Messages

131

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: I'm stuck

« on: February 18, 2018, 08:24:36 AM »

Please post what you get. It is always nice to see what somebody else is doing.
Feel free to ask questions along the way. It can get lonely out in the shop all by yourself!

Mike

132

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: I'm stuck

« on: February 17, 2018, 08:53:33 PM »

I am a big fan of the Vital System stuff although I have just purchased a Pokeys57CNC for a new project.

RMH,
Glad to see you are still with us.
I would just make sure that the controller you get does the functions that you need. If you need lathe threading for instance right now, make sure that it is supported right now, not at some future date.

Mike

133

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: February 17, 2018, 08:46:54 PM »

Have done bearings before it is sometimes amazing how much a bearing will expand (without damage) with some heat being applied. And just how strong a shrink fit can be.
IIRC "BT" holders are metric and CAT are imperial. The drawbar in my BTC-1 is two piece. If drawbar is being activated by an impact gun I am not sure you could get away with a two piece unit.

My son just made a drawbar for his M-head mill and he made it out of one piece. His is shorter than what you need. It fit on the Monarch CK-12 no problem.

Dave, you said you were not going to grease the bearings this time you were going to oil them IIRC. How are you going to supply them with oil on an ongoing basis??

Mike

134

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: February 17, 2018, 02:03:38 PM »

Nice to see that you were able to remove them without destruction. I will keep this method in the back of my mind the next time I have to do somethinglike this.

Mike

135

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: February 16, 2018, 05:36:21 PM »

They look OK and P4 should be OK. I would only buy spindle bearings from a know manufacturer, i.e. not Chinese "German" bearings.
If these are overseas no-name bearings I would be very weary. Also verify against the numbers on your bearings. If you can find the specs of your original bearings that will give you a target to shoot for.

Mike

136

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: February 16, 2018, 06:55:14 AM »

The factory bearings are BIG $$$$$$$. I picked up some on eBay for a lot less. I believe that they are a 7207 AC bearing. Make note of how the old ones come off and reinstall the new ones the same way. Also look into getting some Kluber grease for the bearings. Very expensive but worth it in the long run. Someone may have an alternate suggestion instead of the kluber.


Mike

137

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: February 16, 2018, 06:46:48 AM »

It looks like to press those bearings off you will have to push on the outer races and that will more than likely ruin the bearings. Remember that these will be running your tooling and we want to keep the tool within tenths and not holding up somebodies utility trailer.
Be very careful with the threaded part since it is cast iron and can be broken very easily, DON'T ask how I know.

Mike

138

Mach4 Toolbox / Re: Radio and Checkbox examples

« on: February 15, 2018, 04:43:49 PM »

Thanks for posting this.

Mike

139

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: February 15, 2018, 04:40:57 PM »

Theoretically if you can get the inner race to expand faster than the spindle then yes they should drop off.
I will take a look at my spares and see what I can see.


Mike

140

General Mach Discussion / Re: Bridgeport Knee Mill Conversion?

« on: February 15, 2018, 05:47:49 AM »

Only if you can remove them by pressing on the inner race. If you have to press on the outer race, the pressure will damage the bearings.


Mike