Just Picked Up A Kent 4vk

Got it loaded up and ready to go. Naturally I picked the only day this week it's going to rain.
Found a couple of things that need to be repaired. The handle for the knee has the knob broken off, not a biggie. Some of the power down feed parts are missing or broken. The handle is broken off, and looks like some of the linkage is gone. I think Jim may have a few parts that will fit from when he converted his mill to CNC.
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The mill is at Jim's place and we got it hooked up to power. The DRO works on Y axis, but X seems to have a problem with the scale. Jim is looking into that.

The power drawbar works, and so does the power feed. The table doesn't have a scratch on it anywhere, and the ways are really nice.

Now the bad part. The motor and vari speed pulleys are done for. Looks like the key sheared off and they kept using it anyway. You can see from the pics just what I mean.

A new motor assembly is $975 from Kent. I'm going to see if I might be able to find a used one, don't have the $$$ to buy a now motor right now. I'll post a wanted ad here shortly. Have to save up if I have to buy a new motor.

Found a few other small parts I need for the quill power feed. Jim had some parts off his mill that he sold me for a good price and have already put those on.

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Alloy is trying to fill my shop. Starting to look like a used machine tool dealer. I still almost have room to move around in there, glad almost everything is on wheels.

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The view from the drivers seat

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It looks like a toy hanging off that big orange machine. I'll have to buy a used Giddings and Lewis CNC machine to challenge you.
 
You should be able to find the parts , I'll bet there are some used , lots of them around it's just waitng that's sucks. Did it ruin the motor or just the vari drive parts? Yes I know those parts are pricey but still thunk can be found cheap enough not to sell the farm to fix it. Still it's a really good deal even if you buy a used head and install you will be ahead of what a descent machine cost , good luck and keep us up to date if I find any parts I'll put it here. Any model numbers for this or part numbers? Might help I'm pretty good at finding things .
 
You never know what else I'll find and drag out to your place:)


Silverbullet: Take a look at the first pic I posted. The motor runs just fine, the shaft is completely destroyed along with the movable pulley.

It's a Kent 4VK 3hp. Part# 213771. I've been looking all evening for a used one. No luck yet. And yes waiting sucks, either to find a used motor, or save up for a new one.

If I have to buy a new motor and VFD, then tooling I'll have about $3k into it. Not too bad I guess. I'm hoping to sell the Bridgeport for close to that after I get the Kent repaired and up and running.

I did find a 3hp single phase motor new for $979. Wouldn't have to buy a VFD then, but do I want to not have the versatility of a VFD?
 
Still with the new single phase it's , vari speed and reversible ? Wouldn't need the vfd? Unless you want all the soft start and extras that gives . Getting sleepy now it's 2 am here. Will ck when I can on the number and used if I can get cooks to email me he's been a used dealer for about 40 years here in south jersey . I'll try
 
I wonder if someone that rebuilds motors could just replace the shaft. I know I've done that on some small DC motors. You could try to get the armature out yourself, weld the shaft back up and then turn it back down. I don't think you have anything to loose to at least try it cause the motor is junk the way it is now.

Rodney
 
If I can find a used single phase motor I'd jump on it, but I guess I would like to have the extra benefits of a VFD. Once you put a VFD on a machine it kind of spoils you. I use the Bridgeport at work and it sucks with no VFD. I'm trying to talk them into putting one on it even though we have 3 phase power.

I have considered welding up the shaft, but would it need to be heat treated or case hardened after welding? I've not looked into a new armature yet. But your right, it's junk and nothing to lose.
 
Normally motor shafts are soft, so welding should not be a problem. It would be nice to heat it to stress relieve it after welding. I think the shaft is pressed into the armature, so building a new one might not be out of the question. I have never tried to replace a shaft, so not sure about any of this. Maybe somebody could offer some advice here.
 
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