Well, I got the mill back together, and am now learning to make chips.
Yesterday I learned about "Climb milling".
As I never finished my apprentice program 40 years ago, I have never used a
horizontal mill. I remember reading about it, but it was never a big deal
when I used Vertical mills, just chatter and bad finish. But using the
Nichols with a rack feed, It is a very big deal, the table took off, the
lever arm came up and whacked me in the elbow, and the machine made all
kinds of noises. That was a learning experience, not to be repeated.
I think my first project will be to make some "gibs" as 2 of the 4 gibs are
broken. 1 had been braised but never ground flat, so that one took a lot of
filing to make it work smooth. Any idea what they are made out of, its not
brass, more like cast.
Thank You to everyone who gave me suggestions during the rebuild.

gary
www.westcanalcrafts.com

Gary,

A lot of older machines had cast iron gibs that were hand scraped.

I don't see any reason why they couldn't be made out of auminum bronze or
similar. Theyl still have to be "scraped in" or the table could wobble or
sieze. Cut them to the approximate thickness and angle. Then use prussian
blue to find the high spots. Scrape away said high spots until even contact
is achieved. Scraping tools are basically a flat piece of tool steel (or
carbide) with a radiused end. It'l take some practice

You should be able to find some references on the net

Mark


"Gary Owens" wrote in message
. ..
Well, I got the mill back together, and am now learning to make chips.
Yesterday I learned about "Climb milling".
As I never finished my apprentice program 40 years ago, I have never used
a
horizontal mill. I remember reading about it, but it was never a big deal
when I used Vertical mills, just chatter and bad finish. But using the
Nichols with a rack feed, It is a very big deal, the table took off, the
lever arm came up and whacked me in the elbow, and the machine made all
kinds of noises. That was a learning experience, not to be repeated.
I think my first project will be to make some "gibs" as 2 of the 4 gibs
are
broken. 1 had been braised but never ground flat, so that one took a lot
of
filing to make it work smooth. Any idea what they are made out of, its not
brass, more like cast.
Thank You to everyone who gave me suggestions during the rebuild.

gary
www.westcanalcrafts.com

"Mark Mossberg" wrote in message
. ..
Gary,

A lot of older machines had cast iron gibs that were hand scraped.

I don't see any reason why they couldn't be made out of auminum bronze or
similar. Theyl still have to be "scraped in" or the table could wobble or
sieze. Cut them to the approximate thickness and angle. Then use prussian
blue to find the high spots. Scrape away said high spots until even
contact
is achieved. Scraping tools are basically a flat piece of tool steel (or
carbide) with a radiused end. It'l take some practice

You should be able to find some references on the net

Mark


"Gary Owens" wrote in message
. ..
Well, I got the mill back together, and am now learning to make chips.
Yesterday I learned about "Climb milling".
As I never finished my apprentice program 40 years ago, I have never
used
a
horizontal mill. I remember reading about it, but it was never a big
deal
when I used Vertical mills, just chatter and bad finish. But using the
Nichols with a rack feed, It is a very big deal, the table took off, the
lever arm came up and whacked me in the elbow, and the machine made all
kinds of noises. That was a learning experience, not to be repeated.
I think my first project will be to make some "gibs" as 2 of the 4 gibs
are
broken. 1 had been braised but never ground flat, so that one took a lot
of
filing to make it work smooth. Any idea what they are made out of, its
not
brass, more like cast.
Thank You to everyone who gave me suggestions during the rebuild.


You scrape away a whole bunch from the MIDDLE of a new gib first.........and
THEN you use the bluing to get both ends into equal contact.

--

SVL

In article ,
Gary Owens wrote:
Well, I got the mill back together, and am now learning to make chips.
Yesterday I learned about "Climb milling".
As I never finished my apprentice program 40 years ago, I have never used a
horizontal mill. I remember reading about it, but it was never a big deal
when I used Vertical mills, just chatter and bad finish. But using the
Nichols with a rack feed, It is a very big deal, the table took off, the
lever arm came up and whacked me in the elbow, and the machine made all
kinds of noises. That was a learning experience, not to be repeated.

