# And another Atlas horizontal mill rebuild.



## Orangecrush (Aug 22, 2017)

Hello good Hobby Machinists members,

I am new to the Hobby Machinists forum, but wanted to share my progress with my old Atlas horizontal milling machine.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 22, 2017)

Oh yeah almost forgot to mention,

When I bought the Atlas horizontal mill (MF) it also came with a bunch of tooling. I'm talking about a hundred or more end mills, woodruff cutters and wheel cutters. I have the arbor (7/8" I think) and a few other cutting attachments. When I found this mill and also a Craftsman 101-27440 lathe with quick change gear box. The guy who sold them to me had the Atlas original indexing centers. But when I went to pick them up, for some reason or another the indexing side got lost in all the loading of everything.

You can see in the pictures above that the table the mill is sitting on is not original.


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## larry4406 (Aug 22, 2017)

Nice looking mill!

I have no need for one but know that I want one.


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## Billh50 (Aug 22, 2017)

Since using the one that was lent to me, I have found they are very useful. After seeing what some of them are  selling for I know I will never have one of my own. That goes for a real vertical miller also. But this little Atlas squared up the ends of 2 tubes that were a bit long for my mini-lathe in about 10 minutes. Otherwise I would have had to try squaring them up by hand on a belt sander. And we all know the tubes could end up shorter than wanted before that happens.


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## RandyM (Aug 22, 2017)

Nice job on the resto OC.

And welcome to the forum.


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## 34_40 (Aug 22, 2017)

Welcome to the club! And a nice looking job you did on the mill.
How about some pics of the tooling?  Index Centers,  I just want to drool over the keyboard again!  LOL...


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## francist (Aug 22, 2017)

Nice looking mill Orangecrush. I'm noticing the solid instead of spoked handwheels - never seen those before. Wonder if they are a previous owner modification. I have an MF as well that I'm putting back together, serial number 976.

-frank


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## Orangecrush (Aug 22, 2017)

Thank you everyone for your reply,

I am so glad I found this forum, with all the Atlas horizontal mill rebuilds here I'm sure I'll learn more about my mill. I tore it down to the last bolt and cleaned it up and then painted it. As you can see in the above pictures I still need to put the motor on and a couple of other things. One thing I didn't do was to take the spindle apart, because when I was going over everything. The spindle was in good condition compared to the rest of the mill. All of the gears look like they have been barely used in the Change-O-Matic.

As far as the handwheels, yes they are not the original spoke type that came with these old mills. I'm not sure why whoever owned it before me change them out for the solid handwheels. But I have seen some other Atlas horizontal mills with solid handwheels like mine. So who knows why I have the solid handwheels compared to the spoke type?

Also, the serial number on my mill is 003446 and it is a MF.

I'll take some pictures of all the tooling I got with the deal so you guys can see what I have. But like I said, I probably have over a hundred end mills of various sizes and shapes, woodruff cutters, corner rounding end mills, and wheel cutters / slitting cutters.

Both the mill and lathe came with tooling. But for this thread I am just mentioning the mill and what I got for it. I'll have to create a new thread for my Craftsman 101-27440 lathe and show you what I got with it. And please don't get confused with my statement about the indexing centers. When I was talking to the guy who I bought the mill and lathe from. He sent me a picture of the indexing centers, and when I went there the first time to look at everything. He had the indexing centers sitting on the lathe thinking that they went with it. Of course I knew what they were for and knew that they went with the mill. I didn't make a big deal out of it because we were still in the negotiation process and I knew how much these indexing centers cost on eBay.

But when I went to pick up the mill and lathe. I guess in the confusion of loading everything on my trailer and my SUV. And during the Texas heat, I was more worried about how I was going to tie everything down so it didn't fly off my trailer. When I got everything back to my shop, I started unloading all the tooling that was in my SUV and noticed that the indexing centers piece was missing. So now I have the indexing center piece with the center and not the other side with the gears!!!

Unfortunately I didn't get a vise to go with the mill and that is something I really need!!! I have looked and looked for a vise that will fit on the mill. But they are either too big or too small for my needs and this little mill. And the ones you find on eBay, you would think that they are made out of gold or something with the prices people are asking for them!!!


