# Repairs And Upgrades On My Burke #4



## Mark_f (Apr 10, 2015)

Recently I acquired a new (to me) saddle and table for my Burke #4 mill. It has made such a great improvement over the "FrankenBurke" setup I had, But has led me to some things that need additional attention.

The first thing was , my old converted table had a 7/16" slot , the new table has a 1/2" slot. The 7/16" hold down set works fine but the T nuts are a little sloppy, so I made some new ones. I took a .900" x .500" bar and milled a step on each side , the sawed it into .875" lengths and drilled and tapped it for 3/8-16.


These are the finished T nuts and they fit the Burke table perfectly. I stopped the tap early so the last thread in the hole is not complete and the studs will stop instead of screwing through and hitting the table. ( a little extra work , but worth the effort).

The next item on my list for this machine is the vertical head was shop adapted with a long shaft and bar to be used in the top overarm hole in the machine. While this gave more room between the table and head, it required a separate drive or the use of the backwoods hillbilly setup they came up with to drive it from the spindle with pulleys on the back (which worked poorly at best). I wanted to take it back to the factory mounting but the parts are about... no are impossible to find. I need three parts and decided to make them.

First up is a new shaft for the vertical head. I have the drawing for the factory shaft , but decided to leave off the B&S 9 taper and have a 3/4" stub to go in a collet. This will make it smaller and easier to leave on the machine and just swing up when not in use. I got a piece of    1 1/4" CRS bar stock to turn the 1.125" shaft. I have never had the need to turn between centers till now. this was the only way to make this on my lathe due to length. I also did not have a large enough lathe dog for this ....soooooo I fabricated one that worked nicely.



This is my home made lathe dog. a steel ring and a bent carriage bolt with a set screw in the bottom.




Here , turning the shaft between centers.


After milling a key way the length of the shaft, it fits perfectly. I made the shaft three inches longer than the factory shaft so the head can be moved out farther on the overarm for more versatility.

Next item needed is an easy one to make. The eccentric busing for the mounting plate. I turned a piece of 3" diameter CRS to 2.250" diameter leaving a .250 flange the 3"diam. and then bored a 2" hole through it .050" off center.


Of course , the last piece is the mounting plate. Burke used cast iron , but a chunk of cast iron this size came with a $100 price tag. I decided a $15 piece of 1" thick steel bar stock was a better  idea. In the photo, you can see the new shaft in the head, the eccentric bushing ( I will slit the one side before installing) and the mounting plate , so far. I have milled the 90 degree slot for the head to be able to tilt and started the fist hole. As soon as I bore the holes and make the pinch bolt, I will have the machine back to like factory . I Hope to finish this up in the next couple days.

After this is done, I have a D.C. motor and controller to run the power feed with instead of pulleys and belts off the spindle. It will give me infinite settings for feed rates.


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## randyc (Apr 11, 2015)

Those Burkes are _very_ nice mills; industrial quality, well-respected in their day and perfect for HSM needs.  (I liked your unique lathe dog, by the way.)

I never felt that my shop was complete until I obtained a horizontal mill.  Here's a detailed description of my old German beauty if you haven't already seen it:

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/an-unusual-horizontal-milling-machine-very-long-post.32488/

Those unfamiliar with smaller horizontal mills that are also equipped with a vertical head probably have little appreciation of how beefy these little machines can be !  The fact that the vertical head is supported both inboard and outboard makes them much more rigid than the typical vertical (turret) mill that is half again as large.

The only real drawback is the lack of a quill and that can even be worked around with the head turned horizontal.  The rapid-traverse "X" handwheel is used for "Z" travel in this configuration.


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## Mark_f (Apr 11, 2015)

randyc said:


> Those Burkes are _very_ nice mills; industrial quality, well-respected in their day and perfect for HSM needs.  (I liked your unique lathe dog, by the way.)
> 
> I never felt that my shop was complete until I obtained a horizontal mill.  Here's a detailed description of my old German beauty if you haven't already seen it:
> 
> ...




That is cool.   I never thought of using my vertical head that way. thank you for the suggestion.


