Mar 17, 2019)

No problem Thanks for trying.
I was looking at the thead about the model 845 and it looks like the head is the same.
There are diagrams on the web for the 845 that a lot more detailed than the manual I have for the 745


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## dmittz (Apr 8, 2019)

Hi guys, sorry its been a while I don't get much time in the workshop.  However with what time I have I am still plotting along on the 745.

Since I don't want to many parts laying around the shop, I figured I would put the top of the head back together before dealing with the lower head.

a few pictures of the process....















I made sure to clean-out and re-greese all the bearing and put a bit of oil on all the gears.

I need to get a keyway before I can put the one pulley on...but other than that the upper head is all ready to go.




Slowly but surely I'll get this machine back into working shape.


----------



## azshadeguy (Apr 9, 2019)

I am really liking that color you are painting the mill.
What kind of rivets did you use to reattach the nameplate with?


----------



## dmittz (Apr 9, 2019)

azshadeguy said:


> I am really liking that color you are painting the mill.
> What kind of rivets did you use to reattach the nameplate with?



Thanks Azshadeguy.    So far I had been able to reuse all of the original rivets/pins that held the tags on. 

 However, I just noticed this week that one rivet/pin went missing off my work bench and I could not find it so I need to figure out where I can get a new one.  If anyone has any suggestions they would be welcomed.


----------



## dmittz (Apr 14, 2019)

Hi Guys so I am finally getting started on the lower head tear down.  The head on my machine was in working order with everything functioning so this should be a good guide for anyone needing to see how the 745 head is put together.

Here's the lower head


Top view...




This handle moves the exposed gear up and down...








The first order of business was to remove the exposed gear.  I first removed the pin and set screw that hold the handle to the shaft as well as the set screw that retains the shaft.



After you disengage the mechanism from the gear you can pull the gear out...








Here is what it looks like with the gear removed...



Next up was this....


To remove the handle there is a pin you must remove and a set screw you must loosen...


Cover plate removed...




The mechanism can be taken right out without any further work...






Its pretty hard to see with all the grease so I cleaned everything up so you guys can see what the actual parts look like...






I will post more tear down pictures in a little bit when I get time...


----------



## dmittz (Apr 14, 2019)

With the grease cleaned off...




With the grease cleaned off...







besure to remove the set screw on the 'dough nut' that is on the threaded shaft...


There is a little retaining snap ring at the bottom of the threaded shaft that muat be removed....


Then drive the shaft out the bottom...


----------



## dmittz (Apr 14, 2019)

Next up is the handle that lowers the spindle, the handle is easily removed by unscrewing it...












That was as far as I got on this mechanism, the heavy cast cover held on by the 3 nuts seemed stuck... I will come back to it.  Any tips?

Moving on....
	

		
			
		

		
	








Well guys that's as far as I got more next time... until then let me know of you have any disassembally tips?


----------



## markba633csi (Apr 15, 2019)

Wow a lot of parts in those heads- nice pictures


----------



## azshadeguy (Apr 15, 2019)

That yellow grease looks just like mine did

Looking good thanks for all the pictures


----------



## dmittz (Apr 21, 2019)

Hi guys, happy Easter to everyone.

I spent a little more time working on the head today.  It took much longer than it should have since I don't have any sort of guide to tell me how to take things apart.  But hopefully this thread will help others with future head tear downs.

So picking up where I left off I removed the gears.


The gears all came out easily, I just pulled them all put by hand once the cover was off.




Next up was the downfeed mechanism... I spent way to long trying to figure out how to get the spindle out and finally determined I needed to take this apart first.     The next issue was getting the cover off... it seemed like it would not come off and I wanted to be carful not to break anything.   After spending way too long delicately playing with it I used a pry bar and it came off no problem.
Here is the order of components:


This part has a grove that the coiled up spring sits into...











I couldn't quite figure out how to get the rest of this mechanism out yet... so I will come back to it next time.

Next up was the spindle, basically I was able to push it all the way down and out (took some force near the end of its travel).



The spindle itself spins very smooth and easily so I will leave it alone.



If anyone has any tear down tips for removing the remaining parts in the head please let me know.

Can't wait to get it all apart so I can priperly clean out all that nasty/ sticky yellow grease.


----------



## azshadeguy (Apr 23, 2019)

Thank you for the pictures. It will help when I put mine  back together.
From your picture where you took the bolt that holds the downfeed fork I can see that mine does not sit down as far as yours.
I must have the shaft in wrong but I can only make it go in one way.
I will wait until you get the next part cleaned a maybe it will become clear 
Thanks for taking the time posting the pictures
Paul


----------



## dmittz (Apr 23, 2019)

No problem, glad I can be a help.  Sorry I am so slow my workshop time is quite limited and it also takes me while to figure out how to take everything apart with no guide and I have to be very cautious not to break anything.  

Next time my challenge will be to figure out how to get that pivoting fork off the shaft, You can not just pull it off as it gets stuck against the housing.  I need to figure out how to seperate the pivoting fork from the bushing that is around the shaft.... all that sticky yellow grease makes it hard to see!


----------



## azshadeguy (Apr 24, 2019)

That fork is will come off the shaft. Looks like is the grease is holding it on. Just the fork push it off the bushing


----------



## dmittz (Apr 28, 2019)

Hi guys, I spent a little more time tearing down the head today.

I had to remove a small pin that held this kob on the end of this shaft.



I was then able to drive that shaft out.








Once that shaft was removed the gear that lowers the quill was freed-up but Because of that pivot fork I could not get it out.  The pivot fork cannot be removed from the shaft as far as I can tell.  I could of course drill out the pivot points but I am very reluctant to use such agressive measures to take things apart.

Pictures of the pivot fork and gear that I cannot get out.








The pivot fork gets stuck tight on the housing before I can pull it off the shaft.
	

		
			
		

		
	




I also can't seem to get this little worm gear out... despite the fact that I already removed what seems to be 2 retaining screws that hold it in place.







If anyone has taken one of these heads apart before and can give me some advise on how to remove these two components that would be greatly appreciated as I can't move forward until I figure this out.


----------



## azshadeguy (Apr 29, 2019)

That fork will come off the shaft by itself then the shaft pulls out. That is where I am stuck. I can't get the fork back in to housing far enough to screw the retaining  clip back in. Here are a few pictures


----------



## azshadeguy (Apr 29, 2019)

I don't remember how the worm gear came out. I will see if I can get mine out.


----------



## dmittz (Apr 29, 2019)

azshadeguy said:


> I don't remember how the worm gear came out. I will see if I can get mine out.



Thank you for the information.  From the looks of your pictures my issues seems to be that there is a gear that slides up and down on the shaft with the pivot fork is blocking the pivot fork from 'pivoting' enough to clear the housing so it can slide off the shaft.  So next time I need to find a way to seperate that sliding gear from the pivot fork.

