Lifting Mildred's Spirits

[cutter]

Originally Posted by platypus20

I'm even weary of our so called friends and neighbors to the north, the Canadians, they are just too polite and easy going, it makes me suspicious (or at least nervous).

As I've stated many time, Mildred is fearless.
The hard life she's endured either makes one stronger or ends in death.
She is very much alive and stronger than ever.

Originally Posted by platypus20

Back to the subject at hand, a few questions

1 - any concern about a chain guard??

I answered that early on. No.

Originally Posted by platypus20

2 - any ideas about the tramming issues??

Not yet.

Originally Posted by platypus20

3 - any thoughts on the one-shot system??

You know, I looked her over again and only found the same two ball oilers I thought i remembered, both on the X table and the backside one is pert near inaccessible. I've always had to just run the table all the way to one side, oil the ways, reverse direction & do the other side. Then repeat the process for Y.
I use a long flex oiler for the screw too.
It is a messy process.

Originally Posted by platypus20

4 - How far from Lubbock is Abilene?? (I suppose to be in Abilene in August or September, for a training class)

Abilene is about a 2 1/2 hour drive, 165 miles or thereabouts.
But the scenery is absolutely stunning.

[cutter]

Moving right along here.

1. The lift motor wires leave that little selector switch box into a split loom for protection. You notice I left plenty of slack in case I need to make some adjustments.
You might also see that I left shrink tubing loose on all the connections to be shrunk later, after I've tried it our for a while.

Now Mildred, lacking a knee, has to be content with having a lap of sorts.
On that lap are the ways for the Y drive and there is a void between the ways & the column base that is just big enough to tuck this loom - I think.
Time may prove me wrong but this appears to be convenient route for it to cross to the other side.

2. On the other side, where the nuts for the clamp bolts are, I had to drill & tap a couple of holes for mounting the safety switch box.
Once again, more useless information but I even managed to find a pair of matching hex head machine screws.
This is unusual for me unless I've made a trip to the nuts & bolts store.

3. This is the elusive Radio Shack project box that required trips to 2 different stores before I could find a clerk willing to spend 2 minutes taking my money.

4. It holds the the A-H&H switch with the nice big knob and the wiring from the selector switch which then proceeds to the Bison lift motor only when this knob is flipped up.

5. So the wire loom/sheath exits down there from Mildred's lap up to the safety switch & on to the lift motor.
If you are wondering why I thought this switch was necessary then I assume you are not familiar with the nature of a RongFu mill/drill like dear old Mildred nor with the absent-mindedness which often comes with seventy years & counting.

See that nut indicated by the arrow? There is a second one straight up out of the picture and they clamp the mill head to the column to prevent movement when the mill is working.
They must both be loosened before the head can move up & down.
I located this switch directly in front of them to remind me to deal with the nuts before I ask the little gearmotor to eat its own gears.

I am not really sure that would happen and in fact, I don't really believe it would.
But I've got a lot of time invested in this little contrapulation and I would hate to screw it up for want of not spending a little more time and an extra $10 trying to give myself a second chance.
I hope it works.

Of course you realize that I also have to remember to flip the switch back down to lock out the gearmotor when I tighten the clamp nuts & Mildred goes back to work.
I hope I do that.

[dubby]

Originally Posted by cutter

Abilene is about a 2 1/2 hour drive, 165 miles or thereabouts.
But the scenery is absolutely stunning.

Well, well... isn't this timely. Just got in from that drive a bit ago. Actually, I've been home longer than it took me to make the drive but sometimes it feels much longer than it actually is. Earl and DL did their best to take in the sights on this trip as well. There aren't that many trees between Lubbock and Abilene on the side of the road, but I believe Wilson would be pleased with their tweeting prowess today. Even then, that wasn't enough...the weenie wet a suitcase in a construction zone .

I saw a commercial for a new eatery, Sweet Meat BBQ, there on the main drag while watching last night's news, and decided we'd give it a go for lunch today. Their basic combo plate, brisket, sausage and sides, wasn't that great but the hamburgers the gals had were awesome. Of course, how can a 1/2# hamburger covered in another 1/2# of pulled pork not be awesome? I did have to spring for an appetizer, Chicken Fried Bacon. LadyD managed to get a pic of it before it all disappeared, but just barely.

[cutter]

Originally Posted by MarkBall2

Heck, you made it easier to raise & lower, now make an alignment brace.

Like this one:

So Mark, (or anyone else) what did you come up with for the diameter of the column?
Of course, yours may be different but I'm seeing about 4.53 inches or roughly 115 mm.

I'm having trouble finding anything lying loose around here to make the top column clamp.

I wallered the parts of the old dumpster-dive laminator out of the heap & got it apart to salvage the rod, linear bearings & some brackets.
Here's what they look like and one bracket bolted to the head with the bar stuck in it for the time being.
Linear bearings are very cool; they glide on the bar with almost no drag.

[MarkBall2]

I think mine was 4.25" in diameter. A 4" hole saw worked perfect to cut the aluminum for the arms. I used a 4"x1/2" flat aluminum, I think it was 12-14" long. You only need to cut the circle half way, not a complete circle.

I then used a 1/4" bolts on a piece of 1/2"x1/8" flat strap to secure it to the column. One arm at the base of the column, the other right under the top cap. The hardest part was making sure I had the holes for the alignment bar bored in the correct place. I was able to do that by clamping both arms tight & drilled the hole.

I'm using a piece of 3/4" O-1 drill rod, the ends were machined to 1/2" & threaded to accept 1/2"x13 self locking nuts. To set the alignment to the table, I got it aligned at the lowest setting, then locked things in place. I then raised the head & checked alignment again & it was within 0.001.

For a Mill/Drill, I think that's close enough.

I'll look for more pictures at home, Miner is in storage & I can't get to him very easy.

[cutter]

Thank you, Mark.
I'm sure my post is larger than that - in the 4.5" range.
I think my only 4" holesaw was ruined years ago when I had to bore through some stucco for a dryer vent.
I never replaced it and it was the largest one I had. I will have to bandsaw to rough shape & mill it to finish.

The best piece of 1/2" aluminum plate I have on hand is not long enough to reach all the way but that's ok. I can two-piece it to make the adjustable end I have in mind.

[MarkBall2]

Better views:

[cutter]

So, it appears that you just bent a strap to wrap around the back side of the post?

[MarkBall2]

Yes. I used a piece of 1/2" x 1/8" flat strap hot rolled steel. I made it with 2 tabs for the 1/4" bolt to go through to secure it to the aluminum. Kind of like a u-joint strap. I made it short enough that pulling it up with the bolts makes the brace snug up tight to the post.

It doesn't move & doesn't allow the headstock to twist while cranking the head up/down. If I need to turn the head, it just takes loosening 2 bolts & turn it where it needs to go, tighten the bolts back down.

Ez=Pz.