Just a little tip Lyle in case it happens to you. If you find that by operating the lever to make the table go left or right, you find that the table speed increases or decreses, do the following. Slacken off the speed control knob screw and move the knob further away from the lever. If the gap is too close then the lever will gradualy rub on the knob and alter it. 2 minute job, including the time to search for a screwdriver or allen key. Great outcome FULL marks to Vevor for replacing it. Regards from Australia.
Thanks for the update. The manufacturer should make the piece shorter for the Bridgeport and furnish collars to add for other models. I will bet there are some pots in there to allow you to adjust the minimum speed. My wife's treadmill has pots that do that, but you have to take it apart to get at them. Notice I said "wife's treadmill."
That was hysterical when you talked about pinch points saying you could say that about everything and then you point to the cutter to say don’t put your finger here. Yes, everything about machinery is dangerous. Very funny.
Mr. Pete...I did mount one on the knee. I lengthened the shaft and kept the hand crank on, but it is not engaged. It floats when using the feed, thus I can still use the crank for fine adjustments. Using a spring point set screw keeps the crank from ever engaging its self. My Wells-Index mill is getting harder to move the knee as I age each day. Worth the 526 hours of retrofitting....lol
I installed a power feed on my Bridgeport knee to save my worn out lumbar spine. I have no other power feed on it. The power knee is worth its weight in gold when I am drilling, and reaming a lot of holes.
Congratulations on still having 10 fingers at your age! Wish I could say the same. At 72 I still have 8 complete digits, one was reassembled the other is missing the top joint. Who would have thought back in the 50's that playpens and push mowers were so dangerous. On the plus side, it turns out I got along fine without them and when I count on my fingers, I can do fractions. Thanks for the infotainment.
To answer your question about mounting a power feed unit to the “Z” axis or knee, yes it has been done. My Wells Index mill is a Bridgeport clone that was imported in the 1980’s (fortunately the same mill is still being produced and imported by JET and others so parts are still available). I purchased the mill used years ago, and it came with a Z-axis power feed similar to the Vevor. Quite a bid of work was done to modify the shaft that the elevation crank goes to in order to make this adaptation. Consequently the knee can no longer be raised or lowered using a crank. Instead a large hand wheel was fitted that can be used to manually raise or lower the knee. I do find it very convenient to use when I need to raise or lower the knee more than about an inch.
Thank you for that information. Yesterday, I watched several videos of men installing a power feed on the Z axis. I would like to be able to buy or make the several specialized parts that would be needed.
I am very happy to learn that there are still some people that give “customer care”. Unfortunately for us in South Africa the Vevor products are prohibitively expensive due to the poor value of our currency.
Mr Pete, I suspect that the unit it is a DC drive system, although I couldn’t verify it on Vevor’s website. It may have trimmer pots on the driver board to fine tune the unit to the load.
You asked, so yes...I have installed one of the power feed units that was meant for either an x or y feed , and installed it on my knee. I recall needing to make a bracket of sorts to do do, but cannot recall the specifics. It works great and would not be without it.
I got mine with no power feeds I put a shars on the z cause cranking 6" got old fast. It is not very good. I got a servo on x the pinch point is not much better. Still need the y. probly get vevor this winter. I bought the vevor rotary table and It got heavily damaged in shipping. they refunded me 90% and let me keep it. I made new parts for the broken ones. It works fine. It took me 2 weeks to make the parts though. I did not have any jobs when I did it.
Hey Mr. Pete. Vevor seems to be working hard to gain in popularity and to date and when contacting them about issues of purchases has led to a quick response and resolve. I have purchased a plasma welder, extension cords and other items and am quite satisfied for money spent and products received. Your reference to paying attention brought back a vivid memory. Back when I was in the Md. Air Guard,. I went to school at Chanute AFB for 6 months to learn airframe repair. Back in Baltimore, our shop was a combination of 4, welding, hydraulics, sheet metal and machine shop. At that time, the Baltimore Colts, when they were a football team (remember Johnny Unitas, Tom Matte, John Mackey [the first TE to start catching passes] Bubba Smith, coach Don Shula) were in a race for the championship and of course someone brought in a TV. Everyone in the shop was watching except for Dink, a Senior MSgt. and my supervisor. He was using a large engine lathe to polish his bowling balls. Action developed in the game and Dink left the lathe while running "for a second" to have a quick look. As with all football games, one play only takes seconds so he continued to watch and then we hear this bump, bump, bump, bang, bang, in ascending decibels followed by a loud hum. The carriage had jammed into the chuck locking them together. I forget if he got it apart that day but if memory serves me it was later that week. Fortunately, the lathe still worked and no real damage other than to Dink's pride. Side note, Unitas' hands were almost as long as a football, look up pictures of his hands holding the football.
I shook hands with Johnny Unitas once many years ago, at the first Super Bowl played in Tampa (I was being paid to "work" that event as a Paramedic). You're right about his hands..., they were huge! I'm a big guy, but my hand disappeared when he shook my hand. He was a gracious man, and it was a pleasure to be able to thank my first sports idol for all of the memories. My young partner didn't know who Unitas was.
I did not realize his hands were that large. That’s a good story about the bowling ball. He was doing a government job with the government property, lol.
