I came here from watching your latest SEM/AFM videos. These are a real flashback to Burton's Attic from a few years ago. Rockwell was a huge force in machine tools and industry in general back in the day. RIP.
Hehe yeah, content on the channel has changed a bit over the years 😁 Still loving the Rockwell! Use it probably more often than the CNC, often just easier to hop on the mill and knock out something quick by eye. A few quirks of the machine but otherwise I really like it! Sad the company sorta fizzled out over time :(
@@BreakingTaps Thanks for all the incredible content that you make! Sure your interests and direction may have evolved, but it's obvious that your passion and abilities are still with doing things that most of us only dream of. And the way it is presented is accessible, much like Ben Krasnow's channel Applied Science. I can't think of a higher complement than that! 👍
I just discovered this channel and am binge watching. Hugely impressive projects, great narration, top notch camera work and editing... why the hell do you have less than 15k subs?
Just watched this again for the second time. I watched it a few months ago. Enjoyable to watch. I like voice over videos better than the rambling of some other creators. Good music and editing. Thanks
I added a DRO to mine. You use inexpensive scales and build an inexpensive Bluetooth to serial box based on arduino module or a TI box. Makes this mill really easy to use and much more versatile than riding handwheels. In the interim a magnet backed dial indicator is great for the knee.
Interesting, do you have more info on that somewhere? Is that the TouchDRO project (www.yuriystoys.com/p/android-dro.html) or something else? DRO was on the shortlist of things I wanted to do... I'm not sure I trust my ability to watch dials otherwise :)
I promised to check it out. Dan from Rockwell Group. We need to see that power feed up close and under the housing to see how they did the adaptation. You have a winner mill here. Keep that dratted saw dust far away. Promise us - never but ever make sawdust with this beautiful precision machine. _Dan_
Heya Dan! I'll be sure to do a closeup of all the power feed components while re-assembling. It looks like there is a custom-fabricated aluminum end piece that connects to the table, and then another custom iron piece that connects the power feed to the aluminum end piece. I can take measurements of everything while I have it disassembled. Definitely going to keep sawdust away from this :) I have plans to make a cover for the mill so I can shield it when I'm using my woodshop tools, and have zero intention of ever cutting wood on it. This thing will only see metal and oil :)
"Rockwell" looks GOOD..... I mean Bridgeport are kinda "the one to have" but you don't see any Bridgeport logos on Space Shuttles or 6502 processors!!! Circlips hate us all and aren't afraid to show it!
How did you move it yourself and do you know what the allen wrench size is to loosen the two bolts at the top in order to rotate the head? I'm picking up a vertical version on Saturday so I hope you see this! Informative video, I think I'll watch them all in a bit! Thank you.
Goodluck! I used a long crowbar and some wedges to get it raised enough so that I could slide 4x4s underneath, then I lag bolted the base to the 4x4s. Got it up on a pallet jack (which was pretty tough, since I didn't use the right pallet dimensions), strapped it to the pallet jack with hefty ratchet straps and heaved it up the ramp of a small trailer. IIRC I used a comealong to help get it up. Was definitely... not ideal or fun :) Strapped it to the deck of the trailer with a bunch of straps. I rotated the head so it was "down" for transport, but in retrospect I should have just removed it. Unloading was worse since the comealong doesn't reverse. If I were to do it again, I'd use a big chainfall hoist since that is reversible. I've moved it around my shop a few times by lifting onto 2x4s (again with crowbar and wedges) and moving it on iron pipes egyptian style. Bolts are 3/8 hex on mine
@@BreakingTaps Thank for all of that, the 3/8" worked! Do you think I should disassemble the machine to transport it? It's only a few miles from me and I have a friend, a little trailer with two ramps and an appliance dolly. Thanks again!
@@jransomtucker Nah, if it were me I'd just wrestle it home mostly intact :) Taking the head (or motor) is an easy way to shed some weight and will make it be less tippy, but just rotating it upside down and cranking the table all the way to the bottom is what I did and it worked fine. Lag bolting to 4x4s or whatever helps a bunch with tipping as well, but probably not required if you strap it down well. These things are always a pain to move, but disassembling to remove the knee, table, etc would be a lot of work and still going to be a pain to move :) Goodluck! Golden rule is to just go slow and keep hands/feet clear! I made some wedges out of 4x4s split diagonally and use them all the time now. Crowbar to lift edge slightly, put two wedges in. Repeat on other side. Lever a bit higher, kick wedge in further, etc etc. At some point you've raised it enough to slide blocks underneath. Nice and easy and slow, it'll be home before you know it :)
@@BreakingTaps There will be 4 of us to move it now so hopefully that works. I tried to remove the head but couldn't get the collar off that rotates the head. Any ideas? I was thinking that I need to remove the worn gear screw mechanism but I couldn't get behind the machine to see if there were allen head screws attaching it to the column. Mine is the vertical only mill and the collar is on the rear of the machine.
