Couple of things: The "loss of center" when moving the head vertically, is
one of the major drawbacks of a mill-drill. Reasonable location can be
re-established via good layout lines and/or an edge finder from reference
edge(s). Get a Blake, or clone, co-axial indicator for accurate re-location
of critical holes, or location from a datum hole if you want to use one.
With a little practice you will forget about the loss of center problem. A
lot of it can be overcome by carefully predicting maximum tool height
required for all tools used (vertical clearance) for any specific job.

Don't bother changing out the motor to 3-phase and getting a VFD. IMO, it's
not worth the expense. Moving belts on pulleys isn't that big a chore;
besides it gives you good experience in estimating speeds and feeds for
various materials. Save your money for R-8 tooling for the mill-drill and
the "Bridgie-clone" in your future.

FWIW, I have both. Usu. the old mill-drill is relegated to drill press work
but occasionally I use it for more critical stuff. Recently, I made a pair
of steam engine eccentric straps on the mill-drill. I sort of did it as an
exercise to see if I "still had it" on the mill-drill. It worked out OK
with some belt changes and co-axial centering required but overall it was a
bit clunky compared to my Bridgie. That's because I am more used to the big
mill with all its conveniences. The mill-drill still has a place in my
shop. You have some great experiences coming up with your mill-drill.
Consider it as affording you some apprentice training before you get a
full-featured mill. Take your time; concentrate on accurate layouts; take
pleasure in the fact you have a real milling machine at a very reasonable
price.

Bob Swinney
"DE" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 07 Oct 2005 07:21:21 GMT, Bill Schwab
wrote:


An edge/center finder is on its way. For most things, layout lines will
probably be more than sufficient. Otherwise, I am thinking of
drilling a reference hole for "when" I get lost, and then working
relative to it.

Reading suggestions are welcome.

Bill

Congrats on the new tool

I have a RF45 clone and I disassemble it completly and cleaned it
after uncrateing it.

Got *lots* of grit n grime out of the nooks n crannies that the
factory includes--- at no extra charge.

. In regards to losing the register some have suggested using a small
inexpensive laser mounted on the head to relocate after moving the
head. Not sure if its accurate enough..

The only modification I plan on is to replace the 1ph motor with a
3ph and a VFD for better speed selection.
I chose a power feed over a dro for a option but will add a dro
later.

The tooling requirements seem to be nearly endless.
I have an equal amount of $ in tooling as I spent on the basic
machine. BTW I really enjoy mine and it does very nice work.
If I upgrade to a bigger mill it will be a horizontal..

There is a yahoo milldrill group
that might be a source of info..

DE

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