Motivation needed restoring a small knee mill

[Hchrist]

I have restored a fair number of wood and metal working tools. I have had a small Wells Index vert mill for years sitting in my shop. It is old and ugly kinda like me but I walk by it and always get a twinge of woe knowing that I need to get started on restoring it. I am not going to scrape the ways or anything like that. I mainly wish to replace the wiring and make it look pretty. My dilema is starting with the idea of a repaint that will take maybe 20-30 hours and ending with a bright shiny piece that took 20-30 weeks. I have trouble going with the "that's fine just the way it is" to overkill polish to chrome luster every knob and bolt type of project. I am sure I can scrape and repaint this thing right? Do I really need to disassemble it completely to do a decent , well a better than decent, job? I dread the idea of taking it to pieces, spooging the castings, repainting, etc etc. I dread this so I end up not ever starting the job. Always some other project to do that isn't so consuming gets the nod. How bad would it be to do a cosmetic resto without inspecting and dissecting the mill top to bottom?

 

[pi_guy]

I do not know why.
If your going to paint it and make it look pretty you should be sure it functions at 100%.
It like repainting and detailing a collectors car with out looking to see if the frame is any good.

 

[LXCam]

Motivation you say eh.




Ok how bout this. Get off your lazy *** and get the damn thing done already. It ain't gonna repaint it's self ya know.




How was that?

 

[Dr Stan]

Here's my Fray mill. Not in order that's one of those roundtuit things.

http://s1016.photobucket.com/user/drstan/library/Fray Milling Machine

 

[Roberts210]

Is this what you are talking about?

If so, just start taking one part off and restoring it. Then put it in your special place for the Wells mill parts and take off another part and restore it. ******, wire brush, prime, paint... whatever you want to do, but START with just one small part. Soon... well maybe not soon, but eventually you'll have a gorgeous machine you can be proud of instead of slinking past it every day with your head hung low.

 

[Hchrist]

I agree I need to get started but that's the hardest part of any job. I've always been taught to finish a job once I start it .
Good advice on a one piece at a time tactic.
I don't agree that I need to take it completely apart to check its full functionality??? I think I may try refinishing it without a complete tear down.
This particular mill is quite small compared to the one in the post here.
Thanks for the advice and, um....support???[emoji16]

Galaxy S4, Slimkat
If I wasn't married I'd quit fishing

 

[Maui]

Be sure to include some before and after pictures. Or maybe start a Machine restoration discussion so we can see the progress you make along the way. This could motivate you to keep up with progress on the machine. The members here could motivate you by providing some guidance when it is needed.

Maui

 

[Hchrist]

Good idea. I'll start with this picture and continue with a dedicated thread IF it turns out to be something that I'm not ashamed of .
See why the motivation is lacking???
Any flat surface in my shop is a bad thing.

Galaxy S4, Slimkat
If I wasn't married I'd quit fishing

 

[larry_g]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/album.php?u=13533

Above is my photo album that shows the disassembly of my Index 40 to add a DRO to it. The thread to go with the pictures is here; http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=273996 .
I am not one to repaint machines. But I do my best to keep them functioning as they should. There is another thread on here of a guy that stripped one and made it real purty. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296080&highlight=index&page=25 It starts about post #483


lg
no neat sig line

 

[Hchrist]

Thanks for that information and links. How do you like your model 40?
I see you have a Sheldon lathe too? I have one that an EXL model.

Galaxy S4, Slimkat
If I wasn't married I'd quit fishing

 

[larry_g]

I find the #40 a very capable machine. Having the larger HZ machine I don't have to push the Index beyond it's capabilities so it is my goto machine for most things. The one thing that I wish it had was a quick acting quill handle for drilling and tapping.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Hchrist]

Is love to have a large horizontal mill. I have a small Burke #4 but it a toy compared to the big double over arm machines. Is yours a K&T? I couldn't tell from the photos.
As a hobby hack I know I don't need a large horizontal mill but they look like they can do it all? With a vertical head I wonder if a vertical mill even makes sense?
There does not seem to be any bargains on used horizontal Mills in my area.

Galaxy S4, Slimkat
If I wasn't married I'd quit fishing

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Hchrist & All,

About 4 years back, I bought a 1938 Cincinnati MH2 milling machine from a friend who moved out of state & couldn't take it with him. It's a pleasure to operate, as I've made vise parts and other items with it.

Although I've restored my floor drill press, table saw, radial arm saw, and dozens of vises, I was hesitant to paint and polish my milling machine. Why bother? However, machines are more of a pleasure to operate and maintain if they look like new.

So: I hope that you guys & gals post a lot of threads about your machine restorations. I'll plan to polish and paint my milling machine in the spring/summer.

Hchrist, I hope that you restore your machine. If you do, you will be very proud of your accomplishment!

