I'm thinking about buying a cheap Kearney and Trecker horizontal mill. Unfortunately the seller doesn't have the overarm arbor supports. How difficult would it be to build a replacement? I won't be able to make an iron casting but I think I could machine something similar (but thicker) out of a single piece of steel. What I'm not sure about is the bearings, bushings, etc. that would be required. Does anyone think this is feasible?
Should be very easy if it's a single overarm. Bore the overarm hole first, then mount the support and bore the bearing hole (with the overarm loose enough to slide). Double overarm would be a bit tougher.
K&T mills aren't exactly rare - you might be able to find a support without too much trouble.
John Martin
There are litterally tons of those things lying in machine tool dealers scrap piles. I dont know where you are posting from..but check with machine tool dealers.
If you have no luck, tell me which machine you have and I may be able to help. I think I have one for a #2.
Gunner
"The Democratic Party is the party of this popular corruption. The heart of the Democratic Party and its activist core is made up of government unions, government dependent professions (teachers, social workers, civil servants); special interest and special benefits groups (abortion rights, is a good example) that feed off the government trough; and ethnic constituencies, African Americans being the most prominent, who are disproportionately invested in government jobs and in programs that government provides.
" The Democratic Party credo is 'Take as much of the people's money as politically feasible, and use that money to buy as many of the people's votes as possible'. Tax cuts are a threat to this Democratic agenda. Consequently, Democrats loathe and despise them." -Semi-reformed Leftist David Horowitz
Most KTs use a double bar.
Gunner
"The Democratic Party is the party of this popular corruption. The heart of the Democratic Party and its activist core is made up of government unions, government dependent professions (teachers, social workers, civil servants); special interest and special benefits groups (abortion rights, is a good example) that feed off the government trough; and ethnic constituencies, African Americans being the most prominent, who are disproportionately invested in government jobs and in programs that government provides.
" The Democratic Party credo is 'Take as much of the people's money as politically feasible, and use that money to buy as many of the people's votes as possible'. Tax cuts are a threat to this Democratic agenda. Consequently, Democrats loathe and despise them." -Semi-reformed Leftist David Horowitz
Sure it's feasible. Most horizontal milling machines I've seen, and one I own (a little Benchmaster, admittedly smaller than a K&T) just use a bronze outboard bearing on the overarm support. I made such a support for my Benchmaster (I got a rough casting from Benchmaster, but it had only sand-cast cored holes). A solid piece of steel or a block of cast iron should work just fine as a starting point. Be careful and get the axis of the hole in the overarm support in line with the mill's spindle axis, and press in a stock appropriately sized bronze bearing that fit's your arbor's outboard end. You can make intermediate (running) supports for the mid section of the arbor the same way. The details depend on your mill and arbor.
Dan Mitchell ============
I have two double overarm supports and a knee brace, all brand new, I believe they fit the K & T #2, would sell them reasonable, if you're interested, let me know your overarm diameter and your location, and we can go from there.
Jess
I don't know what you mean by cheap , but there are plenty of horizontal mills for under $1000.00 .
What's you time worth? How would you bore the two 3"~4" overarm holes, and the 3" bearing hole, and get the proper spacing? I would use a large mill with a boring head. I would use a piece of CRS bar stock like 2"x12", or maybe some 2" plate stock, and bandsaw it to the proper profile. I would weld in place some lathe turned and bored cylinders to extend the bearing surface on the overarms. And then some bronze or oil-lite stock for the running bearing. Lathe bore the bronze bearing to match the arbor bearingYou can attach some truck axle seals on each side of the bronze bearing to retain oil. Make a provision to allow oil to enter the center of the bearing.
And then you still end up with a home brew arbor support. Unless your getting the machine for close to free I don't think it's worth it.
Being a hobbyist, I consider my time free, but I get your point. I don't have a boring head but was thinking about a using a rotary table on a vertical mill and then taking lots of light passes.
politically feasible, and use that money to buy as many of the people's votes as possible'.
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