Mine was around $1200 with a bunch of tooling (several vices, rotary table, end mills, drill bits, etc). I've seen them go for as cheap s $500 some places online, or much more expensive depending on location. Honestly it's probably easier to find a cheaper, nicer used Bridgeport than a Rockwell... but it's a machinery desert here and reasonably priced machines are hard to find so I jumped on it. Plus the horizontal capability is really nice. Good luck!
Thanks! The stuck quill ended up being a mangled spring. There are two oiling ports on the side of the quill, just little ball bearings held in with springs. One of the springs was bent/mangled and could pop out of the port, which would then catch on the quill when the quill's top extended past the oiler. On the upstroke it would grab the spring and pull it into the shaft, and the whole arrangement would bind up. I think the last video in the series shows the spring, since I only figured it out after re-assembling the head (and having to disassemble again to fix) :)
@@BreakingTaps Hi, if anyone still cares, I'll share what I learned about this topic. I've had the pleasure of running a handful of different manual vertical milling machines, all were essentially Bridgeport clones. My understanding is that these machines share this common feature in general: The Spindle FWD/OFF/REV Switch might have more accurately been labeled as Spindle ON/OFF/ON, because that orientation of which position turns the spindle CW or CCW is inverted upon each gear change (high/low). In other words, the FWD/REV position label at the switch is arbitrary because the relationship is inverted by each gear shift. To put it simply, Changing the gear lever position effectively reverses the direction of spindle rotation. So even though in low gear, the FWD position may turn the spindle CW, if you shift to high gear, the FWD position will then turn the spindle CCW.
I came here from watching your latest SEM/AFM videos.
These are a real flashback to Burton's Attic from a few years ago.
Rockwell was a huge force in machine tools and industry in general back in the day.
RIP.
Hehe yeah, content on the channel has changed a bit over the years 😁 Still loving the Rockwell! Use it probably more often than the CNC, often just easier to hop on the mill and knock out something quick by eye. A few quirks of the machine but otherwise I really like it! Sad the company sorta fizzled out over time :(
@@BreakingTaps Thanks for all the incredible content that you make!
Sure your interests and direction may have evolved, but it's obvious that your passion and abilities are still with doing things that most of us only dream of.
And the way it is presented is accessible, much like Ben Krasnow's channel Applied Science.
I can't think of a higher complement than that! 👍
I just discovered this channel and am binge watching. Hugely impressive projects, great narration, top notch camera work and editing... why the hell do you have less than 15k subs?
This was great to watch and hear your experience. It's keeping me motivated to finish my rockwell lathe.
Just watched this again for the second time. I watched it a few months ago.
Enjoyable to watch. I like voice over videos better than the rambling of some other creators.
Good music and editing. Thanks
Thanks for watching!
I added a DRO to mine. You use inexpensive scales and build an inexpensive Bluetooth to serial box based on arduino module or a TI box. Makes this mill really easy to use and much more versatile than riding handwheels. In the interim a magnet backed dial indicator is great for the knee.
Interesting, do you have more info on that somewhere? Is that the TouchDRO project (www.yuriystoys.com/p/android-dro.html) or something else? DRO was on the shortlist of things I wanted to do... I'm not sure I trust my ability to watch dials otherwise :)
Yup that is the one. Thankfully the code is all written for us. Simple circuit build and a android tablet and you are golden.
Wow your hand wheels and pulley cover are intact - amazing.
I promised to check it out. Dan from Rockwell Group. We need to see that power feed up close and under the housing to see how they did the adaptation. You have a winner mill here. Keep that dratted saw dust far away. Promise us - never but ever make sawdust with this beautiful precision machine. _Dan_
Heya Dan! I'll be sure to do a closeup of all the power feed components while re-assembling. It looks like there is a custom-fabricated aluminum end piece that connects to the table, and then another custom iron piece that connects the power feed to the aluminum end piece. I can take measurements of everything while I have it disassembled.
Definitely going to keep sawdust away from this :) I have plans to make a cover for the mill so I can shield it when I'm using my woodshop tools, and have zero intention of ever cutting wood on it. This thing will only see metal and oil :)
"Rockwell" looks GOOD..... I mean Bridgeport are kinda "the one to have" but you don't see any Bridgeport logos on Space Shuttles or 6502 processors!!!
Circlips hate us all and aren't afraid to show it!
Could you do a video on the Rockwell turbo encabulator?
Love that power table motor!!!
really enjoyed that. thanks
Hey Taps, what do you do for work?
How did you move it yourself and do you know what the allen wrench size is to loosen the two bolts at the top in order to rotate the head? I'm picking up a vertical version on Saturday so I hope you see this! Informative video, I think I'll watch them all in a bit! Thank you.
