[gto7419]

Well, I finally took the plunge and went and bought my mill.

Its the Top Tech DM45R from Penn Tool Co. Basically its an RF-45 clone. I got the swivel base for the same price as the regular machine.

What an experience moving one of these is. I had to tip the crate to get it in my S10 Blazer. My Dad and a few Penn Tool reps helped out (with a forklift). Too bad we didnt have a forklift at home, because getting the thing out of the car took forever, and TONS of planning. AND, then we had to get it into the basement.


I had to take off the head and motor so the parts were more manageable. We lowered the the column, base, and table while they were still together. Me and my dad did this by laying 2x6s down the basement steps. and tying the unit to a handtruck. We laid the handtruck down and rolled it onto the 2x6s. Using the CAR and some heavy tow ropes, we slowly lowered the hand truck into the basement. The head and motor we left attached, and were able to lower by hand (on a dolly), using the tow hook on the front of the car as a pully.

Took us almost 5 hours to do all of this, a lot of arguing over methods, and a lot of head scratching.

My only problem now, is how to get the parts onto the bench I have yet to build... Any ideas on how to lift the machine 3-4ft up in the air?

Danny :banana:

PS - I hope I can sleep tonight - Im kind of excited to build my bench, clean the machine, and wire it up. I wanna get it running!!!

[Runner4404spd]

i just went through this on an Industrial hobbies mill. although i stripped mine down into parts. i happen to have a engine hoist that i was able to use to lift all the parts on to the bench and assemble them.

congrats on your purchase. this is a very addicting hobby.

Jerry

if you have any questions just ask...

[ChrisJ]

I have that same mill except no swivel on the table. You should be able to break the machine down into individual pieces, base, table, Y cross slide, column, head and motor. Of all these pieces I found the head to weigh the most and it is the most difficult for me to manage maneuvering on my own, but I have managed.
Putting the head back on wasn't too difficult to do by myself. I just set a couple of short pieces (12" long) of 2x6's set on their side placed on the table and set the head on the 2x's. You then can guide the head back toward the Z slide by moving the table in the -Y direction.
Your going to need to break the table and everything else down anyway in order to clean everything off.
Of course you may or may not want to lap the ways. This seems to be a controversial procedure. Industrialhobbies.com has a tutorial on this is your interested. I lapped mine for what it is worth.

Enjoy your mill.

Chris

[gto7419]

Thanks for the good words guys!!! Hit a snag today while building the table. Its almost done, and I was cutting plywood for bottom shelves when the table saw plug fell out (overhead plug). Well, the plug hit the blade, cut it in half, and sent the plug portion right back at me. The plug hit me and my thigh is now swollen - about half the size of the golf ball. I was being safe and wearing a face sheild at the time...

I guess its time to invest in locking plugs and receptacles... Anyone have a good/cheap online electrical supply warehouse? I want to find decent prices on those plugs.

Danny

[Boilermakr]

The twist-lock recepticles and plugs in one area where I didn't skimp when I rewired my house. I bought Hubbell units from an electrical supply distributor. Call around and check prices. The place I bought mine from charged me 5% more than their contractor prices which was about 15-20% less than HD.

[gto7419]

I have had bad experiences with twist lock - they seem to fail at the worst moments. I plan on zip tying the plug so that it can be unplugged, but cannot fall. Im also going to fabricate something that keeps the rest of the cord completely out of the way of the table saw.

All the twist lock plugs I have ever used untwist when they are the slightest bit worn out.

I was actually thinking of putting them in anyway and then zip tying the plug, but decided against.

Danny