Here's a picture of how my milling machine currently sits:

 

[larry_g]

Is love to have a large horizontal mill. I have a small Burke #4 but it a toy compared to the big double over arm machines. Is yours a K&T? I couldn't tell from the photos.
As a hobby hack I know I don't need a large horizontal mill but they look like they can do it all? With a vertical head I wonder if a vertical mill even makes sense?
There does not seem to be any bargains on used horizontal Mills in my area.

Galaxy S4, Slimkat
If I wasn't married I'd quit fishing

my mill is a DuFour, a French machine

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=80152&d=1286480147

I do have a vertical/universal head for it.

 

[Hchrist]

Very stout look on that unit too.

Galaxy S4, Slimkat
If I wasn't married I'd quit fishing

 

[mikegt4]

Join a couple of hobby machinist forums, you will get all the encouragement and expertise that you need.

"Hello, my name is Hchist and I need motivation......."

http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/forum.php
http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/index.php
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/

 

[Hchrist]

Thank you. I'm a member of a couple of machine forums and may look for tips once I get started. Interestingly I just got banned "FOR EVER" from a forum I've been on since 2004. A member, and a few of hid buds I suppose, started a political thread lamenting the results of our last USA election. I watched for a little while and saw others post in disagreement. The OP, and his posse, got pretty insulting and aggressive toward those in opposition to their political leaning. Being of an opposite political leaning I couldn't let my fellow deplorables get skewered by the op and friends so I chimed in. We'll maybe a bit more than chimed in[emoji16] and next thing I knew I was banned, banished, exiled, tossed to the curb, given the boot and, I supposed, "disenfranchised,".
Anyway not looking to start any political discussion or any other type of controversy. I just thought the timing was funny.
Thanks

Galaxy S4, Slimkat
If I wasn't married I'd quit fishing

 

[bczygan]

I'm going to encourage you to at least begin.

You don't have to get it done all at once.

The only real deadline you have, is to complete the work before you die.

That way, it will be pristine when I hit your estate sale.....

BTW, Please put your location in your profile.

Bill

 

[DavidB]

Well, it's not a mill but I hope I can provide some motivation. This is my Hendey lathe that I picked up a couple of years ago. I purchased it from a business that did electrical motor work. I'm convinced they never cleaned it. Ever. In some spots there was 3/8" of gunk (grease, oil, some kind of powdered metal). So, it was very messy and had a lot of open oil holes that I feared were also full of gunk.






Anyways, over the summer I tore it completely apart, cleaned, and repainted. Here's how it looked when I finished it. Today it still looks pretty much the same with the exception of a few upgrades.




A bunch more pics here if interested: http://s963.photobucket.com/user/DavidBMSU/library/Hendey Lathe

That being said, I also have a mill that doesn't have the greatest paint but runs fine. The machine doesn't have to be pretty to function. Whether you completely go through your mill or just get it running again, go for it! It'll only get worse if you do nothing and a running mill is a nice tool to have around.

David

 

[Maui]

That lathe is beautiful! How long did the restoration take, and did you have to replace/repair any of the component parts? Did you have any paperwork on the parts breakdown, or just figure out the disassembly procedure on your own?

Maui

 

[E.rodz]

just jump in with some degreaser 409 works great too it will take longer than you think but it will always be worth it in the end! I am in the process of going through this old well used dog and it was missing a bunch of missing parts and the deeper that I got the more that I thought as long as I am doing this I might as well do it right and make it work great too! so far I have about 2 months into it.!tons more picts. on my garage build if you want to see more of what's involved.

 

[DavidB]

That lathe is beautiful! How long did the restoration take, and did you have to replace/repair any of the component parts? Did you have any paperwork on the parts breakdown, or just figure out the disassembly procedure on your own?

Maui

Thanks! It took me about 4 months to finish it up. I had to have a crack welded up in the large arm and fab up my own mount for the motor. Both my own fault. I also had to make a shim for the spindle to keep it from wedging; a common problem on these lathes. For the most part getting it apart was pretty easy. It turned out to be a pretty simple machine. I just took a ton of pics to aid in reassembly. I had a few issues but was able to get them solved with the help of the very knowledgeable folks on Practical Machinist.

 

[mikegt4]

Thank you. I'm a member of a couple of machine forums and may look for tips once I get started. Interestingly I just got banned "FOR EVER" from a forum I've been on since 2004. A member, and a few of hid buds I suppose, started a political thread lamenting the results of our last USA election. I watched for a little while and saw others post in disagreement. The OP, and his posse, got pretty insulting and aggressive toward those in opposition to their political leaning. Being of an opposite political leaning I couldn't let my fellow deplorables get skewered by the op and friends so I chimed in. We'll maybe a bit more than chimed in[emoji16] and next thing I knew I was banned, banished, exiled, tossed to the curb, given the boot and, I supposed, "disenfranchised,".
Anyway not looking to start any political discussion or any other type of controversy. I just thought the timing was funny.
Thanks

Galaxy S4, Slimkat
If I wasn't married I'd quit fishing

My experience has been that many of these forums were started and run by people who have been banned from other forums and all too often it becomes apparent why they were banned in the first place.