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## JPMacG (Aug 22, 2017)

Little Machine Shop has a vice that fits well enough for me.  It does restrict the Y axis travel by about 1/4 or 1/2 inch.

https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1647&category=

By the way, I recommend that you try to find that missing index center.  The prices they go for on eBay are silly.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 22, 2017)

JPMacG said:


> Little Machine Shop has a vice that fits well enough for me.  It does restrict the Y axis travel by about 1/4 or 1/2 inch.
> 
> https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1647&category=
> 
> By the way, I recommend that you try to find that missing index center.  The prices they go for on eBay are silly.


Are you talking about the little 1647/ 3" vise? Did it come with the swivel base for $65 bucks? And yes, you are right about the indexing center piece. The problem is that the guy who I bought the mill and lathe from has no idea where it could be. And I have looked and looked all over my shop for it and can't find it anywhere!!!


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## JPMacG (Aug 22, 2017)

Yes, that is the one.  It is no Kurt, but it works well enough for my purposes.   I can take a photo of it on the mill if you would like to see how it fits.

By the way, I am retired from Lockheed Space Systems in Newtown.

Oh, and yes, it comes with the swivel.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 22, 2017)

JPMacG said:


> Yes, that is the one.  It is no Kurt, but it works well enough for my purposes.   I can take a photo of it on the mill if you would like to see how it fits.
> 
> By the way, I am retired from Lockheed Space Systems in Newtown.
> 
> Oh, and yes, it comes with the swivel.



Cool JP, I loved working there!!!

Yes, if you could take a picture of the vise on the mill that would be great!!! As you know with these mills we need something small enough that you can still use the Z axis.


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## JPMacG (Aug 22, 2017)




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## Orangecrush (Aug 22, 2017)

JPMacG said:


> View attachment 240315
> View attachment 240316
> View attachment 240317
> View attachment 240318



Interesting, how exactly is the vise bolted down to the table? Or did you just put it on the table to show me that it will work for the Atlas horizontal mill.


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## JPMacG (Aug 23, 2017)

I did not install them for the photo, but the vise is held with two Tee nuts, two short pieces of 5/16-18 threaded rod, and two collar nuts.  I had to make the Tee nuts as I could not find any that would fit the slot.  The vise also has two guides that fit in the slot and align the base.  I had to modify them to fit the Atlas slot.

The Atlas owner's manual says to use square head bolts.   I bought some to try but I did not like how they fit in the slot.


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## Billh50 (Aug 23, 2017)

You can buy T slot stud kits that fit. Or just buy some T nuts and threaded rod that can be cut to size. The Atlas I am borrowing had some T slot studs that just needed a little of milling to fit properly. I also had some T nuts and studs from my rotary table that fit the Atlas.


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## wa5cab (Aug 23, 2017)

Orangecrush said:


> Also, the serial number on my mill is 003446 and it is an MF.



Actually, it is an MFA (12-speed).  But somewhat like Land Rover with their Series models and Simpson with the 260, Atlas didn't decide to call it an MFA until around the time that they were getting ready to bring out the MFB.  And all of the 12-speed machines were renamed M1A, MFA or MHA.  The nameplate part number was changed retroactively to M1-15A.  The serial number range for the M*A is 001345 to 005465.  It is not unusual to find a 12-speed machine with a lower serial number as Atlas must have rather quickly discontinued making something for the 16-speed machine, perhaps the 4-step spindle pulley.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 24, 2017)

Thank you for your reply wa5cab,

That makes sense to me with my mill being a MF and the lower serial number. And you are correct that my mill is a 12 speed with the 3 pulleys on the spindle and counter shaft assembly. I have seen some of these mills that have the MFA on them where mine just has the MF. So I'm guessing that it being a MF actually means it's a MFA?

