# And This Is When I Got Sick To My Stomach



## Halteclere (Sep 28, 2015)

This past weekend was Moving Weekend, when my wife and I moved to a temporary residence while our house undergoes significant renovation. Five o'clock Sunday evening I'm pretty much shot, but decide to make one final trip with stuff from my garage. 

Using a drop-deck trailer I carefully load my Rockwell mill and strap it down, and slowly drive to my new, short-term domicile. Twice when backing up into the garage I step out of the truck to make sure there is nothing in the way. 

The third time, thud, I hit something. And that's when I got sick to my stomach. I had forgotten to lower the trailer and backed the motor housing into the eve of the garage roof. Uhhhhhhhhh.

What are the chances that I did more damage than just busting up the belt guard? Could I have sprung the head and ruined the alignment? 

And what are the chances I'll be able to find a replacement belt guard without having to buy a full machine?

(Cross posted at the Yahoo Rockwell Milling Machine forum)

-Mitch


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## A618fan2 (Sep 28, 2015)

Can't help other than to say I feel you pain bro'...it hurts just to look at it.  I hope the damage is minor.


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## Jim1946 SB9" (Sep 28, 2015)

I am going to take the positive side and say you just need to get a new housing or repair this one. Everything else looks good. 

I really don't know the answer, I wish you lots of luck and hope everything works in your favor.


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## chips&more (Sep 28, 2015)

To make a judgement call on the total damage just with looking at a picture is not possible. But I do feel your pain. And is that housing made out of aluminum? Maybe you can weld it back together?...Dave.


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## Andre (Sep 29, 2015)

Cast aluminum isn't too strong, although I'm sure it gave the mill a push I highly doubt any damage was done. The important part, the spindle, doesn't look like it could've been damaged in any way.

Make sure your starter cap is undamaged, and I'd try low temp aluminum brazing rod. Make sure to V groove and clean the weld joint. With some filing, sanding, and some paint it should hopefully become a distant memory.


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## Chipper5783 (Sep 29, 2015)

I Mitch, I feel for you.  Probably a number of folks here could share some sort of a "bad".  I dumped a mill (totaled it, though I still have not moved it into a scrap metal bin - it sits in a corner of the shop as a reminder of my "bad" and thankfulness that I'm still all here).   I was shook up enough that I got zero sleep that night.


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## JimDawson (Sep 29, 2015)

Andre said:


> Cast aluminum isn't too strong, although I'm sure it gave the mill a push I highly doubt any damage was done. The important part, the spindle, doesn't look like it could've been damaged in any way.
> 
> Make sure your starter cap is undamaged, and I'd try low temp aluminum brazing rod. Make sure to V groove and clean the weld joint. With some filing, sanding, and some paint it should hopefully become a distant memory.


:+1:


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## Firestopper (Sep 29, 2015)

Sorry for your misfortune. Sometimes we do more in a day than we should resulting in negative outcome. Like mentioned prior, your spindle looks like it might have been spared and the alum housing and be massaged back to proper location and tig weld. I once dropped a mill on it's face after strap failure. I got the same feeling when I saw your picture and more so after Chipper's  photo.
Best of luck amigo!


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## Zoltan (Sep 29, 2015)

Where did the motor itself hit the garage? Was it at the bottom, middle, or top?


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## wrat (Sep 29, 2015)

Andre said:


> Cast aluminum isn't too strong, although I'm sure it gave the mill a push I highly doubt any damage was done. The important part, the spindle, doesn't look like it could've been damaged in any way.



What he said.  The places it failed constitute lightweight structure and are easily fixed.
Although, i gotta admit, it would just make me sick... and pout... and perhaps utter an uncouth phrase.
The loved one did not die.  But accept my sympathies at this time of grievous concern.

Wrat


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## wrat (Sep 29, 2015)

Chipper5783 said:


> I dumped a mill (totaled it, though I still have not moved it into a scrap metal bin).