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## randyc (Apr 11, 2015)

mark_f said:


> That is cool.   I never thought of using my vertical head that way. thank you for the suggestion.



De nada - thank YOU for the interesting post.  Everyone likes tool porn


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## Mark_f (Apr 13, 2015)

today I got most of the mounting plate done for the vertical head. I mounted it up to check fit and even ran it for a few minutes. it works great.






	

		
			
		

		
	
  I still have to slit the top and add the pinch bolt clamp, but that is about it and this mill  is back to factory condition. I left the spindle extra long so I can slide the head out if needed for more versatility. It runs nice and smooth. I am going to polish it up, paint it and polish the head up. I will post the finished photos hopefully tomorrow.


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## woodtickgreg (Apr 13, 2015)

Mark, I just got caught up with this thread, great job!


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## Mark_f (Apr 14, 2015)

Well, the vertical head for my Burke mill is finished. I cut the plate and installed a pinch bolt clamp and gave it a coat of paint. The burke is pretty well all fixed up. I still have to mount the motor for the power feeds.




	

		
			
		

		
	
 It is so nice to have this mill restored to factory condition and working correctly.


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## dgehricke (Sep 29, 2015)

Mark,
 I also own a Burke #4 with the 20" Universial table and the vertical head, after a few spins around the block I opened the vertical head and noticed no lube for the gears. My question is what are you using for grease in the vertical head?? I've uploaded a photo of mine since the photo it has been updated a little and I made some parts for it and I have another the smaller table for parts. Looking forward to your response.
Thanks and Regards
dgehricke


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## woodtickgreg (Sep 29, 2015)

dgehricke said:


> Mark,
> I also own a Burke #4 with the 20" Universial table and the vertical head, after a few spins around the block I opened the vertical head and noticed no lube for the gears. My question is what are you using for grease in the vertical head?? I've uploaded a photo of mine since the photo it has been updated a little and I made some parts for it and I have another the smaller table for parts. Looking forward to your response.
> Thanks and Regards
> dgehricke


Wow, that little burke is in great condition, even has the swivel table, too cool. I have all the power feed stuff for mine but never reinstalled it. The man I purchased mine from passed away and his son sold it to me. He rebuilt the vertical milling attachment and rebushed it so everything is quite tight. So tight that it has seized up a couple of times after long use, I do run it pretty hard. So I opened her up and turned the shaft on my lathe with some sand paper to give it just a little more clearance and that was all it needed. The grease that was in it was a dark brown stinky grease, smells like gear lube. I have found some spindle lube for lawn mowers that smells like it so I pack it with that, it is kind of a thin grease so I keep her filled real good. The particular grease I use is for exmark commercial lawn mowers. I don't know who makes it or if it is even the right kind, but it works. And I can assure you a commercial mower spindle works under far higher load and rpm than our little burkes.


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## Mark_f (Sep 29, 2015)

dgehricke said:


> Mark,
> I also own a Burke #4 with the 20" Universial table and the vertical head, after a few spins around the block I opened the vertical head and noticed no lube for the gears. My question is what are you using for grease in the vertical head?? I've uploaded a photo of mine since the photo it has been updated a little and I made some parts for it and I have another the smaller table for parts. Looking forward to your response.
> Thanks and Regards
> dgehricke





dgehricke said:


> Mark,
> I also own a Burke #4 with the 20" Universial table and the vertical head, after a few spins around the block I opened the vertical head and noticed no lube for the gears. My question is what are you using for grease in the vertical head?? I've uploaded a photo of mine since the photo it has been updated a little and I made some parts for it and I have another the smaller table for parts. Looking forward to your response.
> Thanks and Regards
> dgehricke



I filled my vertical head with a high pressure bearing grease. It works great and don't get hot.  Your mill looks fantastic.