I on your head did you also remove the worm gear that meshes with the gear that lowers the quill?   If its still in place that is the only thing that I could see stopping your gear from seating properly.  It looks like from the picture that it is in fact that worm that is stopping your gear from seating.  Maybe try seating that gear then installing the worm gear.      On Mine the gear was freed-up once I removed th3 worm gear and it would come out easily except for the pivot fork.  I will know more once I can see behind that gear though.

One more question how did you seperate the pivot fork/bushing from the the gear that slides up and down with it?

Thank you again for the help it is much appreciated.


----------



## azshadeguy (Apr 29, 2019)

dmittz said:


> One more question how did you seperate the pivot fork/bushing from the the gear that slides up and down with it?


I think I got lucky and it just came right off


----------



## azshadeguy (Apr 29, 2019)

dmittz said:


> Maybe try seating that gear then installing the worm gear


Thanks I will try that


----------



## dmittz (Apr 29, 2019)

azshadeguy said:


> I think I got lucky and it just came right off



That is lucky mine, seems quite firmly attached.  But i'm sure there must be a way to get it off.

Hope you are able to get your gear seated!


----------



## dmittz (Apr 29, 2019)

So with advise/pictures from azshadeguy I was able to get the bushing and pivot fork off today.  There was some sort of little retaing ring that was holding it on.  Once that was removed it came right off and I was able to take the gear out behind it 

retaining ring removed...



pivot fork removed...



Sliding gear removed....



main gear for quill removed...





Very grimey housing... glad I got the gear off so I can clean it up.



Housing after a very quick wipe down....



Now I just need to figure out how to get that one remaing worm gear out...


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## azshadeguy (Apr 30, 2019)

Do you have the manual for the 745? I have one but it is useless. Look at this one its different but it helps.
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/2280/16685.pdf


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## dmittz (Apr 30, 2019)

I don't have a manual.  I have heard its not very good other than to get part #.  So I didn't bother since mine had no broken parts.

I'll have a look at that manual you posted the link for, thank you.


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## azshadeguy (Apr 30, 2019)

dmittz said:


> There was some sort of little retaining ring that was holding it on.


Dang now I see that little clip. I had forgotten about it.


----------



## dmittz (Apr 30, 2019)

That clip is very small and was obsured by the grease on my machine.   Definietly easy to forget.  

Were you able to get your gear seated with the worm removed azshadeguy?


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## azshadeguy (Apr 30, 2019)

dmittz said:


> Were you able to get your gear seated with the worm removed azshadeguy?


Yes I did I just went and took out the gears and the shaft went all the way in. I have been stumped for a long time over this thanks for the suggestion.


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## azshadeguy (Apr 30, 2019)

On your worm gear on mine it looks like a roll pin holding it on


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## dmittz (Apr 30, 2019)

Awesome!  Glad to hear I could be of help.


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## azshadeguy (May 1, 2019)

Thanks I can't tell you how much you helped. I really did not think it was hitting that worm gear.
As to your worm gear I can't see how to get it out. 
It looks like I replaced both bearings on that shaft but I don't how I got it out


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## dmittz (May 6, 2019)

I got started on cleaning up the head. All that old grease did not want to come off!

The head after cleaning...







Some parts after cleaning...








I am amazed by how good of condition all of the parts are, once cleaned up everything looks like new, even after 40 years of use.

Still got a bit more cleaning to do.


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## azshadeguy (May 6, 2019)

That cleaned up nice. Did you get the worm gear out?
That little roller bearing in your picture. Where did that come from? 
I have forgotten so much its not funny


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## dmittz (May 6, 2019)

I orignally thought that this little roller bearing was just a washer as it was all stuck together with gease...I didn't realize it was a bearing until I sprayed some brake cleaner on it.


That little bearing was in the head casting where the far side of this shaft comes out of the head.


In this spot...


 Hope that helps.


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## azshadeguy (May 6, 2019)

Yes it does thanks again


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## dmittz (May 20, 2019)

It been a couple weeks since I had a chance to work on the mill, but I spent a little time today and got the head stripped down to bare metal.


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## azshadeguy (Jun 1, 2019)

looks great did that gear ever come out?
What kind of grease are you putting in the head


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## dmittz (Jun 1, 2019)

I tried to persude that gear to come out a few times but it is really in there and I don't want to break something, so I have just been working around it.  Still working on getting all the internals cleaned up.  My wife (and baby) will be at a baby shower tomorrow so I should have a little time to work on the Mill tomorrow.


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## dmittz (Jun 3, 2019)

I got a little more work done on the Mill yesterday.

Figuring out how to get this assembally apart was a little bit of a logic puzzel but I got it done. Everything shoukd work much smoother when it goes back together without all the hard/sticky grease.










I was able to use a brass punch to drive the return spring out...





Now these 3 parts were cleaned up and ready for media blasting...



After a quick trip through my blasting cabinet...



I also finished cleaning up all the parts... sure hope I can remember how it all goes back together





That's all for now.


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## dmittz (Jun 23, 2019)

Hi everyone, it been a few weeks but I was able to do a little more on the Mill today.

I got the head all masked off for paint, that was a suprisingly big job.







I sprayed epoxy primer followed by urethane single stage color coat.







The paint should be all hardened up for next time so I can start the reassembally process.


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## dmittz (Jun 30, 2019)

I made a bit of a start on putting the head back together...

Head after all the masking tap was removed from painting:
	

		
			
		

		
	



Downfeed return spring re-installed:



I'm assuming re-assembally should be the reverse of disassembally so I won't cover all the details but here is where I got to:







I had to stop there because during disassembally a little retaining ring that held the bronze arm in place broke so I need to call Wells and order a new one.

Hope I can continue to get this head back together properly... so far so good.


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## dmittz (Jul 7, 2019)

Hi everyone, work on the mill continues...

I found that I could use a snap ring in place of the original retaining ring, it seems to work well.












Down feed quil handle done.


Gear box finished, sorry for the lack of pictures, it was kind of a greasy/messy install, so it was hard to get pictures.



And here's where I left off:



I would have gone farther, but I realized I forgot to paint and refubish the rest of the parts so I have to do that before I finish assembally.


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## azshadeguy (Jul 8, 2019)

Looking good. 
What kind of grease did you use in the gearbox?


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## dmittz (Jul 8, 2019)

The greese is nothing special just some synthetic axel greese.  But I figured if it works in a car's wheel bearings it ot to work for the mill.


