Old Speedway Mill.

[WalterC]

Sometimes you just run into a deal you can't pass up.
This mill was sitting in a garage in the corner with cobwebs over it so I had to ask about it. The owner said he bought it new many years ago to make parts for his motorcycles, but after finding out how much the tooling would cost he just forgot about it, drilled a few holes with it for a while then used his regular drill press instead.
I noticed it still was caked with the dried out packing grease and there was some staining but it didn't look like rust. He said; "Give me 100 bucks and it's yours". I did.

Model# DTMACH 34/03989. Speedway Series. No Serial# as far as I know.

As with any new machine, I took it apart, cleaned it up and lubed it, adjusted it, improved some finishes and fit. I didn't like the orange/red cracked paint.

I have no idea how old it really is. The owner must have told me, but I don't remember and information on this mill is almost completely absent. But being it is still a mill in like new condition, I guess that doesn't matter.

It uses 2MT. Is 3/4 HP. 2 Belt, 12 speed, 1/2" milling, 1.5" face milling. Speeds- 3,950- 390 rpm.
Runs very quiet and smooth. I have collets and a vise on the way.

Any other info or opinions are welcome. Don't worry, I know it isn't a best brand.

 

[brino]

Hi Walter,

Welcome to the site!

Good score! Even if you only ever use it as a drill press it's worth that!
That should be a useful new tool. The table you have it on looks pretty strong, you might consider bolting it down.
It's likely someone here has some info, I bet it was sold under many different names......

When I first saw it I thought "I would not have considered blue and orange". I was thinking about black, maybe grey,.......but you know what, that's not bad.....it kinda brings attention to all the controls.

-brino

 

[Ulma Doctor]

excellent deal!
most of the mill/drills were made in china, if you are lucky yours was made in taiwan-
yes, there is a huge difference.
the taiwanese made equipment is superior in both materials used and workmanship of the finished product, not to be without flaw but wayy better made IMHO.
The hardest problem to overcome with the round column mills is tramming the head, but it's not difficult to manufacture a fixture to do just that easily.

if you are interested i can show you a simple and cheap method of doing the tram job, repeatedly, using a fixture you can make yourself with your milling machine .

you'll have many years of fun with the mill, learning it's operation is half of the fun!

 

[WalterC]

It is indeed made in Cheena- it's hard to say that sometimes.

The color was brighter than what was on the can, but it will have to do and frankly I'm getting used to it. The orange is the plastic cover and I decided painting it wouldn't last and would just look worse as it chipped off.

I was surprised to see ball bearings used on the X and Y lead screws.

Thanks for the replies. I'm glad you mentioned tramming the head, I haven't checked that yet. Any help with that would be appreciated! I do have a dial indicator with the base, analog and digital calipers and micrometers.

 

[Andre]

That looks more like a drill press with a positioning table than a milling machine, however using small cutters (less cutting force) in the chuck should be just fine if you keep your cuts small.

Great job with the new paint and cleanup!

 

[TakeDeadAim]

These were indeed made in china, sort of on the lines of and made in the same factory as the Harbor Freight and other round collum machines. I would put anything near a 1.5" face mill or .5" end mill, especially in the chuck. I might suggest something like an ER20 collet holder like this one; http://www.shars.com/mt2-er20-er-collet-holder if you want to hold end mills and not snap the teeth off them. Looks like a great find and you should get some great use out of it.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

neat find! can't complain for $100 i love the Castrol racing colors too..

 

[GA Gyro]

Sometimes you just run into a deal you can't pass up.
This mill was sitting in a garage in the corner with cobwebs over it so I had to ask about it. The owner said he bought it new many years ago to make parts for his motorcycles, but after finding out how much the tooling would cost he just forgot about it, drilled a few holes with it for a while then used his regular drill press instead.
I noticed it still was caked with the dried out packing grease and there was some staining but it didn't look like rust. He said; "Give me 100 bucks and it's yours". I did.

Model# DTMACH 34/03989. Speedway Series. No Serial# as far as I know.

As with any new machine, I took it apart, cleaned it up and lubed it, adjusted it, improved some finishes and fit. I didn't like the orange/red cracked paint.

I have no idea how old it really is. The owner must have told me, but I don't remember and information on this mill is almost completely absent. But being it is still a mill in like new condition, I guess that doesn't matter.

It uses 2MT. Is 3/4 HP. 2 Belt, 12 speed, 1/2" milling, 1.5" face milling. Speeds- 3,950- 390 rpm.
Runs very quiet and smooth. I have collets and a vise on the way.

Any other info or opinions are welcome. Don't worry, I know it isn't a best brand.

Hey WalterC...
Do I know you at another forum... not machinist related... >grin>

 

[WalterC]

Hey WalterC...
Do I know you at another forum... not machinist related... >grin>

You just might sir- you just might. Your typing looks very familiar.

 

[GA Gyro]

You just might sir- you just might. Your typing looks very familiar.

Welcome to the forum WalterC!

For the others... GA knows WalterC from another forum, suggested this forum from a conversation about machines on the other forum.

Glad you made it over... browse around and make yourself at home!

GA