Thanks for your tutorial videos, I love your channel and your professionalism to do the work on the shop. Have a happy 2016 year, and keep going on . God bless.
This is one of my favorite Tom video's it's like we are there in the shop with him just spending time together picking up golden nuggets of wisdom. Thanks for sharing Tom!
Thanks for the great video Tom. I am going to do some maintenance on my Precision Matthews mill tomorrow and I wanted to get the scoop on what to do from the pro. Thanks for all of your wonderful and informative videos.
Tom, due to some wear on the lead screw (X axis) from previous vices in the center application I have mine off set. I simply swing the ram over if necessary. Nice vid on keeping the baby "tuned up". Thank you. Eric
Great video!! I guess all i can add is to crawl up top and lay an eyeball on the cog and drive belts to check for chips sawing through them. Usually done on a strict schedule of when i get around to it! :))
Another great video Tom...we use Vactra #2 in work for lathe way lube purposes and it's really good stuff. I also believe they have three additional Vactra flavors for all your needs. At the end of the day any oil has to be better than no oil at all.
Good video with some important reminders. To lubricate the threads on power drawbars, you can heavily grease or oil the internal threads of one of the tool holders and run it in and out a few times (and then clean the tool holder again).
Hi Tom thanks for all the great videos as usual. I have been using frog lube on firearms for years now it's a great product. Try heating your mill table with a heat gun or torch just slightly to where it's almost uncomfortable to touch that lube will then pull down into the pores of the metal it's pretty cool stuff.
hi tom, these past couple weeks works been slow in the shop so ive been servicing all the mills. we run alliants, bridgeports, and traks. and from what ive seen they are all built just about the same. the grease port higher higher up towards the head of the machine is indeed a grease port (for the viewers) it greases the high low gears, you should work the handle while pumping in the grease. and if i had to guess the lower greases the worm for the quill feed. i just pulled the quill out of one last week and replaced the spindle bearings. as well as replacing the belt cleaning all dust out of the belt housing and so on.
Good grief! I'm not interested in moving to the left coast if you have all that growing on your tools!!! AGW called it. I thot it was tough living near the third coast what with all the cold fronts, warm fronts and an unheated shop. You've got me beat by a long shot. Great info as always, and thanks for the 'excuse' to get out in the shop.
Tom, a little food for thought. A piece of paper folded once or twice and placed between the movable jaw and the granite will help to protect the parallel. Thanks for the great vid. Your friend, Cliff
+Clifford Fender Hey Cliff, Now where were you when I was doing this? That is a great idea. Didn't occur to me. Good thing my jaws are fresh ground and nice. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
I see your new silvent gun there, I got myself and a couple of the guys in my shop one of the "industrial" models. Its been quite the nice air gun but what they ask for them at retail is pretty insane. Mine were ebay scores at like 50 bucks a pop and we ended up with 6" long lavel tips, Its quite nice for blowing out those m6 holes in the turret from a distance, the fins give you enough of a space for the yummy sour coolant to fly out of there cleanly.
I second the Boeshield for under the vice. Froglube makes for a great cutting paste for stainless. When it gets hot with the cut, it is its own air freshener.
The Co I work for just replaced the head on a 1987 Acra that I use daily. They actually replaced the heads on two of these machines. My mill's power feed was not working and the unit was replaced with one just like on your mill. We have encountered a backlash problem that when the mill is cranked to the right, it pushes the brass gear away from the drive gear. The old manual shows no adjust for the X axis, but shows one for the Y axis. The indicator shows .059 thou backlash. The old X axis shaft is pushing the inside bushing of the needle bearing in and out depending on the direction you hand crank it.
WD is not a bad adhesive remover. Great for removing labels if the top is permeable - those must be scraped first. I used to use it to remove DMV inspection sticker remnants.
Tom, a comment about us guys who have power drawbars and lubricating the threads.... Take a collet and put some way oilly oil on the treads and put it in the spindle and tighten.. this will lube the threads. I do this about once a week . I enjoyed the video and went out a greased my jack shaft.
Happy New Year, Tom. Nice tips on Maintenance. It is sometimes hard to remember all of the lubing/etc. for hobbyists like myself because when I get a chance to get out, I'd rather be using the time to be turning some metal. I need to get a small needle type oiler for some of the holes on my small Atlas to make it easier to do.
+ILGopher I hear you, my big gripe on some of the Atlas oiling ports is the tiny set-screw type caps that you have to remove and replace each time you oil that part. I do it, but it is annoying, and anyone whose says otherwise has OCD, which is fine, and I'm far from bashing anyone that does have that behavior, I just do not ;) It makes me understand why all of the screws had been removed from my machine before I got it, LOL, and also makes me wonder why I put them back in...
Nice masonite table covers, the rubber ones are pretty expensive. WD40 is also a decent label/adhesive remover for labels it will penetrate. The wash bottles we used in chemistry lab are good for lube cutting oil too.
Some people will criticise any holding of Scotchbrite or abrasive cloth/paper by hand on a lathe to clean or finish a workpiece, but it's certainly risky when you apply it underneath the workpiece when the lathe is rotating in its normal direction. That's because you risk pulling your fingers into the rotating workpiece and into the chuck's jaws. It's safer to hold abrasives on top of the workpiece, preferably using a fine file or a flat strip of rigid wood/aluminium/plastic batten as backing for the abrasive to keep it flat, therefore less likely to catch in the workpiece. (Folding the end of the abrasive around the end of the batten and holding it there with one hand keeps it in place - ideally, I guess, it could be glued to the batten.) For those who point out differences in the use of oil or grease and where it goes, in your defence I must say that you did warn us to refer to the machine's manual.
