PM25 fine down feed, what am I missing?

[WobblyHand]

Fine down feed doesn't seem to work. Could very well be I've misinterpreted the instructions. It kind of looks like its "trying to work". According to the high resolution manual I just downloaded, it says to tighten the knob (4) to clamp (3). I can see the brass sleeve rotating, due to rotating the fine control, but the sleeve does not engage the lever hub until it is very tight. Unfortunately by that time, the whole handle assembly is jammed up too tight to the head. The sleeve then slips.

Can someone enlighten me? I've sent a question to PM, but was hoping someone has seen this before.

 

[GTPI]

Fine down feed doesn't seem to work. Could very well be I've misinterpreted the instructions. It kind of looks like its "trying to work". According to the high resolution manual I just downloaded, it says to tighten the knob (4) to clamp (3). I can see the brass sleeve rotating, due to rotating the fine control, but the sleeve does not engage the lever hub until it is very tight. Unfortunately by that time, the whole handle assembly is jammed up too tight to the head. The sleeve then slips.

Can someone enlighten me? I've sent a question to PM, but was hoping someone has seen this before.

Do you have the quill lock loosened ? it's on the left , also the Z axis locks should be tightened. Tighten the quill lock before making cut.

 

[WobblyHand]

Yes, the quill lock is loose. The quill easily goes up and down with the lever arms. The Z axis locks were locked.

 

[GTPI]

Yes, the quill lock is loose. The quill easily goes up and down with the lever arms. The Z axis locks were locked.

Sorry I couldn't be of any more help, I just checked the manual to be sure you weren't missing something . I just ordered my mill.
Hopefully someone with far better understanding will chime in!

 

[WobblyHand]

Thanks for trying! Greatly appreciated.

 

[erikmannie]

I used this fine feed for awhile, and I was having some problems. I solved these problems by using the the z-axis hand wheel and the DRO.

 

[Aukai]

See if you bring the spindle down with the manual arm, and lock it with the knob, then do the fine feed with the small dial.

 

[T Bredehoft]

Make sure th knob in teh center of the hand crank is tight. (its hard to loosen when it is tight) then turn the fine feed wheel. I put a 2 1/2" long handle with a knob on mine, easier to turn smoothly that way.

 

[higgite]

Wobbly,

Are you sure that you’re tightening the engagement knob enough? Check out 10:30-11:45 in this video. The operator’s first attempt to engage the fine feed fails and his second attempt works when he tightens the knob more.

Try this test, if you haven’t already. With the fine feed disengaged, lower the quill a half inch or so with the operating handle and lock the quill. Engage the fine feed by twisting the engagement knob until it is tight. It may take more effort than you think, as witnessed in the video. Then turn the fine feed knob clockwise until it gets tight. That will take out any backlash in the fine feed worm gear. Leave it there and unlock the quill. The quill shouldn’t move when the quill lock is released. Now try the fine feed knob. It may be harder to turn than you think since you don’t have the leverage with the knob that you have with the handles.

I hope you get it worked out, because I find the fine feed on my mill to be extremely handy when setting depth of cut.

Tom

 

[WobblyHand]

Well I got it to work, but it's not going to last. Why do I say that? To get it to work, you do have to crank it very tight. So much so that it scrapes the piece (that looks like a washer) on the head stock. I thought it was jammed because I turned the knob and then it got very hard to move. I put on some lithium grease and that helped a little. But at the moment, it works. Not sure, but the root problem might be that the hub is bored out too deep. Guessing that 0.010-0.020 less boring would have given the same function but prevented not jamming up against the head stock.

PM and I have been corresponding. They don't think it should mark the head stock either.