mill/drill woes

[Sunset Machine]

That's a sickening story, must've been built by the same inept bunch as mine was. How about bolting or welding a thick plate over both sides of the crack? I saw one head that was laying on its table sideways and being used as a power head for a boring bar. The bar itself was mounted on a Cat bucket, a long u-jointed drive shaft connected it to the "power head" sitting near the bucket. The table moved the head and provided feed.