I-22 Mastermill

[Knots]

I see that there are members here who own Gorton mills and have a couple of questions that I hope some one of you can shed light on.

First the short version of my Gorton adventure. I bought my machine from HGR in Euclid, Ohio. The machine has seen a lot of service but seems to be in serviceable condition. After getting the mill into my shop I rewired the machine because the wiring had aged out. My gorton is a three phase machine and has a power driven table which is driven by a three phase motor which controls table feed speed by introducing a DC current into the three phase power supply. The DC power supply is a vacuum tube rectifier. My choice was to power it with two VFD's or use a rotary phase converter for each of the two motors ( there would have been a need for three VFD's if the Spindle feed electric drive had been powered by a third electric motor). I chose to build a rotary phase converter .

I still have not used the machine because I believe that I need to disassemble the machine and clean out 50 plus years of old grease lubricant gum because the moving parts function is very stiff. Is my assumption that the functional stiffness is caused by old grease and gummed lubricant correct.

The quill feed is belt powered from the bottom groove of the motor sheave. The speed control box has a ramped rotary control lever which is non functional because the rotary ramp is not internally secured and rotates with the lever. Here the question is: This is apparently an early I-22. The literature that I have access to all show the quill feed being driven by a dedicated electric motor. Is this mechanical quill feed featured on older machines? I sure would like to have the literature on that system before I tear into the
control box. A reference to where I might find literature on this device would be appreciated.

This forum looks to be a friendly and information rich site. I look forward to being a part of this community.

 

[Gorton mill]

Knots,
I too have a 1-22 MasterMil, s/n 41151, manufactured in early 1960. I'm assembling mine after a total tear-down. The mill was disassembled into its component castings, bearings were removed (except those in the spindle), castings were scraped & pressure washed to remove the years of hardened grease. Multiple layers of paint were removed to bare metal and castings repainted. Since the spindle motor is 3-phase, I purchased a used VFD and successfully operated the mill prior to disassembly. Like yours, mine has seen what I'd consider rough service. But testing prior to purchase showed spindle run-out and way movement to be within acceptable limits. These are robust machines. With the old grease gone, new bearings, correct gib adjustment and good way oil, I'm experiencing smooth movement like it should be. If you still need manuals or reference materials, I can help point you to these.

 

[Liljoebrshooter]

My mill also has the table feed, but it is not 3 phase. The transformer is 220v and single phase. I have 1 vfd powering both motors.

 

[Liljoebrshooter]

Here is a picture of the vfd.