Help with Mill handwheel and dial too tight

[rtropp]

Hi all,

I have been using my fairly new mini mill and have run into a problem.  The ring with the scale is so tight that it is very difficult to reset to zero without turning the hand wheel at the same time. This, of course, moves the head from its "0" position which screws up the settings. This problem occurs on both the Y and Z scales.  The X scale works well,  easily resetting to zero without any stiffness.

 

It is a Micro Mill mini mill, the one that is MT1 compatible.

 

I am not sure if there isn't an easy  or recommended way to fix this before I start muddling around with it.

 

Thanks,

Richard

Edited June 26, 2014 by rtropp

[dgbot]

Check the scale for a opening for an Allen wrench. That is what I did on my Sherline.

David B

[mtaylor]

Richard,

It's a friction fit on that.  You might try removing the cap screw, washer, and the handwheel.  Apply some white grease and reassemble.  Take a look at the parts breakdown in the back of what they laughingly call a manual.

 

BTW, if after a period of time, the head starts dropping on it's own while milling, parts 31 and 32 are the gib screw adjustment. 

[rtropp]

David, thanks for the tip

Mark, ditto. 

Also, not sure I will have the micromark for too much longer.  I visited the Sherline factory on trip to California recently and noticed a marked difference in the handling of the mill.  The Sherline is very smooth and responsive.  Also, can't beat the support team.  Their museum was an eye opener and they did demos where the demonstrator was willing to not show me some of the things that I wanted to do on both the mill and Lathe.  Very helpful.

 

Since I have been using the mill more frequently I am considering selling the MM to upgrade. The one sticking point is that I am not sure if I wouldn't be better off with a combination drill/mill such as the ones that I see at Little Machine Shop.  Turning the crank (or dial) when drilling is tedious after a while.

 

I will be testing our the recommendations for fixing the scale dial on my MM mill when I am next in my shop. It's just that would rather get the copper stamping jig done sometime this decade

 

Richard

[mtaylor]

I thought the Sherline had that drill feature???   I know a heckuva lot of the mini-mills (not the one we have) have them.

[rtropp]

As far as I know the sherline mills do not have the drill feature.  They sell a part that goes into the head that has a spring set up.  You use your fingers to lower the drill bit while it is turning. It is Part number 1012.  On  the positive side, it is supposed to provide more control, less bit breaking then a hand wheel for small bits.  I am using gauges between 70 and 80 so we will see how well it works.

That said, for most drilling it would still be easier to have the hand wheel.  I am not sure of the tradeoffs for that kind of set up.  I am checking into it with some sites that sell them but was hoping to hear from someone's personal experience.

 

Richard

 

 

 

[oneslim]

Richard,

 

I've had a sensitive drill chuck for about 15 years, one of the best tools I ever bought.  It's great for drilling  with very small bits as small as #94.  They are not cheap,  I think mine was around $80 back then.  Now days You can expect to spend well over $100.

 

Bob W

[rtropp]

I just ordered one from Sherline.  with shipping it was just over $100.  Perhaps it will help drilling these darned copper jigs.

 

Richard

[dgbot]

I mess around with small bits all the time.  When I bought my Foredom years ago I also invested in their drill fixture as we.  Great investment,  with the accuracy of a jewers drill and the foot speed control I rarey break a bit.  As for Sherines sensidrill I know several modelers who love it for those small drills.

David B

Edited June 27, 2014 by dgbot

[jud]

Those hand held devices also make it easy to drill a small hole and withdraw the bit frequently so the bit can self clean itself and cool. Those were the reasons given in articles I have read encouraging their use. I still need to do that.

jud

Edited June 28, 2014 by jud

[mtaylor]

Richard,

 

Do those use the taper or the chuck?   Looks like a great idea.

[rtropp]

The part screws onto the external threads of the spindle.  Nice thing about sherline is their extensive library of instructions.

 

This part can be found at:

http://www.sherline.com/1012inst.pdf

 

I'll know for show if it fits the MM micro mill once I get it next week.  I'll take some pictures and provide the results here.

 

Richard

[mtaylor]

Thanks Richard.   I would hope that MM and Sherline are using some sort of standard and not proprietary threads.   I've seen this used in some of the scratch logs but never gave it a thought for the mini-mill.

[oneslim]

Mine has a 1/2" mandrill that is chucked in the 8" bench top drill press.  I wish I could find one with a 3/8" or 1/4" mandrill to use in the HF micro mill.

 

Bob W 

Edited June 28, 2014 by oneslim

[rtropp]

Little machine shop has a similar item but of a different build.  It looks like it is made to fit into the jaws of a chuck.

Also, there are some on Amazon, one is inexpensive but does not have the chuck.

Richard

[rtropp]

Well,

I had to return the sensitive drill head to Sherline.  It looked like a great accessory but did not fit the MicroMark mini mill. The drill head has a brass shaft that goes up into the mill head and it did not fit into the MM. It went a small distance than was blocked.  

So, I continue to use the hand wheel and am about to try out the suggestions for fixing the inner wheels.

 

I had a suggestion from Drill Bit City to use a higher speed to help preserve the drill bits, so I moved the belts to the lower (faster) settings as shown in one of the very few instructions on the "manual".  I suspect that when I go back to milling, I will have to move the belt to the lower speed setting.

 

Meanwhile, I continue to consider the combined drill/mill but I am not sure if there are any downsides to the drill/mill combination. Using the included x-y table is the primary reason but also a combined function would work better in the limited space I have for the workshop.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Richard  

Edited July 13, 2014 by rtropp