X axis power feed question.

[finsruskw]

Good Morning!
I am new here so please bear with me as I'm sure I will have a few more questions s I get my Jet JTM-2 set up.
Picked up this unit last spring on a whim when it popped up on C/L. It's a 1 owner circa 1985 machine from a small shop that used it balance pistons, or so I am told, and from the condition of the ways appears to have been lightly used. It came with all the original paper work, a few pieces of toling and a nice 6" (not Kurt) vice that included a rotary base for it.



We got it home and cleaned up and after an extensive remodel of my shop area have it positioned in a corner where it will live. Still waiting on the electrician to finish up the wiring and soon I hope to be able to use it. Will be a learning curve I am sure as I am not a machinist and have never played one on TV! I might add I am 6 years into retirement from OTR trucking pulling a step deck trailer all lower 48 hauling steel and machinery. Now I am into restoring IH Cub Cadet garden tractors having completed several in the last 5 years.



Question
Thinking of adding an X axis power drive and wondering what you fella's would advise. I see many new ones on e-bay in the $110 range and the others for 1/2 again as much to near double that amount. Are the higher end units that much better and which would you choose if in the market for one?

One other thing here, Is the gage setup I have pictured a viable way to tram this unit?
It is all I have at present. The tiny Mitutoyo 513-118 needle DI I do have is not (I think) working correctly as it jerks all over the place and will not return to the same spot consistantly.

 

[Ed ke6bnl]

I ha e a China one working fine in the over $100 range

 

[mksj]

Nice mill, enjoy.

The less expensive drives often have poor low speed control often needed for steel/hardened alloys. Know a few people that upgraded their Chinese mill drives because of this. Many of us with knee mills use the Align (Taiwanese) drives, a bit more expensive but very good drives. I use two on my knee mill and they have performed very well. Servo drives are at the other end of the price spectrum. You can search the forum for "Align drive" and find other posts.

 

[mmcmdl]

We have a lot in common fins . After talking with you thru pms , I'm sure we'll be talking regularly . I'll check you out over on OCC also . You'll see I have old Cubs all across the country . I got your handle , mine is CCSuperMan over there . Yep , that looks like a 104 and not a 126 on your pic . I'm staring at one outside my window . Welcome to our site , you have a nice looking mill also . As far as drives go , pickup a servo if you can find one . Any questions related to the Cubs or machining , just ask . You know how to reach me or anyone else .

 

[markba633csi]

Hi Fins- you'll want one of those dual-dial gadgets to tram the mill head, but a single dial works if you are careful
There are some poor man's methods of tramming also with simple tools e.g. a machinist's square and a piece of drill rod held in the spindle- that can get you close enough quickly for a lot of non-critical jobs
Mark
ps nice mill BTW Jet made a good Bridgeport copy

 

[mmcmdl]

Hi Fins- you'll need one of those dual-dial gadgets to tram the mill head, a single dial won't do it,

In 43 years I've never used a dual-dial gadget . Don't understand why someone would say this but it's just not true . He's using the wrong type of indicator for tramming his head .

 

[markba633csi]

I corrected my post- I believe the 2 dial setup is faster if one needs to tram often, is what I meant to say

 

[finsruskw]

I wondered about the setup I had there but it is the only indicator I have that comes close to working right,
Maybe I should look into having the Mitutoyo repaired?
If so, where??

 

[Winegrower]

You can tram the mill with that setup for x and y but you will want to use a parallel or such to bridge the t-slots.
To tram a vise, of course you need to reorient the indicator. An “Indicol”, for maybe $15 will hold the indicator in lots of positions and clips onto the quill very quickly.

 

[mmcmdl]

I wondered about the setup I had there but it is the only indicator I have that comes close to working right,
Maybe I should look into having the Mitutoyo repaired?
If so, where??

What you would use is a test indicator such as a Best Test , Last Word etc . Use it in a tramming bar and sweep away from the contact . You don't really need parallels or 123 blocks etc . Your drop indicator is dropping down in your machine slots causing you grief . Not an accurate way to tram and will eventually break that indicator .