I have a Gorton 8 1/2D and had it for about 10 years in HSM service. it is a
very fine and capable machine and I have a great respect for it.
The spindle taper on mine is a Browne and Sharp number 9.
The collet set came with mine. However a few tool companies make tool
holders for straight shank tools with the Browne and Sharpe 9 taper so you
could still get those and have a useful machine.
Mine has a compound tilting head but I never change it from the straight
position; I think with tilting tables available you could adapt to an
equivalent situation to the tilting head machine.
Mine is a 3 phase machine so make sure you are prepared to deal with that
if you are not set up for 3 phase. I use a rotary converter. I have used a
static converter which is cheaper, but not true 3 phase and I was told
there is a risk of damaging the motor so I switched over to the rotary. I am
very grateful to have my machine and was the best $2200 I have spent I
think. It seems to be beefier than the Bridgeports of similar size. It has
power feed on the table and is a very heavy casting. weight is a little over
a ton so be prepared to deal with that.


"Jeff Williams" wrote in message
...
Hello Again,

Bad form to repy to your own post ...but....

Any idea how large a workspace would be needed for a mill of this size?
Need to think where I will have room for it.

Thanks, Jeff

Jeff Williams wrote:

Hello,

There is a Gorton mill for sale in my area. I have been
waiting/looking for a hobby mill for a while and this one is in my price
range. I have to call back on Monday to get more info as the person was
heading out and didn't know the model.

There is a picture (in the paper) and it looks like a 0-16A (compared
to http://gorton-machine.org:8080/machi...lls/index.html ) The
person I spoke to was 99% sure though that it has the Gorton taper
spindle and there is no Gorton collets with it. It was used at a custom
motorcycle shop with a special fixture designed for the spindle to shave
a few thou from engine heads a few times a month. Supposedly this is
all it has done for 80% of it's life.


The Questions:

- what are the chances of finding Gorton tamper collets? (at a
reasonable price)
- I did find the FAMCO WWW site and they still have a catalog of
parts and collets but I'm sure they will be pricey
- is the Gorton taper well defined somewhere and could an adapter to
another taper be created?
- the mill seems to have the vertical only head. How limiting is it not
having a tilting head?

I did a search of the WWW and newsgroups and good things are said about
the Gorton mills though I am mainly worried about the Gorton taper in
the head.

There is actually a second Gorton mill for sale in the newest Buy & Sell
in the area and describes a 0-16A (no picture), maybe it has collets etc
(havn't called yet)


Comments Welcome, Thanks, Jeff