Thread: Changing the top quill bearing to a taper one on a HM52

No problems, we are all not going anywhere, LOL
My table was like that and so was the Y axis, once I shimmed them it all runs nice. I would say thats your problem as I don't think the bloke before you wore out the lead screw for it to be tight on the ends.

I did start a thread on the quill slot with measurements, found it
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/hm...l-slot-121511/

Dave
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Originally Posted by Dave J

Hi, as PDW said aluminium cans work as well. I am pretty sure over in the US shim material can be bought easily, not like over here.

???? I didn't have any problem buying a can of 0.010" (I think, it's in the shed) shim stock in Hobart, and if you can get it here, you should be able to get it *anywhere*.

Other thicknesses were available as well. Problem is that a can is a lifetime or 3 supply for most of us. I think I've used maybe 100mm.

PDW

How do you live 3 times.

Maybe we need to start a shim register, listing drink, oops I mean shim manufacturers and the thickness of shims they make.

But seriously I have only really used al foil, taly-ho's and newspaper as shims. The can idea is a good one.

Originally Posted by PDW

???? I didn't have any problem buying a can of 0.010" (I think, it's in the shed) shim stock in Hobart, and if you can get it here, you should be able to get it *anywhere*.

Other thicknesses were available as well. Problem is that a can is a lifetime or 3 supply for most of us. I think I've used maybe 100mm.

PDW

That's over twice the thickness of my Jack Daniel's shim which is 0.1mm. You must have Military spec cans!

Simon

I think PDW is talking about a can of shim stock, not a can as shim stock. It sometimes comes in rolls like that.

Dave

Originally Posted by Dave J

I think PDW is talking about a can of shim stock, not a can as shim stock. It sometimes comes in rolls like that.

Dave

Ah I see, say's the blind man!

I had to go to my local industrial supply shop today to get a belt. I asked about shim stock and they showed me a small range that included rolls and flat sheets in steel and brass. I bought a pack of 6 8" square pieces, 2 x .025, 2 x .05, 1 x .15 and 1x .25. It was $17 or so. I have already used a piece of .15 to snug up a hss boring bar broach so the HSS bit was firm before tightening the screw.

Originally Posted by Ueee

I had to go to my local industrial supply shop today to get a belt. I asked about shim stock and they showed me a small range that included rolls and flat sheets in steel and brass. I bought a pack of 6 8" square pieces, 2 x .025, 2 x .05, 1 x .15 and 1x .25. It was $17 or so. I have already used a piece of .15 to snug up a hss boring bar broach so the HSS bit was firm before tightening the screw.

Didn't know they were so easy to get or that reasonably priced. I wish my local industrial supplies place had shim stock!

Simon

Simon,
If you, or anyone else, would like some just pm me and i'll pick some up, sandwich it in some thin mdf or ply so it doesnt get trashed in the post, and post it to you. Its only light so i don't imagine postage would be that much.

For the X axis gib shimming, you would be better off with a single piece that goes end to end and leave a little bit (5mm or so) to fold over at 90 degrees at the ends to hold it in place to stop it sliding when you adjust it. You can still make it up as 2 pieces but it will make it fiddly to adjust the gib and keep them in place, but on the other hand you don't do it that often anyway.

Dave

PS
Ueee
When I said about photos earlier I was mixing you up with CJ and his US Grizzly mill, sorry about that. Still be interesting to see any other differences though. Just with the 3 machines I had in my possession there where many differences, some as small as the knee handle being a much thinner design. I notice now they don't even come with a vise, the vises where not much to start with but at least you had something to use while saving to get a better one. So they take away the vise and put up the price of the mill even with the dollar being around it's highest, who knows they might sky rocket to around $7000 when the dollar dives again.

Dave,
Oh that blue lump is a vice? I thought it an oversized paperweight LOL. I took it off its swivel base and remachined the jaw seats long ago. Its actually not too bad now (but not great either) From memory my machine was just over 4k in 2004, with vice, collet set, chuck (whick broke long ago) MT adaptors etc. I think i saw them a few years later at 3.5k or so-i was pretty peeved about it.

When i get to shimming i will test it with small pieces and then buy a roll of the right size.

Thanks
Ewan

Originally Posted by simonl

Didn't know they were so easy to get or that reasonably priced. I wish my local industrial supplies place had shim stock!

Simon

Hi Simon
Bearing supply places generally carry shim stock packs, if you have a bearing place near you you could try them.

Cheers.

If I'm not right, then I'm wrong, I'll just go bend some more bananas.

Originally Posted by Ueee

Dave,
Oh that blue lump is a vice? I thought it an oversized paperweight LOL. I took it off its swivel base and remachined the jaw seats long ago. Its actually not too bad now (but not great either) From memory my machine was just over 4k in 2004, with vice, collet set, chuck (whick broke long ago) MT adaptors etc. I think i saw them a few years later at 3.5k or so-i was pretty peeved about it.

When i get to shimming i will test it with small pieces and then buy a roll of the right size.

Thanks
Ewan

Hi
I reworked my first one as a spare because I bought a Kurt clone. When the mill was returned I told them about it and they said I could keep it if I wanted to, but the new mill was from another manufacturer and turned up with a different vise which was better, so I let the reworked one go back. Someone will get that vise with the mill and wonder what all the fuss is as it will be accurate, LOL
The newer vise has a single way instead of 2 like the older one, but the ways still fall short of the fixed jaw like the other one.

I paid $4200 for mine and then had to pay another $1000 because the dollar went down at the time and the new ones had a DRO (even though I already had one and they wouldn't take it off the new one) so it ended up costing me $5200. They where retailing for $5800 with DRO at the time with the dollar being low and $5200 without. Don't sweat it on those cheap ones, they where the older models being sold off I that I had trouble with.The HM50 where down to something like $3300

Back in 2004 they where good machines as Chich on CNC zone bought one and converted it, but I think the manufacturer got slack and they ended up with bad batches around 2006-2007. My first one was a 2006 model that had a tapered table over it's length, milled Y axis dovetails (not ground as advertised) and the next 2007 model had a warped table along with a lot of other things wrong with it. At that time they checked and all 3 HM52's left in Sydney had warped tables as well.

What broke, your collet chuck or the collets? I haven't used mine a great deal because I have ER32 collets, but if it was the collets some Chinese sellers on ebay seem to have those weird collets for sale and I think it was ARC trade from UK had some also.

Dave