on 7/28/2010, DoN. Nichols supposed :
On 2010-07-28, Karl Townsend wrote:

[ ... ]

If Iggy or someone else in Chi doesnt snag that mill..they are ****ing
daft.

I must be missing something. Not a versatile machine for an HSM, industry
don't want an old unit like this. I don't see much value here.

Industry wants CNC for productivity. A HSM does not need
productivity -- and it is *very* versatile.

The spindle changes from vertical to horizontal (with the
proper supports for the outboard end of the arbor) or any angle in
between. There are things which are a lot easier to do on a horizontal
spindle machine. This is the same feature which makes Gunner's Abene so
attractive.

And this is a *universal* mill -- which means that the X-axis
can be set at an angle other than 90 degrees. This, in combination with
the horizontal mill setup can be used for milling spiral flutes when
making special tools.

If it were local, and I had room for it, I would grab it and
retire my Nichols horizontal mill -- in spite of the matching name. :-)

I can see a
use for some special odd jobs but most, like myself, just can't have all the
these special use units filling up limited shop space. For example, I've
often pined for a pantograph but can't justify the space it would take. I
came to the same conclusion with a horizontal mill and a shaper, just to
mention a few nice to have machines.

Well ... I have a small shaper -- and the nichols horizontal
spindle machine. This machine would take the place of both a horizontal
spindle machine and a vertical spindle machine, so justifying the space
might be easier than you think. (Of course -- it is *not* CNC, and
converting it to CNC would be a major task -- especially adding extra
axes for the tilting head and such.)

Enjoy,
DoN.

Well if I already didn't have a mill, I'd consider getting it.
Absolutely no room to put it. And I can't think of anything that I'd do
that I can't do with what I have.

Wayne D.