Horizontal Boring Mill Restoration: Disassembling and Inspecting the Saddle & Cross Slide

[@PeteRondeau]

I love that split second of indecision around 11 minutes when trying to work out which direction the wrench needs to turn when upside down. I do the exact same thing. lol

[@tjcasper777]

I was glad to see I was not the only one.

[@DAKOTANSHELBY]

I saw that too and immediately thought "righty tighty lefty loosy". But it was in an inverted position.

[@TheLfd213]

Glad to see that even a Master machinist has to go Lefty Loosey righty tighty sometimes. Means there might just be hope for me yet.

[@plakor6133]

Knowledge is power, but...ignorance is bliss. The perils of taking something apart and finding more unexpected projects! I will probably never breath the same air as any of these machines, or even their smaller cousins, but I enjoy your presentations and learn so much. Thanks!

[@cripplecreeksawmill]

Every time I see vids like this I'm reminded about how much our machine-rebuilding community owes to Richard King. Keep up the good work 👍

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

Thanks for taking the time to show us what you are doing. I have been a fan for many years but seldom comment on the larger channels. I never miss a Keith Rucker video. Keep on keeping on.

[@matthewhelton1725]

Necessity is the mother of invention and the godmother of productivity. Can't disagree with any of your conclusions: Dig into it now, for less pain down the road. For a 100+ year old machine, it is in incredible shape. Re-scraping/ flaking will tighten up the table with minimal downtime. Replacing the bronze nuts (which I think is likely) will also realize quick and lasting benefits for the overall machine's performance. In short, they are all Quick Wins with no further re-work required down the road.

[@TheAyrCaveShop]

Keith, Good One...the saddle as you noted is not bad for it's age. 100% agree to scrape it now while you're in there. She's going to be a sweet machine !

[@dennisdelpiero7615]

Thanks for sharing your passion, Keith. I'm addicted to your videos. Cheers from Italy

[@swanvalleymachineshop]

Will be an interesting series . I have a 1956 Graffenstaden HBM that will be getting a full birthday hopefully later in the year .

[@Paul-FrancisB]

Good morning Keith

[@morelenmir]

I think you are absolutely right Keith! This thing is fairly modular and by its nature divides into--comparatively!--bite-sized pieces. You can really knuckle down into the table part and make sure it is absolutely ship-shape without committing yourself right now to an 18-month rebuild of the entire machine. Once the table is perfect you can use it for your pending jobs and that process will give you an idea of what the condition of the _rest_ of the machine is in. I am looking forward to seeing inside that gearbox part and the remaking of the brass piece. However what will be the most satisfying to see will be the complete reworking of that horrible bodged together handle part! I cannot wait to see you set that to rights and return it to the condition it should be in. Those splines will be especially interesting to watch you put back in. Can't wait for the next video!!!

[@robertharker]

Another great video. Your changing camera angles and framing are superb. Keeping things interesting. Your editing is great. The montage of removing the cross slide screw was excellent. Great editing. You are getting better and better all the time.

[@johnwiley8417]

10:57 I have to stop and think about which direction to loosen on bottom bolts, too.

[@joshuablair6120]

In my head, I always use the clock method. Clockwise tightens, counterclockwise loosens. When the part is upside down, just think of a clock that's upside down, and you'll know which way to turn.

[@MrPossumeyes]

Think of a clock-face, or look at the bolt and say "Lefty loosie, righty tightie". A really old thing! (works every time unless you've got a lefty tightie righty loosie rebel) Of course, you'd have to lie down on the floor....

[@from-the-land-of-noah]

Do it right or do it over. I really appreciate the fact that you are choosing to do it right the first time. :)

[@michaelkoch2109]

Keep going! I am sure you will make it! 👍👍👍 Greetings from Dresden! 😎

[@THEIRONWORKER]

I rebuilt my boring mill about two years ago . I remember all of this you are doing . My HBM has harden ways so I did not do anything there .but fix up everything else . I did send off my spindle to a chroming shop and had it ground and chromed . And I made new brass bush for the spindle and replaced the spindle bearings . Good Luck

[@procyonia3654]

Your boring mill vids during that rebuild were cool as hell

[@richardsurber8226]

So this is the second time through this video. This is a marvelous series. Thanks KR for the great shop done video of a proper rework and getting things parallel. I have the advantage of seeing this after the re-assembly of the table. Drill presses are neat machines and this is kinda like a drill press, in my minds eye.

