Removing the tool in the milling machine

[pontiac428]

I have an old LC-30 (MT3 taper), and it requires a few good blows to come loose, perhaps I'm over torquing the drawbar?

Maybe it just needs cleanup. Tapping the drawbar to unseat an oil-film bond, yes. A good couple cracks on it, no. I'm betting it's just time for a little spindle TLC with an india stone followed by a solvent washout. Go over all your tapered tool holders, too. Take the high spots off the edges of the knicks and clean clean clean never stop cleaning everything before and after.

 

[ErichKeane]

I actually just use my mill vise handle to loosen the drawbar, its the right hex, and I can use the side of it to knock it free.

 

[slow-poke]

Maybe it just needs cleanup. Tapping the drawbar to unseat an oil-film bond, yes. A good couple cracks on it, no. I'm betting it's just time for a little spindle TLC with an india stone followed by a solvent washout. Go over all your tapered tool holders, too. Take the high spots off the edges of the knicks and clean clean clean never stop cleaning everything before and after.

I have never used an "India" stone, I will give it a try, what colour should I order?

 

[OTmachine]

My Rockwell drawbar wrench, (R8)

 

[pontiac428]

I have never used an "India" stone, I will give it a try, what colour should I order?

"India" is orange aluminum oxide. It's great for hand deburring steel. I find the half-round to be very useful in the machine shop, the flat side for flat surfaces and the curved side for inside surfaces. Usually people think of bench stones for sharpening knives by hand, but during my time as a button monkey I learned that a little scrap of stone deburring between fixtures was the key to .001 parts. Now I've got sticks of India stone in every cup, tray, and drawer all over the shop, just like those little scraps of emory cloth that accrue around the shop, always handy for a little whizz when needed. Stones give you much flatter surfaces than a wad of emory between your fingers, and leaves a finer finish.

India AO Half Round File

Offering both a round and a flat surface, the Norton India AO Half Round File, is made for imparting a fine finish on precision machine parts, tools and

www.nortonabrasives.com

 

[wayback machine]

MT tooling that's been in the spindle for a long time can sometimes be a real problem to remove - Especially if the last operator got a little over enthusiastic tightening the drawbar.
You may find that you need quite a bit of force to unseat it - More than just a light tap......
Try running the mill at high speed for a while - It may warm up the spindle a little, and make the job easier, maybe.

 

[Toolmaker51]

Really no need to use a soft hammer if the hex of the drawbar has a chamfer on it so that it does not burr up from striking it.

The 'chamfer' is ideal when nearly hemispheric: enters a box end or socket wrench easily & centers hit disengaging taper.
IM(not so)HO, savvy turret mill users like a long pattern parallel offset double box end wrench, of 3/4" x 7/8".
Drawbar, ram & rotation nuts, nod & swivel nuts, table clamping hardware, vise hex, and perfect lightweight urge for the collet; all in one.
Even better would ratchet at both ends that flip over to reverse. Haven't seen the right long double end yet, wouldn't hesitate to heat, bend and quench one.

 

[Toolmaker51]

Stones give you much flatter surfaces than a wad of emory between your fingers, and leaves a finer finish.

Clear makin's of a Toolmaker right there....

 

[Toolmaker51]

If a R8 spins after drawing up, a bit of oil isn't at fault, the pin key is sheared off.
R8 is self-releasing only when clean of chips or dirt, and not sprung from wrong size tool. They're +.001/- .002 toolholders not workholders.  Some collets aren't so picky, such as 5C, typical of stubby body with proportionally short bore.
Collets Rockwell C 40+; a fine wirewheel won't do anything wrong to taper. At least every once in a while ( I do it every time) swab out the spindle taper and give her a wet finger of light oil periodically.
The slots in any collet act as induction fans, driving stuff up spindle bore; brass, aluminum, plastic, iron most of all; surprising how much El Toro poopoo is going up there.
Then it sticks to the drawbar you oil, and runs down into the threads.
Then, pulling the bar out, wondering why the threads look rolled over and broken.
Not quite done yet. Can't think of any drawbar without one or pair of thrust washers, (not washer face of the hex). Those must be clean, flat and treated likewise with a bit of lube. Good ones are O-ringed to drawbar, sealing off crap falling from overhead.
Now, I have a truck to unload, guess is at least 1200 pounds if not more. Then a trailer of unknown total but tongue weight flattens dolly tires.....
See you guys in a couple days.

 

[EJ's Repair & Machine]

After one of the nylon faces broke up on my hammer, I made a brass face as a replacement, works dandy, and yes, at least two turns out before striking seems to do the releasing nicely.