Re: Gorton mill

--- For a hobbyist the Chinese machines are an excellent deal and can
be purchased new for the shipping cost of a piece of rusty junk.
I have a milldrill and it does me, but then again I am not machining
die-sets or tool steel.
I personally would not touch the Gorton. It probably has a 440v 3
phase motor which will again add to your expense.
Terry
In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@egroups.com, dave engvall <dengvall@n...>
wrote:

> Jeff Barlow wrote:
>
> > Hi Ron,
> >
> > I am indeed a "Home Shop type, looking for a nice machine,
> > cheap". I'm also an EE, computer type guy more than a
> > machinist. My only formal machine shop training was in high
> > school, a loooong time ago. So, I'm in over my head already,
> > just trying to figure out if I want to lug this thing home.
> >
> > If there wasn't twenty odd miles of the Pacific Ocean
> > between where the mill and I am now and my shop on the
> > mainland, I'd just haul it home first and then figure out
> > how much trouble I was in. However, I don't really want to
> > pay about $300 to the barge operator to move 2500lbs of what
> > may turn out to be scrap iron.
> >
> > If I were to take this huge thing, my plan would be to pull
> > it apart, clean it up, and rebuild it as a CNC mill. This
> > means throwing money at it for ballscrews, etc. etc. So this
> > "free for the taking mill" would cost a bit of dough, after
> > all. My fear is that by the time I found and paid for the
> > oddball tooling it needs, I'd have sunk so much time and
> > money into it that I might as well have bought a clean used
> > Bridgeport.
> >
> > You say "Making a tool holder should not be beyond the
> > ability of any HSM guy." Well it seems beyond mine right
> > now. My abilities have been known to improve with time,
> > though. If someone here would care to try to educate me
> > about this, I'm sure ready to listen. The idea of just
> > making a new spindle occurred to me, but I'm a bit too
> > ignorant to know if that's a silly idea or not.
> >
> > I'll be here, within walking distance of the mill through
> > this weekend, and I'll be back here next month sometime,
> > and, of course, the mill isn't going anywhere. I'll have
> > plenty of time to change my mind about this dozens of times.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Jeff
> >
> > On Wed, 23 Aug 2000 08:38:44 -0400, Ron Ginger wrote:
> >
> > >I may have a different view of this- I think the original poster

was a

> > >Home Shop type, looking for a nice machine, cheap. In that case

I say

> > >grab this mill. Its clearly an 'industrial quality' machine,

likely a

> > >much better base to start with than a chineese import.
> > >
> > >The major problem seems to be the lack of tooling for the

spindle. Well,

> > >for a HSM guy,just how many tool holders do you need? If you can
> > >find/buy/make just one holder to hold a 1/2" shank end mill you

have a

> > >very usefull machine.
> > >
> > >Making a tool holder should not be beyond the ability of any HSM

guy. A

> > >comercial holder wold likely be a wonderfull, hardened, ground,

device.

> > >A home made holder of common cold rolled steel, nicely machined,

but

> > >maybe with less than perfect surface finsih will work fine- it

might

> > >wear faster than a properly ground holder, but come on guys, how

many

> > >HSMers will live long enough to wear a tool holder- and if you

did, by

> > >then you would be so much more expierenced you could make a

better one.

> > >
> > >A 'free for the taking' mill is worth it!
> > >
> > >ron
> >
>
> I understand your reluctance to invest in possible scrap iron.

However, EE's tend to be bright and often stubborn people that

> tackle difficult projects and make them work. No I'm not a EE I

just
grew up with one!

>
> I just did a new spindle for my big mill. I still have to grind and

lap the taper but prelim results seem to be OK.

> The spindle is a 40 NTMB with an opposed pair of angular contact on

the rear (50 mm) and a tapered roller ( 3.2500" for the front

> bearing. So it can be done. I used 1045 and heat-treated. I would

change a few things if I ever do it again, like use 4150 Q&T.

>
> Aside from this: Is the Gorton stiff enough to make a significantly

better mill if you fix it? IMO you can go to a lot of trouble

> to get stiffness if you are going to mill steel. Not to start a war

here but BP's are really nice for Al but I would prefer

> something stiffer for steel. That doesn't mean that a lot of good

stuff has not been done on the small BP's. It just takes longer

> to hog steel and get a nice final pass.
>
> Dave
>
> >
> >
> >
> > Welcome to CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@e...,an unmoderated list for the

discussion of shop built systems, for CAD, CAM, EDM, and DRO.

> >
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