Slight modification to pantograph

[Diecutter]

Finally finished converting my old Gorton pantograph into a vertical knee mill. This is my first mill and it makes all the difference in my shop's capability. Main specs are 8" of usable x, 5" of y, and 10" of z. Power is supplied by a Dayton 1 hp tefc motor through step pulleys and belts. The spindle has 4 deep groove bearings and supports an ER20 assembly. I swapped the pathetic crank handles for some cast iron 6" dia. chromed bad boys. To cap it off iGaging units were installed on all three axis. Pictured is my first project using DRO rather than dials with .020 slop. Wow, it's like Cadillacing downhill compared to before. Future plans include adding Yuri's touch dro kit.

 

[Superburban]

Cool. Did you make the spindle? I have an extra base, because I ended up buying a second one for the parts. I keep looking at it and thinking of what to do. I have been contemplating a small accurate drill press. I would like a spindle with a quill so I do not have to mess with the knee to drill a hole.

 

[Diecutter]

Cool. Did you make the spindle? I have an extra base, because I ended up buying a second one for the parts. I keep looking at it and thinking of what to do. I have been contemplating a small accurate drill press. I would like a spindle with a quill so I do not have to mess with the knee to drill a hole.

Yes, I built the spindle by boring through a 3" dia. bar of A-2 tool steel and fitting 4 deep groove 20mm id bearings which support an ER-20 collet assembly. The only real negative to the conversion is the small work envelope, but I work on small projects, so it's not a problem for me. I have two other Gorton pantographs and this one was in my way in the shop for too long. Weighs a half ton, so it was hard to move around. It would probably be easy to graft a vertical mill head onto a Gorton if an inexpensive one could be found. I had no luck trying to find one. Thanks for the interest.

 

[Superburban]

Now you got me thinking about adding another project to my list. When I moved a few years back, my 3U out, and get it setup.