A cheap z axis power feed is a battery drill with a 3/8¨ socket drive and a 12 point socket that fits the square shaft on the Bridgeport z axis and you can quickly remove it and use the crank for fine adjustment.
Yes, I have one of those. In fact, I made a video on how to make one of those. Plus people have given me drives that are 3-D printed. That is all in my earlier videos.
Hello Mr. Pete. Just a couple of comments: First the the loose bearing race bothered me so I made an extending bushing just long enough to reach beyond the edge of the lobe on the leadscrew. This way the spacers push against the the race and lock it in. Second, I was able to fix the jam-nut problem by using a normal sized nut and turning half of it down to 0.615". So half of it fit inside the handle. I purchased Vevor Model AL-310s. It has the correct TPI for the Dial Locknut. Also seems to have correct speed range. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. Best Regards Bob
I'm getting old too and cranking that knee sucks so I put power feeds on all 3 axes of my mill when I rebuilt it after it was destroyed when my brother's garage burned to the ground. He died a few months later long before any insurance claims could be processed so I drug the burnt out hulks of my machines home and started to repair them. Got the drill press and mill done, working on my Monarch lathe now. In the process of rebuilding I did some research on these import feeds and concluded you get what you pay for. These are on the bottom of the ubiquitous Chinese power feed units and this video is an excellent example of why cheap comes out expensive. First unit you get is defective so their QC is unsurprisingly lacking. There were other differences between the cheaper and more expensive units but I don't remember. Yes, they are all made in only a couple of factories, but those factories build them based on the specs. of the customer and if they spec cheap, they get cheap. Chinese machine tools are no different. But the more troublesome issue is the handle clearance. As you discovered, turning down the collar brought the handle too close to the housing causing a very dangerous pinch point. The difference between the spindle and the power feed is you're not routinely handling the spindle while it's running. IIRC, the better units come with a special nut that's turned down partially to fit inside of the handle to get more thread engagement. Another option is a spring loaded safety handle that spins freely unless it's pushed inward to engage a couple of dowel pins to drive the leadscrew. There's another type of handle that's a round disk with a spring loaded handle that swivels flat towards the center. Personally, I wouldn't run it like that and I'm pretty anti-safety generally. I'd pick one of these methods to mitigate the potential of getting hurt.
Years ago I bought similar units from a company known well on this channel, it sounds like something a cowboy would cut hair with, anyway... I bought three of the most powerful units they sold I installed them on X, Y, and Knee. It made using the Bridgeport much nicer, especially since I am accustomed to machines with built-in feeds on all the axes. I also spaced the feed out to give full travel on the X. My 48" table has just over 36" of travel. I also added a power drawbar, an electric oiler, spray mist coolant, and made an operator's panel at the DRO so I don't have to reach to the sky to turn it on and off. One does get spoiled when running big expensive machine tools...
Never thought of that, good idea I might try it. I was currently thinking way to make some kind of tee slot channel. Chips, getting attracted to the magnets would be the Don side
Adding a Power Feed on the Z-axis is wonderful. Cranking the Z up and down due to tool changes gets tiring. I am verry happy I added the Z-axis to my mill. The Y-axis is still manual. Thanks, Mr. Pete!
My Taiwanese Bridgeport clone came with a Vertex X axis power feed. The first big mod I did to it was to get another power feed for the knee, got sick of cranking it up and down... The manual crank lever is now gathering dust in a tool drawer. I love my (locally made) Diamond tool holders from Eccentric Engineering.
Hello Mr. Pete. I have only been making chips for three years and your insight has given me confidence to experiment on possibilities. Thank you, from all of us that have chosen to be in the front row of your class. As for the Z-axis modification, I adapted a power-feed to my Clausing 8520 knee mill and couldn't be happier. Scott M Saranac MI.
Hello Mr. Pete. Short story, VEVOR sent me a new AL-310s power feed to replace the broken one. Long story, I had to refuse several ridiculous offers of $20, $35, and $70. I told them that only a full refund would be acceptable because I would still want a power feed. New one runs smooth, no clunking sounds, and no broken parts rattling around inside the case. I'll see about installing it on my Harbor Freight 33686 mill/drill. Kind regards, Al
I'm glad the set-up for these is simple. I shouldn't let fear guide me, but I'm always afraid of getting stuck on a build of any kind after crossing the point of no return. Also, don't know who or when, but I'm sorry for your loss.
Acurite makes a mini scale that is only about .75" thick that fits very conveniently on the back of the table. You may find it much cheaper and easier to get that than to machine a T-slot on the back. Great video, Thank you.
Excellent information, if nothing else it spurs me to fiddle with the little square pots, if the diagram will say which is which, in my tiny foreign lathe to settle the twitching. When I grow up, I need a full size vertical mill. The tiny verical mill here is a real workhorse but he's funky to use.
I mounted a Servo unit that was designed for X feeding on my Millrite, Powermatic mill. Took at bit of adaptation but I think it might be easier on the BP.
