Subject: Buying a Mill - advice needed

From: [email-masked] (Paul Jones)
Date: 8 Feb 1994 18:18:58 GMT

I am currently working at buying a floor standing knee mill from Enco
(model 100-5201) which is the same type as Grizzly A1SA(?) and is also
sold by Toolcrib of the North.  While Grizzly's price is the best, Enco
will match it.  This mill has almost all of the desired features
mentioned in the HSM series on buying a mill, especially the knee,
daylight, fine-feed, adjustable gibs, and central lubrication.  I have
personally examined the mill in their showroom and it seems to be a very
well-made mill, although I didn't indicate any of the alignments. 

My problem is that the only place I have to put the mill is in the basement,
which means that it will have to be disassembled which, understandably,
Enco says will void the warranty.

Does anyone have any experience of this kind with this particular mill
or with disassembling/reassembling any mill?

I am not as much worried about the warranty as I am messing up the
front/back alignment between the head and the table (the head does tilt
right/left by design and so can be trammed in that direction)

Opinions/Experience please.

Thanks,
Paul Jones

------
Paul Jones,  Motorola MCG                           [email-masked]
1101 E. University Ave.                             Voice: (217) 384-8529
Urbana, IL 61801, USA                               FAX:   (217) 384-8550

---

From: [email-masked] (Bill Brown)
Date: 8 Feb 1994 20:46:00 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Paul Jones) writes:
>	...
>	...

Well, as it happens, I bought a used mill a couple of weeks ago, and
partially disassembled it to move it.

It wasn't too hard - we had the "exploded drawings" - from the standpoint
of figuring out how to do it.  Also, I had the help of a friend who
obviously had taken mills apart before.  From a physical standpoint -
well even the individual chunks are _heavy_.

If I had it to do over again, I'd rent a truck with a lift-gate and try
to move it in one piece.  Maybe use a pallet-jack, or pipe rollers.

Depending on how you take it apart, about the only thing to worry about
is getting the spindle at right-angles to the table.  This can be done
by sweeping the table with a dial indicator;  I didn't touch that part
of it.

All in all, I wouldn't want to do it again, but ya gotta do whatchya gotta
do.  It's doable, but not a lot of fun.  And it should go back together
without any major problems.  One thing that would have been very handy was
and engine hoist or "cherry-picker" as they are sometimes called.

Good luck, and happy swarf-making!

Disclaimer:  These opinions are my own and have	    |
    nothing to do with the official policy or the   |  -bill
    management of L.B.L, who probably couldn't      |   [email-masked]
    care less about employees who play with trains. |

---

From: [email-masked] (f.w.kerfoot..iii)
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 1994 21:32:09 GMT

>From article <[email-masked]>, by [email-masked] (Paul Jones):

I disassembled a Series 1 Bridgeport to get it down a set of wooden steps
into my basement. I can't see anything about the disassembly process
which should change the basic accuracy of the machine. Both the side-side
and the fore-aft head tilts (I am assuming the mill you want to buy is
an oriental copy of the V-ram Bridgeport) need alignment with a dial
indicator anytime they are adjusted anyway, if you want to do accurate
work. Disassembling and reassembling doesn't seem to change anything
beyond what a head tilt would change. 

Removing the bed, saddle and knee involve removing the adjustable gibbs.
Incorrect adjustment on assembly could lead to slop (if loose), or
premature wear (if too tight). This may be where Enco sees the warranty
problem. Just for curiosity, what do they warrant it against? (do they
warrant a level of accuracy, or a service life? I would be surprised.)
If the issue from Enco's perspective is gibb adjustment, I wonder if
you could pay Enco to have someone do the adjustment. This would
probably not be cheap, but might allow you to retain the warranty, if
the warranty is worth something.

By the way, how does Enco deal with the situation when a professional
rigger does a partial disassembly to install one of their mills?
I would expect that removing the bed to fit through a doorway would
be relatively common, even in an industrial environment.

Frank Kerfoot
[email-masked]