New to me Benchmaster mill question

[Walter Z]

I am a newbie to machining and have been searching for a mill to complement my Craftsman Atlas 6" lathe. Found a Benchmaster on Craigslist which I pretty much purchased on impulse. Hope that wasn't a mistake.

The mill has a rack and pinion and lever system for the vertical axis. I guess this was used for production mills. Will this hold me back a great deal?

Appreciate your advice.

 

[longlivepunk]

Neat little mill! Unfortunately I know nothing about them, but here's a link to some info on it:

http://www.lathes.co.uk/duro/

 

[larry_g]

My first mill was a Benchmaster. They are capable machines but with having no quill you have to rely on the knee to set your cutter height. With the setup you have it looks like you have no way to raise and lower the knee in precision measured amounts and hold it there while taking cuts in the X and Y axis' of the table. The odds of finding parts to convert it may be low. What I would suggest is that you be on the lookout for one with a horizontal setup on it and then you would have both setups.

Another option is to fabricate a screw for moving the knee.

lg
no neat sigline

 

[Walter Z]

Larry,

There is a stop screw with jam nuts on the right hand side of the mill. Similar to what you might find on the quill of a drill press. I can fix the knee with the jam nuts at any level. I wonder if these might provide me with the "more" precise adjustment I will need.

 

[larry_g]

Larry,

There is a stop screw with jam nuts on the right hand side of the mill. Similar to what you might find on the quill of a drill press. I can fix the knee with the jam nuts at any level. I wonder if these might provide me with the "more" precise adjustment I will need.

You can make it happen. How much fiddling around is needed will be way more than what would be needed with a proper leadscrew. I'm assuming also that you have never operated a standard knee mill. Think about what you would have to go through on your lathe of the cross slide didn't have a screw with a dial to measure the movement, just a couple of stops for in and out. Your facing similar issues with the knee on the mill.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Walter Z]

You can make it happen. How much fiddling around is needed will be way more than what would be needed with a proper leadscrew. I'm assuming also that you have never operated a standard knee mill. Think about what you would have to go through on your lathe of the cross slide didn't have a screw with a dial to measure the movement, just a couple of stops for in and out. Your facing similar issues with the knee on the mill.

lg
no neat sig line

You're right, I have never operated a knee or any other mill. It looks like a previous owner started a modification. The knee was drilled and horizontal steel bar placed across the knee and directly above the hole in the base where the vertical acme screw would be if there was one.

Does anyone have any ideas for some type of mod that would be helpful?

I was also wondering if having a dial indicator touching the table would be helpful?

 

[larry_g]

Does anyone have any ideas for some type of mod that would be helpful?

I was also wondering if having a dial indicator touching the table would be helpful?

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?PMPAGE=301&PMCTLG=00
The scale on the above link is common for this type of problem. The on linked is probably top of the line but there are many import ones that would do the job. The advantage of an electronic scale is that you can easily reset zero and convert from inch to metric.

Where you are experience wise I would suggest if you have a dial indicator then use it and start using the machine to see it is functioning and capable of doing the jobs you want. Do you have the collets and a vise for the machine? If not you might be wise to cut your losses and invest no more in the machine and chalk this up to a learning experience. The one I had I learned a lot on, but soon realized its weaknesses and moved up to a bigger more conventional machine.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Walter Z]

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?PMPAGE=301&PMCTLG=00
The scale on the above link is common for this type of problem. The on linked is probably top of the line but there are many import ones that would do the job. The advantage of an electronic scale is that you can easily reset zero and convert from inch to metric.

Where you are experience wise I would suggest if you have a dial indicator then use it and start using the machine to see it is functioning and capable of doing the jobs you want. Do you have the collets and a vise for the machine? If not you might be wise to cut your losses and invest no more in the machine and chalk this up to a learning experience. The one I had I learned a lot on, but soon realized its weaknesses and moved up to a bigger more conventional machine.

lg
no neat sig line

Thanks Larry. I don't have a whole lot invested in the machine and I've certainly made bigger mistakes in life than this. I did get a set of collets with the machine so I guess I'll start using and see where it takes me. I do appreciate your help. I'm a little bummed, because the scale of the machine for my space and intended use was great, but I'll chalk this up to experience!

 

[bl00]

I picked up a Benchmaster over the weekend. Actually it's a Benchmaster puzzle because it's disassembled and in several boxes. When I get to sorting things out I'll take measurements and pictures of the vertical axis parts, so you can see what would be needed for the conversion if you decide to go that route.

 

[michiganman18]

Heard benchmasters were decent little things. Clad theres more info here than what I know. Bummer it didnt work out.

 

[Walter Z]

I picked up a Benchmaster over the weekend. Actually it's a Benchmaster puzzle because it's disassembled and in several boxes. When I get to sorting things out I'll take measurements and pictures of the vertical axis parts, so you can see what would be needed for the conversion if you decide to go that route.

Thank you. I appreciate that. There is a Benchmaster yahoo group, which I just joined. Seems these mills have a bit of a cult following. One of the members there did a very impressive conversion to a leadscrew and handwheel for the z axis. Maybe there's hope!