When I bought the mill and lathe, the mill came with the original owners manual from back in 1943. It was rolled up in a cardboard tube that says"From: Atlas Press Company" and was shipped to Sears Roebuck store in Denton Texas. I don't know if any of this matters, but it also has what looks like some type of part number on the tube that says S: 69827 and a customer order date of 1/31/61. But what doesn't make sense is why Atlas would send a Instructions and parts list for Atlas Milling Machines dated Sept, 1943 with a customer order date of 1/31/61?

Maybe someone can help me with this discrepancy between the dates?


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## wa5cab (Aug 24, 2017)

Steve,

My guess goes like this:  In 1961, the company was still Atlas Press.  The owner at that time didn't happen to have gotten a manual when he bought the mill from the PO.  The MFB apparently came out in 1944, so the 1943 manual would have been the final one done on the MFA (and M1A and MHA).  And Atlas still at that time had it in stock, so they shipped it to him.  Or actually to the Sears store.  Although come to think of it, Sears only ever sold the MFC model, under their part number 101.15500,  So that part is still a mystery.

We don't have a 1943 MFA manual.  I would somehow like to get a copy of it.  Or better yet, borrow it for scanning.

I don't recognize the S: 69827.

Yes, ever though yours has an MF nameplate, it is actually an MFA.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 24, 2017)

Hey Robert,

The manual is not in that bad of condition, though a bit yellow from age. It's still good enough to make copies of and I have already made a few for reference use. I can scan it into the laptop and send it to you if you would like. Not sure how well it would do if I had to ship it to you because the pages are very fragile.

Plus I'm not really sure if the manual is complete, looks like it might be missing a few of the pages at the end. The reason I say that is I have downloaded a bunch of Atlas horizontal mill manuals from V.M. and some of them have exploded views of the machine. Which this one doesn't have or maybe they were taken out at some point.


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## wa5cab (Aug 24, 2017)

Atlas didn't start doing illustrated (exploded view) parts manuals until about 1946.  So those pages aren't missing.

Correction - I do have MP-2 dated September, 1943. It has 8 pages.  But the scan is poorly done and parts of most pages are so light as to be illegible.  Which is why I never bothered to convert it to TIF, clean it up, convert it back to PDF and upload it.  I think that you will find the copy of MMB-5 that's in Downloads is better than what you found on V-M.  Same is true of most of the lathe manuals in our DOWNLOADS.  Most people just don't know how to run a scanner.  And don't have the editing software to fix some of what the scanner can't fix.  How about scanning one page and emailing that to me.  Or you can upload it to DOWNLOADS.  Just don't scan it to JPG.  TIF would be best.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 24, 2017)

Here's a question, when did Atlas stop selling the mill and what would be the final MF designation version?


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## wa5cab (Aug 24, 2017)

In 1959.  And MFC.

And I'm going to bed.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 24, 2017)

This manual has 8 pages (4 double sided) and looks like at one time was stapled together. I'll scan the whole thing and send you what ever you want from it.

Thank you for your help R. Good night.


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## wa5cab (Aug 24, 2017)

OK.  I'll take the whole thing. Parts of almost every page in the PDF copy that I found somewhere are so light as to be illegible.  But no hurry.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 24, 2017)

Question of the day,

Before I go looking in the download section. Maybe someone can tell me if there is a drawing of the table stop for the Atlas horizontal mill? Mine didn't come with one and the people selling them on eBay must think they are made out of gold. From the pictures I have seen, they don't look like they are too hard to make. But if I had a drawing I could whip one up and slap that baby on my mill.

Better to be safe than sorry with these mills and knowing me I would forget about the table feed. And the next thing I know, BAM and the table goes flying off!!! LoL

Also, does anyone know what the little stamp mark is on the serial number plate on the Atlas horizontal mill? I have one on mine and have seen them on other Atlas mills and some others don't have the stamp mark? 

Any help would be appreciated,

Thanks,

Orangecrush


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## JPMacG (Aug 24, 2017)

Yes, there is a  drawing of the table stop in the downloads section.  If you go to downloads and search on wa5cab you will come up with all the craftsman and atlas stuff.   There are also some simpler versions of the stop that people have come up with.  I does not need to be as complicated as the original part.   

