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my friend owns a scrap metal yard and learned of someone who for unknown reasons is giving away an old horizontal milling machine in operating conditon with lots of cutters, for free. im going to look at it saturday and if i can move it im taking it.that said, any tips on what to look for ina  good one?thanks
Reply:Any free milling machine is a good one.....  horizontals are limited in what they can do.  The cutters and any other tooling is very important.  You can spend as much as the machine on tooling.  There is a likelihood that the motor is three phase.  You should confirm and decide how you are going to power it.  If you do not have 3 phase power then you must invest in a phase converter.
Reply:Take it.  It works better than the one you don't have.  Find out if there is a universal milling head that goes with it, if there is you will not be limited to horz milling.If you don't take it please post it's location.  Someone on the forum can probably use it.A butterfly without wings, is just an ugly bug
Reply:better you get  ,, than  the scrapers -------------           GO FOR IT     ------
Reply:thanks gents,  my thoughts exactly.. it is definitely one phase.. i spoke briefly to the guy ..saturdays comin...
Reply:Slotting, shouldering, and facing with fewer worries is what the horizontal excels at.Slotting with a vertical machine is a pita.  Want a 1/2 slot, don't use a 1/2 mill.  Use a 3/8 and make 2 passes.  There's climb side milling and conventional milling.  Slotting is difficult with a vert mill if you want absolute accuracy.  Always 2 passes.  And always conventional passes.  Cutter teeth rotating from the side of the cut upwards.On a horizontal machine, select the cutter, cut the slot, and walk away.  One pass full width slotting and shouldering.  Facing is easier too.Disadvantages....... anything involving routing, plunge cutting, inside boring, etc. is out.Vertical milling cutters go for pennies per piece on Ebay.  You may have to have them sharpened, but the cost is still way below new cutters.Get a good book, and read up on vertical machines.  The best one out there is "Machine Shop Training Course" by Franklin D. Jones.  Another excellent reference available on line is the Navy Repairman's machining course.  I haven't looked at in a while, and I probably have the name wrong, but it's excellent.You'll get into a really fascintating world.  Holding fixtures, indexing fixtures, measuring devices out the wazoo.........  But, you'll be able to make chips, and make stuff you never dreamed possible.Whatever you do, invest in a good flood coolant system.  Mist cooling sucks.  You may have to cobble together a return drainage system to get the coolant back to the tank, but it's worth it.  Enco has the cheapest system out there for flood coolant.DO NOT BUY A MIST SYSTEM REGARDLESS OF HOW CHEAP IT SEEMS TO BE.  THEY'RE CRAP UNLESS YOU DON'T MIND YOUR SHOP LOOKING LIKE SOMEONE DUMPED GREASE ON EVERYTHING IN IT.  THEY SUCKAND GO SYNTHETIC ON THE COOLANT.  THE OTHER STUFF SUCKS.  THE SUMP STARTS GROWING BACTERIA AND STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN.  AND USE DISTILLED WATER TO MIX THE COOLANT.  IT'S BACTERIA FREE, AND MINERAL FREEOh, and don't drop the damn thing on yer foot when you're movin' itLast edited by farmersamm; 07-09-2009 at 09:18 PM."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Good answer Farmersamm..now I want a milling machine .Bob.Miller Dynasty 200 DXMillermatic 211Hypertherm PM 600In Tool acquisition Mode
Reply:There's one thing better than a free horizontal mill.....a free horizontal mill with lots of cutters!!!Rex
Reply:i'm hopin this time tomorrow  to be postin pictures of it in the driveway...as we try to not drop it on our foot gettin it into the garage...
Reply:Originally Posted by weldbeadi'm hopin this time tomorrow  to be postin pictures of it in the driveway...as we try to not drop it on our foot gettin it into the garage...
Reply:shucks...the mill is massive.. way too big for me to use,would need serious help even moving it..it is quite old, and i didnt bring a camera there to get a pic.. i will get pics and post them here in case anyone is interested..it is free and th e owner does not want to see it scrapped, wants it get a good home.. i will get the pics probably friday night when i go backto get the lathe...what lathe you ask??he is selling and i am buying a 9" 36" long south bend model a lathe with wooden box after wooden box of attachments..leather belt drive..you throw a lever to engage   the belt..the original manual..$1200..wasnt looking for a lathe but what a beautiful machine it is...dont tell my wife..
