I have a chance to pick up a Nicholas 5H hand mill for $300. It seems to be
in good condition, under 30 years of gunk. It has a pumantic (sp) feed, and
a HUGE 3/4 motor. Does that seem like a reasonable price. I can't fit a full
size mill in my shed, so this looks like the ticket.
Any comments, Ideas, ect.

Thank You
gary

In article ,
Gary Owens wrote:
I have a chance to pick up a Nicholas 5H hand mill for $300.

Do you mean a "Nichols" mill? You've used two different
spellings, neither of which match what I know about.

If so, you can visit my web page and pick up a copy of the
manual which covers all of the machines which they made. (The page also
documents some things which I went through with my really antique
version to bring it up to a bit closer to modern.):

http://www2.d-and-d.com/NICHOLS-mill/index.html

Note that the manual has been scanned from a paper copy, and is in PDF
format. The first page (the cover) was scanned in grayscale, while all
of the others are scanned in pure B&W, so that first page is really
*slow* to display. I would suggest printing the whole thing, if you
have a laser printer ready to hand.

It seems to be
in good condition, under 30 years of gunk. It has a pumantic (sp) feed, and

Hmm ... that pneumatic feed will be a pain for detail work. The
ones fitted with that don't normally have either the lever feed or the
leadscrew. (Mine has both as options.) The pneumatic feed is great for
production work -- when you have a lot of the same thing to make.

a HUGE 3/4 motor.

That motor also includes a gearbox so the output speed is a lot
lower than you would otherwise have. Note that it requires three phase
power. Do you have that? If not, you can use either a home-built
rotary converter, or even nicer, a VFD. (I'm using a VFD to drive
mine.)

Does that seem like a reasonable price.

The price seems quite reasonable to me. It would be nicer for
home shop use if it had leadscrews or levers for the X axis, but you can
probably work out how to use it as is for most things. You'll want
an air compressor as well, to work the feed.

Mine cost only $200.00 on eBay -- but the shipping cost was
greater than the cost of the machine.

I can't fit a full
size mill in my shed, so this looks like the ticket.

It is a very solid horizontal spindle machine. Mine was around
1100 pounds. The pneumatic feed may add a bit more weight. Be *very*
careful when moving it. And if it starts to topple, *let* it. $300.00
is cheap compared to a stay in the hospital, or a loss of life.

There is a vertical head available for it (also documented in my
web site), and you should be able to fit it more easily than I did, as
my machine was from before the vertical head was a part of the game.

Any comments, Ideas, ect.

If it is truly a Nichols mill, it will be a good mill. You
would be amazed at how much metal a horizontal spindle machine can move
with a slab milling cutter.

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

Love mine, the 40 taper is a good strong point, I am able to run bigger and
mills than with my vertical mill
"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Gary Owens wrote:
I have a chance to pick up a Nicholas 5H hand mill for $300.

Do you mean a "Nichols" mill? You've used two different
spellings, neither of which match what I know about.

If so, you can visit my web page and pick up a copy of the
manual which covers all of the machines which they made. (The page also
documents some things which I went through with my really antique
version to bring it up to a bit closer to modern.):

http://www2.d-and-d.com/NICHOLS-mill/index.html

Note that the manual has been scanned from a paper copy, and is in PDF
format. The first page (the cover) was scanned in grayscale, while all
of the others are scanned in pure B&W, so that first page is really
*slow* to display. I would suggest printing the whole thing, if you
have a laser printer ready to hand.

It seems to
be
in good condition, under 30 years of gunk. It has a pumantic (sp) feed,
and

Hmm ... that pneumatic feed will be a pain for detail work. The
ones fitted with that don't normally have either the lever feed or the
leadscrew. (Mine has both as options.) The pneumatic feed is great for
production work -- when you have a lot of the same thing to make.

a HUGE 3/4 motor.

That motor also includes a gearbox so the output speed is a lot
lower than you would otherwise have. Note that it requires three phase
power. Do you have that? If not, you can use either a home-built
rotary converter, or even nicer, a VFD. (I'm using a VFD to drive
mine.)

Does that seem like a reasonable price.

The price seems quite reasonable to me. It would be nicer for
home shop use if it had leadscrews or levers for the X axis, but you can
probably work out how to use it as is for most things. You'll want
an air compressor as well, to work the feed.

Mine cost only $200.00 on eBay -- but the shipping cost was
greater than the cost of the machine.