I'm not sure if I am supposed to re-post files from the download section, so I won't.  But if you search you will find it easily.


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## wa5cab (Aug 25, 2017)

Steve,

If you are referring to the cross feed kickout, the only Kickout that we have the drawing of is the M1-64 (should have been MF-64 - some Atlas draftsman screwed up).  It only fits the MFC.  The ones that you need are MF-14 Kickout and MF-15 Bolt..  Call Clausing tomorrow and ask them to email you the drawings.  (Of course, you first have to ask if they have the part.  If they say no, THEN you ask for the drawing).

They probably  have the drawings.  But if not, let me know and next week after the rain stops I will open up the crate and get the dimensions off of mine, edit the M1-64 drawing to MF-14, and upload it.  And the bolt.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 25, 2017)

Hello Robert,

I haven't had time to call Clausing yet because I have been busy working on my mill. Kick out/table stop MI/MF-64 is the one I downloaded from the forum yesterday. I was just going to make one up out of aluminum using the PDF version of the kick out and with a little modification it would probably work for my mill. From what I see in the PDF, they don't look like they are that hard to make.

But if you don't get rained out by the storm, and have some time to look in the crate. That would be great because I think a lot of us would like to know the dimensions of the MF-14 kick out. And if there is enough interest for them, I can probably make a few for those who might want one.

Which brings me to my next question. Can we use 2 of these kick outs for both sides of the table? My mill does not have the table stop that is part of the left handle assembly. The one you can adjust to make the table stop before it's too late!!! LoL Which is another thing I would like to make and don't see in any of the manuals I have downloaded.


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## 34_40 (Aug 26, 2017)

O.C., check out this page, about 1/2 way down I guess..  a conversation some of us were having on this very topic in a thread about my mill.
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/atlas-horizontal-mill.21602/page-10

You may find it helpful...  or not!. LOL..


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## Orangecrush (Aug 26, 2017)

Hello 34_40,

Thank you for your suggestion about looking at the other thread for the kick out. I've been trying to read that whole thread for a while now and never got to the part you suggested. The one that came with Steve's Atlas mill definitely looks like it would be easy to make. One question though (and I didn't see it in the thread) what is the O.D. of the round area of the kick out?

Also, a little update on my progress with my Atlas horizontal mill. If you have been following this thread then you know that I have already done a full rebuild and I am in the process of putting it back together. Last night I put the motor on, I would have done it sooner but I needed to figure out some of the wiring. For some reason the person who owned it at one point put a forward and reverse switch on it as well as the on off switch. And I wanted to put the on off switch in the original place in the column. I still need to figure out where I am going to put the forward and reverse switch?

Anyway, I put the motor on and then put the belt on. Adjusted both belts to the correct tension and flipped the on off switch ON to see if everything goes smoothly. Low and behold the mill runs like a champ with no noise coming from the gears!!! So that was good to hear and know that just maybe I did something right for a change.

Next was to check out the Change-O-Matic gears and see how the table feed works. This is where I ran into some sort of problem. When I put the Change-O-Matic on to see if the table would move. I noticed that the spindle was turning and so was the 3 step pulley in the head. But for some reason the gear that engages the Change-O-Matic lever was not turning? So I put it into the back gear and turned it on, then the Change-O-Matic gears started to turn and the table started to move.

So I guess what I am asking is, I'm I missed something with the 3 step pulley? When the mill is not in the back gear, the 3 step pulley just turns and does not engage with the Change-O-Matic gears? Any help on this would be appreciated.

And on a parting note, while I was messing around with the mill. I went to take a look at some of the stuff I got when I bought the mill. Apparently I have the 1" arbor and a bunch of collars to go with it. As well as the arbors for angular cutters and the cutters that go with it. And something I found interesting was that I have these little things called End Mill Bushings, part number 563E. Required to adapt all 576 end mills to No. M1-577 shank-cutter adapter (which I have). Can anyone help me with what these are and how exactly do I use them? I assume that they are for the M1-577 shank-cutter adapter so you can put smaller end mills in the M1-577 adapter. I also have what looks like a piece that goes with the M1-570 Shell End Mill Driver. So I gotta look around for the other piece that gets threaded on to the spindle.

