Power feed for the Z axis of the milling machine

Adding power feed on the Z axis of the mill was first in the ‘must do’ projects for quite some time now. My hand was getting tired cranking the milling head up and down every time I needed to change a tool.
I started looking at gear reduction motors; I wanted a compact motor with enough power and low rpm to handle the weight of the milling head... but anyway, you'll find out more as you watch the video.
I hope you enjoy the video
Dimitris (AKA Jimmy)
A big thank you to my friend Kostas Kalleris for his excellent ideas, work and of course his patience. Without his help it would have been impossible to complete this project.
Κωστή μου σε ευχαριστώ πολύ!

[@yannkitson116]

The attention to detail is very enjoyable to watch as it is very rare these days, thank you for sharing. I might steal the idea and make a tracking device for my solar panels.

[@JimmysCanal]

Thank you Yann, it's pleasure to share as always! Wish you the best Dimitris

[@TheKnacklersWorkshop]

Hello Dimitris, I don't know how I missed this video, SORRY for being late to watch it. enjoyable viewing, thank you. Take care. Paul,,

[@JimmysCanal]

Hello Paul, You don't need to apologize, I'm the one that must say sorry for not posted a video for such a long time! Thank you very much for the comment, glad that you like it! Take care Dimitris

[@AnonCaliga]

👏🏼 Great video and very timely as this is something I’m currently also working on and scratching my head at but now you’ve gave me a solution, thank you. Most importantly it’s absolutely great to see you back on KZbin, it’s been a while, you’ve been missed and please don’t leave it as long between videos in future. Superb to have you back friend, looking forward to many more creative projects from the channel. Well done and again many thanks from Ireland. 👍🏻

[@JimmysCanal]

Thank you very much for your comment! I'm glad that this video gives you some kind of help for your project. I know it has been a year from my last video; unfortunately things are not going always as we want them to go. But I shouldn't complain, I did manage to do a few things in the shop but those was not too significant to excuse a video. However, I have a few projects in mind I would really like to do; hopefully soon. Thanks again for your comment and support, I really appreciate it! Warm regards from Greece Dimitris P.S. Ireland is one of my most beloved countries in the world, I wish some day to visit it

[@lykos30]

Προσοχη στην καθε λεπτομέρεια!!! Μπράβο Δημήτρη!!!

[@JimmysCanal]

Ευχαριστώ πολύ, χαίρομαι που σου άρεσε το βίντεο! Καλό υπόλοιπο καλοκαιριού! Δημήτρης

[@lykos30]

@@JimmysCanal επίσης Δημήτρη και καλες δημιουργίες να εχεις!!!

[@JimmysCanal]

@@lykos30 Ευχαριστώ πολύ, να είσαι καλά!!

[@Ukenick]

Well my friend, you've done it again. Great inventiveness, attention to detail and of course, beautiful execution. Another beautiful Jimmy creation. Congratulations my friend.

[@JimmysCanal]

Hey Nick, Thank you very much, I'm glad that you like it! You know how persistent I am, especially on details; this time as it is happened some times in the past, I had the help from another persistent to details...my friend Kostas! Thanks again! Your 'crazy' Greek friend

[@harispro5682]

Another video filled with your well known quality when executing these kind of projects! Its oustanding both in terms of imagination, creativity and execution. I love how you and your friend turned this awesome idea in a top-notch finished job. You nailed it, keep up the great stuff you always share with us!

[@JimmysCanal]

Thank you very much, your kind words honors me and Kostas! It is and will always be a pleasure for me to share the things I make with all of you. All the best Dimitris

[@KonstantinosKalleris]

Thank you too for your kind words. We really appreciate it. We always try to do our best. All the best, Kostas

[@planeflyer21]

Much nicer than the hand-cranking on my Grizzly. Well done!

[@JimmysCanal]

Thank you very much! It is much better than hand-cranking the mill head in general; perhaps it's time to do same in your mill? definitely saves time and effort. Regards from Greece Jimmy

[@TomChame]

Very neat, well done! Good to see you back again. All the best from Panama.

[@JimmysCanal]

Hey Tom, thank you very much! I'm glad that you like. All the best from Greece Dimitris

[@bobweiram6321]

Great to see another video! This is one of the most underrated machining channels on KZbin. I recommend it to everyone who's interested in machining. You mentioned a couple of times how you didn't show certain procedures in order to keep the video short. I strongly discourage doing so. Your core audience enjoys watching the process of turning a concept into a finished and useful product. They're also inspired to tackle projects they may feel is beyond their capabilities. Your earliest videos exemplify it perfectly. Btw, my son is a big fan of Giannis Antetokounmpo who is Greek and plays for a US basketball team. Is he well known in Greece? I ask because I would guess basketball is not as popular in Greece as it is in the US.

