Honeoye mill? Edit possibly Cheng Ki

There's no trust greater than a brotherhood where you swear to save each other's lives. I'm sure you'll be happy with it and just may have made a new friend :)

John
 
So now reality has set in, I've got to go move a knee mill about 100 miles smack dab through Dallas. Actually I'm not to worried about the move as much as the other idiots that are on the road.

I'm already making plans and have several important decisions to make, which I would like advice on. Luckily, my new shop is dry even though it isn't finished. I can put the mill inside and it will be a good place to work on it. Moving it will probably mean a partial disassembly, at least removing the head which isn't a big deal, maybe the "ram" not sure on what the part is called. Which brings up some things to consider. It appears to me that the machine has been painted, as in barely taped off and a coat of paint added overall. The machine seems to be in good shape, and the PO seemed to keep a nice clean tidy well maintained shop. However, the machine is about 30 years old. At the least I think I would like to clean it up, and while it is apart would be a good time to do that. And here the slippery slope starts. IF it's apart and I clean it I might want to spiff it up with some paint. Taking it apart to do a good inspection and cleaning would be a good time to do a full repaint. That would mean it would be a good time to change out the oil lines on the one shot system. I don't think I would want to or be able to get into rescraping the ways, but short of that..........

For you guys that have been down this road, having a new-to-you used mill show up, how far should I be looking at going?
 
I have not been down that road with a Bridgeport but I know what I'd do.

Flip the head upside down and brace with wood against the table. Move it to my shop. Flip the head right side up and put power to it (of course make sure everything is lubed before firing it up. Make a few cuts. Measure.

That way if you do start refurbishing you will at least have a baseline to reference. Might be it'll do just fine without any major work, if you want it to be pretty go ahead and tear it down and fix anything that needs it along the way. But, knowing where you started is a big step in getting to where you're going.

JMHO,

JOhn
 
Well fer what it's worth; How soon do you want it usable ?
What level of refurbish do you want ?
How much do you want to spend ?
Is project creep gonna give you grief ? cuz that is a GIVEN in any project....
Not tryin to rain on yer parade, I love a challenging project, it makes the finish of it more gratifying .......... :encourage:
 
I don't think there is any wrong way to go about it. I ran mine for two years before I did much to it, which gives you some time to get to know it and find all the little areas that need attention. Once you pull the table to replace the oil lines you might as well replace, or adjust the half nuts and lead screws and check out the gibs. If you look under the Bridgeport section in the forums area there is a lot of good info. Here is my thread on the half nut modification https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/bridgeport-x-y-feed-screw-nut-replacement.64253/page-2 and somewhere near that thread should be one on replacing the oil lines. I really enjoy working on my machines, almost as much as using them. No matter how you go about it just take your time, and enjoy the journey. Cheers, Mike
 
matthewsx said:
I have not been down that road with a Bridgeport but I know what I'd do.

Flip the head upside down and brace with wood against the table. Move it to my shop. Flip the head right side up and put power to it (of course make sure everything is lubed before firing it up. Make a few cuts. Measure.

That way if you do start refurbishing you will at least have a baseline to reference. Might be it'll do just fine without any major work, if you want it to be pretty go ahead and tear it down and fix anything that needs it along the way. But, knowing where you started is a big step in getting to where you're going.

JMHO,

JOhn
Click to expand...

That is a very good point, thank you. I think I will do that very thing to start with.

Norseman C.B. said:
Well fer what it's worth; How soon do you want it usable ?
What level of refurbish do you want ?
How much do you want to spend ?
Is project creep gonna give you grief ? cuz that is a GIVEN in any project....
Not tryin to rain on yer parade, I love a challenging project, it makes the finish of it more gratifying .......... :encourage:
Click to expand...

I think I'm pretty much in the same boat with you. I have an RF30 now working, just looking for a project, so I have time if I need it. My plan is to sell the RF30 after I get this up and running, assuming I'm able to clean this one up and make sure it is at least as capable as the smaller one.

I'm right in between shops now. I have my new detached 30x40 in the dry, waiting on spray insulation so I can finish out the interior. At that point I will be moving everything from my 'garage' into the shop. As for right now, I will put the big mill in the middle of the new shop and work around it while I also work on it. I think I want to fix the paint, got some chips and flaking areas now, and I can tell someone at some point painted over things on it. I might want to make her pretty, maybe even a new color scheme.

FOMOGO said:
I don't think there is any wrong way to go about it. I ran mine for two years before I did much to it, which gives you some time to get to know it and find all the little areas that need attention. Once you pull the table to replace the oil lines you might as well replace, or adjust the half nuts and lead screws and check out the gibs. If you look under the Bridgeport section in the forums area there is a lot of good info. Here is my thread on the half nut modification https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/bridgeport-x-y-feed-screw-nut-replacement.64253/page-2 and somewhere near that thread should be one on replacing the oil lines. I really enjoy working on my machines, almost as much as using them. No matter how you go about it just take your time, and enjoy the journey. Cheers, Mike
Click to expand...

I do wonder about the leadscrews. I also wonder about how hard and expensive it would be to convert to ball screws. But I have to keep in mind that I will soon be wanting to add DRO's and feed motors.
 
Ballscrews? Are you converting to CNC? If not, then you wouldn't want ballscrews. The backlash adjustment works the same as a lead screw, and it's equally accurate, but ballscrews eliminate the friction that holds things in place, meaning cutting forces can move the mill table mid-cut if you don't lock things tight after every table move. Normal servo-type feed motors have plenty of gear reduction and torque to move lead screws just fine.
 
pontiac428 said:
Ballscrews? Are you converting to CNC? If not, then you wouldn't want ballscrews. The backlash adjustment works the same as a lead screw, and it's equally accurate, but ballscrews eliminate the friction that holds things in place, meaning cutting forces can move the mill table mid-cut if you don't lock things tight after every table move. Normal servo-type feed motors have plenty of gear reduction and torque to move lead screws just fine.
Click to expand...

Obviously my lack of knowledge shows. I have read several time that ballscrews were some improvement, i never associated it with being for CNC conversion. Actually, that's good for me, since it would mean less to do on the refurb.

Thank you for the info!
 
My power feed unit arrived this morning, I was kinda doubtful of the quality it would be for the price
but upon initial inspection it seems to be pretty well built, it is a knock off of a Servo.
We shall see how it performs as I get it installed and in actual use later .................... :encourage:

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