Without going further into the video, yet, I can say that in many machines, speed control is by resistance in the hot leg going to the motor. Your speed control knob is attached to a potentiometer (pot), a variable resistor, which is often in series with another biasing resistor, which may be a pot or fixed, but isn't usually accessible by the casual user. In the event that a trim pot is used - which allows the factory people to tune the drive - once you can get access, it's a relatively simple matter to adjust it and get the desired response from the pot connected to the control knob. If it's a fixed biasing resistor, you are in for a bit of work to determine what the rating is supposed to be, then source the replacement, then do a bit of soldering to remove the wrong/bad piece and replace it. Not horrible, but a bit of a PITA for the uninitiated... Not saying that this is the cause in this case, but it is a fairly common issue, especially if a mass production operation has less well trained assemblers who just take components out of packages and install them without checking.
I agree with your statement but what Mr. Pete was saying and I agree with 100% is It should have worked right out of the box. Nothing is more aggravating than buying a new piece of equipment and having to "fix it" it make it do what it was supposed to do. I used to "fix" my new stuff that didn't work as advertised but stopped doing that a few years back when China was (and still is) flooding the market with junk. Today if it doesn't work out of the box, back it goes. To Vevor's credit they have improved their customer care 1000% from what it used to be and the products they sell are much improved.
@@mrpete222 Well, it shouldn't even be needed, but in the case of your first unit it appears that QC wasn't on top of things. As you point out and the end of the video, there's a cover on the bottom held in place by 4 screws. - remove that and take a look if you're curious. If there's no obvious trim pot to play with, it might be a project for the electronics shop class at the high school to straighten out. It's about the right complexity for a sophomore's first project. Simple enough if you've got the right mind & eyesight for electronics... Even easier if there's a schematic somewhere for the circuit and assembly, showing the part numbers. Horses for courses and all that... ;)
Lyle - Interesting - but a question. In turning the collar down you are using the Diamond tool holder with the vertical shear bit. You mentioned a few times that you were going to do a video on that. I can't find that you ever did - but I'm really curious as to how useful that tool holder is in normal work. Any comments? Thanks. Dale
Blondihacks does a video on it. Des at Eccentric Engineering in Australia makes and sells the tool, comes in both left and right hand. There is a video on TH-cam as well.
Could you have shortened the handle instead of the brass part ? You would have to machine some off the nut side of the handle so the handle wouldn't make contact with the Vevor unit.
How much did that thing cost because I just got a Bridgeport 6F power feed for $200 that the guy thought was broken and I was able to get it working perfectly. I’m so happy I found it.
Mr Pete's a 10 fingered shop teacher. Alas, when I was in school, our teacher only rated a 9 1/2. It's good that Vevor supplied a working power feed! It would be better for everyone if they charged another dollar and got their supplier to perform a minimum amount of QC before shipping. With my mill, I installed the power feed a few years before a DRO. You'll wonder how you lived without it.
I am glad to see you got a good power feed. I have a power feed on the knee of my Bridgeport clone. It works fine. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.
Hello Lyle, I fitted a similar unit to a Taiwanese Bridgeport knock off mill, at our Railway Museum, here in Adelaide. The original one fitted died. It works fine, but some modifications had to be made to the mounting bolts. Different brand and cost about $700 Australian.
Yes, I hope to use it on the Z. In fact, this very moment I am watching a video on how to do that. But there are several very special parts that I would have to either buy or attempt to make.
If you could buy one then i think all you will have to do is enlarge the ID of the gear. It was a bit of work but i had no other use for it i have another for the Y axis one day i will have to convert it also . Its would be nice if Vevor sent you one for the knee. JM
Yes, mount it on the knee if you can make it fit. Slow speed is less important on the knee, at least for me. My original Servo unit expired and I’m so old and weak I just had to have another another one. I fitted the new one successfully and only use it for rapid traverse up and down. I have power feed on all three axis and love flipping those levers and knobs for slow or fast. Once you have them you’ll never go back. It’s like moving from the old crank up windows on cars to electric.
Glad they got you a proper unit after the defective one, Tubalcain. Probably should have tested it before they sent it to you to demonstrate on your channel, lol.
mr pete i have one on y and z i have the original servo on x but i got them on amazon as open box deals so they came with not all the parts i have the z handle on the mill with a spring so it dosent stay engaged it would break your knee and not the mills knee i could send you some pics thank you for the free education dean
You're like a child on Christmas Eave, sounds 20 years younger! Congrats to the good drive. Bought a Chinese chainsaw with 2 standard batteries and 2 extra, extra capacity. Not using them every day and when checking them one extra extra battery refused being charged. Used the Webb and found a jump start video, and it worked. The battery took on charge. But..... it only charged to half the voltage and that doesn't even light up the LED..... Banggood, I complain......
I no longer have 10 digits. Last year I was running a large radial arm drill press. I had a 6" diameter spade drill about 24" long in the spindle and I was working on taking the spade out of the drill so I could sharpen it and the drill dropped out of the spindle and mashed my pinky between the drill and the sharp edge of the hole I was drilling.. They had to cut it off because it was so messed up.
I think they are made in all sorts of different factories and shops in China. But since manufacturing is centrally controlled, the exact same data set has been provided.
Hi Lyle, I know that you have said in the past that you were reluctant to put a power feed on your Bridgeport because you would loose table travel in the X direction. Servo makes something that could be a possible solution to that problem. I have one on my Bridgeport. I can email you a picture of the power feed on my mill and I could also send you the documentation that came from Servo. It could be a good video project! Please let me know if you are interested.