I can't fit a
full
size mill in my shed, so this looks like the ticket.

It is a very solid horizontal spindle machine. Mine was around
1100 pounds. The pneumatic feed may add a bit more weight. Be *very*
careful when moving it. And if it starts to topple, *let* it. $300.00
is cheap compared to a stay in the hospital, or a loss of life.

There is a vertical head available for it (also documented in my
web site), and you should be able to fit it more easily than I did, as
my machine was from before the vertical head was a part of the game.

Any comments, Ideas, ect.

If it is truly a Nichols mill, it will be a good mill. You
would be amazed at how much metal a horizontal spindle machine can move
with a slab milling cutter.

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

DoN;
Thank You for the response. Yes spelling is not my strong point. I went
to your site, and it was a help answering a lot of the questions I have, but
I didn't find the manual. Now I understand why I was told that the speed
was changed by changing the pulleys around.
I've got 220 1ph in my shop, (that was a spring project, to run the air
cond), but I'm not sure if I want to go with a VFD or put on a DC motor, as
3/4 hp is small enough to make it affordable.
I can see this is going to be a summer long project, but the size and cost
of the unit make it something that will be acceptable to me and also
acceptable to my wife.
gary
http://www.westcanalcrafts.com/


"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Gary Owens wrote:
I have a chance to pick up a Nicholas 5H hand mill for $300.

Do you mean a "Nichols" mill? You've used two different
spellings, neither of which match what I know about.

If so, you can visit my web page and pick up a copy of the
manual which covers all of the machines which they made. (The page also
documents some things which I went through with my really antique
version to bring it up to a bit closer to modern.):

http://www2.d-and-d.com/NICHOLS-mill/index.html

Note that the manual has been scanned from a paper copy, and is in PDF
format. The first page (the cover) was scanned in grayscale, while all
of the others are scanned in pure B&W, so that first page is really
*slow* to display. I would suggest printing the whole thing, if you
have a laser printer ready to hand.

It seems to
be
in good condition, under 30 years of gunk. It has a pumantic (sp) feed,
and

Hmm ... that pneumatic feed will be a pain for detail work. The
ones fitted with that don't normally have either the lever feed or the
leadscrew. (Mine has both as options.) The pneumatic feed is great for
production work -- when you have a lot of the same thing to make.

a HUGE 3/4 motor.

That motor also includes a gearbox so the output speed is a lot
lower than you would otherwise have. Note that it requires three phase
power. Do you have that? If not, you can use either a home-built
rotary converter, or even nicer, a VFD. (I'm using a VFD to drive
mine.)

Does that seem like a reasonable price.

The price seems quite reasonable to me. It would be nicer for
home shop use if it had leadscrews or levers for the X axis, but you can
probably work out how to use it as is for most things. You'll want
an air compressor as well, to work the feed.

Mine cost only $200.00 on eBay -- but the shipping cost was
greater than the cost of the machine.

I can't fit a
full
size mill in my shed, so this looks like the ticket.

It is a very solid horizontal spindle machine. Mine was around
1100 pounds. The pneumatic feed may add a bit more weight. Be *very*
careful when moving it. And if it starts to topple, *let* it. $300.00
is cheap compared to a stay in the hospital, or a loss of life.

There is a vertical head available for it (also documented in my
web site), and you should be able to fit it more easily than I did, as
my machine was from before the vertical head was a part of the game.

Any comments, Ideas, ect.

If it is truly a Nichols mill, it will be a good mill. You
would be amazed at how much metal a horizontal spindle machine can move
with a slab milling cutter.

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

In article ,
Gary Owens wrote:
DoN;
Thank You for the response. Yes spelling is not my strong point. I went
to your site, and it was a help answering a lot of the questions I have, but
I didn't find the manual.

Sorry -- it was in a subdirectory, but there was no link to it
from the main page.

It should now be visible -- as the last link on the page. But
you may have to hit "reload" if your browser still has the main page cached.

Now I understand why I was told that the speed
was changed by changing the pulleys around.

So -- yours is an older one, too.

I've got 220 1ph in my shop, (that was a spring project, to run the air
cond), but I'm not sure if I want to go with a VFD or put on a DC motor, as
3/4 hp is small enough to make it affordable.