Totaled?
Whyyyyyy.... that's just a "fixer-upper" on Eb*y.
A little weld and a spot of paint.
3 or 4 thousand man hours and it oughta be good to go hadn't it?

Dang!  That's hard to look at.  Much sorrow for your loss.

Wrat


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## Halteclere (Sep 29, 2015)

Zoltan said:


> Where did the motor itself hit the garage? Was it at the bottom, middle, or top?



It hit in the middle, at the nameplate. The roof gutter crumpled around the motor and knocked loose the capacitor cover. Except for some scratched paint and the lose cover, I don't see any damage to the motor housing.

-Mitch


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## Zoltan (Sep 29, 2015)

Chipper5783 said:


> I Mitch, I feel for you.  Probably a number of folks here could share some sort of a "bad".  I dumped a mill (totaled it, though I still have not moved it into a scrap metal bin - it sits in a corner of the shop as a reminder of my "bad" and thankfulness that I'm still all here).   I was shook up enough that I got zero sleep that night.


That's really scary, especially with the kid castle right behind it.

If you don't mind me asking, how did it happen?


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## Zoltan (Sep 29, 2015)

Halteclere said:


> It hit in the middle, at the nameplate. The roof gutter crumpled around the motor and knocked loose the capacitor cover. Except for some scratched paint and the lose cover, I don't see any damage to the motor housing.
> 
> -Mitch



In that case I'll go with everyone else and say the rest of the mill or probably fine. Had it hit low down on the motor then it would have taken more force to break the cast aluminum.


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## LarryJ (Sep 29, 2015)

Halteclere said:


> This past weekend was Moving Weekend, when my wife and I moved to a temporary residence while our house undergoes significant renovation. Five o'clock Sunday evening I'm pretty much shot, but decide to make one final trip with stuff from my garage.
> 
> Using a drop-deck trailer I carefully load my Rockwell mill and strap it down, and slowly drive to my new, short-term domicile. Twice when backing up into the garage I step out of the truck to make sure there is nothing in the way.
> 
> ...



Condolences on the dipwad move.  Thank goodness, _I_ have never pulled one.  <ducking, grinning, and running>

That looks like a simple welding (heliarc) repair, and since the weak part gave, it probably didn't hurt the rest of the machine.  Definitely tram the beastie upon reassembly, though.


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## Highsider (Sep 29, 2015)

Sounds like the gutters and the belt guard absorbed all the force.  I think you got lucky......  fix the guard, tram the table and if all is well, order a new guard as camouflage.  Once that's installed, it nevah happened.


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## mike837go (Sep 29, 2015)

Highsider said:


> Sounds like the gutters and the belt guard absorbed all the force.  I think you got lucky......  fix the guard, tram the table and if all is well, order a new guard as camouflage.  Once that's installed, it nevah happened.



Until some idjit asks about the hammered-back-into-shape gutter...

Then all the painful memories come flooding back.


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## Highsider (Sep 29, 2015)

That wavy place on the gutter is where the roof rooster always lands.  (Quick change of subject.)


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## coolidge (Sep 29, 2015)

Bummer, I would been like  then  then but hey at least you didn't lose and eye look on the bright side! Hopefully you can weld it together or find a used replacement part.


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## Chipper5783 (Sep 29, 2015)

Zoltan said:


> That's really scary, especially with the kid castle right behind it.
> 
> If you don't mind me asking, how did it happen?



Perhaps if the plastic castle had been closer, it would have gotten crushed, but reduced the damage to the machine?

It is not a fun story to tell (makes me look very dumb).  In summary I did not recognize a specific risk (I very carefully, very slowly and, in retrospect deliberately, put myself into a dangerous situation - needless to say when the "trap sprung" it went very quickly).  I suppose most accidents happen because risks were not properly evaluated or addressed (if they had been, then the bad outcome would not have happend. ???).  I don't want to divert Halteclere's post.

