05-26-2015, 06:57 AM
Wow! That's an incredibly nice milling machine. It's far too heavy for an engine crane, don't even think about it. Even the bigger individual pieces are too much for it.
The swiveling table is indispensable for making helical cut gears, but also useful for anytime you might need to mill a long taper. Those machines have gobs of torque at the spindle, though rarely enough speed to run carbide insert tooling at it's full potential. Small diameter end mills are also a problem, use primarily HSS tools that have the higher transverse rupture strength. The swiveling head excludes getting a quill, so for holes you can spot them then move to a drill press.
With the universal machine like that you can machine virtually anything short of full 3 axis mould work. Having power feeds and rapids on all axis is a Godsend because of the weight involved in cranking the (usually) non counterbalanced lift. It's definitely worth restoration. Keep your eyes open for a geared driven dividing head, that would enable making spiral cut bevel skew gears and most any other type.
The swiveling table is indispensable for making helical cut gears, but also useful for anytime you might need to mill a long taper. Those machines have gobs of torque at the spindle, though rarely enough speed to run carbide insert tooling at it's full potential. Small diameter end mills are also a problem, use primarily HSS tools that have the higher transverse rupture strength. The swiveling head excludes getting a quill, so for holes you can spot them then move to a drill press.
With the universal machine like that you can machine virtually anything short of full 3 axis mould work. Having power feeds and rapids on all axis is a Godsend because of the weight involved in cranking the (usually) non counterbalanced lift. It's definitely worth restoration. Keep your eyes open for a geared driven dividing head, that would enable making spiral cut bevel skew gears and most any other type.