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## azshadeguy (Jul 10, 2019)

Good deal. Looks like it will be up and running in no time


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## azshadeguy (Jul 28, 2019)

dmittz said:


> I got a little more work done on the Mill yesterday.
> 
> Figuring out how to get this assembally apart was a little bit of a logic puzzel but I got it done. Everything shoukd work much smoother when it goes back together without all the hard/sticky grease.
> 
> ...


How did you get that apart?
I guess I will go look for that spring
I have that part in the ultrasonic that grease has turned to glue.


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## azshadeguy (Jul 28, 2019)

Okay I figured it out all the old grease was not letting the cam turn far enough. 
I don't see a spring in my cam


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## dmittz (Aug 11, 2019)

azshadeguy said:


> Okay I figured it out all the old grease was not letting the cam turn far enough.
> I don't see a spring in my cam



I'm sorry I didn't respond I had neglected this thread.  I'm glad you were able to get it figured out azshadeguy.


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## dmittz (Aug 11, 2019)

Sorry everyone for being so slow with the updates.

I do have a progress to report:

I had mess around with the with the return spring on the quill.  As far as I could determine the spring kept poping out for no reason, seemed like everything was as designed but it wasn't working.  I ended up using a little JB weld to help hold the return spring in its groove. Seems to work good now.



Next up was to clean up and repaint the last few pieces.  I sand blasted them and then just brushed the paint on. As it wasn't worth setting up the spray gun for 3 small parts



Assembled:





Installed on the head:



I also polished up a few brass screws that had been overlooked:



Next it was time to turn the head upright:



And install what I think is the actuating mechanism for the back gear:





And now the lower head is pretty much completed. That is as far as I got for now.  I just need to mate the lower, middle and upper parts of the head and install on the machine... then look into a phase converter or VFD.


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## dmittz (Sep 2, 2019)

I made a little more progress, on the Mill.  I got the lower head mounted and in place. 






Also the JB weld worked and the return spring on the quill is staying in place now as it should.

Just baby steps but it's getring close to making some chips.


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## dmittz (Sep 8, 2019)

Got a little more reassembally done on the mill today...

Got the back gear put on and the pulley installed.  I had bought a key way set so I could replace the various Key ways on the mill...As per usual the key way for the pulley was an odd size so I had to use a file on a larger keyway to gey the correct size again. Not sure why every key way on this machine is an odd size.




Next I got the belt guard on put on as well as the main drive cone pulley's put on, that was easy.  Both belts are in good shape so I will re-use them.

Had a little trouble getting the back gear belt on but got it figured out.

Belt in place:



Its starting to look like a Mill again:






Next up I need to repaint the motot housing...But that will be another day.


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## azshadeguy (Sep 14, 2019)

Looking good you will have it up and running in no time


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## dmittz (Sep 14, 2019)

Thanks, yes I'm looking forward to finally having a working milling machine.  Hope to do a little more work on it tomorrow.  I had to work 6 days this weeks and some evenings.

How is your machine coming along azshadeguy?


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## azshadeguy (Sep 14, 2019)

I keep getting sidetracked with other projects
I have to stop buying stuff at auctions
Bought  a scissor lift and a 36 foot man lift


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## dmittz (Sep 14, 2019)

I know how that goes, its very easy to get distracted with other projects, happens to me a lot.  The scissor lift sounds like a really useful piece of equipment.


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## dmittz (Sep 15, 2019)

I tinkered with a few things on the mill and got them working better.  After that I partly dismantled the motor case/ electrical components and got them painted.






motor and components freshly painted.



The motor was working fine when I purchased the mill so I will just leave it as is other than painting. 

That's all for now.


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## dmittz (Sep 22, 2019)

Hey everyone.  I got a little more done on the Mill today.  I put the electrical components back together and installed them and the motor on the mill.







I also media blasted the on/off switch and powder coated it wrinkle black.  I need to make an extension rod as that was missing.


The mill is just about done now.

The things that still remain are:
-I need to track down a few revolving knobs for the hand wheels as I don't like the original plastic ones and the knob on the knee was just a bolt when I got the mill.
-I also need to find one plastic knob that is missing from one of the leavers the head.

-I want to add some accent paint to the Cast 'Index' logo and to any cast raised lettering.

And of course I need to find a way to power this 3ph machine.  I'm really not good with electrical stuff but I'll have to figure it out. 

I'm Thinking my best options are VDF or a rotary phase converter.  VDF is nice for the variable speed control...A Rotary converter might be handy for when I get my South bend 13 restored since I could use it for both machines...


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## brino (Sep 23, 2019)

dmittz said:


> The mill is just about done now.



The mill looks amazing!

However, I worry that those shelf brackets above and behind it are overloaded! I'd hate to see any damage to the machine or paint.

-brino


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## dmittz (Sep 23, 2019)

Thanks Brino.  You Know that's a good point about the shelves, I had pretty much not paid any attention to them.  

I put those shelves up before I had the mill (or anything of value) over in that corner of the workshop.  I mostly have left over materials from when I did my home reno stored up there, and most of it was just shoved onto the shelves in a rush.  Next time I'm out in the workshop I'll roll the mill out from the wall and see what I can do to make sure everything is secure.  Thanks for bringing that to my attention.


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## paulymorph (Mar 10, 2020)

I came across this forum and for me, it has been extremely helpful.  I just recently bought a Wells Index model 847 and have been working through some issues with the autofeed. Your pictures have been enormously helpful so I wanted to thank you.

I notice the thread stopped in Sept. 2019.  Has there been any progress?  I didn't see if you ever mentioned what you ever decided on powering it.  For mine, I selected a reasonably priced VFD from Factorymation.  Model TD200-2002-1PH.

The motor that came on my WI is a Doerr 2HP.  The VFD works fantastic and was really easy to install and program basic features.

Here's an album of pics that I store to keep track of things and progress on my cleanup etc.  So far I haven't endeavored to go nearly as far as you but your pictures are quite inspiring.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/2M6m6PnXpJrghHnw9


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## dmittz (Mar 10, 2020)

Thanks for the Info Paulymorph,  Aside from a VFD the mill is completed now, I did order a few spinner handles to replace the plastic one it comes with on the handwheels.  Sadly, I haven't gotten the mill powered with a VFD yet, I am hoping since it is only 1hp to find a VFD that can convert 110V 1ph to 220V 3ph but am unsure of a good VFD model and how to wire a VFD.  I haven't really had much time to look into it, also I haven't had anything that needed milling but I am really wanting to get it going in the not too distant future.

I enjoyed looking through the pictures of your 847 Mill.


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## paulymorph (Mar 10, 2020)

dmittz said:


> I am hoping since it is only 1hp to find a VFD that can convert 110V 1ph to 220V 3ph but am unsure of a good VFD model and how to wire a VFD.


I’m glad to send you a little info on what I’ve learned and can show you what I ordees for mine as well as recommend one for you.  If you’re interested, send me a oic if your motor name plate and I can send you the info. It’s actually not as complicated as you might expect, especially for a 1hp motor.


