VN 12 getting (hopefully) back in shape

[aaronpadilla]

Hi there,

I am putting back together my VN-12 as previous owner disassembled it to move so now, I have plenty of questions.

Good news are that all the gears seems to be in great shape.

Since original motor was scraped I got locally a 3HP 1780 RPM motor, is it suitable for this machine? what is the HP and speed of original motor?

The oil level check glasses are trash, they was made in some kind of plastic so, what kind of glass could I use? I was thinking about cut a round chunk of a car oil bottle, from the line to check bottle level.

Serial number is 12-6953, is it possible to know the year of fabrication?

The spindle taper key is badly crushed, but the taper is maybe good enough to run, some one have the specs and tricks to replace it?

 

[benmychree]

That spindle key would only be used for collets, I think, and if any tooling is slotted for the two driving lugs it would not be necessary to have the key in place. Personally, I would remove it and make a new one in case it is needed
So far as the oil level windows, I think plexiglass would be a better choice. As to the motor, probably 2 HP would be adequate, and 3 hp is fine.
A person might be surprised as to how little power is needed for most milling and turning; Many years ago, I had an older American gear head lathe, while doing a roughing operation on it with it's 2 HP WW-1 era motor, I used a clamp on (Amprobe) ammeter, and was quite surprised how it was not really easy to use it's rated horsepower, even when using carbide tooling.

 

[Stefants]

According to the chart available hunting on the web, your SN is in the 1942-1943 range. (6627=1942, 7652=1943)

As for the key replacement, I’m attaching a pic of my spindle...there don’t appear to be any threads in the hole behind the key...it should just tap out with a punch.

To make a new one, see the thread in this forum named

Spindle "key" question VN12

VN - Spindle "key" question VN12

I have not had much time to play with my "new" VN12 but in looking at it I have started to develop questions. I'm wondering if you other VN folks might have some of the answers. Keep in mind I'm completely new to milling so..... you get the picture. Too many questions for one post so let me...

www.hobby-machinist.com

For the motor, the original was a slower speed 1.5hp. You’d likely want to be aware of this for spindle speed settings and avoid the high end if you use the 1780rpm directly, or find the right pulley to accommodate the higher drive speed.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[aaronpadilla]

According to the chart available hunting on the web, your SN is in the 1942-1943 range. (6627=1942, 7652=1943)

As for the key replacement, I’m attaching a pic of my spindle...there don’t appear to be any threads in the hole behind the key...it should just tap out with a punch.

To make a new one, see the thread in this forum named

Spindle "key" question VN12

VN - Spindle "key" question VN12

I have not had much time to play with my "new" VN12 but in looking at it I have started to develop questions. I'm wondering if you other VN folks might have some of the answers. Keep in mind I'm completely new to milling so..... you get the picture. Too many questions for one post so let me...

www.hobby-machinist.com

For the motor, the original was a slower speed 1.5hp. You’d likely want to be aware of this for spindle speed settings and avoid the high end if you use the 1780rpm directly, or find the right pulley to accommodate the higher drive speed.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Very useful info, Thank you