Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Gorton mill

Hi Dave,

You put that characterization of EE's somewhat differently
than my ex-wife has, but the jist is about the same. I plead
"guilty as charged". Oh, also I'm cheap.

What I like most about this Gorton is it's mass and
stiffness. It's clearly beefier than a Bridgeport, or the
Chinese clones. What worries me most is the relatively
small, oddball spindle. And then there's the rust to deal
with.

So, what's your take on the idea of a do-it-yourself new
spindle or adapter of some kind? It sounds like you've been
there. I'm just trying to understand how far in over my head
I'd be getting. Words like "grind and lap the taper" do
scare me a bit, but I do sort of enjoy not knowing what I'm
doing.

I have here before me the (5/32") collet that was in it.
It's about 2-1/2" long, 1" across the face, the taper is
about 1" long, the shank is 1-1/2" long and about 5/8" OD,
with three flats. The threads for the drawbar look like
about 7/16". (I'm using a plastic ruler, my mike is at
home.) I would guess the OD of the spindle to be about
1-1/8".

Anyone have any ideas for a magic R8 conversion for it?

I obviously still haven't made up my mind about this thing.

Thanks,
Jeff

On Wed, 23 Aug 2000 12:10:07 -0700, dave engvall wrote:

>
>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