I think i fugued out why the post office has a hard time with your packages 📦 . The shipping labels all ways have tape or half torn off. They probably haveva hard time fuguering out where it goes.😅😅😅😮😅😅😮 good morning hope u have a nice weekend
Hello mr pete. Thank you for bringing to everyone’s attention about the pinch point i hope nobody has to go through that it wasnt nice I also still have all 10 and am safety minded. But that I guess that was a slip up Great videos mr pete i never miss em You are an awesome teacher im 68 and still learning from ya. 😊. Larry
Mr Pete, Why not hit up Vevor(or one of the other sellers that want you to hock their stuff) for a DRO and let us know the ins and outs of what it takes to mount up.
Oh, that's interesting. I'll wait and see what Vevor responds. It's weird, it seems to work fine, runs for a few seconds then 'CLUNK!'. Also there's that loose piece inside the case. I'll wait and see what Vevor responds with but I'll keep you posted. Regards, Al.
The boys at work have a power feed on the X and Y that are controlled by a programable DRO and one on the knee as well. They have six or eight bridgeports of various sizes and configurations. You should put the old one on the Y axis if you can get it fixed.
Hello Mr. Pete. The Vevor power feed arrived yesterday. I just plugged it in and cycled it between forward and reverse. My issue is that it makes a loud hard 'clunk' when it goes into forward and again when it goes into reverse. Does yours do that?
Yes, it does, and I watched a few other videos were the man said that there was dead that also so it must be normal although it’s disconcerting. But I believe it’s the clutch doing that. Blondie hacks took one apart if you want to see the inside. So I would say, don’t worry about it. In fact, both of mine, make the same sound a clunking sound
Hello Mr. Pete. I just thought you might be interested in my issue with VEVOR. They have offered to replace the fan on the electric motor. I had to respond that the electric motor fan is not replaceable. I attached pictures of the broken fan and a parts diagram. I finished with saying the only fair option is to replace the unit or issue a refund. I'll let you know what happens. Regards, Al.
Hello Mr. Pete. I opened a ticket with VEVOR. Opened the unit and a broken black plastic sprocket fell out, so I have a defective unit and will be seeking a replacement or refund. Best regards, Al.
Consider replacing the crank handle that is on the unit side with a solid dished wheel. Another option is a handle that is spring-loaded and spins freely unless pushed in. My mill has the spring loaded crank on the left side and the wheel on unit side (its a older Servo unit).
As I have said before in my other comments on videos, I am not a machinist but really enjoy machining videos. With my technical background before retirement, I was instantly interested regarding quantifying the actual difference in speeds between the two units, i.e., inches/min at the slowest speed. That would better advise us of what you are seeing and speaking of. Too fast and too slow leaves me lacking. As I have seen before, the precision or accuracy of Chinese equipment is sorely lacking compared to most countries. Thanks.
Just a little tip Lyle in case it happens to you. If you find that by operating the lever to make the table go left or right, you find that the table speed increases or decreses, do the following. Slacken off the speed control knob screw and move the knob further away from the lever. If the gap is too close then the lever will gradualy rub on the knob and alter it. 2 minute job, including the time to search for a screwdriver or allen key. Great outcome FULL marks to Vevor for replacing it. Regards from Australia.
Thanks for that timely tip. My Vevor X feed was doing exactly what you described and now I know how to fix it.
Thanks for the update. The manufacturer should make the piece shorter for the Bridgeport and furnish collars to add for other models. I will bet there are some pots in there to allow you to adjust the minimum speed. My wife's treadmill has pots that do that, but you have to take it apart to get at them. Notice I said "wife's treadmill."
lol
That was hysterical when you talked about pinch points saying you could say that about everything and then you point to the cutter to say don’t put your finger here. Yes, everything about machinery is dangerous. Very funny.
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Mr. Pete...I did mount one on the knee. I lengthened the shaft and kept the hand crank on, but it is not engaged. It floats when using the feed, thus I can still use the crank for fine adjustments. Using a spring point set screw keeps the crank from ever engaging its self. My Wells-Index mill is getting harder to move the knee as I age each day. Worth the 526 hours of retrofitting....lol
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I installed a power feed on my Bridgeport knee to save my worn out lumbar spine. I have no other power feed on it. The power knee is worth its weight in gold when I am drilling, and reaming a lot of holes.
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Congratulations on still having 10 fingers at your age!
Wish I could say the same. At 72 I still have 8 complete digits, one was reassembled the other is missing the top joint. Who would have thought back in the 50's that playpens and push mowers were so dangerous.
On the plus side, it turns out I got along fine without them and when I count on my fingers, I can do fractions.
Thanks for the infotainment.
lol
To answer your question about mounting a power feed unit to the “Z” axis or knee, yes it has been done. My Wells Index mill is a Bridgeport clone that was imported in the 1980’s (fortunately the same mill is still being produced and imported by JET and others so parts are still available). I purchased the mill used years ago, and it came with a Z-axis power feed similar to the Vevor. Quite a bid of work was done to modify the shaft that the elevation crank goes to in order to make this adaptation. Consequently the knee can no longer be raised or lowered using a crank. Instead a large hand wheel was fitted that can be used to manually raise or lower the knee. I do find it very convenient to use when I need to raise or lower the knee more than about an inch.