You're lucky to not have gotten a broken arm from that lever.

You can get away with climb milling under certain circumstances:

1) A rigid machine with no backlash in the leadscrew.

2) A very light "finish cut" -- especially nice on aluminum. (The
advantage of climb milling for a finish cut is that you are not
re-cutting the same chips, which with aluminum usually results
in them being pressure welded to the workpiece.

But note the mention of no backlash in the leadscrew. This does
*not* include lever feed machines. Some Nichols mills have X-axis
leadscrews which can be enabled or disabled -- but IIRC, yours was a
pneumatic feed machine for the X axis, so it is highly unlikely to have
an X-axis leadscrew.

When I'm doing heavy milling with the lever feed, I *always* do
conventional milling, not climb milling. The latter is too likely to
break something -- including your bones.

I think my first project will be to make some "gibs" as 2 of the 4 gibs are
broken. 1 had been braised

You mean "brazed"? That is "soldered with brass", not cooked. :-)

but never ground flat, so that one took a lot of
filing to make it work smooth. Any idea what they are made out of, its not
brass, more like cast.

Cast is quite likely, though I have not taken my machines apart
far enough to examine either the X or Y axis gibs. The Z-axis one on
the head is easy to examine, of course.

Best of 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 ---

Glad to hear of another Nichols nearby. I am in Titusville. Here are
some pictures of when I got mine:
http://www.plansandprojects.com/My%20Machines/
Click on "Nichols"

Well, I got the mill back together, and am now learning to make chips.
Yesterday I learned about "Climb milling".
As I never finished my apprentice program 40 years ago, I have never used a
horizontal mill. I remember reading about it, but it was never a big deal
when I used Vertical mills, just chatter and bad finish. But using the
Nichols with a rack feed, It is a very big deal, the table took off, the
lever arm came up and whacked me in the elbow, and the machine made all
kinds of noises. That was a learning experience, not to be repeated.
I think my first project will be to make some "gibs" as 2 of the 4 gibs are
broken. 1 had been braised but never ground flat, so that one took a lot of
filing to make it work smooth. Any idea what they are made out of, its not
brass, more like cast.
Thank You to everyone who gave me suggestions during the rebuild.

gary
www.westcanalcrafts.com




Ron Thompson
On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space Center, USA

http://www.plansandprojects.com
My hobby pages are he
http://www.plansandprojects.com/My Machines/

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is
to fill the world with fools.
--Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

Well, I got the mill back together, and am now learning to make chips.
Yesterday I learned about "Climb milling".
As I never finished my apprentice program 40 years ago, I have never used a
horizontal mill. I remember reading about it, but it was never a big deal
when I used Vertical mills, just chatter and bad finish. But using the
Nichols with a rack feed, It is a very big deal, the table took off, the
lever arm came up and whacked me in the elbow, and the machine made all
kinds of noises. That was a learning experience, not to be repeated.
I think my first project will be to make some "gibs" as 2 of the 4 gibs are
broken. 1 had been braised but never ground flat, so that one took a lot of
filing to make it work smooth. Any idea what they are made out of, its not
brass, more like cast.
Thank You to everyone who gave me suggestions during the rebuild.

gary
www.westcanalcrafts.com




Ron Thompson
On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space Center, USA

http://www.plansandprojects.com
My hobby pages are he
http://www.plansandprojects.com/My20%Machines/

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is
to fill the world with fools.
--Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

Well, I got the mill back together, and am now learning to make chips.
Yesterday I learned about "Climb milling".
As I never finished my apprentice program 40 years ago, I have never used a
horizontal mill. I remember reading about it, but it was never a big deal
when I used Vertical mills, just chatter and bad finish. But using the
Nichols with a rack feed, It is a very big deal, the table took off, the
lever arm came up and whacked me in the elbow, and the machine made all
kinds of noises. That was a learning experience, not to be repeated.
I think my first project will be to make some "gibs" as 2 of the 4 gibs are
broken. 1 had been braised but never ground flat, so that one took a lot of
filing to make it work smooth. Any idea what they are made out of, its not
brass, more like cast.
Thank You to everyone who gave me suggestions during the rebuild.

