Ballpark of the weight of a milling machine head and how to separate the head form the machine safely

I posted a while back that i had picked up an Index model 45 milling machine

And i'm preparing my shop to get it all setup and running

the thing is i need to "Behead" the mill to open it up to get the spindle out to get it recut to R8 (which wells index is willing to do for me for $250 + shipping)

going through my maretial handling options i discovered i have a dilemma first off i've never removed a milling machine head before and i have no idea how much it weighs second is when it stands upright its higher than my shop crane

the only idea i have to to put 2x4's on the milling machine table. The flip the milling machine head 180 degrees and crank the table up till it catches the head then loosen the bolts and crank it down on the tableto separate machine form head

Is there a better easier way? and how much weight and i looking at if i have to manually use person or people to carry the head to a work bench to begin disassembling it

the index head seems similar in size to a bridgeport head so a ballpark would be great

thanks in advance

Brent Ottawa Canada

Reply to
Brent
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I'm not familiar with that mill, but I doubt the head weighs more than

500# by itself if it's a typical knee mill. Elevate the shop crane as required. Something like a couple 2x8s with 1x2 cleats screwed on each side to contain the shop crane wheels. Elevate the 2x8s on concrete blocks standing upright properly (i.e. holes vertical) under the full length of the 2x8s. I did something similar to this to remove the head and ram assembly from my Bridgeport.

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

Brent, I think your plan is better and safer than this plan. I did it the way you outlined to rebuild the spindle on my excello (similar in size to yours)

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

I wouldn't be so sure of that, the head would have a sizable risk of tipping off the table onto someone's foot. Elevating the entire shop crane is perfectly safe unless you have to elevate it a lot. I would expect that a single concrete block height of 8" plus the 1.5" of the

2x8 will be sufficient. When I did mine I only needed to elevate the crane 4" using some 4x8x16 solid concrete blocks.

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

A J head weighs 168 and a 2j2 is 196 lbs. (bridgeport)

The ram adaptor/ram/turret weighs 395.

Wes

Reply to
Wes

You don't need to pull the head on a Bridgeport to remove the quill & spindle assembly. Are you sure you really need to with your mill?

Ned Simmons

Reply to
news

not entirely but i also bought the mill knowing that the fine spindle feed handwheel appeared to not be engaging and that i have 50 years of grime and crud to clean. the location of that hand wheel is uncomfortably high to poke into for a person of under 6' high (i'm

5'9)

i figured that with the one repair or at least inspection and the thorough cleanup the best way was to take the head to a bench and do it in a more comfort able environment

but ned you may very well be right saying i dont need to. But it seems the best way to go over the machine and make sure everything is kosher. i'll see upon reassembly if i was making work for myself or not

Reply to
Brent

Thanks they are similar to my machine but the diamond shaped ram likely weighs more, maybe the head too but either way they are under a half ton and can be handed by 2 or 3 people or by my dolly fairly comfortably since my comfort level is about double what you just mentioned for a head weight i doublt i'm dealing with over 300 for a head weight though even if i'm wrong i doubt its double and i can handle double

Reply to
Brent

Unless you want to totally disassemble and tank the head why not just crank it over 90 degrees so the spindle is horizontal? You'd be able to easily get to both ends of the spindle and the power feed.

Regards Paul

Reply to
Paul

I am surprised by this comment. I am 5'11" and am very comfortable reaching the fine feed handwheel.

I would try using the mill first and doing some measurements of the mill's condition. You need something to lift the head with if you want to put it back on. A pulley sheave block will work, probably can be cheap to get. See

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Reply to
Ignoramus23858

Ig there is a big diffrence between reaching the wheel and poking your nose eyes and tools into a spot. I try and do all my work whenever humanly possible in a work envelope from my chin to the bottom of my elbows In this case if i'm poking int the handscrews they are taller than the comfort level I'd rather bring the work to me than put myself into an uncomfortable position to work on the machine if possible

I did try the mill and did see it under power before loading. THe mill at the price it was at and in the condition i saw it in (with only this one handwheel feed not operating but the QUILL feed itself operating fine) it was either something reasonably simple in the quill feed mechanism or there was a feed selector that selected the quill handle versus the fine feed. Either way with the full service manual diagram and still having vendor parts support i'm not worried about getting the mill into shape

However i think the Best suggestion just presented itself with Pauls comment

Reply to
Brent

[slaps myself for missing such a simple solution]

THANK YOU thats just a few minutes work to do it that way and it means i'm not fhighting height or gravity.

I'll start with this idea now and separate the head from the machine as plan B

Brent Ottawa Canada

Reply to
Brent

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