My Nichols Mill

gwarner said:
I have the Nichols running on a 2.5 HP treadmill motor and while I have not done any actual projects with it, YET, I have done several test cuts. There is plenty of power even at low speeds it does not seem to notice. The spindle pulley on this is 12 inches in diameter and weighs, I guess, around 30 pounds. Once you start it spinning it is not going to stop. The motor mount for it came from the treadmill I got the motor from. A few quick welds and a hole drilled is all the fab work it took for the mounting of the motor. I made a pulley to fit over the motors flywheel so I could use the flywheel as a fan and additional momentum. It is driven by a v-belt . I did keep the original 1HP geared 3 phase motor and could go back to that if ever needed.


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I know this thread is a couple of years old, but I just bought a Nichols "Whitney" mill and it had a 3 phase reeves drive motor attached to the side of the mill, versus where the motor would have originally been mounted. To use the moving head on the mill, I need to mount the motor where it was originally intended.

I have a treadmill motor that I'd like to use, (and actually looks a lot like yours), so I was wondering if you could tell me more about how you got it set up? i.e. what are you using for a motor controller, and also has it worked well set up like this?

- Brian
 
I think you will be happy with this heavy duty machine.
The image on the far right shows how I mounted the treadmill motor. I welded the pivot base onto some square stock. I experimented with a few different controllers and all worked about the same.
I usually work with aluminum so the treadmill motor worked fine or a while. I could stall it on deep cuts.
About a year ago I switched over to an electric motor and a jack shaft to get the low speeds I need. The electric motor is the better set up.
 
Looks like the toolroom version; mine is ancient and well worn in comparison. VFD and original motor, even the belts are vintage. Before and after pix:
mill 2.jpgIMG_0797.JPG
 
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