[@JimmysCanal]

Thank you very much Bob. I really appreciate your kind words and support! On the subject you pointed out “not showing certain procedures in order to keep the video short” you are right; for this particular video, I just thought that adding machining procedure in an already lengthy video would be pretty boring. Anyway, I'll try to equalize things on the next one. You said that my channel 'is one of the most underrated machining channels on KZbin', know that what you said honors me! Now, I can't say that my channel is dedicated onto machining because of the various content, if we focus on the 'underrated' part, this could be from the difficulty of maintaining a steady flow of content. Yes, Giannis Antetokounmpo is very well known here! They speak for him very often on sports news and newspapers etc. I know he has a fan club, but I can't be 100% sure if there is a Greek fan club as well. Allow me to say that you guessed wrong, basketball is a very popular sport in Greece and over the years has given many victories to local teams over foreign teams as well our national team over foreign national teams. Thank you once again for the advice and support! Regards from Greece Dimitris

[@KonstantinosKalleris]

Να είσαι καλά Δημήτρη, εύχομαι να το χαρείς! Τους φίλους τους προσέχω λίγο παραπάνω. Βέβαια κι εσύ ζωγράφισες πάλι! Άντε, και στα επόμενα... Κώστας

[@JimmysCanal]

Κωστή μου σε ευχαριστώ πολύ! Το χαίρομαι ήδη που το βλέπω και θα το χαρώ στην πράξη στο επόμενο κιόλας πρότζεκτ. Να είσαι καλά και πάντα δημιουργικός. Άντε και στα επόμενα δικά σου πρότζεκτ... Δημήτρης

[@HM-Projects]

Nice improvement and modification.

[@JimmysCanal]

Thank you very much, I'm glad that you like it! All the best Jimmy

[@sheep1ewe]

Glad to see You back Jimmy! I hope everything is ok with You. // E

[@JimmysCanal]

Glad to hear you my friend! Everything goes well, thank you for asking! I hope that you are ok too, Take good care Your friend from Greece

[@sheep1ewe]

@@JimmysCanal . Nothing i should complain about, i am currently working on restoring a portable old mini blacksmith (i think the core was originally an old farriers station).

[@JimmysCanal]

I'm happy to hear that! I would really like to see the restoration you make, send me pictures if you can; you can find my email on my channel's 'about' page. Be always creative! Take care amigo. Dimitris

[@sheep1ewe]

@@JimmysCanal Thank You! I will do my best to remember to take pictures... It's nothing special, just an old rusty portable farriers field forge i bought from a friend long time ago and an old hand forged anvil i found on my fathers farm whan i was a kid. 🙂

[@FiveTrackTape]

Beautiful work sir. 👍

[@JimmysCanal]

Thank you very much, I appreciate that you like it! All the best Jimmy

[@evilgremlin]

NIce! I have smaller Weiss mill (VM25) with top crank, it's light but really annoying. I think window lift motor should be enough.

[@JimmysCanal]

Thank you! I know how annoying can be, especially if it's on the top of the column. Window lift motor could probably be ok, but don't use wiper motor, I think it's too slow for this application. All the best Jimmy

[@steveb936]

Nice, how do you manually adjust it for fine work?

[@JimmysCanal]

Thank you very much! After I set the mill head close to the part, I use the spindle's fine feed for accurate milling. All the best Jimmy

[@Keith-l2s]

Can you invest in a microphone for the next one please. Thanks!

[@MaximKachurovskiy]

What happens if you lock the Z and try to move it? 😀

[@JimmysCanal]

I can't know exactly, and I'm not eager to find out. Anyhow, to answer to your question, I can think a few possible things: stall the motor, break the bevel gears on the leadscrew, the leadscrew nut or something else; but definitely what will happen won't be good! Cheers Jimmy

[@KonstantinosKalleris]

It shouldn't be a problem, since the fuses that have been installed are just on the nominal amps. If the motor will be enabled with the Z-axis locked, at least one of the two fuses will blow because of the overcurrent. There is one main fuse that protects the power supply, and a second one for the motor. Both selected right on the nominal load. Thanks for mention it. Kostas