Goodluck! I used a long crowbar and some wedges to get it raised enough so that I could slide 4x4s underneath, then I lag bolted the base to the 4x4s. Got it up on a pallet jack (which was pretty tough, since I didn't use the right pallet dimensions), strapped it to the pallet jack with hefty ratchet straps and heaved it up the ramp of a small trailer. IIRC I used a comealong to help get it up. Was definitely... not ideal or fun :) Strapped it to the deck of the trailer with a bunch of straps. I rotated the head so it was "down" for transport, but in retrospect I should have just removed it.
Unloading was worse since the comealong doesn't reverse. If I were to do it again, I'd use a big chainfall hoist since that is reversible. I've moved it around my shop a few times by lifting onto 2x4s (again with crowbar and wedges) and moving it on iron pipes egyptian style.
Bolts are 3/8 hex on mine
@@BreakingTaps Thank for all of that, the 3/8" worked! Do you think I should disassemble the machine to transport it? It's only a few miles from me and I have a friend, a little trailer with two ramps and an appliance dolly. Thanks again!
@@jransomtucker Nah, if it were me I'd just wrestle it home mostly intact :) Taking the head (or motor) is an easy way to shed some weight and will make it be less tippy, but just rotating it upside down and cranking the table all the way to the bottom is what I did and it worked fine. Lag bolting to 4x4s or whatever helps a bunch with tipping as well, but probably not required if you strap it down well. These things are always a pain to move, but disassembling to remove the knee, table, etc would be a lot of work and still going to be a pain to move :)
Goodluck! Golden rule is to just go slow and keep hands/feet clear! I made some wedges out of 4x4s split diagonally and use them all the time now. Crowbar to lift edge slightly, put two wedges in. Repeat on other side. Lever a bit higher, kick wedge in further, etc etc. At some point you've raised it enough to slide blocks underneath. Nice and easy and slow, it'll be home before you know it :)
@@BreakingTaps There will be 4 of us to move it now so hopefully that works. I tried to remove the head but couldn't get the collar off that rotates the head. Any ideas? I was thinking that I need to remove the worn gear screw mechanism but I couldn't get behind the machine to see if there were allen head screws attaching it to the column. Mine is the vertical only mill and the collar is on the rear of the machine.
That second layer is filler that they spray on to smooth the casting finish. It would have been better to just degrease it sand ot smooth and paint.
Ah yeah, makes sense. Live and learn I guess :) Thanks for stopping by!
what music is in video?
Play the music with SoundHound app on another device. It will listen and tell you what the song is.
How much was it at the time you bought it? I'm trying to get an idea how much to pay for one. currently looking at one. thanks in advance.
Mine was around $1200 with a bunch of tooling (several vices, rotary table, end mills, drill bits, etc). I've seen them go for as cheap s $500 some places online, or much more expensive depending on location. Honestly it's probably easier to find a cheaper, nicer used Bridgeport than a Rockwell... but it's a machinery desert here and reasonably priced machines are hard to find so I jumped on it. Plus the horizontal capability is really nice. Good luck!
That's where they can put it
ASMR for engineers/gear-heads... :-D
Nice mill. Did you find what stopped the travel on the quill? Take care
Thanks! The stuck quill ended up being a mangled spring. There are two oiling ports on the side of the quill, just little ball bearings held in with springs. One of the springs was bent/mangled and could pop out of the port, which would then catch on the quill when the quill's top extended past the oiler. On the upstroke it would grab the spring and pull it into the shaft, and the whole arrangement would bind up. I think the last video in the series shows the spring, since I only figured it out after re-assembling the head (and having to disassemble again to fix) :)
Nice video. Can’t believe you haven’t got more views haha!
Thanks for watching! Appreciate it :)
if youre running three phase and the machine is running in reverse you need to switch 2 of the phases around
Alas, single phase. I think someone just messed up the wiring and was too lazy to fix it :)
@@BreakingTaps Hi, if anyone still cares, I'll share what I learned about this topic. I've had the pleasure of running a handful of different manual vertical milling machines, all were essentially Bridgeport clones. My understanding is that these machines share this common feature in general: The Spindle FWD/OFF/REV Switch might have more accurately been labeled as Spindle ON/OFF/ON, because that orientation of which position turns the spindle CW or CCW is inverted upon each gear change (high/low). In other words, the FWD/REV position label at the switch is arbitrary because the relationship is inverted by each gear shift. To put it simply, Changing the gear lever position effectively reverses the direction of spindle rotation. So even though in low gear, the FWD position may turn the spindle CW, if you shift to high gear, the FWD position will then turn the spindle CCW.
Would you be interested in selling your Rockwell milling machine?