[How-To] Mounting a Z axis DRO on a Bridgeport (Clone) Quill

[Eddyde]

Thanks for the useful info on the bearings, I'll know what to prepare for.
Yeah, what oil went into which cup was a bit murky at first, I think I have sussed out now. I do have a couple of the "grease" fittings but some research I did a while back, revealed they are for oil and a special pressure oiler is used to inject oil into them.

Amazon.com

My noise issue is very intermittent, not even one out of ten starts and it goes away in less than a minute, a couple of times it happened when the machine was running for a while but again, it went away quickly. Sometimes, It can go for weeks or months without occurring. It sounds like it has something to do with the cone pulleys in the variable speed drive, maybe the belt slipping, but its baffling how it can be so sporadic. I don't use the power downed that often and keep it off when not in use so it's not related to that. My fear is I'll take the head apart and need the Mill to fix it, lol...

Another approach I am considering, is to "simply" replace the Variable-drive with a DC PWM motor and drive.

 

[MDVolle]

Thanks for the useful info on the bearings, I'll know what to prepare for.
Yeah, what oil went into which cup was a bit murky at first, I think I have sussed out now. I do have a couple of the "grease" fittings but some research I did a while back, revealed they are for oil and a special pressure oiler is used to inject oil into them, like this:

Push N Lube Pump for Zerk Base | 12PB20

The Push N Lube push style pump for use on Bridgeport mills with zerk fittings. The pump comes with a small unit of WO-150 Way Oil.

machinerypartsdepot.com

My noise issue is very intermittent, not even one out of ten starts and it goes away in less than a minute, a couple of times it happened when the machine was running for a while but again, it went away quickly. Sometimes, It can go for weeks or months without occurring. It sounds like it has something to do with the cone pulleys in the variable speed drive, maybe the belt slipping, but its baffling how it can be so sporadic. I don't use the power downed that often and keep it off when not in use so it's not related to that. My fear is I'll take the head apart and need the Mill to fix it, lol...

Another approach I am considering, is to "simply" replace the Variable-drive with a DC PWM motor and drive.

I love the idea of using a DC motor but every time I look at that option I run into torque issues at low speeds - which is where the mechanical variable speed drive is both unique and almost magical - the 2 HP motor remains 2HP but as the speed changes the gearing effectively keeps increasing the capability - especially when you switch to the low gear - removing any of the advantageous gearing requires making the DC motor bigger... the VS drive wasn't hard to take apart but the spring on the one pulley is kind of wicked.