fartymarty
Well-known member
Although the topic of Burr Kings pops up from time to time along with a bunch of hating and "you ****" remarks directed at the person whom just got one for free or cheap, there doesn't seem to be any threads dedicated just to Burr Kings, so I thought I'd start one.
I was lucky enough to get a 760 model from a friend who was cleaning out his shop so he could move in it. (he gave me other items as well, but I don't want to inspire that much hate so I won't list them here).
I thought the Burr King website would provide all the information I'd need but it seems that only gave me more questions. First of all the original motor is gone on mine so my friend added a motor he had from a paddle type paint stirrer which outwardly appeared to be adequate to the task however it's only 1/2 HP and only 1725 RPM at it's highest speed (it's a two speed motor). That might be good enough to test out the machine to see what I actually have but it appears that the usually* supplied motor is at least 1.5 horsepower and around 3600 rpm...yes? (*I think they made/make some with a 1760 rpm motor but my understanding is those are slow speed machines dedicated for use with magnesium and titanium.)
If so then I think that I need to be in search of a motor. Now I see how useful a variable speed motor can be on a drill press or a band saw, but I'm not sure about having one on the Burr King. Would the effort and $ I'd have to put out to get a new VFD and a used 3 Phase motor (not to mention the learning curve I'd have to go through to make sure I hooked it all up correctly) be worth it for something that I most probably would use at the highest speed only? Those of you that have a Burr King with variable speed...do you use the lower speeds much and if so for what purpose?
So that is my first question:` should I be looking for a variable speed setup or just a fixed speed set up.
2nd is belt size, the idle rollers are both 1.75 inches wide and the bottom drive roller or wheel is 1.5 inches wide...so I'm assuming that it originally came with a 1.5" belt....is it worth it to go to a 2" belt eventually and what I assume would require the purchase/replacement of all three rollers?
I think those two questions are enough to get the discussion started. Although general comments are welcome too. I haven't even disassembled mine yet so I'm sure I'll have more questions.
Even the vintage drawings on the Burr King website show a hinged side cover on the shroud and this one has the whole shroud (without a side door) held on by three threaded rods with wing nuts so it's probably pretty old. The twisted safety wire on knobs hint that this unit possibly had a vibration problem so I'll need to look into that as well. Also the platen is fairly worn so I'll be replacing that too. In the photo below what appears to be a crack in the casting is an imperfection in the casting. I'm not sure why they would go with that but maybe pattern makers were on strike or something back then. It's on both sides of the casting much as a crack would be but the casting is actually a little thinner on the front side of that line, that is it indents the same way on both sides of the casting. Probably some HF type body filler going on there before I eventually paint it. Much to do and future questions to ask..so let it begin. Thanks in advance for any assistance here.
I was lucky enough to get a 760 model from a friend who was cleaning out his shop so he could move in it. (he gave me other items as well, but I don't want to inspire that much hate so I won't list them here).
I thought the Burr King website would provide all the information I'd need but it seems that only gave me more questions. First of all the original motor is gone on mine so my friend added a motor he had from a paddle type paint stirrer which outwardly appeared to be adequate to the task however it's only 1/2 HP and only 1725 RPM at it's highest speed (it's a two speed motor). That might be good enough to test out the machine to see what I actually have but it appears that the usually* supplied motor is at least 1.5 horsepower and around 3600 rpm...yes? (*I think they made/make some with a 1760 rpm motor but my understanding is those are slow speed machines dedicated for use with magnesium and titanium.)
If so then I think that I need to be in search of a motor. Now I see how useful a variable speed motor can be on a drill press or a band saw, but I'm not sure about having one on the Burr King. Would the effort and $ I'd have to put out to get a new VFD and a used 3 Phase motor (not to mention the learning curve I'd have to go through to make sure I hooked it all up correctly) be worth it for something that I most probably would use at the highest speed only? Those of you that have a Burr King with variable speed...do you use the lower speeds much and if so for what purpose?
So that is my first question:` should I be looking for a variable speed setup or just a fixed speed set up.
2nd is belt size, the idle rollers are both 1.75 inches wide and the bottom drive roller or wheel is 1.5 inches wide...so I'm assuming that it originally came with a 1.5" belt....is it worth it to go to a 2" belt eventually and what I assume would require the purchase/replacement of all three rollers?
I think those two questions are enough to get the discussion started. Although general comments are welcome too. I haven't even disassembled mine yet so I'm sure I'll have more questions.
Even the vintage drawings on the Burr King website show a hinged side cover on the shroud and this one has the whole shroud (without a side door) held on by three threaded rods with wing nuts so it's probably pretty old. The twisted safety wire on knobs hint that this unit possibly had a vibration problem so I'll need to look into that as well. Also the platen is fairly worn so I'll be replacing that too. In the photo below what appears to be a crack in the casting is an imperfection in the casting. I'm not sure why they would go with that but maybe pattern makers were on strike or something back then. It's on both sides of the casting much as a crack would be but the casting is actually a little thinner on the front side of that line, that is it indents the same way on both sides of the casting. Probably some HF type body filler going on there before I eventually paint it. Much to do and future questions to ask..so let it begin. Thanks in advance for any assistance here.