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## dmittz (Mar 11, 2020)

Here's the info tag on the motor:


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## paulymorph (Mar 12, 2020)

Ok, I've called and spoken to several places that sell drives over the past year.  I've purchased 2 VFD's myself.  One for a State Mfg. Spindle sander (1HP - 3PH) and my Wells Index (2HP - 3PH).  While there can be a lot of factors to consider, motors and loads like these mills are fairly straight forward.  The basics of sizing a VFD is to look for the amp rating on your motor.  Most newer motors these days will have an FLA value (full load amps) but in your case (and mine too) it's the Amp rating.  In your case, this motor will pull 3.8 Amps at 220 Volts.  From there, you want to look for a VFD that can take the input voltage you are able to provide in your shop, either single phase 110V or single phase 220V AND that will output, in your case, 220V 3 phase power.  I'm assuming you can provide a 220 single phase line to your mill but let me know if you have questions.  Next is to look at the FLA value of the VFD and pick one whose FLA rating is no more than about 30% higher than your motor rating.  You'll want to stay within that 30% range to avoid needing an additional over voltage protection component (for safety)

I bought my VFD from factorymation so i'll just show you an equivalent one to what I purchased since I have actual hands on experience with them.  The FMX TD200 line are their straight forward VFD that can handle most 3 PH motor requirements up to 3HP.  When you look at the list here you can quickly browse down the list to find one that matches your specs.  The TD200-2001-1PH would match your motor nicely.  It's FLA value of 4.3 is above your motors 3.8 requirement and not greater than 30% higher.  

Wiring is actually really straight forward.  The VFD has clearly marked slots where your incoming lines go as well as the 3PH lines out to the motor.  Once you get it all wired up, there are some basic steps you would follow to configure the VFD to tell it the size of the motor it is etc...  Those steps are located in their quick started guide here.  The most important initial setting is to tell the VFD the motor fla value.  From there, it's a breeze.

The VFDs themselves are really very versatile.  You can get them with more buttons on the faceplate such as a dedicated forward/rev button which you may actually want to consider however, if your have some basic electronics understanding you can add an external 3 position switch to control the fwd/stop/rev behaviors.  You'll want to read up or watch a couple of vids of VFDs in use on Youtube.  

For comparison, here's a TD400 series vfd that has a dedicated fwd/rev button on the face.  

Please let me know if you have any questions.


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## dmittz (Mar 16, 2020)

That is wonderful info Paulymorph, thank you for taking the time to write all that for me!

Yes, I do have a 1ph 220V outlet in the shop that is fairly near the mill.  The only issue with using the 220V outlet is the mill would have to share it with my powdercoating oven.  Does it create an issue with a VFD if you are pluging and un-plugging them regularly?
  I do also have a 20amp 1ph 110V outlet directly behind my milling machine which would be nice to use if possible so it doesn't have to share a plug do you think that is possible or does the motor require to much power for a 110V to supply? 

I found these 1ph 110v to 3ph 220V  VFD's do you think either would work or do I need to use a the 220V plug?


----------



## dmittz (Mar 16, 2020)

Also on a side note my revolving knobs came in.  I drilled out the hand wheels to accept the 3/8-16 threads on the knobs.   The knobs were chrome plated, but that didn't match the polished iron hand wheels to I removed the chrome plating and now i'm happy with how they look/ feel much nicer than the plastic knobs the mill came with.






The chrome doesn't really match the polished wheel...




I removed the chrome plating from the knob on the left, it matches the handwheel better than the chrome knob on the right.  so I removed the chrome from all 3 knobs so they match.




Knobs installed after chrome plating was removed.


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## paulymorph (Mar 16, 2020)

dmittz said:


> I found these 1ph 110v to 3ph 220V VFD's do you think either would work or do I need to use a the 220V plug?


If you find a VFD that matches this, and meets the FLA specs, that should be fine.  One thing that's really easy to do if for no other reason than to learn, is to start a chat with the support folks at factorymation.  I've never really had to wait to chat to a live person.  Or call them directly.  Ask them for help sizing a VFD and they'll probably ask for a pic of the motor plate.  I'm betting they recommend either of these.  They both provide the same output but based on either 115 or 240V input.  I'll admit, I don't know the specific tradeoffs (if any) there are for either choice and in fact i had to install a new 220 circuit for mine but I don't recall there being a VFD that could generate 3PH for a 2HP motor (as in my case).  My educated guess is that the first one needs additional circuitry/components in order to generate the 2nd and 3rd phase output based on a single hot line in whereas the 2nd requires less since you already start with 2 hot lines that are already on different phases (therefore only needing to generate 1 additional phase).  The difference in price seems to support that idea as well.  But the support folks will definitely be able to tell you as well.


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## paulymorph (Mar 16, 2020)

dmittz said:


> The only issue with using the 220V outlet is the mill would have to share it with my powdercoating oven.  Does it create an issue with a VFD if you are pluging and un-plugging them regularly?



No, it doesn't hurt at all to plug/unplug or to switch on/off.  In fact, that's exactly what I've done.  I put a 220V Double Pole 20A switch between the wall and the VFD so I can switch it on/off as I didn't want to leave it powered up all the time and unplugging was a little hard to get to in my garage.

Interestingly, I've read many people say they leave their VFD powered on always (for many years straight) with no issues.  The VFD isn't doing any work until you've pressed the start button.  Only then does it actually produce the power for the motor.  Other than that it's just the leds on the display.  I don't even think it generates any heat passively but someone may correct me if I'm wrong.


----------



## paulymorph (Mar 16, 2020)

dmittz said:


> my revolving knobs came in


Those are beautiful.  Can you share a link where you got them?  And what did you do to remove the chome?  Scotch Bright pads?


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## dmittz (Aug 16, 2020)

Well everyone today, this wells-index 745 project was finally brought to completion.  I would have got this done sooner had it not been for COVID.  But this week I hired an automation specialist and he wired up a VFD to run my mill, includes a tachometer and some other features.  I made a few chips today to test out the mill and it works great.  I'm super excited to have the mill up and running.





So at least for now I guess that concludes this project.  Time to start buying tooling and making chips!


----------



## tjb (Aug 16, 2020)

dmittz said:


> Well everyone today, this wells-index 745 project was finally brought to completion.  I would have got this done sooner had it not been for COVID.  But this week I hired an automation specialist and he wired up a VFD to run my mill, includes a tachometer and some other features.  I made a few chips today to test out the mill and it works great.  I'm super excited to have the mill up and running.
> View attachment 333985
> View attachment 333986
> View attachment 333987
> ...


Absolutely beautiful work.  You should be pleased for many years to come.