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## dgehricke (Sep 30, 2015)

Thanks all for the info about the grease for the vertical head,a big help.
Thanks again and regards
dgehricke


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## Mark_f (Jun 28, 2016)

The steel plate I made to hold my vertical head , while it does function, has its drawbacks and problems. I would greatly appreciate if anyone out there that has one could make a drawing with dimensions for this plate to hold the vertical head. I am going to have to make one as I have been unable to locate one.( they are as scarce as unicorn crap). A fellow I helped once said he had that plate he got in a box of stuff at an auction. He didn't know what it was . He was supposed to bring it to me but .... He didn't show up. I am tired of fighting this piece of steel. I have to bite the bullet and make one.


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## Glenn Brooks (Jun 29, 2016)

Mark,  I have a vertical head that came with the Burke I am restoring.  Haven't used it yet, but will look tomorrow and see if it is complete with mounting bracket.  If so, I can try to lift some dimensions and send you a drawing of what ever I might have... Actually don't remember what the mounting bracket looks like - as the Burke isn't fully reassembled yet, and some parts are all in a box.

Glenn


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## Mark_f (Jun 29, 2016)

I would really appreciate that. It is an easy part to spot. I know it is cast iron, about 10" long , has a slot for 90 degrees. The distance between the top and bottom hole is important. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy a really expensive hunk of cast iron to make one and I sure don't want to make a mistake. That hunk of iron is close to $100.


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## dgehricke (Jun 29, 2016)

Mark,
Here are some photos of my vertical head on my Burke #4 The plate you made is spot on the only difference would be added weight as the original factory mount is a casting and the split bushing with eccentric offset is 2.375 Dia. the hole for the shaft of the head is 1.655 at the bushing. the unit is 8 " OAL and the width is 4.5 " at the top and tapers down to 3.625" at the bolt to secure it.
The size of the overarm is 2 " dia as you are already aware.  I'll try to get a drawing posted but it will only be a sketch to give you a general idea of its shapes.If I can be of any further assistance let me know glad to help.
Regards
dgehricke


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## dgehricke (Jun 29, 2016)

Mark,
 heres the sketch.
Regards
dgehricke


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## Mark_f (Jun 29, 2016)

Thank you. Now to order a piece of cast iron. It is expensive.


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## dgehricke (Jun 29, 2016)

Mark,
 That is a lot of swarf and cast iron WOW.
Good Luck if you need anything else that I can be of help holler at me.
Regards
dgehricke


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## Mark_f (Jun 29, 2016)

dgehricke said:


> Mark,
> That is a lot of swarf and cast iron WOW.
> Good Luck if you need anything else that I can be of help holler at me.
> Regards
> dgehricke


Yea, but it will cut easy. I figure a block 1 1/2" thick and 9" long will do the trick. It runs right at $100 delivered. Yes, a bit of work but I got everything fixed up on this mill and this is the last piece. I made new screws and nuts for the knee and y axis. I am going to make a new nut for the table. This mill will be better than when it was new.


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## bosephus (Jun 29, 2016)

Mark ...  that darn fellow with the bad memory sure feels bad for completely letting that slip from his mind until he found this thread . 
And your right I didn't know how important that piece is .     I have it somewhere still ..  along with an arbor that I'm pretty sure is either bent or has a messed up taper .

I'll be away from the house untill Saturday morning ..   but I just put a large reminder on my refrigerator .   Soon as I get back home it will be my first priority to find it


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## dgehricke (Jun 30, 2016)

Mark,
 I measured my bracket for the vertical head and it is 2.115" at the thickest part where it mounts on the 2" did. overarm.
Regards
dgehricke


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## Mark_f (Jun 30, 2016)

Thank you.  From all the information that I've got here I am putting together a drawing to scale to see what I have to make. It looks like it may work out pretty good once I get the cast-iron


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## bosephus (Jul 2, 2016)

mark_f said:


> Thank you.  From all the information that I've got here I am putting together a drawing to scale to see what I have to make. It looks like it may work out pretty good once I get the cast-iron




Right-o   ....   I'll not bother with digging threw my junk then


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## Mark_f (Jul 2, 2016)

bosephus said:


> Right-o   ....   I'll not bother with digging threw my junk then


If you have the correct plate , I will buy it from you. It will be a bear to make but that seemed the only option if one cannot be found.


