> Can you use a horizontal milling machine as a surface grinder?
At least it has been done. Don't expect that accuracy.
And you need more RPM that old mills often don't have.
Nick
>Can you use a horizontal milling machine as a surface grinder?
Dunno!
>Anyone got a BCA milling machine? Any good? What collets does it use?
They aren't milling machines, they are small jig borers. Could be used for
_very_ light milling, but think in terms of clock making rather than traction
engines. I've got one that I inherited from my father. It needs working on to
make it usable (I don't know if it was a wartime expedient or a lash-up, but
the feed screws currently appear to be 7/16BSW...14tpi!!). It will be sorted
once the Hardinge HLV, Beaver mill and J&S 1400 grinder have been done, so not
for a year or so...
The collets are Lorch "long series" that are about as common as rocking horse
sh1t, since about the only things that seem to use them are BCA's, and
Boley-Leinen jig borers
>Thanks
De nada :-)
Mark Rand
RTFM
ravensworth2674 - 30 Apr 2007 17:36 GMT
Peter,
Obviously, the speed of traversing the table of a vertical
miller is critical to success.
What you may have missed is that the late Philip Amos writing in MEW
used a Quorn Spindle etc in a vertical miller so there is no reason
why a DE grinder or a Quorn assembly cannot be fitted to a vertical
one.
Taking one step back and using a bit of lateral thinking, any moving
table could be used on a surface grinder for a milling machine-
horizontal or vertical.
Moving a lathe 90 degrees gives a milling machine!
As an aside, I have already got an E-mail from a bloke already to
suggest that he is going along my suggested lines!
Norm
Nick Mueller - 30 Apr 2007 18:40 GMT
> Taking one step back and using a bit of lateral thinking, any moving
> table could be used on a surface grinder for a milling machine-
> horizontal or vertical.
Isn't grinding in the shaper even more lateral? ;-)
<http://www.schmidt.ath.cx/mechanik/schleif2.shtml>
Scroll down to the last two photos.
And click here <http://www.schmidt.ath.cx/mechanik/schleifen.mpg> for a MPG
Nick
Tom - 30 Apr 2007 19:41 GMT
>>Taking one step back and using a bit of lateral thinking, any moving
>>table could be used on a surface grinder for a milling machine-
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Nick
One could say that, but such practice has been around for over 100
years, as Gould & Eberhardt were offering grinding attachments for
their shapers, in 1905.
Tom

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Mark Rand - 30 Apr 2007 19:47 GMT
>> Taking one step back and using a bit of lateral thinking, any moving
>> table could be used on a surface grinder for a milling machine-
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
>Nick
I have used an angle grinder in the toolpost of a shaper to machine a drill
table that I had repaired with MIG welding. The welds, of course, had
significant amounts of iron carbide and were hard enough to smear HSS tools
and crush carbide ones. The resulting finish was very good, but there was some
damage to the shaper caused by grit getting onto the sliding surfaces of the
head. I would not do it again without making a bellows to completely protect
the head. Possibly motor cycle front fork bellows could be cut and modified to
do the job if better ones could not be obtained elsewhere.
Mark Rand
RTFM
ravensworth2674 - 30 Apr 2007 20:18 GMT
Mark,
Forgive me but I had seen that one coming!
Grit is the menace to machine tools however configured.
I was working in the classic basis that a flat table top of a miller
would be reasonable protection from falling grit if it was modified
for grinding.
However, there are lot of Quorn users( another tangent) who would love
to find something as simple as motor bike bellows which would go over
1" round bed bars.
I would personally recommend you for MBE( sorry, JohnS. has this) but
an OBE- Order of Bike Engineers.
Norm
Alan Bain - 30 Apr 2007 20:46 GMT
[snip]
>>Anyone got a BCA milling machine? Any good? What collets does it use?
>
>The collets are Lorch "long series" that are about as common as rocking horse
>sh1t, since about the only things that seem to use them are BCA's, and
>Boley-Leinen jig borers
Are these 12.5mm od with a 1mm pitch thread of a strange dia (11.5mm
IIRC)? In which case they are also used by my very ancient Lorch-Schmidt
lathe, not that this helps as I've found finding spares for the "holes"
in my set impossible!
Alan Bain
Peter Fairbrother - 30 Apr 2007 21:38 GMT
> [snip]
>>>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> lathe, not that this helps as I've found finding spares for the "holes"
> in my set impossible!
I don't know if that's the right collet - Mark? Anyone?
However if it is the same collet, I am told that Tenga supply the collets
needed for BCA's, if that's any help. Probably need a new mortgage though...
(and no, it's not a Japanese sex-toy)

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Peter Fairbrother
John Stevenson - 30 Apr 2007 21:57 GMT
>> [snip]
>>>>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
>(and no, it's not a Japanese sex-toy)
For what it's worth the following is an advert that has appeared on the Homeworkshop ads
site in the past.
May be worth following up ??
************
Posted on 2nd January
For Sale
Tools
Best Wishes for the new year to all. I am thinking of having another small batch of BCA
blank collets made. If you are interested please contact me. It is possible that a batch
of BCA collets may be made with a boring attachment fitted. Just a thought, and to be
pedantic (pedantry in its right place is very important) I am a trader in the BCA sense of
having some collets made and selling the surplus to other like minded and consenting
adults to be used in the privacy of their own workshops in a non judgmental and all
encompassing way, not of course forgetting all those who do not share knowledge and
pleasure of the Craft. Best Wishes Mike
Mike Flannery
mjpflannery [at] hotmail.com
01903 883974
Sussex
GB
.
--
Regards,
John Stevenson
Nottingham, England.
Visit the new Model Engineering adverts page at:-
http://www.homeworkshop.org.uk/
Mark Rand - 30 Apr 2007 22:26 GMT
>For what it's worth the following is an advert that has appeared on the Homeworkshop ads
>site in the past.
>May be worth following up ??
<snip Mike's ad>
I bought three of Mikes first batch (think blank arbour rather than collet).
They were reasonably made and priced, although slight deburring was needed of
the keyways. By the time I finally get the BCA fully functional, I expect that
making other new collets won't be a problem.
Mark Rand
RTFM
Peter Fairbrother - 30 Apr 2007 22:36 GMT
>> For what it's worth the following is an advert that has appeared on the
>> Homeworkshop ads
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> the keyways. By the time I finally get the BCA fully functional, I expect that
> making other new collets won't be a problem.
Mark,
Could you please measure a BCA collet and post the OD and length? I have
been told that they are 10 mm dia, not 12.5, but I don't know whether the
chap is right.
Thanks

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Peter Fairbrother
Mark Rand - 01 May 2007 00:08 GMT
>>> For what it's worth the following is an advert that has appeared on the
>>> Homeworkshop ads
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
>Thanks
Trots out to shed... to get random (3/32") collet and digital verynear.
Trots back to shed to get micrometer, because he doesn't trust the verynear.
.4325"==11mm-ish dia
with a 9mm x 1mm thread
I had been told 7/16, which would be .4375" or 11.1125mm
length from end to end of taper=73.5mm
length of thread=14mm
length of parallel part of shank=51mm approx
max dia approx 15.9mm
Regards
Mark Rand
RTFM
Peter Fairbrother - 01 May 2007 00:46 GMT
>>>> For what it's worth the following is an advert that has appeared on the
>>>> Homeworkshop ads
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
> Mark Rand
> RTFM
many thanks!

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Peter Fairbrother