#@#$!*!! Smithy Milling Attachment

[Southron Sanders]

I am making up a brass mould and yesterday I was milling the channel in the blocks that the jaws of the mould handle fit into.

For strange reason, the quill of the mill actually DROPPED (cut much deeper)while I was doing the milling, and consequently, one of the blocks was ruined. I still can't figure out what was the cause of this mysterous drop, as everything was tightened down and the QUILL SHOULDN'T HAVE DROPPED DOWN AND CUT DEEPER!

Has anyone that has a Smithy Granite lathe/drill combo machine had this problem?

If so, what is the cure?

THANKS

[waksupi]

I'd like an explaination on this, too. I have ruined a couple high dollar stock blanks on the profile machine, from the cutter slipping. I'm kinda a gorilla, and know danged well they have been put in tight!

[kenjuudo]

Too heavy a feed rate will often pull a mill from a collet.

[ANeat]

I had a Smithy for about 10 years, Ive found out that it cannot take anything resembling a medium or heavy cut.

A couple months ago I finally had enough and sold it, bought a Bridgeport, that is the cure.

[44man]

It is the friction locks. I have the CB1220 XL and found I have to really crank down the locks to the point that I have broken a handle. Trying to cut too deep will let the cutter pull the quill down if the locks are not tight. I have had the mill head swing when cutting too, ruining a part. This cheap machine also has a bad heighth adjustment that will unscrew when cutting and if you loosen the lock for the mill head to swing it, it will drop to the adjustment ring unless you run the adjustment ring back up first.
I just bought a slightly used Granite but have not picked it up yet. It looks like it will be 100% better then this piece of junk. I can't afford a Bridgeport or even find one.
Let's face it, the Smithy is a hobby machine and not built to last although the higher priced ones are better. Even the cast iron is harder on the better ones.
So far a cutter itself has not come loose.

[KCSO]

44 has it, everything has to be tight and no heavy cuts. I have a CB mill and have made a clamp unit for the quill that works quite well. I gave up on the 1220 as I found that the first indication of too heavy a cut was the head of the machine starting to rotate. All that aside i have done a lot of work on a 1220 that I would have hated to do with my mexican milling machine.

[trooperdan]

my mexican milling machine.

Mexican milling machine..? Is that a 10" mill bastard file?

[JSnover]

+ 1 on the light cut rec.
I've had the same thing happen on a Bridgeport with nice new, sharp, tooling and everything locked down as tight as I could stand it. For the handle slots, you could use a side mill cutter. You still might not want to make a real heavy cut, but at least the cutter wouldn't be trying to pull itself down into the work.

[lathesmith]

I don't have a Smithy, but I believe my X2 Seig is constructed similar. Try this: move the head down a couple inches using the (tri-handle)coarse feed, then engage the "fine" feed. start down feeding with the fine feed, go down maybe .070 or .080 or a bit more. Now, reach up and pull down gently on the tri-handle coarse feed. If your machine is like mine, it will "flip"or "clunk" down, maybe .050 or so, enough to cause a "gouge cut" like you describe. The solution here is simple: 1) As you are down-feeding with the fine feed, gently apply pressure with the coarse feed handle, and lock at each cut. Or, 2) Spend mega-$$$ and get a bigger, fancier machine. Either way, your problem should go away or at least be minimized.
lathesmith

[JIMinPHX]

I’ll jump on the band wagon here. I’ve had right handed end mills suck their way out of collets on a Bridgeport before. That’s what happens when you get too horney with the feed rate.

A Smithy is not exactly known for being the most rigid machine ever built, so with them you have to be a little extra gentle. Take smaller cuts. Use smaller tools when practical. Use roughing profile tools for your roughing cuts. Take very slight climbing cuts or very slight face cuts for finish passes. Keep everything locked down as tight as you dare when cutting. Take it easy on the feed rate.

That sort of thing doesn’t happen when you run an end mill in a solid holder on a machine that has a NS-50 taper spindle, but then that’s like comparing a dump truck to a wheelbarrow. Be gentle with your wheelbarrow.

[JIMinPHX]

Mexican milling machine..? Is that a 10" mill bastard file?

