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I've been slowly getting the Powermatic mill cleaned up over the past few weeks. First up was cleaning all the bearing surfaces with WD-40. The mill hadn't been lubed in quite a while and all the moving parts were dry as a bone. I use a mix of Mobil 1 0w20 synthetic motor oil and Lucas oil stabilizer for way lube, about 50-50 mix, also used it on the screws. The Lucas is an emulsifier that helps the oil stick to the surfaces, it doesn't just get scraped off. The old girl responded well to a little TLC, everything moves very smoothly now and requires a lot less force.

On the outside I used Simple Green to remove the dried oil and dirt mixed with chips. It works very well but you need to let it sit for a while to let it do it's job. So it's a repetitive routine: spray some cleaner, let it sit, scrub with a chip brush, let it sit, scrub some more, wipe it up and spray again and start over. Do this till it's clean. It's something to do when I had a few minutes, taking a break or waiting for soldered parts to cool.

Last weekend I mess up some parts for the TB2 and got so disgusted with myself for screwing that up I started installing the DRO on the mill. I hadn't planned on doing this until all the parts for TB2 were done and I had moved the mill to it's final work place but I needed to take my mind off my latest screw-up.

Check out the before and after pics. The after pics shows the DRO scales installed. I've decided to repaint also. This is not going to be a restoration, just clean up and protection. The machine is in good shape and doesn't need rebuilding. But it could stand a little dressing up. There are also a couple screws and bolts that could stand replacing just because I can, but nothing is screaming to be repaired.

Before:
pmb_knee_wide.jpg


After:
pmb_knee_clean.jpg


pmb_scales.jpg



I had been looking at the Uniq DRO from Penn Tools for $720 USD plus shipping, but then checked out Shars. Their DRO was $665 USD including shipping, so that's the one I got. After re-reading Bog's thread about commissioning his new mill, and comparing what I got with his, I think I ended up with the same kit he did.

pmb_dro_head.jpg


I still have to install the Z axis scales, but that's going to entail a bit more work and problem solving than I have time for right now.
 
Kevin,

Great job on that mill.
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Best Regards
Bob :D
 
Thanks Bob.
Except for adding the DRO all I did was remove about 35 years of dirt and oil stains.
The Simple Green did all the hard work :)
 
Kev

i like your collet rack!!

i have some sheet at work

another job.. oh well be worth it to get em sorted

and great going on the install

( do watch the simple green it eats Alu and alu alloys)
 
jack404 said:
( do watch the simple green it eats Alu and alu alloys)

Thanks Jack.
It also does a good job of removing paint if you leave it sit too long.
 
Kevin, the DRO install looks good. Once you get some time with it, let us know how it is working for you!

BTW I love that old iron! It's fun to keep an old timer running (machine, that is). ;)
 
Winter is now in full swing here and the shop has been a$$-busting cold! Since Thanksgiving the temps have been below freezing, and last week in the single digits. I haven't been able to spend more than a few minutes before my hands hurt and had to go inside to warm up. I did get a propane heater and it helps quite a bit, but it does take a while to warm things up and the garage is too big to get completely warm.

Back just before it started turning cold I started re-arranging stuff in the garage to annex some space for the shop, mostly to make room for the big mill. But when the first cold snap came I thought it would be nice to put up a partition to try to trap some of the heat in the shop area.

Last weekend we started demolition on the kitchen/bathroom/laundry remodel, part of the "real" cost of purchasing the mill. The previous owner had one wall in the kitchen covered in a hideous rattan-patterned plywood paneling. That was the first thing to come down and so a couple panels were salvaged for the new partition in the shop. I also had some lumber left over from a shelving project so that was used to add an "L" to the wall for some extra stability.

Enough waffling! The partition was installed today. It's temporarily in place and can be moved easily if need be. If it warms up enough I'll get some paint on the walls to cover the pattern and help brighten up the place. As you can see by the thermometer the heater has it a rather "toasty" 60F :)

wall_close.jpg


The partition is only eight feet long, so it's a little short of the total length of the shop, but I gained an extra 3 feet in width.

wall_wide.jpg
 
60F is a nice working temp, at least for me. That's what I have the thermostat set in my place. Your shop is cominnbg along nicely.
 
When its below Zero F I leave the thermostat set at 45F & stay inside. Otherwise I turn it up to 65F when I get home from work, eat dinner and by the time I get out there to work its toasty warm. I leave the heat up on the weekends, it still costs about 75$ @month to heat the 26' x 36' shop with forced air natural gas, I have it insulated like a thermos bottle!
 

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