I'll see if I can post a video of the mill running so you can see what I have going on with it.

Orangecrush


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## 34_40 (Aug 27, 2017)

O.C. (Steve) , I don't have my mill handy to me, but, what I did to calculate the size needed is simply measure down from the center of the table to just over the top of the levers hinge point. The "wheel" must clear the lever. after that it's all gravy.  I also made sure it could roll easily. And the lever has a wheel on the end so it can roll effortlessly.

All your other questions - I'll need to look for the catalog cuts I have (somewhere) to see the uses..  I'd bet Robert knows them off the top of his head, he's the encyclopedia of Atlas Mills!


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## larry4406 (Aug 27, 2017)

Not mill related, but on my craftsman lathe I used the original on/off voltage to switch the power to the drum switch and enable an outlet for a future light. So switch power on, light comes on, meanwhile drum switch in off position. 

Can't help with anything else. Keep it coming.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 27, 2017)

Thank you to everyone who has helped me with my mill issues.

Last night I figured out what I was doing wrong with my mill. In my last post I had asked why the 3 step pulley was turning on the spindle but not the gear for the Change-O-Matic. It probably would have helped if I read the manual. Because all it was is that I didn't have the bullgear pin pushed into the pulley.

And 34_40, thank you for your reply. Once I get the wiring finished and put the forward and reverse switch some place. My next project will be to make a couple of those kick out stops for my mill. What I really want to do is make a end plate for the left side with a adjustable screw. So I can stop the table when it is going right by hitting the sliding gear shaft on the table feed assembly.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 27, 2017)

Question of the day,

I found an original Atlas horizontal milling vise on my local Craigslist today. The guy who is selling it doesn't know that it goes with the Atlas milling machine and thinks that it's just a regular 3" machine vise. From what I can see in the picture he has on Craigslist, it looks like it is in pretty good condition. Just needs a good cleaning up and going over.

But my question is, how much is one of these vises worth? I have seen some on eBay going for quite a bit of money. This guy is asking $300 bucks for it, but when I called him and said that I was interested in buying it. But told him that $300 bucks was way too much for the vise, he said what do you think it's worth? I don't want to low ball the guy with some stupid offer, so I'm thinking about asking if he would take say... $150?


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## wa5cab (Aug 28, 2017)

I've been a little tied up with Harvey.  But so far so good.

I see that you figured out the direct drive pin.  On the four bushings question, the milling cutter itself fits a 1/2" shank cutter.  The bushings reduce the diameter to 7/16", 3/8", 5/16" and 1/4".  You can buy end mills in 1/64" diameter increments with shanks in 1/16" increments. For example, an 11/32" diameter end mill might have a 3/8" diameter shank.  Above 1/2" diameter, you can buy end mills with 1/2" diameter shanks.

One word of caution when using the bushings.  There is a style of end mill called "Weldon" (after the company who either first made them or first patented them).  These have a flat ground on the side of the shank.  The set screw bears againts the flat and even if the set screw gets loose, the cutter  won't spin or come out of the holder.  The caution is that this is fine, preferred even, for the 1/2" shanks.  But never make the mistake of putting a Weldon cutter in one of the bushings and tightening the set screw.  The screw won't go through the flatted area and bear only against the flat on the cutter shank.  It will push the thinner part of the flat cut across the bushing down into the flatted region on the cutter shank.  And you will be unable to remove the cutter from the bushing.