+Bill De La Vega Have you ever tried Zep's floor degreaser? It's a bit more harsh on the skin, and always wear eye protection, but if you've got anything more than a film of oil, it works like a blowtorch melting a candle ;)
Yes, he's the one I got the idea from. I got a one gallon bottle of concentrate for $20 bucks that you can mix 4 parts of water to one part of cleaner for a really strong batch, or 8:1 for something about the strength of Simple Green. I'm never going back to Gunk products, but I do like the mild nature(and great smell) of Simple Green and will always have both on hand, because this stuff is a Bull in a China shop!
Tom, I checked McMaster Carr and WOW! the 4” round 4506a4 stone was nearly $30!. Maybe it would pay to stop making tools and bits and start making our own abrasives! Seriously, Dan Gelbart makes small abrasive wheels w/arbor from used abrasive wheels using his water jet. So there is some recycling available.
Tom, have you tried using WD for removing oil and grease residue when servicing your machinery? Also, I have found that grease gun chuck jaws tend to bend and leak if they are hard to remove from the Zerk fitting. They are supposed to be self tightening and releasing to some extent, but hey, does anyone who makes that stuff care any more? I used to have problems with leaks when greasing cars before I started loosening up on the chuck adjustment.
Hey Tom, Nice tutorial. Although I didn't think you would settle for tramming to a RCH, a BCH at least, if not a YBVCH. Thanks for the videos, keep em comen. (,Y,)
Tom. if you stopped putting spanners etc on the table, the dings would stop. Use a bit of plastic sheet or some kitchen cupboard shelves with Melamine on. It will also stop a lot of swarf dropping down the tee slots.
Does the one pump oiler lube the ball screws? On our bridgeport you take a set screw out of the center of the table and drip some in there. Also, I don't believe there are any grease zerks on our mill. There are some oil zerks for the ways, but I don't recall any in the head. One more question. I've seen a lot of _filthy_ collets at my shop class at school, how do you clean the inside?
Thanx for showing how to do the PM on these girls.. It doesn't even begin to say it that NO ONE, when you buy a new machine or two..Mine came from a G ...... co. and nothing was covered other than hey you need to grease this every day with oily stuff. Geese the manual could only have been more vague if it had been written in cezch, which I sadly do not comprehend. Gr8 Video and thanks for the teaching...
Thanks again Tom. I have some pretty crud pampers I deal with like the ones that over grease till they blow the seal out, The ones that pump so much grease into the pilot. Bearing. I could go on and on, I told them and I hope it works, Thanks again and stay healthy.
Thanks for the video. Confirms that I was still doing it right from when my dad taught me years ago. I was uncanny that we use the exact same indicators for tramming the table and the vice. I even have the same problem with my parallels being 'not'. I'm going to look into one of those granite jobs. What is in the bottles hanging off the side of the mill?
Hey Tom, thanks for the great pointers. get a few items i need to pick your brain on: i have a J-head bridgeport and the head on it doesn't have any grease zerks. it does however have the two oil cups like your although in different locations and like yours, of different size. in my owners manual it indicates the large cup is for the spindle bearings. i do have oil drippage on the table coming from up in the quill somewhere so i'm guessing it's the spindle bearings. i'm also wondering if a guy should put in some heavy oil in the quill feed gears? since there are no zerks and no oil fill screws it would seem prudent to pop the cover off and put some heavy wienershlyder in there. before using a stone i use a paper towel to see of there are any burrs or dingus mcgees on the surface.. that way i can save that step if possible.. the paper will shred on the dingus' (or would the plural be dingii?) and makes them easier to locate at this point i would recommend a sandflex block for cleaning up the table getting rid of the stains and other weasel snot that accumulates under the vice. i have a product review video on the sandflex block in the can right now and will putting it up in a day or three . cheers mike
+HolzMichel Hi Mike, I think a J head is close to mine. Thin oil in the front one and heavier oil in the rear. Sounds like we need a product review of the wienershlyder product. Sounds handy. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
Tom, Froglube it's actually made for cleaning and lubricate guns. It's what I use for my guns and is very good to keep the dirt and rust away of the metal surfaces.
What sort of action do you have to look for in moving the table in the X or y axis to the end of travel? It looks like you would be measuring the wear on the table vs the other sliding parts.
Hi Tom, could you show us how to lapp those india-stones? The ground ones are just way too expensive. BTW, all youre tools and machines are cleaned very neatly. I should really invest some more time in cleaning my shop too, Regards form germany
I suppose you could use an edge finder to find and check for squareness vertical surfaces in place of an indicator and one with a large wiggling diameter could be used to check for vertical, all on the cheap.
What do you use for your power knee axis on your mill? I have the same Acra and lifting the table by hand is a chore. I looked around but didn't see a video for it. Great video Tom.
Maybe a dumb question: new mill owner here. I get the adding grease thing (zerks). My mill (very similar to yours...PM-1054 knee mill) has only one zerk for the back gear. So, you put grease in there. Where does it go? I'm used to dirty grease coming out when new grease goes in. What am I missing? I don't see anywhere the old stuff would come out.