Thank you for that information. Yesterday, I watched several videos of men installing a power feed on the Z axis. I would like to be able to buy or make the several specialized parts that would be needed.
I am very happy to learn that there are still some people that give “customer care”.
Unfortunately for us in South Africa the Vevor products are prohibitively expensive due to the poor value of our currency.
Mr Pete, I suspect that the unit it is a DC drive system, although I couldn’t verify it on Vevor’s website. It may have trimmer pots on the driver board to fine tune the unit to the load.
You asked, so yes...I have installed one of the power feed units that was meant for either an x or y feed , and installed it on my knee. I recall needing to make a bracket of sorts to do do, but cannot recall the specifics. It works great and would not be without it.
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I got mine with no power feeds I put a shars on the z cause cranking 6" got old fast. It is not very good. I got a servo on x the pinch point is not much better. Still need the y. probly get vevor this winter. I bought the vevor rotary table and It got heavily damaged in shipping. they refunded me 90% and let me keep it. I made new parts for the broken ones. It works fine. It took me 2 weeks to make the parts though. I did not have any jobs when I did it.
Good morning Mr Pete - put one on my Bridgeport a couple years ago - works perfectly. John
Hey Mr. Pete. Vevor seems to be working hard to gain in popularity and to date and when contacting them about issues of purchases has led to a quick response and resolve. I have purchased a plasma welder, extension cords and other items and am quite satisfied for money spent and products received. Your reference to paying attention brought back a vivid memory. Back when I was in the Md. Air Guard,. I went to school at Chanute AFB for 6 months to learn airframe repair. Back in Baltimore, our shop was a combination of 4, welding, hydraulics, sheet metal and machine shop. At that time, the Baltimore Colts, when they were a football team (remember Johnny Unitas, Tom Matte, John Mackey [the first TE to start catching passes] Bubba Smith, coach Don Shula) were in a race for the championship and of course someone brought in a TV. Everyone in the shop was watching except for Dink, a Senior MSgt. and my supervisor. He was using a large engine lathe to polish his bowling balls. Action developed in the game and Dink left the lathe while running "for a second" to have a quick look. As with all football games, one play only takes seconds so he continued to watch and then we hear this bump, bump, bump, bang, bang, in ascending decibels followed by a loud hum. The carriage had jammed into the chuck locking them together. I forget if he got it apart that day but if memory serves me it was later that week. Fortunately, the lathe still worked and no real damage other than to Dink's pride. Side note, Unitas' hands were almost as long as a football, look up pictures of his hands holding the football.
I shook hands with Johnny Unitas once many years ago, at the first Super Bowl played in Tampa (I was being paid to "work" that event as a Paramedic). You're right about his hands..., they were huge! I'm a big guy, but my hand disappeared when he shook my hand. He was a gracious man, and it was a pleasure to be able to thank my first sports idol for all of the memories. My young partner didn't know who Unitas was.
I did not realize his hands were that large. That’s a good story about the bowling ball. He was doing a government job with the government property, lol.
Good morning Mr.Pete. Glad it all worked out for you. Can't wait to see all of the videos you will be making!!
Thanks Mr. Pete for the video. It Look like you got a nice unit. I am sure that you will enjoy it.
A cheap z axis power feed is a battery drill with a 3/8¨ socket drive and a 12 point socket that fits the square shaft on the Bridgeport z axis and you can quickly remove it and use the crank for fine adjustment.
Yes, I have one of those. In fact, I made a video on how to make one of those. Plus people have given me drives that are 3-D printed. That is all in my earlier videos.
Hello Mr. Pete. Just a couple of comments: First the the loose bearing race bothered me so I made an extending bushing just long enough to reach beyond the edge of the lobe on the leadscrew. This way the spacers push against the the race and lock it in. Second, I was able to fix the jam-nut problem by using a normal sized nut and turning half of it down to 0.615". So half of it fit inside the handle. I purchased Vevor Model AL-310s. It has the correct TPI for the Dial Locknut. Also seems to have correct speed range. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. Best Regards Bob
Thanks, you had some good ideas
Thank you Mr Pete. I'm glad that thing is working out for you. And I'm glad it got there in good shape.
I'm getting old too and cranking that knee sucks so I put power feeds on all 3 axes of my mill when I rebuilt it after it was destroyed when my brother's garage burned to the ground. He died a few months later long before any insurance claims could be processed so I drug the burnt out hulks of my machines home and started to repair them. Got the drill press and mill done, working on my Monarch lathe now. In the process of rebuilding I did some research on these import feeds and concluded you get what you pay for. These are on the bottom of the ubiquitous Chinese power feed units and this video is an excellent example of why cheap comes out expensive. First unit you get is defective so their QC is unsurprisingly lacking. There were other differences between the cheaper and more expensive units but I don't remember. Yes, they are all made in only a couple of factories, but those factories build them based on the specs. of the customer and if they spec cheap, they get cheap. Chinese machine tools are no different.
But the more troublesome issue is the handle clearance. As you discovered, turning down the collar brought the handle too close to the housing causing a very dangerous pinch point. The difference between the spindle and the power feed is you're not routinely handling the spindle while it's running. IIRC, the better units come with a special nut that's turned down partially to fit inside of the handle to get more thread engagement. Another option is a spring loaded safety handle that spins freely unless it's pushed inward to engage a couple of dowel pins to drive the leadscrew. There's another type of handle that's a round disk with a spring loaded handle that swivels flat towards the center. Personally, I wouldn't run it like that and I'm pretty anti-safety generally. I'd pick one of these methods to mitigate the potential of getting hurt.
