1875 Ames Planer

[middle.road]

That is going to be a really cool piece. They are so neat to sit and watch, like shapers, pen plotters, ETC.
Did you ever see the New Haven Planer that Keith Rucker did a video on about a year ago? https://goo.gl/RrZJZK
Considering that they are from the 1800's they are, IMO, engineering marvels.
I would guess that any that are picked up will require a wee bit of restoration.

 

[Bob Korves]

It would be nice if you could figure a reasonable way to machine the ways to get the roughness out and make them geometrically correct, then add strips of metal that are glued in or held down with flat head screws, and then scraped in to final fit. I suppose the strips would need to be steel or short strips of cast iron, and you would be looking at a LOT of work (though I guess you are no matter which way you go.) Moglice or Rulon would not be period correct, and might stand out visually, but would get it operational again.

 

[cjtoombs]

you could use moglice

I've found a source for the Rulon, not for Moglice. Also, I don't think the Moglice would be any easier to use than the Rulon, as I would still have to scrape the bed ways to get a surface that could be used to cast the Moglice to the platen. If I cast the Moglice to the Bed ways, I would have to do it in two steps (the platen is shorter than the bed) which would likely still require scraping to get the two cast sections alligned.

 

[cjtoombs]

It would be nice if you could figure a reasonable way to machine the ways to get the roughness out and make them geometrically correct, then add strips of metal that are glued in or held down with flat head screws, and then scraped in to final fit. I suppose the strips would need to be steel or short strips of cast iron, and you would be looking at a LOT of work (though I guess you are no matter which way you go.) Moglice or Rulon would not be period correct, and might stand out visually, but would get it operational again.

I'm more concerned with the operation, but with the Rulon on the bottom of the platen, it won't be terribly visible. Best way to go with metal would be to epoxy cast iron strips on, but making the strips would be a huge pain.

 

[cjtoombs]

This is the process that I plan to use to scrape the bed:


1. Since the uprights are off the machine, and I intend to leave them off until I have concluded the scraping of the bed ways, I need to compensate for their weight. I will measure the components, model them in Fusion 360 and derive a weight from the model. This means is preferable, as I will need a model to design the drive, and besides, I don't have a set of scales capable of weighing the parts.
2. Determine the location and amount of weight to hang under the machine bed to simulate the weight of the rest of the machine, which won't be there. I believe this will be necessary for this machine, as the bed is pretty spindly and there is likely to be significant (in the neighborhood of a few thousandths of an inch) sag just due to weight that I want to ensure is incorporated in the scraping.
3. Cut the center groove deeper. I plan to do this with an angle grinder and jig. It doesn't have to be accurate, it just provides clearance, and the wear is so bad it will need to be deepened.
4. Do a preliminary scraping on the ways. This will just be to smooth them out a bit, I don't plan to use a straight edge for this. The angle grinder and a jig may be something to think about for this step, as well.
5. Level the machine from the reference flats where the uprights were bolted on.
6. Fabricate a V block to go in the ways for the level to sit on.
7. Map the ways using a master precision level.
8. Come up with a scraping strategy based on the way map.
9. Fabricate a measuring jig to ensure that the ways remain parallel and in the same plane during the scraping process. This will also act as the reference surface for the scraping.
10. Scrape the ways using the jig and master precision level to get them correct. I am shooting for .0003/foot. We'll see how that goes.
11. Scrape the platen ways for smoothness. They don't need to be too smooth, since I'm using Rulon on them and a rough surface will help with the bond.
12. Epoxy the Rulon to the ways.
13. Reassemble the planer.
14. Use the bed ways as the reference surface to scrape the platen.
15. Scrape the platen, checking the level of the top using a DTI on the crosshead. This doesn't need to be perfect, but I would like to get it within a few thousandths. It will be planned flat once everything else is completed.
16. Fabricate a motor drive.
17. Cut metal.


Have I missed anything? I have a car rotisserie that may be useful for scraping the platen, I would need to fabricate some mounts for it as well.

 

[Bob Korves]

Do you have experience with scraping and machine tool reconditioning?

 

[middle.road]

This is the process that I plan to use to scrape the bed:
......................(trimmed)
Have I missed anything? I have a car rotisserie that may be useful for scraping the platen, I would need to fabricate some mounts for it as well.

18.) Time

 

[cjtoombs]

Do you have experience with scraping and machine tool reconditioning?

Nope, but I read the book I did take Richard Kings scraping class some years ago and I've done some scraping since then, so the scraping isn't an issue. Alignment is something I don't have any experience with, but I'm pretty sure I can figure it out.

 

[Bob Korves]

Nope, but I read the book I did take Richard Kings scraping class some years ago and I've done some scraping since then, so the scraping isn't an issue. Alignment is something I don't have any experience with, but I'm pretty sure I can figure it out.

Good! Sometimes people with absolutely no experience or training want to start learning the art of scraping and reconditioning on a rare antique machine, "learning as they go." Often, no good comes from it, and a fine historic restoration candidate eventually gets scrapped, not scraped...

 

[Sblack]

I've found a source for the Rulon, not for Moglice. Also, I don't think the Moglice would be any easier to use than the Rulon, as I would still have to scrape the bed ways to get a surface that could be used to cast the Moglice to the platen. If I cast the Moglice to the Bed ways, I would have to do it in two steps (the platen is shorter than the bed) which would likely still require scraping to get the two cast sections alligned.

I think the idea is to rough up the bed and cast the moglice onto the bed. But then you need a full length straight edge to be a pattern for the cast. You would probably have to rent something from a machine rebuilder. I have seen pictures on the moglice site of this being done. Not simple, but neither is any other solution and the advantage is that you don't need to remove material from the casting.