Very Important topic because if we do the right thing our machines will be much better off. Protecting the asset will not allowing it to turn into a piece of junk way before it's real life of bringing capacity and profits would expire if ever. At our one major customer has required of us a new required processes of us to use a refractometer each start of the shift and record daily what it reads coolant wise 7 to 8 is the goal and then adjusting accordingly. Tom I always set it the vise aside bottom up to clean like you. I use a stone as you do also making sure they are lapped well. Would you give any thoughts on Vactra #2 VS the new synthetic now promoted? Our shop now has switched to synthetic on CNC's.
Nice one Tom, an ounce of prevention... and all that. I think it's worth emphasising to your viewers however that they should be guided by their own machines before going berserk with the grease gun! Many machines are intended to use OIL and not grease on what look like grease fittings. I've literally lost count of the number of machines I've seen ruined by well meaning people greasing up the ways etc, clogging the galleries with grease, and then effectively running them dry. Just because there are what looks like a zerk grease fitting there doesn't mean that that grease should be used, and if in doubt check first. ALL of my machines for example take oil in the fittings, and are fed courtesy of high pressure oil guns. Personally I key my vices etc with snug fitting keys, and they drop in for most purposes without further tramming. I have a big Gressel hydraulic vice I keep forgetting to make keys for and curse my tardiness every time I take it on and off. Keying fixtures can be a huge time saver, with final tramming only necessary for fussy jobs.
+Pete F I'm with Tom on this one, I hated having a keyed vise. I'm often pulling the vice off and putting it back and having keys in the base just puts my fingers and back in danger. I have a frame that clamps in the vise jaws and pushes up against the column. Very fast.
+Paul Compton Not having a mill, I took note of Tom's 2 cents on Vice Tramming back when he did his first video on it, and agree wholeheartedly. My back was broken8 years ago and will never be the same, so anything I can do to keep from throwing it out is always at the forefront of my mind. I also always lift with my legs now too, even bending at the knee to coil an airhose. As my Osteopath told me once during a test where I coiled a rope by bending at the waist, "You're not an Elephant" and waited to see my face light up with a grin knowing I'd take it as a compliment on my slim figure, only to continue with "that's an arm, not a trunk, so quit using it like one!". Body mechanics are ever so important to me now, and I just cannot take anything for granted anymore. I'd love to see the frame you clamp in your vice someday, but there's no rush...it'll be a while before I get a mill :(
I do not have any information on ACRA mill looks like a Bridgeport clone but video states Bridgeport Maintenance and my 15 year old son followed your instructions when he thought he would impress me by cleaning and lube my home Bridgeport's the problem is the left side oil cup on the head by the back gear is to lubricate the spindle bearings goes in head above quill with oil wick in tube that drip feeds bearings require #10 spindle oil he put Vactra #2 way lube as shown on your video way to heavy and sticky for oil wick. Now I get to pull upper off on both machines and clean tube and replace oil wick. Please make sure in your video's you have are correct for the machine you have named on them BP clones are not all the same as Bridgeports
My mill (Baileigh 949) is similar but not identical to that - has the same body castings, but a different head. Are the Zerk fittings always for grease? I had read that sometimes they were intended for use with a high pressure oiler, and grease shouldn't be used. How can you tell the difference? Thanks!
Hi Tom, At 13:52 I noticed a map of Australia and it looks like you've placed some green markers on it. Is that places you've been or where people have watched? I'm from Leinster which is about 400km North of Kalgoorlie (which is about 700km East of Perth)
I have a Series 1 and on mine the higher (more towards the front) oil cup oils the down feed and quill (no wick just a drip hole) and the lower (more towards the back) oil cup oils the spindle bearings and is the one that possess the wick. Are you sure yours works the way you described? I just restored mine so I'm positive and I doubled checked the parts schematics before I dared make this post just to be sure.
+Chuck Tipton Hey Chuck, I don't power down the DRO's at night. Not sure what the sony on the mill does. Got to believe it loses its place if it gets moved. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
Gotta watch the lengths of those bolts for holding your vise. If they are too long a ham-handed novice could break the top out of the t-slot when the bolt bottoms out on the bottom of the slot and forces the t-nut through the top of the bed. Normal operation the bolt/nut clamps the bed to the vise. I agree with using bolts instead of studs, stud/nut combo exposed threads love to eat knuckles.
It is a shame that oiling machines is not done by my coworker, with the exceptionof lathe ways by oil can not by the built in oil system. They expect everything to be replaced when it wears out I guess. Obviously that makes many of the machines viewed as worn-out junk. Its good to see some people take care of the machines they operate.
good video tom. i just replaced a variable speed belt on a bridgeport for a friend of mine who over greased the motor side pulley and ruined the belt. "read,understand and follow the mfg's instructions". when i watched you tram the mill head i was reminded of a pet peeve of mine. i have a drawer full of joints and rods and clamps for indicators that never seem to work together. are there any standards for indicators and their attachments? i think you could do a whole video on this subject.
