Subject: Re: Need info on cleaning Bridgeport Mill

From: [email-masked] (Joseph R. Landau)
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 21:33:19 GMT

>After the table is reassembled, you
>will need to tram the head to align it to the table, but you were
>going to do that anyway, after moving it to your place and not
>knowing how carefully the previous owner adjusted it.

..tram the head...

Pray, what does that mean and how do you do it?

--Joe Landau (another old mill owner)

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From: [email-masked] (Greg Lewis)
Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 01:13:14 GMT

>--Joe Landau (another old mill owner) 

This is a very important alignment step. You should do it with your
drill press, too, to be sure the spindle is at right angles to the
table. Here's how:

Take a piece of round stock of a diameter that will fit into the
chuck, collet or end mill holder. The piece should be about 18 inches
long. Bend an L in one end that is long enough to be grabbed properly
by the chuck. Stick that end in the chuck so the long end is
horizontal to the plane of the mill or drill table. Don't turn the
machine on at this point as the rod will swock you in the gut. Perhaps
you should pull the plug. Attach a dial indicator to the other end so
the tip of the indicator will touch the table. Swing the rod around so
the indicator end is toward one end of the table and note the reading.
Swing the rod around 180 degrees and check the reading again. If they
are the same, the spindle is perpendicular to the table in that
orientation. Make another check front-to-back. When turning the
spindle, I grab the drive belt and turn it by that so I don't tweak
the rod. 

If the readings are not the same, you'll need to make some adjustment
to get the spindle square to the table. Doing this will depend upon
the type of machine involved. My radial drill press and mill can both
be adjusted side-to-side via the swiveling radial arm. Front-to-back
problems would require some creative shimming. With some mill-drill
machines, you'd have to shim the column at the base.

___________________________________________________________________
[email-masked]
Photojournalism sequence, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism
CSU Fresno, Fresno, CA 93740-0010