Years ago I bought similar units from a company known well on this channel, it sounds like something a cowboy would cut hair with, anyway...
I bought three of the most powerful units they sold I installed them on X, Y, and Knee. It made using the Bridgeport much nicer, especially since I am accustomed to machines with built-in feeds on all the axes.
I also spaced the feed out to give full travel on the X. My 48" table has just over 36" of travel. I also added a power drawbar, an electric oiler, spray mist coolant, and made an operator's panel at the DRO so I don't have to reach to the sky to turn it on and off. One does get spoiled when running big expensive machine tools...
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Two magnetic bases for indicators might work with the travel stop if you mount it on the back of the table. It's worth a try.
Never thought of that, good idea I might try it. I was currently thinking way to make some kind of tee slot channel. Chips, getting attracted to the magnets would be the Don side
This is a good idea. Maybe even with a threaded adjustable stop.
Adding a Power Feed on the Z-axis is wonderful. Cranking the Z up and down due to tool changes gets tiring. I am verry happy I added the Z-axis to my mill. The Y-axis is still manual. Thanks, Mr. Pete!
I hope to do that in the future
My Taiwanese Bridgeport clone came with a Vertex X axis power feed. The first big mod I did to it was to get another power feed for the knee, got sick of cranking it up and down...
The manual crank lever is now gathering dust in a tool drawer. I love my (locally made) Diamond tool holders from Eccentric Engineering.
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Hello Mr. Pete. I have only been making chips for three years and your insight has given me confidence to experiment on possibilities. Thank you, from all of us that have chosen to be in the front row of your class. As for the Z-axis modification, I adapted a power-feed to my Clausing 8520 knee mill and couldn't be happier. Scott M Saranac MI.
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Good morning Mr Pete!
Hello Mr. Pete. Short story, VEVOR sent me a new AL-310s power feed to replace the broken one. Long story, I had to refuse several ridiculous offers of $20, $35, and $70. I told them that only a full refund would be acceptable because I would still want a power feed. New one runs smooth, no clunking sounds, and no broken parts rattling around inside the case. I'll see about installing it on my Harbor Freight 33686 mill/drill. Kind regards, Al
I’m glad they made it right
I'm VEVOR stepped up the plate,that's refreshing to know,thanks for the video🤗😎🤗😎
I'm glad the set-up for these is simple. I shouldn't let fear guide me, but I'm always afraid of getting stuck on a build of any kind after crossing the point of no return. Also, don't know who or when, but I'm sorry for your loss.
Acurite makes a mini scale that is only about .75" thick that fits very conveniently on the back of the table. You may find it much cheaper and easier to get that than to machine a T-slot on the back.
Great video, Thank you.
Thanks for the info!
Glad to see you back in the workshop and looking so well Mrpete. Thanks for the video 👍👍👍👍
Thanks 👍
Excellent information, if nothing else it spurs me to fiddle with the little square pots, if the diagram will say which is which, in my tiny foreign lathe to settle the twitching.
When I grow up, I need a full size vertical mill.
The tiny verical mill here is a real workhorse but he's funky to use.
Peddler Pete made me chuckle. Thanks I wonder if that could be adapted for my Grizzly G0704.
Brilliant, practical video as always MrPete.
It is *very* good to see you looking so well also!!!
Thank you kindly!
I mounted a Servo unit that was designed for X feeding on my Millrite, Powermatic mill. Took at bit of adaptation but I think it might be easier on the BP.
Thanks
Without going further into the video, yet, I can say that in many machines, speed control is by resistance in the hot leg going to the motor. Your speed control knob is attached to a potentiometer (pot), a variable resistor, which is often in series with another biasing resistor, which may be a pot or fixed, but isn't usually accessible by the casual user.
In the event that a trim pot is used - which allows the factory people to tune the drive - once you can get access, it's a relatively simple matter to adjust it and get the desired response from the pot connected to the control knob.
If it's a fixed biasing resistor, you are in for a bit of work to determine what the rating is supposed to be, then source the replacement, then do a bit of soldering to remove the wrong/bad piece and replace it. Not horrible, but a bit of a PITA for the uninitiated...
Not saying that this is the cause in this case, but it is a fairly common issue, especially if a mass production operation has less well trained assemblers who just take components out of packages and install them without checking.
Thank you for that insight. But that repair sounds a bit daunting do this old man, lol.
I agree with your statement but what Mr. Pete was saying and I agree with 100% is It should have worked right out of the box. Nothing is more aggravating than buying a new piece of equipment and having to "fix it" it make it do what it was supposed to do. I used to "fix" my new stuff that didn't work as advertised but stopped doing that a few years back when China was (and still is) flooding the market with junk. Today if it doesn't work out of the box, back it goes. To Vevor's credit they have improved their customer care 1000% from what it used to be and the products they sell are much improved.
@@mrpete222 Well, it shouldn't even be needed, but in the case of your first unit it appears that QC wasn't on top of things.