Regards,
Terry


----------



## Superburban (Aug 16, 2020)

Great job. Cannot wait to see what you make now.


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## T. J. (Aug 16, 2020)

Congrats on a job well done!


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## dmittz (Aug 16, 2020)

Thanks guys, I'm pretty excited to finally have an operational Mill after 2 years.  I think it will do everything I will ask of it.


----------



## dmittz (Aug 16, 2020)

paulymorph said:


> Those are beautiful.  Can you share a link where you got them?  And what did you do to remove the chome?  Scotch Bright pads?



My apologies I totally missed this question,I know I'm way late but wanted to give you an answer.   I used a 3M multi-surface wheel on my 8in bench buffer.  Followed up with some Black then red polishing compound on a cloth polishing wheel.

I think they were from MSCdirect but I can't remember for sure.


----------



## dmittz (Aug 16, 2020)

paulymorph said:


> No, it doesn't hurt at all to plug/unplug or to switch on/off.  In fact, that's exactly what I've done.  I put a 220V Double Pole 20A switch between the wall and the VFD so I can switch it on/off as I didn't want to leave it powered up all the time and unplugging was a little hard to get to in my garage.
> 
> Interestingly, I've read many people say they leave their VFD powered on always (for many years straight) with no issues.  The VFD isn't doing any work until you've pressed the start button.  Only then does it actually produce the power for the motor.  Other than that it's just the leds on the display.  I don't even think it generates any heat passively but someone may correct me if I'm wrong.
> 
> View attachment 316912




You were most correct the automation specialist I hired to do the wiring confirmed that so long as the motor was not running it would not harm the VFD to turn the power off to it.  Mine has a cooling fan so definitely don't want it running all the time.  He made a 4 way switch for my 220V power supply.  The 4 options are 1.all outlets off 2. Oven powered, 3 VFD/mill powered 4. welder plug powered.


NVM that yellow wire, it is not powered and was for a machine that never ended up in the shop.

I'm glad I hired the wiring out.  You guys that do this are talented.  The automation specialist was in my workshop for 2 full days figuring it out and wiring it.  He only charged for 4 hours as per his quote, but I gave him a bonus since he was there for 2 full days.


----------



## paulymorph (Aug 17, 2020)

dmittz said:


> Well everyone today, this wells-index 745 project was finally brought to completion.  I would have got this done sooner had it not been for COVID.  But this week I hired an automation specialist and he wired up a VFD to run my mill, includes a tachometer and some other features.  I made a few chips today to test out the mill and it works great.  I'm super excited to have the mill up and running.
> View attachment 333985
> View attachment 333986
> View attachment 333987
> ...


Thanks @dmittz for the replies.  Your project looks absolutely fantastic.  I love the look of the wiring and enclosure etc.  It would be awesome to hear some additional details about the VFD if you wouldn't mind sharing.  Make/Model...  Would love to see the inside of the box too.  I'm interested to know how the automation guy did the RPM as well.  

And just to understand how you have the buttons set up...  I see a Motor Run and Stop as well as a potentiometer (lower right) and the emergency stop.  So does that mean to power on the VFD, you'll set the 4 position 220 switch to the Mill/VFD position and then use the motor run/stop buttons to turn on/off the spindle/VFD?  And the potentiometer to control the speed of the spindle by varying the frequency?  If so, I assume the physical on/off switch (upper left of the head) doesn't do anything now or is just always in the on position.  I guess i'm indirectly asking if you're planning on using the gearing in the head at all for high/low speed torque scenarios or if you're leaving the gearing to a mid-range setting and then using the potentiometer to adjust torque/speed.  

I opted against using the potentiometer method to control the speed of my motor as I figured the gearing in the head of mine would be a better (or at least more native) method of controlling the torque/speed of the spindle than manipulating the speed of the motor by varying the frequency/Hz.  I'm not suggesting that's a wrong approach as i've read of others doing the same although mostly on machinery that had lower torque requirements.  Things like wood lathes and drill presses.  In my situation, that effectively means I need 3 positions to control my mill (On (fwd), Off, On (rev)). It's hard to make out in my picture from earlier in the thread but there's a grey 3 conductor wire that goes to a 3 position switch on mine.  I programmed the VFD accordingly based on which position it was in.  

Thanks again for sharing the great content.


----------



## Splat (Aug 17, 2020)

I'm jealous, @dmittz . I'm jealous of that beautiful machine and your resolve. On behalf of everyone I'd also like to thank you for taking your time to post the pics and write ups along the journey. Beautiful job!


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## dmittz (Aug 18, 2020)

paulymorph said:


> Thanks @dmittz for the replies.  Your project looks absolutely fantastic.  I love the look of the wiring and enclosure etc.  It would be awesome to hear some additional details about the VFD if you wouldn't mind sharing.  Make/Model...  Would love to see the inside of the box too.  I'm interested to know how the automation guy did the RPM as well.
> 
> And just to understand how you have the buttons set up...  I see a Motor Run and Stop as well as a potentiometer (lower right) and the emergency stop.  So does that mean to power on the VFD, you'll set the 4 position 220 switch to the Mill/VFD position and then use the motor run/stop buttons to turn on/off the spindle/VFD?  And the potentiometer to control the speed of the spindle by varying the frequency?  If so, I assume the physical on/off switch (upper left of the head) doesn't do anything now or is just always in the on position.  I guess i'm indirectly asking if you're planning on using the gearing in the head at all for high/low speed torque scenarios or if you're leaving the gearing to a mid-range setting and then using the potentiometer to adjust torque/speed.
> 
> ...





Yes, to power the mill the switch is set to 'milling' which powers the VFD




SO the buttons are motor on, motor off, emergency stop disconnects power to the motor but not VFD. The variable speed can be used to apply between 0% and 100% speed/power to the motor. And the tach displays the motor speed.

The belt system is fully functional. and can be used to adjust speed mechanically, the variable allows adjustment between belt ranges or for less demanding milling/drilling can be used as the sole speed control if desired.  For max torque the motor would be run at 100% speed and the belt engaged at the proper speed range.




The switch on the side of the head is still functional.  It is a secondary off switch and also determine if the spindle/motor is turning forward or reverse.


Some of pictures inside the box:


----------



## dmittz (Aug 18, 2020)

Almost forgot here is a close up of the VFD.   The automation specialist is giving a 5 yr warranty on all parts and install so he must be confident it will last.


----------



## dmittz (Aug 18, 2020)

Also forgot to add the VFD has a 'soft start feature, so instead of just turning on full power the motor gently spools up to the desired power level which takes about 2.5 seconds.


