It's a 3HP Sharp HMV, not a Bridgeport, but a close enough clone that I figured I could post in this forum.
I picked it up from a machine shop that bought it brand new in '93 and used it daily since then. It is definitely well worn, but still in decent enough shape.
I got it with a ProtoTrak MX2, a set of factory collets and Kurt pneumatic draw bar for $2k. The only caveat is that the head makes noise, a lot of noise.
Here is a video of the noise it is making.
The noise changes speed in relation to the speed of quill and still makes the noise when it is in neutral. I'm planning on taking the head apart and doing a full rebuild, minus the quill bearings, but I don't have a good way to get head off the machine. I was planning on grabbing the nose of the quill in my vice and using the table to pull it off the ram, but I don't want to deform the quill or possibly have the head tip over and fall off. I saw a jig some people have made using a 3/4" round bar welded to a plate and clamped to the table. Would this work for taking off the whole head including the motor? I don't have a tall enough hoist to lift the motor off in-situ and I'm not sure I could handle the weight on a ladder.
This is how I would like to take it off now, but I'm having second thoughts.
The bed has been pretty badly abused...
It looks like someone dropped something pretty heavy. The bed still moves back and forth fine, but I'm not sure what this does to accuracy in this area.
My other question is about powering the mill. I just finished running a 40AMP sub panel to power my welder, the mill and a few extra outlets. I have a rotary phase converter connected to a 20A breaker. I've seen some installs with contactors or fuses, is this something I should consider installing?
I'm also worried about overloading the phase converter. Full load amps on the phase converter is rated at 9.3A, and the nameplate on the mill is 8.6A, but Temco derates the output by 30% above 3,000ft. I'm in Denver at about 5,000ft, so that means the output should be limited to 6.5A. I'm using this phase converter just because I got a good deal, but would prefer to sell it and buy a properly sized one instead of burning this one out and losing my investment in it. Could I just put a fan on it to account for the thinner air at altitude and gain back the derated power?
