Gary Wolf wrote:

Group,
   I used to own one of the 2hp mill/drill machines and gave up on it. The
headstock was mismachined so that it was not vertical. This showed up when
flycutting but was only a small problem for drilling and endmilling.
   The operational problem is that if you centredrill a hole and want to fit
a larger drill to the chuck, it is frequently necessary to raise the head.
Since it is on a round column, the location of the hole is lost.
   I used it as a handy drill press but threw in the towel when the
headstock casting cracked around a hole. The replacement casting was more
than the machine cost. I cleaned and brazed the cracks (there was a
spiderweb of cracks) with silicon bronze and sold it for less than half of
the purchase price. When brazing, I discovered that there was not much iron
in the casting - mostly floor sweepings and carbon.
   I would be hesitant to invest much in converting one of these to be used
as a CNC mill. It would be much better to find a Bridgeport that had
worn-out lead screws, put in ball screws, and power it with steppers.
   For an overview of basic CNC, try  http://www.shopbottools.com

                                                Gary Wolf

 
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