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## John Gordon (Jul 15, 2016)

Hi Mark,
I only joined this forum today and I was trawling through posts and I came across yours which I see is very recent. I too have a Burke #4 with the original vertical attachment and adapter plate.
Your steel substitute appears to have incorporated the elliptical adjustment slot and the elliptical split bushing so I was wondering what issues and problems it caused. I see that "dghe ricke" has been very helpful and provided the key dimensions. I am also willing to add my help if there is any further information required. I am based in UK. 
John Gordon


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## Mark_f (Jul 15, 2016)

John Gordon said:


> Hi Mark,
> I only joined this forum today and I was trawling through posts and I came across yours which I see is very recent. I too have a Burke #4 with the original vertical attachment and adapter plate.
> Your steel substitute appears to have incorporated the elliptical adjustment slot and the elliptical split bushing so I was wondering what issues and problems it caused. I see that "dghe ricke" has been very helpful and provided the key dimensions. I am also willing to add my help if there is any further information required. I am based in UK.
> John Gordon



John, 
Welcome to the forum. The adapter plate was missing when I got my Burke. I made one from steel but it is too hard and difficult to clamp, so I need to make one from cast iron. I made the split bushing also. It works fine. The steel plate does not give easy when trying to clamp. Someone was supposedly had a plate , but I don't think he is going to come through, so when I can, I will get a chunk of cast iron and make one.


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## John Gordon (Jul 15, 2016)

Mark,
Thank you for the welcome. If you require any further help with dimensions or detail photos I'm happy to oblige.
John


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## Mark_f (Jul 27, 2016)

HELP....... can one (or more) of you guys tell me the distance center to center between the to p hole and bottom hole in the vertical hard plate?

I also need the distance center to center from the bottom hole to the center of the slot.

Thanks....


I got the cast iron...... Cost me $86 delivered.


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## dgehricke (Jul 27, 2016)

Mark,
 I can go to my shop in the morning and I'll measure the distance of the centers. What slot are you talking about ?Who did you get the cast iron from ?
let me know.
Wally G
dgehricke


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## Mark_f (Jul 27, 2016)

dgehricke said:


> Mark,
> I can go to my shop in the morning and I'll measure the distance of the centers. What slot are you talking about ?Who did you get the cast iron from ?
> let me know.
> Wally G
> dgehricke



The slot is the one the bolt goes in to lock the head position.

I got my cast iron from hobbymetalkits.com. It is owned by a fellow named Bernie McCallum. He is really reasonable and only charges the actual shipping costs. I buy a lot from him. He gets me anything I want and the sizes I want.

Thanks for the help.


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## dgehricke (Jul 27, 2016)

Mark, I went down to my shop and did a quick measurement of the center to center distance its about 4 ⅜ inches 
I'll measure the slot in the morning and I'll also get a measurement with calipers in the morn.
Thanks for the info on the cast iron.
Regards
dgehricke


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## dgehricke (Jul 28, 2016)

Mark,
I went to my garage and I took the head off the Burke and I disassembled it so I could get the best possible measurements.
I made a template of cardboard with some of the measurements, I have also included some more photos of the base separated and
laid out for you to glee some more info before you start cutting the cast iron.
#1 The center to center measurement from the 2" TOP hole to the center of the LOWER hole is 4.316 measured from the template very close to 4 3/8
#2 The distance from the center of the  LOWER hole to the center of the slot is 1.780.
I am not sure if all these back plates are the same as its a pretty good chunk of cast iron some of the measurements may be off a little, If I may
suggest it may benefit you to make a drawing or template based on the photos and sizes i have given you here to be sure it all lines up before
you start cutting. If you are interested in the template I made I can mail it to you. Let me know
I can't seem to upload photos every one i try I get ERROR uploading your file. look below they finally posted.  alot of the photos would help a lot.
Regards
Wally Gehricke
dgehricke


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## Mark_f (Jul 28, 2016)

Wally,

I had trouble with photos for a while. I found, I was taking them with my phone and that was the problem. I found when I take a photo, I have to edit it. I crop it just a little bit and save it. Then my photos load correctly.  If you are using your phone to take photos, try cropping a little bit , then save. Then upload the photos.