gary
www.westcanalcrafts.com




Ron Thompson
On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space Center, USA

http://www.plansandprojects.com
My hobby pages are he
http://www.plansandprojects.com/My20%Machines/

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is
to fill the world with fools.
--Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

Ron;
I have visited you website before, but I hadn't found the mill
before. You've got the "newer" model, same idea though. I drove through
Titusville last weekend, how did I miss the steam engines. My wife probably
saw them and neglected to mention them. I like your shop, I just expanded my
10 X 12 metal building to 10 X 16. Having room to walk added a whole new
dimension to the shop, and yes, the 5000 btu air conditioner is way to
small, but still better than none at all. I also added a power line to the
shop, 220 30 amp, no more extension cord to pick up before mowing.
I haven't really had time to do much with the mill, spent time
rebuilding it, and now my wife has other projects backed up. Oh well.
gary
www.westcanalcrafts.com


"Ron Thompson" wrote in message
...
Glad to hear of another Nichols nearby. I am in Titusville. Here are
some pictures of when I got mine:
http://www.plansandprojects.com/My%20Machines/
Click on "Nichols"

Well, I got the mill back together, and am now learning to make chips.
Yesterday I learned about "Climb milling".
As I never finished my apprentice program 40 years ago, I have never used
a
horizontal mill. I remember reading about it, but it was never a big deal
when I used Vertical mills, just chatter and bad finish. But using the
Nichols with a rack feed, It is a very big deal, the table took off, the
lever arm came up and whacked me in the elbow, and the machine made all
kinds of noises. That was a learning experience, not to be repeated.
I think my first project will be to make some "gibs" as 2 of the 4 gibs
are
broken. 1 had been braised but never ground flat, so that one took a lot
of
filing to make it work smooth. Any idea what they are made out of, its not
brass, more like cast.
Thank You to everyone who gave me suggestions during the rebuild.

gary
www.westcanalcrafts.com




Ron Thompson
On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space
Center, USA

http://www.plansandprojects.com
My hobby pages are he
http://www.plansandprojects.com/My Machines/

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is
to fill the world with fools.
--Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

Ron;
I have visited you website before, but I hadn't found the mill
before. You've got the "newer" model, same idea though. I drove through
Titusville last weekend, how did I miss the steam engines. My wife probably
saw them and neglected to mention them. I like your shop, I just expanded my
10 X 12 metal building to 10 X 16. Having room to walk added a whole new
dimension to the shop, and yes, the 5000 btu air conditioner is way to
small, but still better than none at all. I also added a power line to the
shop, 220 30 amp, no more extension cord to pick up before mowing.
I haven't really had time to do much with the mill, spent time
rebuilding it, and now my wife has other projects backed up. Oh well.
gary
www.westcanalcrafts.com
The steam engines are on Garden St. near I-95.
My shop is so crowded from the move it is basically just storage, right now. We
just now are putting the finishing touches on a 12'X12' shed with an 8'X12'
overhang. The additional roof is destined to become my foundry area.
My daughter just moved to the area and needed a place to store her belongings.
Instead of renting a storage area, we decided to build. Her stuff will be out
when she gets a place of her own and then I will expand the shop and have room
to work again.
The power line vs. an extension cord is a familiar problem! Also it drops
voltage to the A/C.
Since my buildings are portable, I was considering running a line underground
terminating in a yard light with a receptacle.
Holler if you get back this way.


Ron Thompson
On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space Center, USA

http://www.plansandprojects.com
My hobby pages are he
http://www.plansandprojects.com/My%20Machines/

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is
to fill the world with fools.
--Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)