Steel Guitar Builder

Hey Bent,...now i'll know where to get my endplates made , i'm happy for you Bent...this is gonna be a great tool for all kind of milling parts.

Pat, you betcha! Hey maybe i can use your endplates as an experiment..the very first attempt
No, seriously, when(if) I learn stuff, I'll gladly take on jobs. Of course my friends here get a special discount

I think this is what becomes of helping people from my vantage point you deserve it. Enjoy your new toy Bent.

Ok. I've been trying to keep it to myself till everything was up and running but who can hold on to a goody like this?

Last Friday I got my milling machine. I told you in the first post that it was to be a C-frame mill. My friend decided that this was not the mill best suited for my purposes; the electrics were wrong, it was more of a "hog-out" machine for rougher work. So he decides to give me a conventional one like the knee type vertical mill. He had slated this mill for his home workshop but decided instead that I should have it.

It is a good solid piece of iron, 3200 lbs heavy. The thing is 43 years old believe it or not. Someone along the line took good care of this machine.
It has a 3 hp motor for the spindle; a 1/2hp for the power feed and a small motor for the coolant pump. It is 575V 3 phase.
Of course I only have the conventional household current of 240V 1 ph
This did not deter my friend at all. Since he is also an electrical engineer, he promptly made me a rotary phase converter
He also found a brand new step-up transformer from down in Georgia. It should arrive here in any day now. It is brand new and since he is in the process of working a deal with the guy in Georgia for making some parts, the prediction is that I might get this unit for a good price. More on that later.

So..last friday he sent two of his employees with two trucks and trailers plus a bobcat loader...picked up the mill and set it right in the spot where I wanted it. They leveled it up.

When the transformer arrives, my Samaritan will come here and spend a Saturday hooking it up and showing me a few ins and outs. Plus, he has promised me a bunch of used tooling that he figures I need.

Now how can you beat that? There really are some very good people left in this world!

I will of course keep you posted with demo pics etc once I get it up and running.

Wow ...that is a huge machine , is it a 3 axes, up ,down and side ways?.

i'm glad for you Bent

don't forget me when i'll be in need of milling parts

Pat C.

Very nice Bent, looking forward to seeing some nice work from you , get that imagination going and keep it going with that creative mind of yours , they ll be no stopping you from achiving higher things. Russ

Pat, it's up, down, left, right, in and out. Plus it swings to both sides on the column, plus it pivots the head 90 degrees.
I forgot to mention it is a TOS, made in the Czech Republic, 1967. I emailed them one night to see if I could buy an owners manual. The next morning I had an email with the manual attached. That's kinda nice service.
Can't wait to see how difficult it is to hog out those end plates!

Russ, thanks so much for the nice words

Nice mill! Cute grandchildren too... I see you snagged a picture of them behind "red" eh

congrats on the mill Bent, she's a beauty...having it just given to you is pretty special, but the real treat was having someone move it for you. I'm moved lots of these suckers in my time and have actually come to enjoy the challenge of doing so without forklifts, loaders and the like...but having it just delivered and set in place by someone else...wow, I'd love to experience that someday!

Russ, yes it was neat to watch. He had made a special lifting rig for the bobcat in order to get the machine close enough to the the body. Still it was all the bobcat could handle(3200lbs) It was a straight run from the end of my driveway to the back of the shop where the mill now sits. All I did was stand back and watch the performance.

Additionally...I emailed TOS, the maker, in Czech Republic to see if I could buy an owners manual for this 1967 model. The very next morning I had an email from them with a PDF of the manual attached. Great service I must say!