Evening all, I've got some issues with my milling machine and am hoping that the expertise here can point me in the right direction.
Although I've owned my Elliott Omnimill for almost a year it's only recently that I've actually started to use it ! When I bought it I knew that it had seen some use (it's got to be 50 odd years old) but I'm now thinking that it's a bit further gone than I had hoped.
Tonight I was attempting to cut a dovetail in an insert toolholder so that I could mount it directly to the toolpost (ie so that I didn't need to use a tollholder holder) Using a 1/2" cutter running at 350RPM I was struggling to take more than a 10thou depth of cut. Anything more than this and the whole table started to shake and the chatter was frightening.
I'm assuming a machine of this size (it's 5' tall and weighs in at 750Kg) should be able to handle a much greater cut than this but with so many variables I'm not entirely sure what is at fault. The only two ideas I had were that
1. I know the Y axis is worn but I've got the gib as tight as I can and still be able to move the table. If I grab the table at each end and try to rock it back and forth it all feels pretty solid.
2. The toolholder doesn't appear to be hardened - it cuts easily with a file and hacksaw. The end mill did blunt quickly but I put this down to the chatter abuse it got.
I know it's hard to give a diagnosis without seeing it in action but from reading the above is there anything that jumps out at you guys as to what the issue might or am I expecting too much from an old machine.
Thanks
Jim
Although I've owned my Elliott Omnimill for almost a year it's only recently that I've actually started to use it ! When I bought it I knew that it had seen some use (it's got to be 50 odd years old) but I'm now thinking that it's a bit further gone than I had hoped.
Tonight I was attempting to cut a dovetail in an insert toolholder so that I could mount it directly to the toolpost (ie so that I didn't need to use a tollholder holder) Using a 1/2" cutter running at 350RPM I was struggling to take more than a 10thou depth of cut. Anything more than this and the whole table started to shake and the chatter was frightening.
I'm assuming a machine of this size (it's 5' tall and weighs in at 750Kg) should be able to handle a much greater cut than this but with so many variables I'm not entirely sure what is at fault. The only two ideas I had were that
1. I know the Y axis is worn but I've got the gib as tight as I can and still be able to move the table. If I grab the table at each end and try to rock it back and forth it all feels pretty solid.
2. The toolholder doesn't appear to be hardened - it cuts easily with a file and hacksaw. The end mill did blunt quickly but I put this down to the chatter abuse it got.
I know it's hard to give a diagnosis without seeing it in action but from reading the above is there anything that jumps out at you guys as to what the issue might or am I expecting too much from an old machine.
Thanks
Jim