# Riser block build.



## Suzuki4evr (Feb 24, 2020)

The first time I saw a riser block on YouTube, I thought now that is what I need for my knee mill seeing that I needed the space before on certain jobs and ran into a space problem.

So I measured my mill z-axis  dovetail length and screw travel and saw that I will be able to raise the head by about 8.5inches (215mm). I wanted to do it the cheapest way but it had to be rigid. My plan is to make up a riser that fits between the machine column and the swivel base.


I got a piece of steampipe measuring  10"×7" with a 1/2" wall thickness and two 10.5"×10.5" steel plates a little over 3/4" (20mm) thick. I machined the pipe true and round on the OD only,no need to do the ID. I also faced the two plates on one side each just to have a flat surface to work with and a 1" hole for clamping purpose on my rotary table and machining of bolt holes.








I went ahead to square up the plates,mill the corners at 45dgr and set up on the rotary table for machining a recess for the pipe to fit and be centered. 






Now the real fun part.......DRO(my newest toy) time. I programed the DRO for the bolt holes. Top plate was drilled and tapped M12 and the bottom one 13mm and counter sunk for M12×40 allen cap bolts.




I used my angle plate to square everything up (sorry no pic). I tack welded it together,took it off the mill and weld it completely. 

To ensure that the riser was parallel and true to the mill spindle, I took a skim pass on both sides of the riser. I am always amazed by the mirror finish I get from my skimming head and resharpned WNMG 080408 insert. Then it just needed a coat of primer and paint and it is done.












I had a friend help me to install it using a enjin jack to lift the head and bolt down the riser. And that is it,all done. I am glad I did it and now I don't have to swear when I need just that last 3/8" of space so the drill bit or boring head can fit. That's all from me.Before and after pics to follow.








 Thanks for viewing.

Michael.


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## Suzuki4evr (Feb 24, 2020)

O this what I did the skimming with


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## Cadillac (Feb 24, 2020)

Nice finish on your cuts can you show how you mounted the carbide to the flycutter plate?


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## Suzuki4evr (Feb 24, 2020)

I will take closeup pics tomorrow and post them.


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## DavidR8 (Feb 24, 2020)

Wow, that is some very nice work!


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## Aukai (Feb 24, 2020)

That's heavy duty, how did the tramming work out?


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## Suzuki4evr (Feb 24, 2020)

DavidR8 said:


> Wow, that is some very nice work!


Thanks David


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## Suzuki4evr (Feb 24, 2020)

Aukai said:


> That's heavy duty, how did the tramming work out?


I must say it worked out 100% from one side to the other side of the bed. Glad about that.


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## Aukai (Feb 24, 2020)

That's a stand back and snap the suspenders with a smile good....


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## Winegrower (Feb 24, 2020)

Beautiful!


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## RYAN S (Feb 24, 2020)

Looks great! Looking forward to more pics of the fly cutter!


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## MrCrankyface (Feb 25, 2020)

Nice work!


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## Tim9 (Feb 25, 2020)

Yeah.... beautiful work. It’s on my.... “Very long to do list “

I too would love to see more of your fly-cutter. Impressive results.


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## Suzuki4evr (Feb 25, 2020)

Ok so I posted a few pics of the cutter. I made a small block with one side straight that push up agains the flycutter body and the other side at a slight taper. This causes the block to push the insert tight against the body when bolted in. The slot was milled at a 15dgr angle to provide a rake angle for the insert. You will see there is another hole in the little block,but that was a mistake. With this cutter I can use old inserts and just sharpen the on a diamond wheel. So I have an endless supply of skimming tips. I hope you get the gist of it from my pics. Thanks guys.


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## Technical Ted (Feb 25, 2020)

Nice work! I noticed your head doesn't nod... how did it look when you trammed your head? Did you have to shim it to align it fore/aft? 

I've got one Jet  2/3rds Bridgeport clone mill that is a little vertically challenged and I was thinking about making a riser for it, but that too has no noddng capability and I figure I would have to shim the riser to get it trammed in correctly for use. I know it could be scrapped in, but I don't have the equipment or knowledge to do that correctly... 

Ted


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## Suzuki4evr (Feb 26, 2020)

Technical Ted said:


> Nice work! I noticed your head doesn't nod... how did it look when you trammed your head? Did you have to shim it to align it fore/aft?
> 
> I've got one Jet  2/3rds Bridgeport clone mill that is a little vertically challenged and I was thinking about making a riser for it, but that too has no noddng capability and I figure I would have to shim the riser to get it trammed in correctly for use. I know it could be scrapped in, but I don't have the equipment or knowledge to do that correctly...
> 
> Ted


Ted no it doesn't nod,not even if I ask a simple question like are you feeling blue today. In all seriousness, long before I thought of doing a riser,I trammed the bed in by shimming it at the back of the head where the head and the ram meets,you can't see it but it is there,I didn't even think of shimming at the bottom now that you said it.


 So in my mind I thought if I flycut the riser parallel to the head as it istrammed in now,I should be ok. And it worked for me. When I check it after installation, it was 0 from the back of the bed to the front. My suggestion is,do it as soon as you can,I think you will be happy you did. Just remember if you do have a DRO,check your Z-axis scale length. I just recently got my DRO,but I factored in that I am planning to raise the head and ordered the scale accordingly. Good luck and enjoy.


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## mattthemuppet2 (Feb 26, 2020)

very cool! I'm planning to do just this with my 6x26 mill as the lack of headroom is a constant pain. I'll remember the dip of skim cutting it on the mill itself, though I should really figure out if it's in tram first


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## Suzuki4evr (Feb 27, 2020)

I am glad I could inspire or make you revisit your plan to do this mattthemuppet(gees that is a lot of t's in there)2.


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## Silverbullet (Feb 27, 2020)

Great job , doubleboost on YouTube built one on his small knee mill and he really uses his mill like it's a full size Bridgeport style.  Have an enco little knee mill and if I ever get well enough you can be sure ill be doing mine too. God I hate being screwed up


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## mattthemuppet2 (Feb 27, 2020)

Suzuki4evr said:


> I am glad I could inspire or make you revisit your plan to do this mattthemuppet(gees that is a lot of t's in there)2.



it's on the list, just hasn't quite made it to the top yet  I do have the material to do it and I'm hoping to get to it this summer all things going well.


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