As you point out and the end of the video, there's a cover on the bottom held in place by 4 screws. - remove that and take a look if you're curious.
If there's no obvious trim pot to play with, it might be a project for the electronics shop class at the high school to straighten out. It's about the right complexity for a sophomore's first project. Simple enough if you've got the right mind & eyesight for electronics... Even easier if there's a schematic somewhere for the circuit and assembly, showing the part numbers.
Horses for courses and all that... ;)
Always nice to watch and learn. Now if just had room or the money to get Bridgeport.
Lyle - Interesting - but a question. In turning the collar down you are using the Diamond tool holder with the vertical shear bit. You mentioned a few times that you were going to do a video on that. I can't find that you ever did - but I'm really curious as to how useful that tool holder is in normal work. Any comments? Thanks.
Dale
Still coming in the future sometime
Blondihacks does a video on it. Des at Eccentric Engineering in Australia makes and
sells the tool, comes in both left and right hand. There is a video on TH-cam as well.
Could you have shortened the handle instead of the brass part ? You would have to machine some off the nut side of the handle so the handle wouldn't make contact with the Vevor unit.
Good idea, but too late
How much did that thing cost because I just got a Bridgeport 6F power feed for $200 that the guy thought was broken and I was able to get it working perfectly. I’m so happy I found it.
Mr Pete's a 10 fingered shop teacher. Alas, when I was in school, our teacher only rated a 9 1/2.
It's good that Vevor supplied a working power feed! It would be better for everyone if they charged another dollar and got their supplier to perform a minimum amount of QC before shipping. With my mill, I installed the power feed a few years before a DRO. You'll wonder how you lived without it.
You can get aluminum t-slot rail that gets recessed into wood tabletops for clamps and stops. Very low profile.
I was thinking the same thing, he'll need to drill & tap some mounting holes.
I am glad to see you got a good power feed. I have a power feed on the knee of my Bridgeport clone. It works fine. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.
Hello Harold. I was watching a video of my meet and greet yesterday although it was five years ago. And of course you made your appearance, lol
Hello Lyle, I fitted a similar unit to a Taiwanese Bridgeport knock off mill, at our Railway Museum, here in Adelaide. The original one fitted died. It works fine, but some modifications had to be made to the mounting bolts. Different brand and cost about $700 Australian.
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Hi Mr Pete that bad one would make a good knee power feed you would have to make the shaft. JM
Yes, I hope to use it on the Z. In fact, this very moment I am watching a video on how to do that. But there are several very special parts that I would have to either buy or attempt to make.
If you could buy one then i think all you will have to do is enlarge the ID of the gear. It was a bit of work but i had no other use for it i have another for the Y axis one day i will have to convert it also . Its would be nice if Vevor sent you one for the knee. JM
Absolutely, mount that other power feed to your knee. Definitely do it. If it burns up oh well it was free. Hook it up!
Yes, mount it on the knee if you can make it fit. Slow speed is less important on the knee, at least for me. My original Servo unit expired and I’m so old and weak I just had to have another another one. I fitted the new one successfully and only use it for rapid traverse up and down. I have power feed on all three axis and love flipping those levers and knobs for slow or fast. Once you have them you’ll never go back. It’s like moving from the old crank up windows on cars to electric.
@@ellieprice363Same for DRO’s. Once you have them, you’d never go back to counting revs of the hand wheels.
@@grntitan1Very true. I have a DRO for X and Y and even a battery powered unit on the quill.
Or worrying about backlash...@@grntitan1
Hey Mr. Pete Zane gray theater is coming on this morning. Have a good one
Dick Powell
Glad they got you a proper unit after the defective one, Tubalcain. Probably should have tested it before they sent it to you to demonstrate on your channel, lol.
mr pete i have one on y and z i have the original servo on x but i got them on amazon as open box deals so they came with not all the parts i have the z handle on the mill with a spring so it dosent stay engaged it would break your knee and not the mills knee i could send you some pics thank you for the free education dean
I am glad you received a new one the other was to fast .enjoy !!!
Mr pete I have purchased Vevor for X Y and the Z axes, though not installed as yet am looking forward to haveing all three up and running.
I did not know that they offered one for the Z axis. Mine would work for that if I had the extender shaft.
Vevor seems to make everything these days! Interesting video =)
Is Vevor the new and improved Bangood?
Vevor dont make a single thing.
Oreder 50 you can have your own name and colour
You're like a child on Christmas Eave, sounds 20 years younger! Congrats to the good drive.
Bought a Chinese chainsaw with 2 standard batteries and 2 extra, extra capacity. Not using them every day and when checking them one extra extra battery refused being charged. Used the Webb and found a jump start video, and it worked. The battery took on charge. But..... it only charged to half the voltage and that doesn't even light up the LED..... Banggood, I complain......
😂😂 some of the Chinese stuff is very questionable
@@mrpete222 You bet I know by now!
I no longer have 10 digits. Last year I was running a large radial arm drill press. I had a 6" diameter spade drill about 24" long in the spindle and I was working on taking the spade out of the drill so I could sharpen it and the drill dropped out of the spindle and mashed my pinky between the drill and the sharp edge of the hole I was drilling.. They had to cut it off because it was so messed up.
That is a horrible story. So sorry to hear about that.