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## wa5cab (Aug 28, 2017)

I paid $250 (plus shipping) for my M1-300 vise and thought I had gotten a semi bargain.  It came with the original crank.  The only company that I know of who was making a cast iron crank with a square hole that fits the M1-300 stopped making them within the past three years.  Originals are harder to find than the vise. Which is hard enough to find.  If he doesn't have the crank, I guess that $150 wouldn't likely make him hang up on you but if he counters with $200, I would take it.  If he does have the crank, offer $200 and settle on $250.  The vise is like most other Atlas accessories.  Pretty expensive, and hard to find.  He may or may not get $250 on CL.  But he certainly can on eBay.  It's usually a matter of supply and demand.  Usually you pay the price or you do without.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 28, 2017)

Hello good members,

Robert, hope you and your family are doing well after Harvey came through.  As far as the little bushings I found in all the stuff I got with the mill. I kinda understand what you are saying about the flat area on the bushing and the flat area on the end mill. Most of the end mills I got with the mill are like what you are saying, with the flat area on the side. The 1/2" arbor I have has 2 setscrews on opposite sides. So I assume that you can use 1 to tighten the bushing and the other 1 to tighten the end mill through the bushing?

And yes, I did end up figuring out the problem with the mill. Would have helped if I had read the manual before asking about it here. When I got the mill it was already in the back gear with the bullgear pulled out. Didn't even think about that when I fired up the mill for the first time after the rebuild!!! Dumb, dumb me!!! LoL

I guess what I will do with the guy that has the vice is. I'll call him again and offer $150 and if he doesn't go for it then I'll ask him if he will take $200. He doesn't have the handle and the vise needs a good cleaning and going over before it can be used. But I don't think the guy cares about that and he doesn't even know what the vise is for. Other than it's just a 3" machine vise that has a swivel base!!! LoL


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## wa5cab (Aug 29, 2017)

Harvey still isn't quite gone.  But we are still OK.  Although we can't go anywhere much because of all of the flooded areas around the city.  If it behaves as currently predicted, it should be effectively gone in another 24 hours.

The 2MT and 3MT arbors that I have each only have one screw.  I don't know why yours would have two.  But as I tried to say before, you do NOT want to tighten a set screw against the flat on the cutter shank through the flat on the bushing.  If you do, you may never be able to get the cutter and arbor out of the holder.  If all of your cutters are Weldon style, the one(s) with a 1/2" shank you can tighten one of the two set screws against the flat on the shank.  But you might need to use a longer screw.  The other screw you can either remove or tighten against the shank.  But with any of the bushings in use, you need to run one of the set screws down into the slotted flat on the bushing but not quite touching the flat.  Put the cutter into the bushing rotated such that the flat on the cutter shank is NOT under the flat on the bushing and tighten the screw against the bushing flat and the shank.  The other screw you should probably just remove.

On the vise, that sounds like a plan.  You don't of course want to tell him that it has a specific purpose.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 29, 2017)

Hello Robert,

Good to hear that you and your family are doing well after Harvey came through. I heard that there was a lot of flooding and damage from the hurricane.

Not really sure I follow what you are saying about the bushings. The reason I say that is when I found these bushings, one of them was already in a arbor with a end mill in it. And when I went to take out the end mill I had no problem, I just hit it with a little PB-Blaster and it popped right out. But I do understand what you are saying and I will be careful about using the bushings with any of my arbors.

Edit: And yes, most of my end mills are the type you are talking about with 1 or 2 flats on the side.

Speaking about arbors, yeah for some reason I have a couple of arbors that have 2 setscrews on each side? I still need to go through everything I got with the mill and take some sort of inventory. I got so much stuff when I bought it, but just haven't had the time to go through it all. Like I said before, I probably have over a hundred end mills of different sizes and at least 5 arbors to go with them. And some other stuff I don't know what to use it for, but it was in the drawers when I bought the mill? LoL Also got a lot of old cigar boxes full miscellaneous items that I need to look at and see what I can use it for.

My lathe also came with a bunch of stuff. Probably over 3 hundred types of lathe cutting tools and even some carbide tipped cutting tool's. But I will talk about that more on a different thread I have already started on the Craftsman Lathe side.


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## wa5cab (Aug 30, 2017)

Steve,

The bushings were made for solid round shank cutters.  The flats were ground until there was a gap in the middle.  When you put a solid shank in the bushing, the OD of the shank actually sticks out through the gap enough that the nose of the set screw tightens against the shank and doesn't push on the flat surface of the bushing.  So it doesn't deform it.  If you put a Weldon style cutter shank in the bushing, the only thing that the set screw touches is the flat in the bushing.  So it only holds the cutter by deforming the flat in the bushing into the gap in the cutter shank.  After that happens, you can't get the bushing off of the cutter.