We used to call them German Mills.

...Long story

[Southron Sanders]

Thanks Everyone for your responses.

From now on, will make 'light' cuts and slow feed rates!

[GabbyM]

Unfortunately their's a glut of used equipment on the market due to our exodus of manufacturing jobs.
In some cases the equipment even goes to
China.
My last “good job” that was one before my last crappy job. Went to China. As did the job before that.
After they came in , unsolicited, and bid the product cheaper than the raw materials could be purchased here in Illinois they bid on the entire contents of the factory. It all went East in a Westward direction.

Of course the small equipment sells better than the big machines that would take up a pole barn.
I saw a 1.2 million dollar milling machine go for five figure money a few years ago.

When I still had a job in a machine shop we would receive fliers in the mail every month filled with auction items. So if you're looking for a machine you might stop by your local machine shop and ask if they've any auction fliers laying around. Although most of the bleed out stopped around two years ago since theirs nothing left to shut down.

Sorry if I sound bummed out.

From an embittered man holding on to his guns and religion. lol

[ANeat]

I was fortunate, I had used my Smithy CB1239 for about 10 years. Finally decided to suck it up, sold the Smithy for 2K.

Shopped around and found an older Bridgeport for $2700 including the VFD for 3 phase and a DRO.

The only bad part is no lathe, so far ive managed.

Many smaller shops are going to CNC and there are a lot of used knee mills out there for a reasonable price. The 3 phase scares a lot of folks off but with a VFD or some other converter its a pretty painless switch.

[Buckshot]

Mexican milling machine..? Is that a 10" mill bastard file?

.............Naw, that's a Nicholson Mill

...............Buckshot

[JIMinPHX]

From an embittered man holding on to his guns and religion. lol

I salute you for that sir.

[redneckdan]

thats a pretty common thing I've noticed; especially in aluminium, particularly the softer grades. Last summer I had to make a bunch of gauge-type blocks for a double sine plate set up I used to make tool holders. I would face one side, flip over and mill to rough dimensions and then take the last .055" .010" at a time and leave .005" for a finnish pass. Never had a block that came out bad. This was on a Clausing 4VSQ.

[theperfessor]

Don't have any experience with a Smithy or any other all-in-one machines but I have had milling cutters used in friction collets screw their way down into soft materials such as copper, brass, and aluminum.

Solutions:

1. Use straight flute cutters, not helical flute.

2. Use mill holders with set screw and use milling cutters with a 'Weldon" shank. These have a flat on side.

3. Break edge of cutter LIGHTLY with a fine cut stone.

4. Take lighter cuts and just be patient.

This won't keep head from moving on less rigid machines but will help retain cutter in holder.

[badgeredd]

I was fortunate, I had used my Smithy CB1239 for about 10 years. Finally decided to suck it up, sold the Smithy for 2K.

Shopped around and found an older Bridgeport for $2700 including the VFD for 3 phase and a DRO.

The only bad part is no lathe, so far ive managed.

Many smaller shops are going to CNC and there are a lot of used knee mills out there for a reasonable price. The 3 phase scares a lot of folks off but with a VFD or some other converter its a pretty painless switch.

Looks like a nice step pulley mill. I love those old guys! I have an early Variable Speed that has been doing a fine job for me. FORTUNATELY I was familiar with the past maintenance on it so I got a pretty good one. I still need to find the time, money, and parts to fix the power quill feed. Usually I have one of the first 2 but can't manage to put them together to aquire the third. Such is life!

[JIMinPHX]

I actually prefer those step belt J-heads to the vary-drives. The step belt setup goes forever with little attention. I’ve had to rebuild a vary-drive before. It was no small task. Somewhere I should still have pictures that I took during the disassembly so that I would be sure that I wouldn’t forget anything when it went back together. These days, you can get a small variable frequency drive for a few hundred bucks & make the step heads do the variable speed thing too. The only down side to the drives is that when you run the motor below nameplate RPM, you run at less than full horsepower. An added up side that they have is that most of them can be run with single phase power going in & still give you 3 phase out. Unfortunately, if you need single phase out to the motor, then the variable frequency drives are not an option.