My mill

[Mo deller]

Anyone seen one of these before?

It's a Beaver A and was made by a local firm here in Norwich.

I bought it from a retiring engineer friend in the 80's and he moved it across the road on a hand cart only removing the turret to lighten the load. According to the manual
it weighs nearly 9 cwt. If I guess correctly that's about 3/4 of a ton.
I have to move it again now and am considering taking it apart so I can get it home a bit at a time in the car. I think if each piece is around 1/4 ton it should be possible.
Not sure if it's a good idea or if it should be kept in one piece if possible. Any advice would be appreciated as I know nothing about the rights and wrongs of moving mills at all. Other than don't drop it on my foot :big:

Mo ???

 

[Maryak]

Mo,

20 cwt = 1 ton

1 cwt = 112 lb

9 cwt = 1008 lb = 457.5 kg

Still it's pretty damn heavy

Best Regards
Bob

 

[Mo deller]

Not quite as heavy as I thought then. Slightly less than 1/2 tonne.
I was thinking of four lumps. The turret, the slides,the column and the base.

Thanks,
Mo.

 

[Mainer]

Disassembly should be fine. It's done frequently when moving machinery. Just remember that the first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the parts...and keep track of where they go. Photos can help, and these days with digital cameras it's easy.

 

[bearcar1]

Hey Mo' , That is an interesting looking mill. What type of tooling does it handle? Is it a standard or machine specific style?

BC1

 

[Mo deller]

Yo BC, d'ya know I hadn't thought about that. The spindle is 30 int mt and I have a Clarkson autolock s type chuck. All the cutters that I got with it have a thread on the end but I don't know if that is special or not. I know only what I have read in manuals and books about milling and what the engineer told me when I bought it. Unfortunatly I have forgotten most of that so it is like starting all over again.
I have a few cutters but I am worried now that it may be obsolete and I'll be faced with having to buy a new chuck.

I think I'll do a little googling to see if I can find out more.

Cheers Mo, ???

 

[Mo deller]

Disassembly should be fine. It's done frequently when moving machinery. Just remember that the first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the parts...and keep track of where they go. Photos can help, and these days with digital cameras it's easy.

Thanks for that. The photo idea is very helpfull. Mo

 

[Bernd]

Mo,

I moved a, almost 2000 pound, Bridgeport into the basement. Lot's of pictures.

Here's the link: http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=3080.0

Might give you some ideas on how to move heavy stuff.

Bernd

 

[Mo deller]

Wow that was a task. Makes my job seem easy. Where can I borrow a tractor from? :big:
Joking aside I can borrow my brothers engine hoist which should do most lifting but may not get high enough for the turret ???

Thanks Bernd

 

[bearcar1]

Bernd, I have a question for you. Did you reinforce the stair steps or riser supports in any fashion or did you merely rely upon the plywood and 8' 2x4's to distribute the weight? I have been contemplating (procrastinating is more like it) relocating my BP down to the shop in the basement and have concerns about the stairs handling the weight. There are 13 steps to be traversed. I understand that the 2x4's and plywood skid arrangement would assist in spreading the weight over a much larger area, but still have no idea if that would be adequte enough. I was considering renting a couple of 'lolly columns' to screw up underneath some of the treads along with the 2x4's and skid arrangement just in case, but it appears in your situation that was not required. One of the biggest problems that I can see with my situation is that the door at the top of the stairs dead ends into a short passageway and I have no "straight shot" to the doorway. That and I would have to negotiate two 90* change of directions within three feet of each other in order to get the lump centered in the doorway leading down. I'm sure it most likely could be accomplished but I am reluctant to take the thing apart, just as you did, head, ram, motor, table and knee just to find out that it will not physically be possible. Any thoughts or suggestions you or anyone else may have would be appreciated. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us and the pics are great.
Cheers

BC1

 

[Bernd]

Mo, your welcome.

BC1, The stairs were built quite heavy to begin with the thought in mind that heavy equipment would be moved up and down the stairs. The stringers are 2X10 doubled up and I supported the stairs in the middle with 2X6 uprights. The first move on these stairs was a 400lb wood stove, both down and back up. A Grizzly band saw which was made from cast iron has gone down. After that it was 1000lb Buffalo Forge drill press. So I figured that stairs would hold the Bridgeport, but at nearly 2000lbs total weight I didn't want to chance it. Besides it would have never fit through the 36" wide doors. So taking it apart was the only way to go. It did make it a lot easier moving it in pieces. Also remember that the parts were tied off to a 10 ton tractor.