+larry sperling Hey Larry, I have the same damn box as you. Its about two pounds worth of weird little clampy thingys and odd diameter rods. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
+Richard Howard Hi Richard, My mill is a Bridgeport clone made by Acra. Very happy with it and the quality. Two thumbs up for sure. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
Stickifiers - Dried Spooge- Dingo McGees- Rusty Crusties- Skunge- Weasel Snott- I bow to your fluency and insightful working eloquence of correct machine-shop terminology and nomenclature. However, 4 items that cause a raised eyebrow - I. Best way to tram a mill table is to put a 1.000" mike standard in the middle of the table and leave it there. Set the indicator @ a 6" sweep. Move the table to the left ('X' axis) till the indicator is over the standard. Raise the table till the indicator zeros, zero the table elevation dial. Lower the table, swing the indicator half a spindle turn, move the table to the right till the standard is again under the indicator and raise the table back to the zero mark - the indicator should also read zero. Adjust the head if the indicator shows a variance. Repeat again on the 'Y' axis. This method was shown to me years ago by a Japanese tool and die maker - it avoids any chance of the indicator shifting when moving over the 'T' slots and works on machines where the table is less than pristine. 2. Dialing up the vise, the indicator is still in contact when you thump the vise ? That hurts them, you know. They are shock-proof, not impact proof. 3. Running an edge finder at 1,400 R.P.M. ! Really ? Mine all say to use a quarter of that speed. 4. I still make it a habit to move the vise around to a new position every time I re-install it. The set-up instructions that came with the Mitotoyo D.R.O. were clear on this - your machines accuracy will last much longer if you distribute the wear evenly over the full length of the dovetails. Besides, there are times when it is handy and convenient to have a large part of the table clear for some quick and totally oddball set-up. Andy, that's me up there ^ in my workshop near Courtenay, Vancouver Island.
+Andrew G. Whitaker Alright Andrew. Your comments coaxed me out of my den. If you watched the video I rechecked the indicator zero when I swept around the table. Zero the same move on. This is why I like the back plunge type for this operation. They behave themselves better. Dialing in the indicator in contact with the part and tapping on the vise is no worse than indicating over some of the nasty work I see around some shops or the random hole. All my indicators work fine even after many years of these kinds of activities. Edge finder at 1400 rpm. I'm going to guess you don't have a Super Jump edge finder. Right out of the instruction manual for the tool. Not everything in the machine shop or video is an absolute or necessarily the "best" way. Lots of room in the shop and on the internet for different ideas tools and techniques. The challenges of the jobs and parts drive the processes. So feel free to do it however you want up in Courtenay. I'm just showing one possible way. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
![Bridgebort Milling Machine [Rescue]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zGv7MkdIP_w/mqdefault.jpg)
I am new to milling and this video was exactly what I needed to watch before powering up my new/used mill. Thank you!
Great review and advice. Now I know what I will be doing this weekend. Happy New Year!
Thanks for your tutorial videos, I love your channel and your professionalism to do the work on the shop.
Have a happy 2016 year, and keep going on .
God bless.
Basics are always useful and appreciated. Thank you, Master Ox!
Great video. I've been putting off some much needed maintenance on the mill, and this may be the kick in the pants that I needed.
Love your colloquialisms Tom. Always make me laugh.
Got some goodies from you today. I'll snap a few pics and send em over. Thank you very much.
This is one of my favorite Tom video's it's like we are there in the shop with him just spending time together picking up golden nuggets of wisdom. Thanks for sharing Tom!
Yep, he reminds me that I miss so many simple tasks.
Drop us a like for that indicator.. that one works great
Thanks for the great video Tom. I am going to do some maintenance on my Precision Matthews mill tomorrow and I wanted to get the scoop on what to do from the pro. Thanks for all of your wonderful and informative videos.
always learn something watching your videos, you do a great job, I have a lot to learn. Happy new year to you and the family.
Nice video.....I should forward it to our maintenance guy at work.
I am hooked. Great stuff. I would never believe this kind of stuff would fascinate me. I am a hand tool guy.
Hey Tom, Great maintenance video on the mill. Matt C.
Great video! In the Army, we used GAA for just about anything that moved.
You sort of reminded me of Mr. Pete giving a tutorial to the rest of us. Thanks ---enjoyed
Thanks for the parallel tip! My vise is old with a few lumps bumps and chips. Never thought of that.
Excellent video Tom. Thank you.
I like the sick music intro you got!!! Awesome Info videos thanks
Tom, due to some wear on the lead screw (X axis) from previous vices in the center application I have mine off set. I simply swing the ram over if necessary.
Nice vid on keeping the baby "tuned up".
Thank you. Eric
This video inspired me to grab a 196 kit - A++ recommendation and tip thanks Tom
Great video!! I guess all i can add is to crawl up top and lay an eyeball on the cog and drive belts to check for chips sawing through them. Usually done on a strict schedule of when i get around to it! :))
Another great video Tom...we use Vactra #2 in work for lathe way lube purposes and it's really good stuff. I also believe they have three additional Vactra flavors for all your needs. At the end of the day any oil has to be better than no oil at all.
Good video with some important reminders.
To lubricate the threads on power drawbars, you can heavily grease or oil the internal threads of one of the tool holders and run it in and out a few times (and then clean the tool holder again).
Hi Tom thanks for all the great videos as usual. I have been using frog lube on firearms for years now it's a great product. Try heating your mill table with a heat gun or torch just slightly to where it's almost uncomfortable to touch that lube will then pull down into the pores of the metal it's pretty cool stuff.
As always, instructive and fun. You think your old now? Wait and see how old you get in twenty years! Best wishes for 2016!