Thank you for the dimensions. I think the photos would help a lot.  If you can't load them here , can you email them , maybe?

my email is.    markfrazier16137@yahoo.com


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## Mark_f (Jul 28, 2016)

Wally, 

Thank you for the photos and in formation. Armed with this, I think I can duplicate the plate.


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## dgehricke (Jul 28, 2016)

Mark, Just a last try at upload for the photos, I'll be damned not one single error.
Regards
dgehricke


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## Mark_f (Jul 28, 2016)




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## Mark_f (Jul 29, 2016)

Now that I have all the needed information , I am starting the cast iron mounting plate for my vertical head. I have to check and double check as I can't afford to screw up this $86 hunk of cast iron. First I set it up in the band saw to cut it to size.





	

		
			
		

		
	
 Oops...... Had to turn it around because the arm hit the top.

I laid out the holes, but need a way to bore them. I don't have a boring head and besides there is no room to use a boring head on the Burke. I took a small 3" four jaw check and converted it into a boring head.




	

		
			
		

		
	
 These are the three parts I made to convert the chuck.



	

		
			
		

		
	
 My finished boring head.
	

		
			
		

		
	





	

		
			
		

		
	
 The boring setup installed on the mill. Now to set up the chunk of cast iron to bore. I will do this in the morning.


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## woodtickgreg (Jul 29, 2016)

Cool idea for a boring head!


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## Mark_f (Jul 29, 2016)

woodtickgreg said:


> Cool idea for a boring head!


I invented it for my 6" chuck on my lathe a couple years ago. I figured a smaller version would be good on the mill.


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## Mark_f (Jul 30, 2016)

While the little chuck converted to a boring head works great, I found it did not have enough travel to bore the larger hole. So..... I resurrected a failed boring head project from about a year and a half ago that really went bad. After about 4 hours of drilling, milling, turning, and reaming, the failed mess started to look pretty good. I got the pancake boring head completed and works great. ( it is a pancake boring head because it is much shorter than a standard boring head, which is a necessity for a Burke mill)




The cast iron plate for my vertical head is coming along nicely. I'm boring the holes now. I found the distance between them to be 4.250"


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## Mark_f (Jul 31, 2016)

I got the holes bored. They are pretty close to perfect. Next on to the slot. ( boy cast iron is dirty, but it machines great. Thank God for the shop vac! )


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## Mark_f (Jul 31, 2016)

I got the slot cut and took photos of the setup because I just know someone will ask how I cut that curved slot. Unfortunately those photos are lost forever because when I came in the house, I put my dirty clothes in the washer and washed my new IPhone. It doesn't work anymore and everything on it is lost FOREVER .

I have insurance on it and will have a new one in two days .


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## Glenn Brooks (Aug 1, 2016)

Mark,  bad karma about your iPhone.  I wonder if your new one can store pics on iCloud?  If so, might be a good place to upload stuff to.

Great looking boring head!

Glenn


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## Silverbullet (Aug 1, 2016)

Mark ,did you hit any hard spots in the cast iron? The older cast iron sometimes would ruin a cutter real quick .  I used to turn lots of cast years ago so much so when I sweat it would be rusty.  But great material to work with , as you found out don't ever be afraid to use it . It's great will last forever and almost anything can be made from it. I've got a few pieces of cast I'm going to try it's old window weights. My house is very old and still uses them. Even a couple dumbbells 12 pounders I think. The four ends are around 3 1/2 x 3" . I'm Always ckin for stock around the neighborhood picked up a 4" table mt band sander. Little oil and cleaning and now I've a second sander. Your Burke is looking great . Around me they are overpriced at least my price. Glad that your doing well still in my prayers. Gary


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## Mark_f (Aug 1, 2016)

This cast iron is great stuff. Cuts like butter. It is dirty though, but as long as you cut it dry, cleanup is easy.

I took lots of photos today. Spent 6 hours milling and sawing to get to where I am. 

This is the rotary table setup I am using to carve this piece.