The more you can spread the weight out over a larger area the better. Since I don't know how strong your steps are built I can't say if it would work or not. You also said that you have to make two 90 degree turns. Truthfully I won't try it if my steps were like yours. I don't see anyway you can tie off the machine to anything to let it down the stairs gently. Another thing to consider is how steep your stairs are. I made mine quite shallow, again for the purpose of moving heavy equipment. The other thing to remember is that when 1000lbs starts to take off on you you are not going to stop it with your body. If you do it might hurt a bit if you live to tell about it. The hardest part to move will be the column. It is the biggest piece out of the whole machine.

Give it so more thought. Also remember you might someday want to get it back out.

Hope this has helped some. If you have more question just ask.

Regards,
Bernd

 

[fdew]

Not many of us get to build a house but just in case any of you do, here are a couple of suggestions. When my house was laid out there was about 4 ft of distance between the garage floor and the first floor of the house because of the lay of the land. When my wife saw the plans she said "Why don't you put a door in there. It will be handy" We built up the foundation to about 2 in above the garage floor (In case of spills or flood) and left out the blocks from there to the sill for 5 ft (wider then 4 ft is all you need) It turned out to be about 30 in high This opening is closed off with a simple door and has been used countless times to bring heavy things in and out of the basement including a lathe and a mill.

A good friend did me one better. He put in one of those sloped steel basement doors (Bilco) http://www.bilco.com/foundations/store/shopdetail.asp?product=1BD-S-1
BUT He ran the basement floor flat under the doors and made the stairs light weight and movable. He can open the doors, move the stairs and using a tractor with a bucket, lower a mill from a trailer to a dolly on the basement floor. Roll it into place, close the doors, job done.

 

[Mo deller]

I have been on a bit of a roller coaster about the clarkson chuck. There seems to be the opinion that the cutters will not be available for much longer or will become very expensive. Having looked there appears to be a good supply still.
A couple of questions then.
Can I fit metric collets in my old chuck? I have seen for sale some Clarkson metric collets but don't know if they could be used in my chuck.

I did find that in my limited stash of cutters there is a metric one that has a homemade sleeve/collet that screws into the autolock chuck. The thread on the cutter is not used? Common sense would tell me not to take heavy cuts or be silly with it but as a way of using metric cutters in an imperial chuck is it acceptable practise or asking for trouble?

Do the cutters have to be specified Clarkson or will other makes fit?

Ok Ok I know that's three questions ;D

Mo

 

[deverett]

Mo

It's a while since anyone replied to your post - indeed I have only just opened it. A nice machine you have there.

30 Int tooling is commonly available. For a mill, the Int taper is a better bet than Morse Taper because it doesn't rely on a 'force fit' to drive it. The spindle has two ears that drive the chuck, the taper is only for location. Morse taper tooling needs a bash on the head to release it (unless you have a captive drawbar). Not too good for the bearings.

Clarkson collets can be picked up quite cheaply on eBay - both imperial and metric. Collets come in 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8" + 6mm, 10mm, 12mm and 20mm (for your size chuck). The only difference is the internal bore of the collet. All Clarkson cutters have a 20 tpi thread regardless of diameter.

The Clarkson system is the most secure way to hold a milling cutter. In use, the cutter tends to screw itself into the collet and bottoms on the centre that you will see in the base of the chuck and locks solid. Release the collet nut and the cutter can be unscrewed easily by hand.

The 'problem' with Clarkson cutters is that they are more expensive to produce and industry does't like expense! There are still plenty of screwed shank cutters going round. I wouldn't be too worried on that score. If you go to model engineering exhibitions, take your collets with you and try the cutters in them. You may find the odd (non Clarkson) cutter that does not fit, but that is a very rare occurence.

If you are at all worried and feel flush, you could always get an ER32 chuck and set of collets.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

 

[Mo deller]

Hello Dave,

Yes it has been a while,so long that I'd forgotten what I asked :big:

Thanks for taking the time to post. I am not so worried now and have looked on a few sites and as you say there is quite a bit of Clarkson stuff about.
I will make sure when I go anywhere I have the collets with me.

The mill base,column and verticle/knee slide are installed but still have the compound slides to shift.


Thanks,
Peter