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## dmittz (Aug 28, 2020)

I added on more very small finishing touch to the mill. The forward/reverse switch was a bit hard to reach because it was missing a rod that was suppose to hang down.  Anyway I decided to fix that.  I had a little bit of solid round stock bar laying around so I used my south bend 9a lathe to machine the end down to 1/4 then used a die to tap some threads.  It worked perfectly.  Now I have a handle on the switch that I can reach.  I might powder coat it wrinkle black but you almost can't tell the difference since the rid was already a 'blackish' color.


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## dmittz (Sep 2, 2020)

So now that the mill is 'operational being that I can turn it on and have ensured if functions, its time to start making it functional.

I am really starting from the ground up as far as tooling and accessories.  All I have is an  chinese swivel vise (no handle), a older 14N jaocbs drill chuck, a phase 2 (chinese) keyless chuck and 4 well used HSS end mills.  That's it. SO as it stands all I can do is drill holes or super light end milling. Can't even tram the head or vise yet.

So I've ordered a noga magnetic base swivel dial indicator holder with Miyoto dial indicator and a Noga centering dial indicator holder, once they arrive I can do the traming and I'll post some pics.

I've also got a push style oil gun for lubricating all the ways ordered, hopefully it arrives soon. I Also have 1 gallon of way oil that just arrived

I ALSO ordered 4 Lyndex endmill holders 3/8, 1/2, 5/8 & 3/4.  The 1/2 one just arrived the others are either on order  or in shipping. To go with the holders I go a 20 piece 2 and 4 flute ti coated HSS endmill set, which just arrived. The cutters are just basic (chinese) but I needed something to get me started and I'd rather cheap out on the cutters than the holders and other tooling.

Finally, I've ordered a spindle light, dounut light that attaches to the spindle with magnets so I can see. This is the real deal american one (not Chinese knock off) so it comes with a lifetime warranty.  Can't wait for it to arrive!

ANYWAY enough talk, time for the pictures of the first batch of tooling.

50W way oil



20pc ENDMILL SET:



1ST of 4 Lyndex endmill holders to arrive: (this one is 1/2).





The salesman at KBC spoke very highly of the Lyndex endmill holders. And I don't think he had any reason to sell them to me vs the Collis or KBC house band I was also looking at aside from my request for good quality.   TiR is advertised as 0.0002 hardened body, made in Japan. when I gave it a quick test it threaded smoothly on the draw bar and was an excellent fit on the endmills, set screw was smooth so I'm happy with it.

ONCE, all my other orders arrive i can get it tramed and turn this into a functional mill at least for basic operations!


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## Janderso (Sep 2, 2020)

dmittz,
Fabulous, just drop dead beautiful work sir.
You sir are a perfectionist.
I would love to own an Index.
Bravo.


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## dmittz (Sep 2, 2020)

Janderso said:


> dmittz,
> Fabulous, just drop dead beautiful work sir.
> You sir are a perfectionist.
> I would love to own an Index.
> Bravo.


 Thank you Janderso, that's very kind of you.  I'm trying my best with the skills and budget that I have.


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## dmittz (Sep 4, 2020)

So a few more things for the mill arrived today.

Made in usa vinyl sticker (actually printed by a Canadian  company, lol).

Put it on the mill above the information plate
	

		
			
		

		
	





MORE importantly my NOGA swivel dial gauge holder arrived... one is for in the spindle the other is a magnetic base.  Also included is a miyoto metric dial indicator.









With tightening the single knob you can loosen/ tighten all the joints at once. VERY nice quality, made in Isreal. The miyoto metric dial indicator seems very nice also, made in Japan.

After a super quick check the vise is out .030 and the head is surprisingly bang on left/right but out quite a bit front to back so I will be spending some time tramming in the near future! STAY tuned for a tramming update.


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## dmittz (Sep 5, 2020)

So today I got a chance to do the tramming on the mill.  I trammed the head to the table.

It quite something but as I've showed before even being a 1969 model not a single cutter mark on the table...



I used my Jacobs 16N drill chuck (made in usa) to hold the noga dial indicator holder. I trust it more than the 'phase 2' keyless chuck I have...



ANYWAY, I did the front to back tramming first got withing .002mm front/back...


Next I did the side tilt and got to withing about 0.01mm


I also decided to dismantle and clean/oil my 'china' milling vise...


AFTER, inspection the quality is pretty disappointing, many casting flaws, ways are not machined flat etc... One day I want a good quality vise but since this came with the mill and I don't have the budget for a new KURT vise,  a clean and oil is the best I can do.

I Did my best to tram the vise got it to about 0.03mm over  6inches, the jaws have some high and low spots so that was the best I can do for now.



I'M still awaiting 3 endmills, my spindle light and push style oil gun but its getting real close to being a functional machine that I can actually use!


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## reds (Sep 6, 2020)

Take the swivel base of your vise off. You may find the vise is closer than you think..


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## Papa Charlie (Sep 6, 2020)

I have just gone through your entire project here. I am very impressed with the quality of work and your approach to the project. I am still looking for my mill. I know what I want, but that may not be the most logical. So I keep looking. I am on a restricted budget like so many here. If I had my choice, I would probably go for a K&T Horizontal Vertical milling machine. The ability to change over from one to the other by moving the head out of the way on its own davit seems very appealing to me.

Thank you very much for sharing this.

One tool you may want to get is a set of precision ground stones. They will ensure that your mounting surfaces are clean and free of anything that will through your mountings or readings off. When you first look at the price, like I did, you are taken back but according to many machinists on YouTube and a couple of tool and die makers that I know at Boeing, they are as important as you test indicator. 

I haven't purchased mine yet, but will making the purchase shortly. I will be purchasing from Shark River Machine. I will be placing my order for the 6"x2"x1" stones. He produces 3 different sizes.  

Here is a clip from his email on my inquiry.

"The first is 4”x 1 ¾: x 5/8” ground on 4 sides Made in the USA they run $125.00 per pair shipped in the USA.  The second size is the size that I sent to Adam. They are 6”x2”x1” and run $160.00 per pair shipped in the USA. The third size is new offering. They are 4” round x 1” thick and they run $180.00 per pair. I have all sizes ready to ship. If you are interested send me your mailing address and a Paypal email address and I will send an invoice."

Again, amazing work. I will be interested to see if you get any unwanted vibration with your mill on the cart.


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## dmittz (Sep 6, 2020)

Papa Charlie said:


> I have just gone through your entire project here. I am very impressed with the quality of work and your approach to the project. I am still looking for my mill. I know what I want, but that may not be the most logical. So I keep looking. I am on a restricted budget like so many here. If I had my choice, I would probably go for a K&T Horizontal Vertical milling machine. The ability to change over from one to the other by moving the head out of the way on its own davit seems very appealing to me.
> 
> Thank you very much for sharing this.
> 
> ...



That is great advise, I will add stones to the list of tooling I need to buy in the future. 