You are such a gem “king tuts hands”! I think your content is very interesting and your sense of humor is spot on excellent. :)
😄😄😄😄 thank you, most people do not know who that king is
I think they are made in all sorts of different factories and shops in China. But since manufacturing is centrally controlled, the exact same data set has been provided.
Thanks for sharing Mr Pete
Very welcome
Great video,mrpete.Thank you.
I think Randy Richards put one on the knee of his mill. Thanks for sharing 👍
Thank you,. I watched his video yesterday.
Hi Lyle, I know that you have said in the past that you were reluctant to put a power feed on your Bridgeport because you would loose table travel in the X direction. Servo makes something that could be a possible solution to that problem. I have one on my Bridgeport. I can email you a picture of the power feed on my mill and I could also send you the documentation that came from Servo. It could be a good video project!
Please let me know if you are interested.
Thanks, I’ll send that to me
i put my scales on the back side of table. plenty of room
I think i fugued out why the post office has a hard time with your packages 📦 . The shipping labels all ways have tape or half torn off. They probably haveva hard time fuguering out where it goes.😅😅😅😮😅😅😮 good morning hope u have a nice weekend
I wonder if the 1st one could be calibrated.?
Put one on My Cincinnati Toolmaster .Works good so far.
Maybe you could mount the safety switch with a strong magnetic.
I might do that. You are the second one to mention that, thank you.
@@mrpete222 You're welcome and thanks for the videos. I just came across your channel and your content if great!
Hello mr pete. Thank you for bringing to everyone’s attention about the pinch point i hope nobody has to go through that it wasnt nice I also still have all 10 and am safety minded. But that I guess that was a slip up
Great videos mr pete i never miss em You are an awesome teacher im 68 and still learning from ya. 😊. Larry
Thank you very much. In a recent comment, a viewer gives several suggestions to reduce the danger
Mr Pete, Why not hit up Vevor(or one of the other sellers that want you to hock their stuff) for a DRO and let us know the ins and outs of what it takes to mount up.
I assume you mean a DRO for my lathe
@@mrpete222 That is correct.
Oh, that's interesting. I'll wait and see what Vevor responds. It's weird, it seems to work fine, runs for a few seconds then 'CLUNK!'. Also there's that loose piece inside the case. I'll wait and see what Vevor responds with but I'll keep you posted. Regards, Al.
Thanks again
Good deal Pete!
The boys at work have a power feed on the X and Y that are controlled by a programable DRO and one on the knee as well. They have six or eight bridgeports of various sizes and configurations. You should put the old one on the Y axis if you can get it fixed.
Bad pot?
My Bridgeport has a 6f powerfeed that is smoked. Has anyone replaced it with one of these vevors?
Mr. Pete, there is something rattling around inside the case of the Vevor. I'm contacting their service department. Regards, Al.
There is an electronic fault with that, maybe a capacitor, unless when you opened the box it was upsidedown and all the electrons fell out.....😁🎃👍👍
Hello Mr. Pete. The Vevor power feed arrived yesterday. I just plugged it in and cycled it between forward and reverse. My issue is that it makes a loud hard 'clunk' when it goes into forward and again when it goes into reverse. Does yours do that?
Yes, it does, and I watched a few other videos were the man said that there was dead that also so it must be normal although it’s disconcerting. But I believe it’s the clutch doing that. Blondie hacks took one apart if you want to see the inside. So I would say, don’t worry about it.
In fact, both of mine, make the same sound a clunking sound
Hello Mr. Pete. I just thought you might be interested in my issue with VEVOR. They have offered to replace the fan on the electric motor. I had to respond that the electric motor fan is not replaceable. I attached pictures of the broken fan and a parts diagram. I finished with saying the only fair option is to replace the unit or issue a refund. I'll let you know what happens. Regards, Al.
Very disappointing. I hope they make it right.
Hello Mr. Pete. I opened a ticket with VEVOR. Opened the unit and a broken black plastic sprocket fell out, so I have a defective unit and will be seeking a replacement or refund. Best regards, Al.
😂😂
Looking around and not too far vevor products are at the very bottom of quality.
True. But remember this exact same unit is sold under scores of trademarks.
Its an Align CE500 95W Taiwanese.
Very serious question. Can i pay you to make me a MT4 to 4c spindle adpter for my beautiful Clausing 4911 lathe?
Think I found a guy!
Other TH-camrs have installed that unit on the Z go for it
Consider replacing the crank handle that is on the unit side with a solid dished wheel. Another option is a handle that is spring-loaded and spins freely unless pushed in. My mill has the spring loaded crank on the left side and the wheel on unit side (its a older Servo unit).
Thank you, excellent suggestions
Morning
As I have said before in my other comments on videos, I am not a machinist but really enjoy machining videos. With my technical background before retirement, I was instantly interested regarding quantifying the actual difference in speeds between the two units, i.e., inches/min at the slowest speed. That would better advise us of what you are seeing and speaking of. Too fast and too slow leaves me lacking. As I have seen before, the precision or accuracy of Chinese equipment is sorely lacking compared to most countries. Thanks.
Thank you for watching and being interested in what I do
easy fix for Chinese on the return to factory
Still hit or miss junk.
I added one to my Y feed and would like the rapid on my knee although i made an adaptor that fits the drill.