I posted more pictures in another thread:
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/thre...ling-drilling-and-boring-machine-mh600.30766/


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## Apostle10 (Sep 29, 2015)

Halteclere said:


> This past weekend was Moving Weekend, when my wife and I moved to a temporary residence while our house undergoes significant renovation. Five o'clock Sunday evening I'm pretty much shot, but decide to make one final trip with stuff from my garage.
> 
> Using a drop-deck trailer I carefully load my Rockwell mill and strap it down, and slowly drive to my new, short-term domicile. Twice when backing up into the garage I step out of the truck to make sure there is nothing in the way.
> 
> ...



Mitch, I know your pain.  After restoring a beautiful Hardinge HLV-H lathe, I was moving it to its final place in my shop when, in the last few inches, one of the rollers slid off and the machine went down flat on its face (red is not blood, it's oil).  I was literally sick though the Lord spared me with some pretty good bruises on my leg.  It's now all restored a 2nd time and back in business.  Just let a little time pass and then get to work on it.  You'll soon have it back in business.  BTW, I'm have a lead on a Rockwell Horizontal Mill and I'm working out the final details on it.

Mike


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## frank r (Sep 30, 2015)

That'll buff out...


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## Firestopper (Sep 30, 2015)

Man, that picture made me nauseated. What a beautiful Hardinge. Thank god for that robust dove tale way.  I have PTSD after that view haha.
Glad you came out with only soft tissue injuries. When I dumped a mill on its face way back when, the last thing on my mind was to take a photo. They say a photos worth 1K words....How true! Had I seen photos like these prior to moving machines,  I would have never picked my old mill the way I did. Never ignore your gut feeling! 
Thanks for sharing, you guys might save someone heartache.


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## wrat (Sep 30, 2015)

In the machine shops I worked, we were always instructed to let the load fall.  No part of your body was worth a cut or a scrape. Supervisors were very big on no one getting hurt.
But if i had such a nice machine and it started to fall, I'm afraid I would have done just as you did. There would definitely be some hide missing.  Maybe not a trip to the hospital, but definitely a trip to the feel-better cabinet.
So sorry for the wreck.  
What a depressing thread.

Wrat


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## core-oil (Sep 30, 2015)

Would it not be possible to repair it  by a bolt on steel strap along the sides, after getting the top part level to its correct position by bolting it down to its side cover, Won't look as nice,  but I have repaired broken covers on machines by plating up in the past for a quick repair.


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## Apostle10 (Sep 30, 2015)

Well friends, when that baby started tilting toward me my immediate reaction was to shove backwards with all my strength.  Within literally milliseconds I realized that all my strength was doing NOTHING to stop or even slow its fall toward me.  I was actually caught between the falling Hardinge and my Bridgeport mill.  The mill slid down my leg and I was pushed back hard against the mill.  I have a partial imprint of the knee lever on my fanny.  I was very fortunate and my doc thought it was a miracle that I didn't break my femur.  Here's a photo of it that I just took for this thread to show that it's back in business as well as me   You can read more about this lathe on my webpage http://www.w4xn.com


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## tomw (Sep 30, 2015)

Wow, that is a gorgeous machine! I am in awe. 

Too all, including those not posting, that have banged, dropped, crunched and mauled machines (including newly restored 30 Packards that roll into a wall you happen to be against), I am glad that the big chunk of iron missed the important bits. Thank you so much for being here and helping out us new folks. I am pretty sure your families feel the same way.

Cheers,

Tom


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## machinist18 (Oct 2, 2015)

Halteclere said:


> This past weekend was Moving Weekend, when my wife and I moved to a temporary residence while our house undergoes significant renovation. Five o'clock Sunday evening I'm pretty much shot, but decide to make one final trip with stuff from my garage.
> 
> Using a drop-deck trailer I carefully load my Rockwell mill and strap it down, and slowly drive to my new, short-term domicile. Twice when backing up into the garage I step out of the truck to make sure there is nothing in the way.
> 
> ...


 If it's aluminum, find somebody with a good TIG welder, have him straighten it out, clamp it in position and Tig weld it. Should be fine.


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