Most useful and helpful re machine maintenance, thanks.
hi tom, these past couple weeks works been slow in the shop so ive been servicing all the mills. we run alliants, bridgeports, and traks. and from what ive seen they are all built just about the same. the grease port higher higher up towards the head of the machine is indeed a grease port (for the viewers) it greases the high low gears, you should work the handle while pumping in the grease. and if i had to guess the lower greases the worm for the quill feed. i just pulled the quill out of one last week and replaced the spindle bearings. as well as replacing the belt cleaning all dust out of the belt housing and so on.
nice video as always Tom!
Nice video Tom, always interesting.
You are the master i like it!!
Hi Tom-
Nice video. I learned a lot. Still looking forward to the analogous video on the lathe!
Cheers,
Travis
+drotar447 Hi Travis,
Thanks for the comment.
Cheers,
Tom
Good grief! I'm not interested in moving to the left coast if you have all that growing on your tools!!! AGW called it. I thot it was tough living near the third coast what with all the cold fronts, warm fronts and an unheated shop. You've got me beat by a long shot.
Great info as always, and thanks for the 'excuse' to get out in the shop.
Tom, a little food for thought. A piece of paper folded once or twice and placed between the movable jaw and the granite will help to protect the parallel. Thanks for the great vid. Your friend, Cliff
+Clifford Fender Hey Cliff,
Now where were you when I was doing this? That is a great idea. Didn't occur to me. Good thing my jaws are fresh ground and nice. Thanks for the comment.
Cheers,
Tom
I see your new silvent gun there, I got myself and a couple of the guys in my shop one of the "industrial" models. Its been quite the nice air gun but what they ask for them at retail is pretty insane. Mine were ebay scores at like 50 bucks a pop and we ended up with 6" long lavel tips, Its quite nice for blowing out those m6 holes in the turret from a distance, the fins give you enough of a space for the yummy sour coolant to fly out of there cleanly.
Kind words w.r.t. Gary Morner tom, a gentle gesture indeed
I second the Boeshield for under the vice. Froglube makes for a great cutting paste for stainless. When it gets hot with the cut, it is its own air freshener.
Hello Sir I am From India 🇮🇳...wow amazing 💥
The Co I work for just replaced the head on a 1987 Acra that I use daily. They actually replaced the heads on two of these machines. My mill's power feed was not working and the unit was replaced with one just like on your mill. We have encountered a backlash problem that when the mill is cranked to the right, it pushes the brass gear away from the drive gear. The old manual shows no adjust for the X axis, but shows one for the Y axis. The indicator shows .059 thou backlash. The old X axis shaft is pushing the inside bushing of the needle bearing in and out depending on the direction you hand crank it.
WD is not a bad adhesive remover. Great for removing labels if the top is permeable - those must be scraped first. I used to use it to remove DMV inspection sticker remnants.
Tom, a comment about us guys who have power drawbars and lubricating the threads.... Take a collet and put some way oilly oil on the treads and put it in the spindle and tighten.. this will lube the threads. I do this about once a week .
I enjoyed the video and went out a greased my jack shaft.
+Herb Blair Great idea Herb, way to save your energy for things that are fun! Hoping 2016 is treating you right, Aloha...Chuck
+Knolltop Farms Thanks Chuck. Hope 2016 finds you happy and prosperous!
+Herb Blair Hey Herb,
That's just way too smart for me. Thanks for stopping by.
Best,
Tom
@@oxtoolco that works for me or I might have to turn the head to remove the draw bar
Nice demonstration.
Good maintenance video.
One thing... There is nothing absolute about an edge finder....
Happy New Year, Tom. Nice tips on Maintenance. It is sometimes hard to remember all of the lubing/etc. for hobbyists like myself because when I get a chance to get out, I'd rather be using the time to be turning some metal. I need to get a small needle type oiler for some of the holes on my small Atlas to make it easier to do.
+ILGopher I hear you, my big gripe on some of the Atlas oiling ports is the tiny set-screw type caps that you have to remove and replace each time you oil that part. I do it, but it is annoying, and anyone whose says otherwise has OCD, which is fine, and I'm far from bashing anyone that does have that behavior, I just do not ;)
It makes me understand why all of the screws had been removed from my machine before I got it, LOL, and also makes me wonder why I put them back in...
...and here I thought you named your 1-2-3 block Gary! Poor dude, at least he's forever immortalized in an awesome tool!
Hi Gaven,
I'm weird but not that weird. 123 blocks should be named Brian. Thanks for the comment.
Cheers,
Tom
Nice masonite table covers, the rubber ones are pretty expensive. WD40 is also a decent label/adhesive remover for labels it will penetrate.
The wash bottles we used in chemistry lab are good for lube cutting oil too.
Some people will criticise any holding of Scotchbrite or abrasive cloth/paper by hand on a lathe to clean or finish a workpiece, but it's certainly risky when you apply it underneath the workpiece when the lathe is rotating in its normal direction. That's because you risk pulling your fingers into the rotating workpiece and into the chuck's jaws. It's safer to hold abrasives on top of the workpiece, preferably using a fine file or a flat strip of rigid wood/aluminium/plastic batten as backing for the abrasive to keep it flat, therefore less likely to catch in the workpiece. (Folding the end of the abrasive around the end of the batten and holding it there with one hand keeps it in place - ideally, I guess, it could be glued to the batten.)
For those who point out differences in the use of oil or grease and where it goes, in your defence I must say that you did warn us to refer to the machine's manual.
Good info Tom. At my last job maintenance was wiping with a rag and simple green....