YES, we will for sure see how the rolling cart works out.  It is super handy to be able to move the mill by myself but vibrations are possible I guess.  I do have the 4 'feet' screwed down so they are taking quite a bit of weight but certainly not the whole 2100lbs, but enough that I can not move it at all regardless how hard I push or pull on it... when I need to move it I just use a rachet and screw the feet up.  I suspect that with the light hobby use this mill will be getting it will be OK, but I guess we will see.


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## dmittz (Sep 6, 2020)

[Take the swivel base of your vise off. You may find the vise is closer than you think..
[/QUOTE]

Ya that's a good suggestion, I may give that a try and see, although I could see myself using the swivel base quite a bit.


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## dmittz (Sep 8, 2020)

My Vison worx 2.0 spindle light arrived today.  I was quite excited to see it go on the mill. Here's lots of pictures in case anyone is considering buying one.





So the 86 LED light ring is fully sealed and water proof and is inlayed in anodized aluminum housing.  The magnets on the back side provide 40lbs holding force, so it will never fall off. 

The 2.0 fits around the spindle just perfectly...










For me the lighting level seems perfect, nice and bright but not so much that it causes glare or is uncomfortable to look at.




The on/off switch is held on my a magnet, I mounted it at the front of the ram on the RH side where its easy for me to reach.  There is also a magnet hook that the coiled cord hooks to that I mounted on the underside of the belt guard, the coiled cord allows the light to move up and down no problem.

A couple more beauty shots...


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## Papa Charlie (Sep 9, 2020)

That provides some excellent light and where you need it.


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## pontiac428 (Sep 9, 2020)

Nice work, time for some chips!  Your Index is good and ready!

That Vision-Worx light really seems to make it easy.  I just looked them up, and needed CPR after seeing their price.  Yow!

I would seriously consider removing the rotary base from the vise.  At some point in the future, you'll be doing something mundane and miss your dimensions because of it.  There is too much going on in keeping a rotary base accurate in plane with your table, and Nostradamus predicts the frustrations will force you to remove it.


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## dmittz (Sep 10, 2020)

pontiac428 said:


> Nice work, time for some chips!  Your Index is good and ready!
> 
> That Vision-Worx light really seems to make it easy.  I just looked them up, and needed CPR after seeing their price.  Yow!
> 
> I would seriously consider removing the rotary base from the vise.  At some point in the future, you'll be doing something mundane and miss your dimensions because of it.  There is too much going on in keeping a rotary base accurate in plane with your table, and Nostradamus predicts the frustrations will force you to remove it.



Yes, its getting real close to being a functional mill. Still waiting for one more 5/8 Lyndex endmill holder to come from Japan and frustratingly the push style oil gun, I don't want to use it to much until I can tube the ways. So hopefully the oil gun shows up soon.

On a positive note 2 more of my Lyndex endmill holders arrived from KBC today.  These ones are 3/8 and 3/4, they seem very nice.




I'll keep that in mind about the swivel base vise if I am doing anything where much precision is required.


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## Papa Charlie (Sep 10, 2020)

What is this push type oiler? Is it one of the units that you push down on a pump handle and it presurizes the lines so that there is a slow feed of oil while the pump handle slowly returns to the starting point?


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## dmittz (Sep 10, 2020)

Papa Charlie said:


> What is this push type oiler? Is it one of the units that you push down on a pump handle and it presurizes the lines so that there is a slow feed of oil while the pump handle slowly returns to the starting point?



Nothing that fancy unfortunatley, its just a small oil gun that you can use to lubricate each of the Zirk fittings with. Looks kind of like a multi-bit screw driver.  Here's a link to the one I bought and am waiting for:

https://www.machinerypartsdepot.com/product/12PB20

One day I'd really like to setup a nice one-shot lube system.  But I want to get the mill fully functional first and aquire a bit more tooling before I dive into that project.


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## Buffalo21 (Sep 10, 2020)

pontiac428 said:


> Nice work, time for some chips!  Your Index is good and ready!
> 
> That Vision-Worx light really seems to make it easy.  I just looked them up, and needed CPR after seeing their price.  Yow!
> 
> I would seriously consider removing the rotary base from the vise.  At some point in the future, you'll be doing something mundane and miss your dimensions because of it.  There is too much going on in keeping a rotary base accurate in plane with your table, and Nostradamus predicts the frustrations will force you to remove it.




I also looked up the light, as I love to buy 2 or 3, but DAMN!!, I’ve bought full licensable, road worthy cars for less than the cost of one of those light. I still want them, its just as Ponitac428 said, ithe cost is CPR inducing.


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## dmittz (Sep 10, 2020)

Buffalo21 said:


> I also looked up the light, as I love to buy 2 or 3, but DAMN!!, I’ve bought full licensable, road worthy cars for less than the cost of one of those light. I still want them, its just as Ponitac428 said, ithe cost is CPR inducing.



The vision worx 2.0 light is very nice quality piece but for sure it is pricey, $125 USD is what I paid. Of course being in Canada   I had to pay extra shipping and import taxes on top of that.  The imported knock-offs looks like they are less than half that price but even from the pictures the quality looks lacking and I've had too many faulty imported electronics and chargers that failed quickly, so I didn't want to go that route.
Vison worx shipped the light within a few hours of my purchase and I get a full life time warranty on every part of the light with vision worx so I shouldn't have to every worry about it failing, if it does I just send it back and get a new one free of charge.
Its just sort of my personal philosophy that for the most part I'd rather have fewer good quality tools than lots of cheap stuff (at least for the tools I use often) and the light is something I'll use everytime I use the mill.


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## Gaffer (Sep 10, 2020)

Your light looks similar but more powerful to the ones I have on my reloading presses. They work great!


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## kb58 (Sep 10, 2020)

Member "mksj" posted plans on making your own and it uses an LED ring assembly intended for a car. Probably $25 into it tops.


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## Buffalo21 (Sep 10, 2020)

You must have bought it directly from Vision-Worx, my price from a a supplier was $225, big difference.


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## pontiac428 (Sep 10, 2020)

For $125,  I'd be considering it.  But $225 can buy a lot of light in any sector.


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## dmittz (Sep 11, 2020)

I Bought it through Ebay. Its $125USD + shipping.  I live in Canada so shipping is always costly, but should be less for you U.S guys.

Here's the ebay listing by Vision Worx:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VISION-2-0...E-MILL-BRIDGEPORT-MAGNETIC-IP68-/181708799563


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## dmittz (Sep 11, 2020)

pontiac428 said:


> For $125,  I'd be considering it.  But $225 can buy a lot of light in any sector.



I agree for $225 I wouldn't buy it but at $125 although pricey it made sense for me.