No -- you *don't* want to put on a DC motor, because the speed
will be *way* too fast. That motor has a large gear reduction inside.
The output speed will probably be something like 350 RPM, and most DC
motors of reasonable horsepower won't have the right gearing. And -- it
depends on the size of the motor, with a particular offset of the shaft
from center, so you tighten or loosen the belt by loosening a clamp
under the motor and twisting the motor one way or the other (to change
belt speeds).

A VFD is nice, but a rotary converter can cost very little, as
long as you find a used motor for cheap to use as the idler. (Typically,
the capacitors for starting and tuning will cost more than the used
motor.) I think that a 1-1/2 HP motor will make an excellent idler for
this machine. You can even get one with the output shaft chewed up,
since you don't need the shaft at all. (Some people saw them off, some
build a safety housing around them.)

I can see this is going to be a summer long project, but the size and cost
of the unit make it something that will be acceptable to me and also
acceptable to my wife.

That helps.

I'll leave the URL quoted, just in case you've already deleted
the original.

http://www2.d-and-d.com/NICHOLS-mill/index.html

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On 3 Jul 2005 17:58:12 -0400, (DoN. Nichols)
wrote:

In article ,
Gary Owens wrote:
DoN;
Thank You for the response. Yes spelling is not my strong point. I went
to your site, and it was a help answering a lot of the questions I have, but
I didn't find the manual.

Sorry -- it was in a subdirectory, but there was no link to it
from the main page.

It should now be visible -- as the last link on the page. But
you may have to hit "reload" if your browser still has the main page cached.

Now I understand why I was told that the speed
was changed by changing the pulleys around.

So -- yours is an older one, too.

I've got 220 1ph in my shop, (that was a spring project, to run the air
cond), but I'm not sure if I want to go with a VFD or put on a DC motor, as
3/4 hp is small enough to make it affordable.

No -- you *don't* want to put on a DC motor, because the speed
will be *way* too fast. That motor has a large gear reduction inside.
The output speed will probably be something like 350 RPM, and most DC
motors of reasonable horsepower won't have the right gearing. And -- it
depends on the size of the motor, with a particular offset of the shaft
from center, so you tighten or loosen the belt by loosening a clamp
under the motor and twisting the motor one way or the other (to change
belt speeds).

A VFD is nice, but a rotary converter can cost very little, as
long as you find a used motor for cheap to use as the idler. (Typically,
the capacitors for starting and tuning will cost more than the used
motor.) I think that a 1-1/2 HP motor will make an excellent idler for
this machine. You can even get one with the output shaft chewed up,
since you don't need the shaft at all. (Some people saw them off, some
build a safety housing around them.)

I can see this is going to be a summer long project, but the size and cost
of the unit make it something that will be acceptable to me and also
acceptable to my wife.

That helps.

I'll leave the URL quoted, just in case you've already deleted
the original.

http://www2.d-and-d.com/NICHOLS-mill/index.html

Enjoy,
DoN.

Btw, I have a VERY nice Nicholes miller for sale.

So. Cal.

Gunner

"Considering the events of recent years,
the world has a long way to go to regain
its credibility and reputation with the US."
unknown

You got all kinds of good stuff, but I'm in central Florida, and the
shipping would be a hell of a lot more that the price of the mill. The
shipping on this one is a tank of gas for my kids P/U and some pushing and
shoving. That said, if you have a vertical head or something like that we
need to talk.
gary



"Gunner" wrote in message
...
On 3 Jul 2005 17:58:12 -0400, (DoN. Nichols)
wrote:

In article ,
Gary Owens wrote:
DoN;
Thank You for the response. Yes spelling is not my strong point. I
went
to your site, and it was a help answering a lot of the questions I have,
but
I didn't find the manual.

Sorry -- it was in a subdirectory, but there was no link to it
from the main page.

It should now be visible -- as the last link on the page. But
you may have to hit "reload" if your browser still has the main page
cached.

Now I understand why I was told that the speed
was changed by changing the pulleys around.

So -- yours is an older one, too.

I've got 220 1ph in my shop, (that was a spring project, to run the air
cond), but I'm not sure if I want to go with a VFD or put on a DC motor,
as
3/4 hp is small enough to make it affordable.

No -- you *don't* want to put on a DC motor, because the speed
will be *way* too fast. That motor has a large gear reduction inside.
The output speed will probably be something like 350 RPM, and most DC
motors of reasonable horsepower won't have the right gearing. And -- it
depends on the size of the motor, with a particular offset of the shaft
from center, so you tighten or loosen the belt by loosening a clamp
under the motor and twisting the motor one way or the other (to change
belt speeds).