+Bill De La Vega Have you ever tried Zep's floor degreaser? It's a bit more harsh on the skin, and always wear eye protection, but if you've got anything more than a film of oil, it works like a blowtorch melting a candle ;)
+Knolltop Farms Will have to give it a try next time. I think Tom used it on his horizontal bandsaw and seemed pleased with how it worked too.
Yes, he's the one I got the idea from. I got a one gallon bottle of concentrate for $20 bucks that you can mix 4 parts of water to one part of cleaner for a really strong batch, or 8:1 for something about the strength of Simple Green. I'm never going back to Gunk products, but I do like the mild nature(and great smell) of Simple Green and will always have both on hand, because this stuff is a Bull in a China shop!
Tom, I checked McMaster Carr and WOW! the 4” round 4506a4 stone was nearly $30!. Maybe it would pay to stop making tools and bits and start making our own abrasives! Seriously, Dan Gelbart makes small abrasive wheels w/arbor from used abrasive wheels using
his water jet. So there is some recycling available.
Tom, have you tried using WD for removing oil and grease residue when servicing your machinery? Also, I have found that grease gun chuck jaws tend to bend and leak if they are hard to remove from the Zerk fitting. They are supposed to be self tightening and releasing to some extent, but hey, does anyone who makes that stuff care any more? I used to have problems with leaks when greasing cars before I started loosening up on the chuck adjustment.
Frog Lube is a great name, never seen a rusty frog!
tom great info.
"Holiday break" I did not realize you had a day job. I kept thinking "When I retire I want to have a shop like this."
PFC? Professional's First Choice, of course! Never heard so many different terms for crap, though! Thanks!
Always enjoy the videos Tom. Wondering if you bought your mill new or were you lucky to find a low mileage used unit?
Love the power knee! You're spoiled!
Hey Tom,
Nice tutorial. Although I didn't think you would settle for tramming to a RCH, a BCH at least, if not a YBVCH.
Thanks for the videos, keep em comen.
(,Y,)
What is rch I just started school for machining but all we have learned so far I s machine shop math
Thoughts on choosing Acra vs other brands?
I use chainsaw bar lube as way oil. Good enough. Sold in fine big box stores everywhere!
Hey Chuck, He's taking with his hands....!
Tom. if you stopped putting spanners etc on the table, the dings would stop. Use a bit of plastic sheet or some kitchen cupboard shelves with Melamine on. It will also stop a lot of swarf dropping down the tee slots.
Does the one pump oiler lube the ball screws? On our bridgeport you take a set screw out of the center of the table and drip some in there. Also, I don't believe there are any grease zerks on our mill. There are some oil zerks for the ways, but I don't recall any in the head.
One more question. I've seen a lot of _filthy_ collets at my shop class at school, how do you clean the inside?
I think you used a different name for crud every time, haha. Great video. Reminded me to do some maintenance on my tools as well.
Thanx for showing how to do the PM on these girls.. It doesn't even begin to say it that NO ONE, when you buy a new machine or two..Mine came from a G ...... co. and nothing was covered other than hey you need to grease this every day with oily stuff. Geese the manual could only have been more vague if it had been written in cezch, which I sadly do not comprehend. Gr8 Video and thanks for the teaching...
This may not sound like much, But to me the foil on the grease gun was a big help to me. Thanks Tom.
+Randall Moore Hey Randy,
Keeps grease out of your truck toolbox. Thanks for the comment.
Cheers,
Tom
Thanks again Tom. I have some pretty crud pampers I deal with like the ones that over grease till they blow the seal out, The ones that pump so much grease into the pilot. Bearing. I could go on and on, I told them and I hope it works, Thanks again and stay healthy.
Thanks for the video. Confirms that I was still doing it right from when my dad taught me years ago. I was uncanny that we use the exact same indicators for tramming the table and the vice. I even have the same problem with my parallels being 'not'. I'm going to look into one of those granite jobs.
What is in the bottles hanging off the side of the mill?
sbirdranch I think that’s his coolant tank
Hey Tom,
thanks for the great pointers. get a few items i need to pick your brain on: i have a J-head bridgeport and the head on it doesn't have any grease zerks. it does however have the two oil cups like your although in different locations and like yours, of different size. in my owners manual it indicates the large cup is for the spindle bearings. i do have oil drippage on the table coming from up in the quill somewhere so i'm guessing it's the spindle bearings.
i'm also wondering if a guy should put in some heavy oil in the quill feed gears? since there are no zerks and no oil fill screws it would seem prudent to pop the cover off and put some heavy wienershlyder in there.
before using a stone i use a paper towel to see of there are any burrs or dingus mcgees on the surface.. that way i can save that step if possible.. the paper will shred on the dingus' (or would the plural be dingii?) and makes them easier to locate
at this point i would recommend a sandflex block for cleaning up the table getting rid of the stains and other weasel snot that accumulates under the vice. i have a product review video on the sandflex block in the can right now and will putting it up in a day or three .
cheers
mike
+HolzMichel Hi Mike,
I think a J head is close to mine. Thin oil in the front one and heavier oil in the rear. Sounds like we need a product review of the wienershlyder product. Sounds handy. Thanks for the comment.
Cheers,
Tom
Tom, Froglube it's actually made for cleaning and lubricate guns. It's what I use for my guns and is very good to keep the dirt and rust away of the metal surfaces.
+MirSim67 Hi Sim,
Sounds perfect for preventing rust under a vise. Thanks for the comment.