Reply:i use mills and lathes every day and to have one in the shop at home is a very good thing and yes you can spend more on the tooling then the machine its self very easily i have a small very old lathe in my little shop its a like 10x36 that i love to use i just need a mill to go with it lol but 1200 for that lathe is a steal good job the boxes of tooling it probably worth more then thatMillermatic 252Miller 675 plasmaJet bandsawchampion 80 gal. air compresservictor oxy-act torch
Reply:The best thing about those belt drives is that a mistake is not as bad since the belt will slip.  Once you get into carbides, higher horsepower and gear drives there is little margin for error.
Reply:Originally Posted by weldbeadshucks...the mill is massive.. way too big for me to use,would need serious help even moving it..it is quite old, and i didnt bring a camera there to get a pic.. i will get pics and post them here in case anyone is interested..it is free and th e owner does not want to see it scrapped, wants it get a good home.. i will get the pics probably friday night when i go backto get the lathe...what lathe you ask??he is selling and i am buying a 9" 36" long south bend model a lathe with wooden box after wooden box of attachments..leather belt drive..you throw a lever to engage   the belt..the original manual..$1200..wasnt looking for a lathe but what a beautiful machine it is...dont tell my wife..
Reply:Free mill to big to move.  Mmmmm?  For that price, I'd hire a tow truck or crane.A butterfly without wings, is just an ugly bug
Reply:it would need a few 3 to 5 ton railroad jacks to get it up to where you could slip some pipe rollers(no.. better be solid bars)..under it..then a heavy chainfall to pull it  it to where a crane truck could gt it..and then after that, i  aint got near room for it..its a kick yourself situation..
Reply:So, what brand was the machine??Rex
Reply:rex ill get all that info and fotos of the mill to ppost here..he also had a three phase grinder which ill also show here in case some one here wants it.. .  i saw the mill for a few minutes and knew i couldnt really use it, then i saw the lathe and didnt looktoo much more at the mill. i remember a fairly small one phase motor, massive base and what seemed to be leather belts....
Reply:Some of the old shapers can easily weigh in excess of a ton.Pipe rollers work good to move that stuff, or a piece of plate coated with grease.I'm sorry it didn't work out.You're like me.  I'm in between 2 worlds, and have to go with the smaller lighter machines.It comes down to admitting that there's some things that have to be sent out to a job shop.  Tooling up to do those kind of jobs is way too expensive, and you'll never amortize the cost.If I can resize a piece of stock to replace a pin, or bore out something to accept what I have on hand, I'm a happy man.  Pretty simple stuff, but makes a huge difference when something breaks on a Sunday afternoon.  It's a day saver.  When dealing with a perishable crop, the day saved makes all the difference in the world.  (And yes, hay is perishable, specially when rain's coming in 2 days)Wasn't that old machine a pleasure to look at??  Amazing how the huge mass was designed to make relatively small parts.  It is all about ridgitity."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammSome of the old shapers can easily weigh in excess of a ton.Pipe rollers work good to move that stuff, or a piece of plate coated with grease.I'm sorry it didn't work out.You're like me.  I'm in between 2 worlds, and have to go with the smaller lighter machines.It comes down to admitting that there's some things that have to be sent out to a job shop.  Tooling up to do those kind of jobs is way too expensive, and you'll never amortize the cost.If I can resize a piece of stock to replace a pin, or bore out something to accept what I have on hand, I'm a happy man.  Pretty simple stuff, but makes a huge difference when something breaks on a Sunday afternoon.  It's a day saver.  When dealing with a perishable crop, the day saved makes all the difference in the world.  (And yes, hay is perishable, specially when rain's coming in 2 days)Wasn't that old machine a pleasure to look at??  Amazing how the huge mass was designed to make relatively small parts.  It is all about ridgitity.
Reply:the mill and the rotary grinder are both manufactured byBrown and  Sharpe. I am finishing a double shift at work now and going home  to sleep... and will try to post some fotos later today.the machines  are in Poughkeepsie NY .my lathe ( 1939  9 x 3 -1/2 south bend  workshop lathe)came with more attachments than I could imagine.. i spent an hour unloading my van and opening boxes..amazing stuff. some of it i have a clue as to what it is...will get some fotos posted later today..
Reply:here sre fotos of the brown and sharpe mill and rotary grinder, both available for thetaking, lots of extra heads and parts..a few more fotos next post too Attached Images
Reply:the old copper jug suspended by rope is the coolant system...any one interested in this equiipment let me know..can get more fotos and wquestions answered..i dont want this stuff to get scrapped.. Attached Images
Reply:That mill doesn't look all that large as mills go,but it's sure got lots of wheels & belts (and it's real old--which ain't a bad thing).  It would take up space in a small shop area.Hope it doesn't get turned into more Harbor Freight stuff.I have to chuckle when looking at that shop it's even more organized than mine...LOLLast edited by mudbugone; 07-16-2009 at 07:30 PM.