This is where I left off yesterday.




Next was some creative sawing to remove bulk material.






Here the bulk of the front is sawed of to thickness. Now back to the rotary table.



The bottom is trimmed to size.




The sides are sawed at an angle for a rough shape. This will all get cleaned up on the mill.




The sides have been milled to finish.





I made a boo-boo on the edge of the slot. It won't hurt anything but it makes me mad. I just wasn't paying close enough attention.




It is mostly done. Now to finish the top where the clamp bolt goes. I will do that tomorrow or Wednesday.


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## Mark_f (Aug 1, 2016)

Glenn Brooks said:


> Mark,  bad karma about your iPhone.  I wonder if your new one can store pics on iCloud?  If so, might be a good place to upload stuff to.
> 
> Great looking boring head!
> 
> Glenn


Thanks. I do store some stuff on the cloud,but I did not back my phone up. Guess that is what I get for being lazy.


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## Mark_f (Aug 4, 2016)

I finished the mounting plate for the vertical head on my Burke mill. I am extremely happy with the way it turned out. It is as close to an original as I could ever get. It works great and is even made from cast iron like the original.












I want to thank everyone who helped me with photos and dimensions. It made this job a lot easier.


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## Silverbullet (Aug 4, 2016)

You've done another fantastic job , glad your feeling better . Wish I had my legs back , sucks not being able to do all the things I need to do. Let alone the stuff I want. I'm really liking the mill your working on. They have a pretty good reputation of being well made. Hard to find a decent one , if YA do they think there selling a Bridgeport. Made it more special by using the mill itself to build the missing piece. Take care and keep building its a pleasure for us here. And for me to live vicariously through the forum.


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## Mark_f (Aug 4, 2016)

Thanks. I thought it great to use the machine to entirely make its own needed part.


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## jeff_g1137 (Aug 4, 2016)

Hi
Great work yet again.
I think i would have left the part full thickness, less work & stronger , it does not look to hit anything, but may not look as good ???
Hope you are keeping well & all the best.

jeff


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## Mark_f (Aug 4, 2016)

jeff_g1137 said:


> Hi
> Great work yet again.
> I think i would have left the part full thickness, less work & stronger , it does not look to hit anything, but may not look as good ???
> Hope you are keeping well & all the best.
> ...



Thank you. You are partially correct. First ... I wanted it to look like the original.  I also found from experience the less mass around there the more room to clear the work.  It needed to be the right thickness or I would have to make a new clamp bolt for the tilt. It is twice as thick at the top for rigidity on the overrarm. ...... and finally, I am such an anal perfectionist, I wanted it close to original. But you are right, it could be just a heavy block. The previous one I made was a steel plate. While it functioned, I didn't like the look. It looked homemade.


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## Glenn Brooks (Aug 4, 2016)

Mark,  really nice job!


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## Mark_f (Aug 4, 2016)

Silverbullet said:


> You've done another fantastic job , glad your feeling better . Wish I had my legs back , sucks not being able to do all the things I need to do. Let alone the stuff I want. I'm really liking the mill your working on. They have a pretty good reputation of being well made. Hard to find a decent one , if YA do they think there selling a Bridgeport. Made it more special by using the mill itself to build the missing piece. Take care and keep building its a pleasure for us here. And for me to live vicariously through the forum.


The Burke is a great little mill. It is a small mill but really heavy duty. I take .100" DOC on steel. I manage to do most everything on it. Once in a while I need something bigger.

I know how fraustrating it is to not have the ability to stand or walk. I spent ten years on crutches and two years in a wheel chair. Medical marvels have got me out of the chair temporarily. I know the time is coming when I will be back in it all the time instead of once in a while. I still can only stand for minutes and must be very careful walking. I use crutches when out but I stumble around the house and sit on a stool in the shop. I refuse to let my "handicap" limit me. Where there is will there is a way.


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## dgehricke (Aug 5, 2016)

Mark,
 Your back plate for the Vertical Head is a Job Well Done it looks great.
Regards
dgehricke


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## Mark_f (Aug 5, 2016)

Thank you


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