Cheers,
Tom
What sort of action do you have to look for in moving the table in the X or y axis to the end of travel? It looks like you would be measuring the wear on the table vs the other sliding parts.
This was so helpful! Is your power knee just an electric drill?
another use for the old Froglube !
I use/like the Starrett edge finder
Hi Tom,
could you show us how to lapp those india-stones? The ground ones are just way too expensive.
BTW, all youre tools and machines are cleaned very neatly. I should really invest some more time in cleaning my shop too,
Regards form germany
I suppose you could use an edge finder to find and check for squareness vertical surfaces in place of an indicator and one with a large wiggling diameter could be used to check for vertical, all on the cheap.
What do you use for your power knee axis on your mill? I have the same Acra and lifting the table by hand is a chore. I looked around but didn't see a video for it. Great video Tom.
I think Mr. Pete made one use a battery power drill
Maybe a dumb question: new mill owner here. I get the adding grease thing (zerks). My mill (very similar to yours...PM-1054 knee mill) has only one zerk for the back gear. So, you put grease in there. Where does it go? I'm used to dirty grease coming out when new grease goes in. What am I missing? I don't see anywhere the old stuff would come out.
I lube the bushing on top of drawbar also.
Very Important topic because if we do the right thing our machines will be much better off. Protecting the asset will not allowing it to turn into a piece of junk way before it's real life of bringing capacity and profits would expire if ever. At our one major customer has required of us a new required processes of us to use a refractometer each start of the shift and record daily what it reads coolant wise 7 to 8 is the goal and then adjusting accordingly. Tom I always set it the vise aside bottom up to clean like you. I use a stone as you do also making sure they are lapped well. Would you give any thoughts on Vactra #2 VS the new synthetic now promoted? Our shop now has switched to synthetic on CNC's.
I use the foil a lot in my shop to keep dirt and pest out of everything.
Nice one Tom, an ounce of prevention... and all that. I think it's worth emphasising to your viewers however that they should be guided by their own machines before going berserk with the grease gun! Many machines are intended to use OIL and not grease on what look like grease fittings. I've literally lost count of the number of machines I've seen ruined by well meaning people greasing up the ways etc, clogging the galleries with grease, and then effectively running them dry. Just because there are what looks like a zerk grease fitting there doesn't mean that that grease should be used, and if in doubt check first. ALL of my machines for example take oil in the fittings, and are fed courtesy of high pressure oil guns.
Personally I key my vices etc with snug fitting keys, and they drop in for most purposes without further tramming. I have a big Gressel hydraulic vice I keep forgetting to make keys for and curse my tardiness every time I take it on and off. Keying fixtures can be a huge time saver, with final tramming only necessary for fussy jobs.
+Pete F I'm with Tom on this one, I hated having a keyed vise. I'm often pulling the vice off and putting it back and having keys in the base just puts my fingers and back in danger.
I have a frame that clamps in the vise jaws and pushes up against the column. Very fast.
+Paul Compton Not having a mill, I took note of Tom's 2 cents on Vice Tramming back when he did his first video on it, and agree wholeheartedly. My back was broken8 years ago and will never be the same, so anything I can do to keep from throwing it out is always at the forefront of my mind.
I also always lift with my legs now too, even bending at the knee to coil an airhose. As my Osteopath told me once during a test where I coiled a rope by bending at the waist, "You're not an Elephant" and waited to see my face light up with a grin knowing I'd take it as a compliment on my slim figure, only to continue with "that's an arm, not a trunk, so quit using it like one!". Body mechanics are ever so important to me now, and I just cannot take anything for granted anymore.
I'd love to see the frame you clamp in your vice someday, but there's no rush...it'll be a while before I get a mill :(
Knolltop Farms I did a video back in December 2013; Quick way to tram a mill vice
Excellent, will check it out today. Thank you.
Nice to see a table getting stoned. Have not ever seen a cnc guy do that (myself excluded :-)
I do not have any information on ACRA mill looks like a Bridgeport clone but video states Bridgeport Maintenance and my 15 year old son followed your instructions when he thought he would impress me by cleaning and lube my home Bridgeport's the problem is the left side oil cup on the head by the back gear is to lubricate the spindle bearings goes in head above quill with oil wick in tube that drip feeds bearings require #10 spindle oil he put Vactra #2 way lube as shown on your video way to heavy and sticky for oil wick. Now I get to pull upper off on both machines and clean tube and replace oil wick. Please make sure in your video's you have are correct for the machine you have named on them BP clones are not all the same as Bridgeports
My mill (Baileigh 949) is similar but not identical to that - has the same body castings, but a different head. Are the Zerk fittings always for grease? I had read that sometimes they were intended for use with a high pressure oiler, and grease shouldn't be used. How can you tell the difference? Thanks!
Hi Tom,
At 13:52 I noticed a map of Australia and it looks like you've placed some green markers on it. Is that places you've been or where people have watched? I'm from Leinster which is about 400km North of Kalgoorlie (which is about 700km East of Perth)
ahh, I wish the 20 guys that used my mill before me did all this stuff.... at least I get to learn how to rebuild it xD
Would happen to have or make a video on how to change the Gearcase Oil? Can't seem to find any information.
Dental floss might work for cleaning the slots in the collets. I think they even make an over sized floss?
What grit stone do you like for de burring?
