[miljnor]

its a 2:1 ratio so I can get 7000 rpm but the one my employee has actually spins at 4k so it might be 8k rpm. time will tell Hopefully by the end of next week I will have a test cut.

[RotarySMP]

Great work Mike.

"I thought I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, but it was just my boss with a torch bringing more work"

[miljnor]

thanks for the positive feedback.

"I thought I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, but it was just my boss with a torch bringing more work"

wouldn't want you guys getting bored!

and it does pay the bills right! :cheers:

[ZipSnipe]

Hey where did you get your way covers from? Any more progress?

[miljnor]

I got a little more progress but no photo's as I have too many projects going right now!

The weather has been nice for flying so I have been getting as much stick time in as possible (RC airplanes). And unfortunately it takes away from my machinery building time.

Not only that but to run power to my spindle I will need to wire 220v single phase and that means allot of rearranging the garage to get the conduit in. And if I am rearranging then I will put the cabinets up that have been sitting on my floor forever!

So needless to say I am being lazy (in a way). Will try to get power by this weekend (no promises).

The way covers I bought from MSC. The ones for the upright is a square bellows that I cut into two pieces and used half for the bottom and half for the top.

[ironDigit]

very nice mike
seems like you thaught a everything didnt you
my compliments and respect for this one to me it looks as nice as the 5bears machine anyway

well i wouldn't be meself if i wouldn't spoil the fun but i m goin to ask anyway since your free not to answer here goes :how much did you pay for your spindle bearings

i dear ask cause i just haven't been able too find any pricelist anywhere i been true rockwell's bocabearings and lots a dutch sites and too get a quote you've gotta know first what it is you need exactly wich i haven't got a clue of only thing i can find is the wholesalers here in amsterdam and they rip ppl off.if it would spoil your fun posting this i understand m8

thx for sharing and good luck

[miljnor]

Always happy to help.

Unfortunately I don't have any thing special as my bearings. Other than replacing the original mills bearings with high quality replacement bearings, I just transplanted the whole spindle from the original mill to this one.

My reasons for using the old set up were:
1. See how long taper bearings last at the usage levels I am going to be using it at.
2. wanted to see if accuracy was good enough for home use.
3. It was convenient and very cheep, as I got the bearings from one of my partners (who owns a bearing house) for nothing.
4. This is in no way an industrial application and I feel anyone trying to duplicate a commercial spindle for something that amounts to a hobby machine is spending money in the wrong place.

I know for a fact you can get similar accuracy out of tapered bearings to a cheeper commercial mill. But the qualifier is how much load are you putting on them and what is your duty cycle and the most important (Ask NC cams) how anal are you about assembling them and getting the right fitment?

Commercial units are made a certain way for lots of reasons, low maintence, longevity and accuracy. I don't realy car much for the first two (although it would be a bonus) and the third I will be happy with .0005" tolerence as my closes fit on my parts so spindle run out is not as critical except maybe to tool life (although I did get very little tool run out, I think in the tenths but its been a few months)

Cost is always a bad question to ask me as I spend money on weird things, waste it on other things and get even more things free.

[phil burman]

Hi Michael

I've just seen your way cover solution and am very impressed. I have a Tormach PCNC1100 on which the way covers are a bit iffy to say the least, so I am looking to make an improvement. I would very much appreciate if you could share some general information on how you solved the problem.

Best Regards
Phil

..........

It has been a realy PIA to get the way coveres worked out on this beast. I think I have it but need to finish the outside trim of my house before I can get to it. So it might be another few days to a week.

If you think way covers are easy on a metal machine think again. I recomend if your doing a scratch build to really think hard about covers before you make anything do to the complexity and difficulty in making something work.

I new I was screwed because I was using a modified machine not a ground up build.

As stevie How long his took and you will see. They take as long as the whole machine does to do.

[miljnor]

you can buy bellows from msc.com

i used this one for the z axis: and cut it in half to make 2 covers. One for the top and one for the bottom.

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT...5947&PMCTLG=00

and I used these ones for the y axis covers:

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT...6200&PMCTLG=00

and
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT...6218&PMCTLG=00

but you better be sitting down when you look as they aren't cheap!

But spending a huge amount of wasted time on ones that don't work will make you think they are cheap! Don't ask!

[miljnor]

Well after draggin my feet for almost 5 months I have begun the final leg of this project!

Took my first test cut on some wood this morning and will try to post some more pictures later tonight.

I kinda micky rigged my speed controler just to get a test cut in and improve my motivation position (to get her done). works good but I don't think it puts out enough juice, but time will tell.

[rodzilla]

I was wondering what is the status of this conversion. I see the last post was on august 2006 and i just found this as i am doing research to convert my round column to square and i am also looking to use the motor from my treadmill to power my spindle but i have some concerns. will the treadmill motor be strong enough to cut through steel without problems also what meterial did you use for your column it looks like a piece of rectangular tube if so what size and is there any deflection when machining any help would be appreciated

[miljnor]

Well I've been using this mill on and of for a little while now, never have installed limit switches but havn't really notice any problems...just got lazy after it started working as it runs great without.....But Now I'm moving and wont have a place to store it So am selling it and the enclosure as is....So if anyone is interested just PM me or put your info in this thread

[redneckengineer]

This is an old thread, but do you have any more pictures of your conversion, other than those you put on this thread?
Got a CNCconverted round column I'm about to convert to square column in a similar manner, looking for ideas.