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## wa5cab (Aug 30, 2017)

This is OT but Hurricane Harvey finally left the theater.  And the sun came out this afternoon just before sundown.  Most of us at least in my area will be basically over it by the end of the week. The thousands of people who were flooded out won't be over it for months, if ever.  Unfortunately, it left behind a two problems involving two rainfall runoff reservoirs known as Barker and Addicks.  I won't go into Problem #1 but #2 is probably flooding a large number of additional homes along Buffalo Bayou tonight.  Including maybe one belonging to my step-daughter and son-in-law.  We should know tomorrow.


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## francist (Aug 30, 2017)

That sounds promising, the sunshine that is.

I had the fortune of chatting with a nice gentleman from Houston area at my work today. When he said that his neighbourhood and home was part of the mandatory evacuation I was stunned. Here he was, continuing his vacation that he started before the event, and seemed quite blasé about the whole affair! I think he could sense my stumbling for words because he elaborated to the effect that they could do nothing, they could not return home now anyway, and after all it was just a house that could be fixed when they eventually could return. They, he said, would survive and move on. His neighbours however, those who elected to stick it out, were the ones he was concerned about. He feared that their scars would last the rest of their lives.

Remarkable resolve, I thought. 

Glad things are not too bad for you, Robert.

-frank


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## wa5cab (Aug 30, 2017)

Yeah, assuming that the wind doesn't blow over one of my oaks before the ground dries out a bit, I'm only out five or six days watching the weather news on TV and worrying about the storm and the kids instead of doing something useful.  I think that the guy you were talking to had the right attitude.  If he had been at home, there wasn't much that he could have done useful anyway.  And he would have probably paid more for lodging (if he could have found any) than he was in Victoria.  Plus IAH and HOU have both been closed to civilian traffic for the past several days.  And it wouldn't have done him any good to fly into SAT or DFW and rent a car as both I-10 and I-45 have been closed due to flooding until yesterday for I-10. I think I-45 is still closed.

However, the sooner he returns home after the water goes down and gets a crew started on repairs, the better off he will be.  Plus there is some issue about a change in the law in Texas or in the US (I won't have a claim to file so didn't pin down the details) effective 01 September that makes it financially to his benefit to get the flood claim filed by Thursday the 31st.  Assuming that his house actually flooded and that he has flood insurance of course.  Statistics are supposedly that only one in six of those owners who were flooded out have any.  There may have been some mandatory evacuations where not all of the homes actually flooded.  But not many.  I know that there were a lot of voluntary ones where all of the houses did flood.  If you know how to contact him, you might mention that to him.


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## Orangecrush (Aug 30, 2017)

I'm just glad you are doing well after Harvey!!! Sounds like it could have been worse for you. Hopefully everyone that was affected by Harvey will be back to normal soon!!! I can't imagine how bad it was being north of you.

But yeah I get what you are saying about those bushings. Like I said before, most of my end mills are the type with the flats on them. But can't I use them by turning them around in the bushing so that the flat area is on the opposite side? It would be nice because I have so many of the smaller end mills with the flat side on them. Whoever owned this mill I have now had been using these bushings in the 1/2" arbor I have (actually I have a couple of them) and apparently didn't have any problems with this setup.

I guess I'll find out when I start using them!!! LoL


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## wa5cab (Aug 31, 2017)

This afternoon, we finally saw video footage from a helicopter of the flooding just to the West of us from the Corps trying to draw down the two reservoirs to be ready for the next rain event.  And also to try to prevent uncontrolled discharge caused by rainwater running into the reservoirs from the heavy rains to the north west of here.  I almost wish that I hadn't seen it.  I may have nightmares.

Yes.  To safely use the Weldon shank cutters with shank diameters smaller then 1/2" with bushings  in your 1/2" ID holders, just rotate the cutter so that the flat on its shank is on the opposite side of the holder from the flat in the bushing.  I would remove the unused set screw,


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