I have a Series 1 and on mine the higher (more towards the front) oil cup oils the down feed and quill (no wick just a drip hole) and the lower (more towards the back) oil cup oils the spindle bearings and is the one that possess the wick. Are you sure yours works the way you described? I just restored mine so I'm positive and I doubled checked the parts schematics before I dared make this post just to be sure.
Great video Tom, How do you maintain absolute if you power down the DRO and the table gets moved? I always redo ABS every time I start up.
+Chuck Tipton Hey Chuck,
I don't power down the DRO's at night. Not sure what the sony on the mill does. Got to believe it loses its place if it gets moved. Thanks for the comment.
Cheers,
Tom
Tried Frog lube on fire arms ,in cold weather semiautomatics fail to function . Took the bottle to the range n shot it! Done!
Dun!
My favorite all time is ..... SNARD....it's the stuff that cakes up behind your tires in wintertime driving ... truely crusty crappy crud !
I do not see the oil leaving the oil cap can I just put some air pressure in there to free it up if plugged?
Gotta watch the lengths of those bolts for holding your vise. If they are too long a ham-handed novice could break the top out of the t-slot when the bolt bottoms out on the bottom of the slot and forces the t-nut through the top of the bed. Normal operation the bolt/nut clamps the bed to the vise. I agree with using bolts instead of studs, stud/nut combo exposed threads love to eat knuckles.
Tom, what is the sourcing for honing stones to use on the mill table, vise etc? Seems like a simple thing but I can't seem to find them.
EDM toolmakers stones work well in this kind of application. MSC and most industrial vendors sell them.
It is a shame that oiling machines is not done by my coworker, with the exceptionof lathe ways by oil can not by the built in oil system. They expect everything to be replaced when it wears out I guess. Obviously that makes many of the machines viewed as worn-out junk. Its good to see some people take care of the machines they operate.
How did you drill a hole in the vise for the stop !!!!!!!!!!!
good video tom. i just replaced a variable speed belt on a bridgeport for a friend of mine who over greased the motor side pulley and ruined the belt. "read,understand and follow the mfg's instructions". when i watched you tram the mill head i was reminded of a pet peeve of mine. i have a drawer full of joints and rods and clamps for indicators that never seem to work together. are there any standards for indicators and their attachments? i think you could do a whole video on this subject.
+larry sperling Hey Larry,
I have the same damn box as you. Its about two pounds worth of weird little clampy thingys and odd diameter rods. Thanks for the comment.
Cheers,
Tom
"Oh, that little guy? Don't worry about that little guy"
thanks tom
You've obviously been spending too much time around Adam. Now he's got you saying "axee," too. :)
I'm not a machinist but find your vids very interesting. Is your mill a Bridgeport clone? Is the quality comparable? Just curious. Thanks!
+Richard Howard Hi Richard,
My mill is a Bridgeport clone made by Acra. Very happy with it and the quality. Two thumbs up for sure. Thanks for the comment.
Cheers,
Tom
Stickifiers -
Dried Spooge-
Dingo McGees-
Rusty Crusties-
Skunge-
Weasel Snott-
I bow to your fluency and insightful working eloquence of correct machine-shop terminology and nomenclature.
However, 4 items that cause a raised eyebrow -
I. Best way to tram a mill table is to put a 1.000" mike standard in the middle of the table and leave it there. Set the indicator @ a 6" sweep. Move the table to the left ('X' axis) till the indicator is over the standard. Raise the table till the indicator zeros, zero the table elevation dial. Lower the table, swing the indicator half a spindle turn, move the table to the right till the standard is again under the indicator and raise the table back to the zero mark - the indicator should also read zero. Adjust the head if the indicator shows a variance. Repeat again on the 'Y' axis. This method was shown to me years ago by a Japanese tool and die maker - it avoids any chance of the indicator shifting when moving over the 'T' slots and works on machines where the table is less than pristine.
2. Dialing up the vise, the indicator is still in contact when you thump the vise ? That hurts them, you know. They are shock-proof, not impact proof.
3. Running an edge finder at 1,400 R.P.M. ! Really ? Mine all say to use a quarter of that speed.
4. I still make it a habit to move the vise around to a new position every time I re-install it. The set-up instructions that came with the Mitotoyo D.R.O. were clear on this - your machines accuracy will last much longer if you distribute the wear evenly over the full length of the dovetails. Besides, there are times when it is handy and convenient to have a large part of the table clear for some quick and totally oddball set-up.
Andy, that's me up there ^ in my workshop near Courtenay, Vancouver Island.
Don't forget-
Liquid Love and Chingus.
+Andrew G. Whitaker Alright Andrew. Your comments coaxed me out of my den.
If you watched the video I rechecked the indicator zero when I swept around the table. Zero the same move on. This is why I like the back plunge type for this operation. They behave themselves better. Dialing in the indicator in contact with the part and tapping on the vise is no worse than indicating over some of the nasty work I see around some shops or the random hole. All my indicators work fine even after many years of these kinds of activities. Edge finder at 1400 rpm. I'm going to guess you don't have a Super Jump edge finder. Right out of the instruction manual for the tool. Not everything in the machine shop or video is an absolute or necessarily the "best" way. Lots of room in the shop and on the internet for different ideas tools and techniques. The challenges of the jobs and parts drive the processes. So feel free to do it however you want up in Courtenay. I'm just showing one possible way. Thanks for the comment.
Cheers,
Tom
+oxtoolco Thanks for another wonderfully informative episode. Daniel
Ah, terms of art!