[@Zerostar369]

Naw, forget all that work. Throw caution to the wind! "We do it right cause we do it twice!" Thats my motto.

[@DAKOTANSHELBY]

I believe one of those other projects in the shop must be the Stoker Engine. Can't wait!

[@matthewhelton1725]

I've got money on that as well...

[@keithgutshall9559]

The handle is similar to the handle like the knee handle on a Bridgeport mill.Maybe use a Bridgeport handle for a pattern to cast at WHF. Give Clark some fun.

[@PETERTRITSCH]

Always amazed by the amount of knowledge Keith has acquired !

[@scottnj2503]

Love it and we all do it... at 11:00...righty thighty, lefty loosy with hand gesture. Awesome.

[@Baron3D]

Thank yourselves. Good news.

[@adrianodagenova6935]

You're awesome too Keith!!

[@jpsimon206]

I'm sure you are quite well stocked but I do not have an hbm. Despite this, I have three different long arbors, 2 40 tapers about 2 to 3 ft long and one short 30 taper about 18 in. What I thought was more potentially useful was the precision spacers. I must have at least 200 of these all brand new in the bag. I'd say about 80% of them are one or two inch, but the small ones are pretty elaborate with the different widths. I also still have a dozen or so cutters around. I was holding out hope of getting an hbm one day, but I'm already at the downsizing phase. Can you make use of these? Personally, not as trade fodder? All my gear is from the 40s to '60s, high end but not ridiculous

[@stevespra1]

Thank you Keith for sharing the work on this old machine. This boring mill and the metal planer truly are vintage machinery. It's really neat to see just how advanced our machine tools were a hundred years ago.

[@williamcantalamessa5231]

Good morning from Siesta Key Florida

[@SgtCude59]

Going to be fun watching this rebuild on your boring mill

[@jensschroder8214]

Now that all the pieces are apart it makes sense to inspect and scrape everything. And also to fix the bronze bushing. When the machine is back together, no one bothers to take it all apart again. There aren't many left that can scrape like it used to be done in the old days.

[@mikehughes4687]

How can you be so lucky..most machines I rebuild I have to count the shims never mind the thinnest I have. Love the visual experience though keep doing what you do Kieth. Regards Mike.

[@floridaflywheelersantiquee7578]

Good info thanks Keith

[@stumccabe]

Thanks Keith.

[@WilliamTMusil]

Hiya Keith

[@benfrombelow]

It's actually a pretty exciting mill

[@Ambidexter143]

For over 100 years old it's in fantastic condition. That's a real tribute to the initial builders.

[@mabmachine]

I can't believe how nice that machine is. I'd love find a small HBM that nice.

[@toohardtowatch]

12:27 I assume the purpose of that nut is to lock the cross slide for rigidity while boring?

[@talegunner115]

Keith you have a wealth of knowledge. What will we do once you decide to give this up? Thank you for all you do sir.

[@jamesdavis8021]

Good call.It’s not going to take long to scrape in and,once it’s done,you can forget that part. I am amazed that it is in such good condition.

[@CraigLYoung]

Thanks for sharing 👍

[@jfl-mw8rp]

Nice project and good judgement Keith! Looks to be quite manageable.

[@rpatrick2]

That is a spectacularly well drafted/cast housing on the front of this machine.

[@curtisvonepp4335]

cheers move forward,.🙂

[@procyonia3654]

Think you are going about this the right way, I had a similar issue on my Lucas and I did it backwards and scraped the bed first and boy howdy was that a nightmare

[@bcbloc02]

Well they are pretty flat now it is a big hope that they are also parallel and square! off to the granite surface plate to find out. 🙂

[@tpobrienjr]

using the feeler gauge under the straightedge reminded me of my dentist checking my gums - ugh.

[@tinkmarshino]

Outstanding stuff brother!

[@patrickcolahan7499]

Seems like it would make life easier if the carriage was to flip that over, upside down. Maybe when you go to reassemble. Carriage assembly looks to be in pretty good condition. Think you are right in addressing any issues now and that will be one less item on the list to deal with down the road. Thanks for sharing Keith.

[@chrispfeffer1106]

Like the approach you are taking to bring the machine back to a high level of condition.