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## Papa Charlie (Sep 11, 2020)

If I had a Mill, I for one would spend the money on this. Good lighting is critical. I have LED lighting on my reloading press. The difference is amazing. At $125 that is not much more than the $75 I paid for my presses lighting.


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## pontiac428 (Sep 11, 2020)

I must have been looking at the "4.0" version, which is $225, vs. the "2.0" version with half as many LEDs.  Must have to do with quill diameter?


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## dmittz (Sep 11, 2020)

pontiac428 said:


> I must have been looking at the "4.0" version, which is $225, vs. the "2.0" version with half as many LEDs.  Must have to do with quill diameter?



The 2.0 version is meant to go around the spindle v.s the 4.0 version which is meant to go around the quill.  Thus the 4.0 version is larger.  

I think there are a few sizes in between also.

For my R8 spindle model 745 the 2.0 version fits perfect around the spindle, i never looked into which one would fit around the quill.


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## Bluedog (Sep 14, 2020)

dmittz said:


> Nothing that fancy unfortunatley, its just a small oil gun that you can use to lubricate each of the Zirk fittings with. Looks kind of like a multi-bit screw driver.  Here's a link to the one I bought and am waiting for:
> 
> https://www.machinerypartsdepot.com/product/12PB20
> 
> One day I'd really like to setup a nice one-shot lube system.  But I want to get the mill fully functional first and aquire a bit more tooling before I dive into that project.



In case that one is too small and requires refilling too often, I use a small grease gun from autozone for way oil on my Wells Index 747.  I just removed the plunger and made a solid cap for the bottom of the grease gun where the plunger would normally be.  Just have to hold the gun upside down while pumping.  Works great.


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## dmittz (Sep 20, 2020)

I got to do my first very small project on the mill today, so it has made some productive chips now.

It was an unplanned project, the latch on my sundeck gate rusted out and broke off, making it unsafe for my toddler, so figured why wait to order a new part when I can make one with left over stuff.

Very little precision was required so it was a good first project for a novice, like me.




Got to use both the mill nd the lathe so it was a fun little project.  I must say I'm super impressed with the mill, it cuts steel like a hot knife through butter! And so far no vibration problems.  Works great as a drill press too.  My old drill press may never get used again.  The mill is definitely my favorite tool in the shop, just need to find some more milling projects.


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## dmittz (Sep 27, 2020)

The 5/8 lindex endmill holder arrived from Japan this week and the push style oiler also finally arrived.


The push style oiler seems to work pretty well.  The one things I need to figure out is the ways on the backside of the table don't seem to be getting any oil?  All the ports were well cleaned out so I can't be a blockage, there are a couple extra threaded holes on the front of the machine, I wonder if they are oil ports with the zerk fitttings missing...I'll have to swap some zerk fittings on them and find out.


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## kcoffield (Jan 1, 2021)

Hey dmittz,

What a great thread and job you did restoring your machine. I just wanted to say thank you for the effort you put into documenting your machine and its restoration. I have a what appears to be a 745 head on a 555 mill.









						What have I got?
					

I’ve had this Index for almost two years. It’s in good shape for its age and especially what I have in it, but great machine for my home shop and what I do with it there. I just finished a lathe restoration and want to turn my attention to the mill. It was in a corporate maintenance shop for...




					www.hobby-machinist.com
				




The photo documentation in this thread and contributing posts is way better than the factory documentation. It's really helped me sort a few things out on my machine already.

Best,
Kelly


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## dmittz (Jan 1, 2021)

kcoffield said:


> Hey dmittz,
> 
> What a great thread and job you did restoring your machine. I just wanted to say thank you for the effort you put into documenting your machine and its restoration. I have a what appears to be a 745 head on a 555 mill.
> 
> ...


Thank you and your very welcome Kelly, I know the factory manuals for the 745 don't provide a lot of detail for those of us that want to do a home rebuild so it had been my hope that in documenting my work it could be used as a future resource for owners of older machines    I was also in the fortunate situation to be starting with a functional machine.

I should add that I really like this mill, I was just using it today and its a really great vintage machine.


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## wachuko (Jan 11, 2022)

This thread is priceless.  Thank you for documenting with photos all this process!  Bookmarked!  Well, watch function enabled.


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## BP2Whit (Jan 27, 2022)

It is a priceless thread!  I am cleaning up my Wells 747 and talk about dried grease, it's almost like soft beeswax!  Curious why no one mentioned the way oil you ordered Vactra #4.  Hmm, seems mighty thick.  I thought that stuff was used on very worn machines.


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## wachuko (Jan 27, 2022)

BP2Whit said:


> It is a priceless thread!  I am cleaning up my Wells 747 and talk about dried grease, it's almost like soft beeswax!  Curious why no one mentioned the way oil you ordered Vactra #4.  Hmm, seems mighty thick.  I thought that stuff was used on very worn machines.



Humm.... you are correct... looking at the new serial number plaque I received for my 847, it calls out for Vactra Oil No. 2 for most everything...   The Vactra Oil No. 4 is only used for the overarm arbor support...


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## paulymorph (Jan 27, 2022)

wachuko said:


> looking at the new serial number plaque I received for my 847


Sorry but I must ask, how did you get a new serial number plaque?  I've been in the process of figuring out ways to replicate myself.

Here's mine for comparison.


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## wachuko (Jan 27, 2022)

paulymorph said:


> Sorry but I must ask, how did you get a new serial number plaque?  I've been in the process of figuring out ways to replicate myself.


You can call Wells-Index.  They are still in business.  Give them the serial number and model number and they will provide the plate stamped.  Mine was 25.75 plus shipping.






						Contact — Wells-Index Milling Machines
					






					www.wells-index.com
				




Contact​We want to hear from you. Please fill out the contact form and we will get back to you shortly.

701 West Clay Ave.
Muskegon, MI 49440-1064
TEL: 1-800-456-7409
TEL: (231) 759-0950
FAX: (231) 728-7456
E-MAIL: sales@wellsindex.com


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## wachuko (Jan 27, 2022)

paulymorph said:


> Sorry but I must ask, how did you get a new serial number plaque?  I've been in the process of figuring out ways to replicate myself.
> 
> Here's mine for comparison.



Oh... that one is much, much nicer.... that looks to be etched or milled....  That one should be easy to restore.

Remove.
Paint.
And then slight sanding on a flat plate (over a glass surface)....

The one you will get from Wells-Index is like the one I shared...


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## woodchucker (Jan 27, 2022)

wachuko said:


> Oh... that one is much, much nicer.... that looks to be etched or milled....  That one should be easy to restore.
> 
> Remove.
> Paint.
> ...


Just like Jamie said , your's is nicer, and as he said, paint, sand on glass plate, or surface plate.
I would rather have yours than Jamie's (wachuko).


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