 

[Hchrist]

I'm going to encourage you to at least begin.

You don't have to get it done all at once.

The only real deadline you have, is to complete the work before you die.

That way, it will be pristine when I hit your estate sale.....

BTW, Please put your location in your profile.

Bill

Thank Bill...I think .
I have updated my inflammation including the location.

Well, it's not a mill but I hope I can provide some motivation. This is my Hendey lathe that I picked up a couple of years ago. I purchased it from a business that did electrical motor work. I'm convinced they never cleaned it. Ever. In some spots there was 3/8" of gunk (grease, oil, some kind of powdered metal). So, it was very messy and had a lot of open oil holes that I feared were also full of gunk.

Anyways, over the summer I tore it completely apart, cleaned, and repainted. Here's how it looked when I finished it. Today it still looks pretty much the same with the exception of a few upgrades.

David

I have heard of these lathes but never have taken the time to look at any. Very nice BTW. Two questions if I may:
I have read of others that have gotten machines from electric motor rebuilders and it seems that a common thread is that these machines were, "lightly used". I can understand this since, I suppose, the main use was to turn armatures. Was that the case with your's?
The ways appear to have rust on them. If so did it clean up OK and how did you remove the rust? Mine has rusty ways and rusty everything else. It isn't a cruddy type of rust and I am not concerned about it because I'll just work around the inaccuracies that the finish product end up having IYKWIM.
Thanks for the attempt at motivating me but i am far lazier than most people give me credit for

just jump in with some degreaser 409 works great too it will take longer than you think but it will always be worth it in the end! I am in the process of going through this old well used dog and it was missing a bunch of missing parts and the deeper that I got the more that I thought as long as I am doing this I might as well do it right and make it work great too! so far I have about 2 months into it.!tons more picts. on my garage build if you want to see more of what's involved.

Ok, now you guys are just starting to piss me off. I want motivation and to show all these finished machines AND the killer work shops is making it more and more apparent that I will never measure up here. JK
I don't think I'll need any 409 or degreaser TBH. The machine isn't greasy at all. It is mainly a lot of flaking paint and surface rust.
Nice lathe. What is it? What is the step looking deal at the bottom.
Nice work going on around the shop too. I am always a ghoul for checking out the stuff people have in the background of their photos. Probably part of my ADD and my desire to have all the awesome cool **** everyone else has. So....what are the fenders for? 32 Ford maybe?

My experience has been that many of these forums were started and run by people who have been banned from other forums and all too often it becomes apparent why they were banned in the first place.

I can't say that I have any first hand knowledge of the rejected member turned forum starter. I don't frequent more than 10 forums including any and all that have to do with my modest number of interests. Being banned is really not a problem. What makes my *** ache is my frustration with the fact that this happens with no reason given. Heck even a , "dude I am banning you because you smell bad and your last name doesn't rhyme with any of my favorite colors" would sit better with me than just getting shut down. Heck I want to get back on now just so I can say, "you can't fire me, I quit!". I have always wanted to say that.

Just to show I can do a little machine improvement work:

http://s437.photobucket.com/user/ppsi1216/library/Burke%20number%203

 

[DavidB]

Thank Bill...I think .
I have updated my inflammation including the location.

I have heard of these lathes but never have taken the time to look at any. Very nice BTW. Two questions if I may:
I have read of others that have gotten machines from electric motor rebuilders and it seems that a common thread is that these machines were, "lightly used". I can understand this since, I suppose, the main use was to turn armatures. Was that the case with your's?
The ways appear to have rust on them. If so did it clean up OK and how did you remove the rust? Mine has rusty ways and rusty everything else. It isn't a cruddy type of rust and I am not concerned about it because I'll just work around the inaccuracies that the finish product end up having IYKWIM.
Thanks for the attempt at motivating me but i am far lazier than most people give me credit for

I didn't try to find a machine from a motor rebuilder. It's just the way it turned out. They were local and it was a good deal. I don't have any specs to compare against but my ways don't seem to have a lot of wear on them. I can see the flat top of the Vs widen some but I don't see large depressions. I had some rust on my ways but not a lot. It hadn't really started getting into the metal. I mainly cleaned them with 0000 steel wool and oil. I've also used a 3M pad and oil on thicker rust on non critical surfaces.

 

[Hchrist]

Finally got it done.
I'm looking for info on the table feed trip rod if anyone has this on their model 40.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[larry_g]

Finally got it done.
I'm looking for info on the table feed trip rod if anyone has this on their model 40.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=4077

There are some pictures of the feed trip rod in my album above. It's nothing other than a rod with two shaft collars on it that will trip the drive when the rod hits the casting it goes through. It is a bit futzy to get the springs set so that it centers correctly to hold the drive in.

lg
no neat sig line