[@davidzeak8667]

Thanks Keith, love your videos. Keep them coming!!

[@robertlevine2152]

Very impressive. It is a learning experience to watch you work. Your approach to a restoration is from my perspective impeccable. If I have any criticism it is your use of a wrench ad a hammer, especially since you had a hammer sitting right there. Enough said. Bob

[@kentuckytrapper780]

Great video Keith, keep'um coming..

[@Hey_Its_That_Guy]

Thank you, Keith. Appreciate all that you do and share!

[@elsdp-4560]

Thank you for sharing.👍👀

[@thom3124]

Morning. Nice project. Thanks.

[@jackgreen412]

That's your plan and sticking to it! (Unless needs arise.)

[@Julianobonturi1]

The planer, recently renovated, will not help in this rebuild?

[@malliz1]

Thanks keith 😀

[@6NBERLS]

Most excellent.

[@richardwigley]

What happened to the stoker engine?

[@rickpalechuk4411]

The ways are good! No way ..... way! 😁 Cheers

[@Ambidexter143]

ISWYDT.

[@ellieprice363]

“Ways?” An interesting word. I wonder who decided many, many years ago to use it for the sliding surfaces of machines?

[@tonybell4447]

Might have been an idea to have used your precision stones on the ways before taking your measurements

[@t.d.mich.7064]

Hey Kieth, how do you determine squareness of upper ways to the lower ways? Are you going to assume they are still square from the original machining work? They do need to be running square to one another.

[@oxfd611]

Keith I have a request? Could you explain What is a Thrust bearing/washer? And why are they are different than other bearings and washers?

[@timdouglass9831]

A regular bearing is designed to carry a load perpendicular to the axis of the shaft, think the weight of a car against an axle. A thrust bearing carries a load along the axis of a shaft, think tightening a vice.

[@RobertKohut]

Loads can go from horizontal to vertical very easily when the sling can slide on the hook... :-)

[@davidzindman]

It’s lefty tighty and righty loosey yep

[@refactorear]

23:08 Seems you saw a ghost :-)

[@kindabluejazz]

Interesting how it uses hex-socket-head screws to hold the gib - those weren't considered 'manufacturable' until about 1910. That would make this machine one of the earliest to use them commercially.

[@johnopalko5223]

Possible kitty sighting at 15:44 - 15:45. It might be a doggy; it's hard to tell.

[@BedsitBob]

That lead screw seems to be a close fit in the nut, which is surprising, given the age of the machine.

[@hinz1]

16:38 Quite some scratches/galling going on there, I'd scrape that, before it gets even worse.

[@catfishgray3696]

GREAT JOB, GREAT VIDEO, LET'S GO TO WORK...DON'T FORGET THE CATS AND DOGS...

[@jimthesoundman8641]

So... since there is almost no wear on those ways after 104 years, does that mean that it was just kept well oiled its entire life? Or does it mean it has been rescraped during it's lifetime? Or is there no way to tell?

[@BedsitBob]

That table seems to have had a few bites taken out of it.

[@kennethwhite7829]

That was one long ass screw buba...

[@WreckDiver99]

Great stuff...I understand the whole idea of scraping and such, but I don't understand how you handle things like when you have to regrind the ways and then scrape it in. The material is removed, and now things will sit "different" so it's always been one that just doesn't make sense to me. It's one that I'm sure if I saw the process beginning to end it may make sense. I know you did this with the metal planer, and yea, I'm still sitting here saying "but you removed material...it won't sit the same way, everything will be "lower" based on material removal. I understand we're talking thousandths in most cases, but it's a change, it's something I'm just having a mental block on. Again, great stuff, just don't fully "get it"...if you want to talk computers, 3D Printers, etc...No problem, but rebuilding machines? LOL.

[@CothranMike]

@WD99 - I can understand your confusion. The way things fit originally is a relationship you are trying to restore with grinding and scraping. For the Planer and for this Vertical Boring Mill the relationships of the flat surfaces both one to the other and overall are the only relationships that matter in the end. There is no centerline of rotation for a frame of elevation reference as there is in a lathe. This makes it much easier to make these thousands of an inch adjustments to the plane of reference and parallelism of these surfaces to each other and their 90° angular counterparts. The removal of small amounts of metal does not need to be a big concern in the height relationship of one piece to another. The only thing that matters is the plane of flatness being coplanar in all dimensions and the 90-degree regularity of those surfaces to each other.