A VFD is nice, but a rotary converter can cost very little, as
long as you find a used motor for cheap to use as the idler. (Typically,
the capacitors for starting and tuning will cost more than the used
motor.) I think that a 1-1/2 HP motor will make an excellent idler for
this machine. You can even get one with the output shaft chewed up,
since you don't need the shaft at all. (Some people saw them off, some
build a safety housing around them.)

I can see this is going to be a summer long project, but the size and
cost
of the unit make it something that will be acceptable to me and also
acceptable to my wife.

That helps.

I'll leave the URL quoted, just in case you've already deleted
the original.

http://www2.d-and-d.com/NICHOLS-mill/index.html

Enjoy,
DoN.

Btw, I have a VERY nice Nicholes miller for sale.

So. Cal.

Gunner

"Considering the events of recent years,
the world has a long way to go to regain
its credibility and reputation with the US."
unknown

DoN. Nichols wrote:

(snip good stuff)

A VFD is nice, but a rotary converter can cost very little, as
long as you find a used motor for cheap to use as the idler. (Typically,
the capacitors for starting and tuning will cost more than the used
motor.) I think that a 1-1/2 HP motor will make an excellent idler for
this machine. You can even get one with the output shaft chewed up,
since you don't need the shaft at all. (Some people saw them off, some
build a safety housing around them.)

Cheapest phase convertor I ever built was to bolt the baseplate of the
three-phase motor to the baseplate of a washing machine motor and wrap a
belt around the pulleys (same size pulleys, 3600 rpm motors). Started it
with the single phase motor, turned the convertor on when it was up to
speed then cut off the little motor. Just let it lay on the floor in the
corner.

It was about all the washing machine motor could get started but it
managed it. Worked ok, now that I think of it I don't know why I didn't
do that with my last one..

John

Nice informative post, Thanks Don.

"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

Do you mean a "Nichols" mill? You've used two different
spellings, neither of which match what I know about.

If so, you can visit my web page and pick up a copy of the
manual which covers all of the machines which they made. (The page also
documents some things which I went through with my really antique
version to bring it up to a bit closer to modern.):

http://www2.d-and-d.com/NICHOLS-mill/index.html

"Gary Owens" wrote in message
...
I have a chance to pick up a Nicholas 5H hand mill for $300. It seems to be
in good condition, under 30 years of gunk. It has a pumantic (sp) feed, and
a HUGE 3/4 motor. Does that seem like a reasonable price. I can't fit a
full size mill in my shed, so this looks like the ticket.
Any comments, Ideas, ect.

Thank You
gary

Don't know what the market in Florida is. They don't usually bring more than
$200 in NY, and that's when they're in pretty clean shape. Does it have a
functioning arbor? If not you will have to buy one with the right pilot end
which turned into a PITA project for me. Later I picked up a better Nichols
mill at an auction for less than I spent on an arbor for the first machine.
I would make sure that everything's there and is functional before you
purchase it. 3/4 HP may be an older model, one of mine is a 1HP and the
other is a 1-1/2 HP. There is also a high speed spindle option with special
bearings on some models. Don Nichols is the expert here, a Google search on
his posts will yield quite a bit of info.

By the way, anyone here have a recommendation on what kind of oil to
put in the gearbox? A fair amount leaked out of my Nichols during the
dicey move from work to my basement...

Thanks,
-Holly

In article .com,
wrote:
By the way, anyone here have a recommendation on what kind of oil to
put in the gearbox? A fair amount leaked out of my Nichols during the
dicey move from work to my basement...

The motor gearbox? It normally does not leak unless something
is wrong. However, there is oil in the pneumatics/hydraulics for the
table motion, and that might be where the oil came from.

Did you go back to my web page and download the manual after I
fixed the URL? If so, go to page 13, where there is information on how
to check the level and fill the motor (it needs to be set level before
you start), and a reproduction of the tag saying what to fill it with
which *should* be on the motor. (The suggestion is 40 SAE motor oil --
with no mention of detergent or non-detergent, which to me suggests that
it should be non-detergent.)

They also suggest 20 SAE motor oil for temperatures between 10 F
and 40 F. (The 40 SAE is for temperatures from 60 F to 110 F, so I
don't know what for temperatures between 40 F and 60 F. :-)

Good Luck,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---