[@WreckDiver99]

@@CothranMike Yes, that is part of it. I always think "OK, so why use the kirksite (sp?)" if the relationship is all that maters that is. I get the whole "Well, it's 250 Thou, and grinding that off would just be way too much, it's better to add the material and resume from there. But the whole "You changed the height of the bed...how will that all work now". I understand on a lathe, you just adjust the tool post height...but on other things? One step at a time...I'll get it one day...LOL.

[@edo8697]

@@WreckDiver99 If a machine dimension must be held, or too much material is missing, a bronze plate or for about the last 50 years a durable plastic material called terkite can be added to one side and scraped. this can preserve the original dimensions if necessary. But most often the adjacent surfaces are simply made to match, and everything can be fit together and work as new.

[@jameskerns717]

Pretty much doesn't matter if the table sits a bit lower than it used to. The head and tailstock move up and down to allow you to align to whatever hole you want to bore. The only issue would be if you dropped it far enough that the lead screws had to flex too much as they turn because you wouldn't be aligned with the drive axis. But a few thousandths of an inch up or down??? I'm not sure I would get excited about that... YMMV

[@WreckDiver99]

@@edo8697 The "Fit together" makes sense, it's the dimensional changes. I used to work in Machine Tool WAY back (35 years ago?). If you did this to "repair" those tools the parts would fail inspection because the tolerances were so bloody tight (millionths for some). Coming from that knowledge the whole "ahh, just take a few tenths off, scrape it in so they are parallel to one another and you're good to go" is a troubling thing. LOL. I'm sure the whole Machining Line Systems now can compensate by using laser vision systems and such to make minute adjustments to the fixture pallet or the cutting tools themselves, but not back then. Some of those machines ran 10+ years making 20+ Million parts...so it's tough for me to wrap my head around this side of it. I'll get there. THANKS!!!

[@melgross]

That worm looks to be very worn.

[@JohnDoe-es5xh]

Interesting, but I'll skip the scraping process video.

[@CothranMike]

Absolutely! For some folks it's about as exciting as watching paint application in the Navy tradition ie laying on laying off. A technique developed for even application of Naval coatings. Very tedious even if necessary. So just about as exciting as watching paint dry. For myself I enjoy both the process and the end result but it's a lot more interesting doing it then watching it.

[@scottjohnson1698]

If you need a tail stock I may know where one is .

[@emilgabor88]

If that key on the Saft it’s a repair made by some machine shop, I don’t think I would like to get repaired anything by them… If they can’t fix their own machines how can they fix my stuff

[@johnbaker1039]

Lefty loosey righty tighty.... saw that....Lol

[@rival1016]

Honestly can't take any more scraping, leveling or flatness checking videos,,had to unsub,,ill check in periodically to see if you get back to actual machining,,all the best keith

[@Dean5073]

Ok time to change the intro music

[@milantrcka121]

Why?

[@WilliamMulligan]

I do like the stuff you do but is there any chance of talking while you do it. You spend an awful lot of time just talking and pointing.

[@CothranMike]

It sounds like editing of voice over and process audio is required. This requires scripting and direction which are both pre-production and although they both add value to the final production are far beyond the scope of these videos. If you are lucky someone might come along and re-edit these videos with that in mind but the required ADR additional dialog recording would lack Keith's voiceovers as a scripted addition. Some do enjoy this Spontaneous Style (off the cuff in other words) versus a polished presentation. Edited for clarity.

[@WilliamMulligan]

@@CothranMike I was thinking more simplistically than that. Keep his same 'off the cuff' style just talk & work instead of stand and talk.

[@ellieprice363]

@@WilliamMulligan I think both are necessary. First the talking and pointing to describe what needs to be done then more talking and explaining while it’s being done. It requires a bit of patience but it’s very necessary to understand the whole process.

[@WilliamMulligan]

@@ellieprice363 I'm not sure that he has the right balance. I do realise that this is not his main occupation but I feel that the standing and pointing explanations are very long winded. I spend a lot of my viewing time thinking ' Oh please get on with it'.

[@ellieprice363]

@@WilliamMulligan Well he is a slow talking southerner from Georgia but I need all the talking pointing and doing I can get on a complicated machine like this. Keith’s method of teaching is “nice and slow”.