Tramming a round column mill

In this video I show how I trammed my round column milling machine. Unfortunately there are no adjusting screws for alignment so you need to shim the column. I also discuss a method for how I worked out how much I needed to shim the column.
Thanks to Ben from Ben's Workshop for his video on this process - • Naerok Round Column Mi...
My video on building the indicator holder - • Dial indicator holder ...

[@kieranh2005]

Measured mine last night using a similar method.
Tilting to the right by 0.28mm/176mm and forward by 0.05mm/170mm. Shimming tonight.

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

How did you get on? Did you get it square enough?

[@kieranh2005]

Good video, thank you. Im another kiwi, down in Dunedin.
I bought one from work, it's had a hard life but the bones are good.
Similar tramming issues to what yours had, lean to the right and tilt forward.

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thanks for your comments. It would be good if these mills had some kind of adjustment. I hope you are able to square up the head on your one.

[@duncanmarks1590]

Hi, one of the better round column mill alignment posts I have watched, very good practical application considering the condition of the table. bye

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thank you for your comments.

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Excellent result. Patience rewarded. Well done. 👏👏👍😀

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thanks for watching.

[@bustednuckles2]

Subscribed, good video. A way to fix your table is how I fixed and old drill press table that someone had drilled an arc clear across with a 5/8's drill bit. Liquid Steel Epoxy.
It worked a miracle. Clean all the dirt and oil out of the damaged areas. mix some up and apply just enough to fill the deepest holes. It works just like Bondo but it gets very hard.
It sands very easily and you can build it up with multiple applications.
When I got done and threw a quick coat of paint on it the repair was invisible.
Since you don't want to paint your table you will be able to see the repair but it will be 100% functional.

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Hi, thanks for watching and thanks for the tip. I also have a vise that looks like swiss cheese from the previous owner. Maybe it will work on that...

[@Clackvalve2]

I don't know if it crossed your mind ,but we had a similar condition bed on a small mill like yours. We used a 4" grinder to take the t's off the bed, ground it using a surface grinder, made new t's and doweled them in worked really well, and is still working. Big job though. Great vid, thanks

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thanks for watching and your experience on table repair. At this point the vise sits flat and clamps down well so I'm going to leave it.

[@vanmiller3462]

Well done, I spent hours doing my mill. I made a TH-cam video of a spindle brake on my mill that worked out great

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thank you and thanks for watching.

[@BensWorkshop]

Good work. You will always be able to see where the tool went (as in each run) even if you can't feel it. It is one of the things that make people with shapers love the finish (there are no such marks with a shaper).
You may need to recheck from time to time and with that sort of round column mill you may also need to check when raising an lowering the head.

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Hi Ben, thanks for your comments. Thanks again for posting your video on this process.

[@BensWorkshop]

@@thehobbymachinistnz No worries.

[@melgross]

I bought a Grizzly version of a similar model, here in the USA about 26 years ago. I’ve made numerous modifications. But fortunately, it was trammed very well. I’ve not had that go out of adjustment and when the head is raised and lowered, tram remains the same. As always, quality control matters. Different companies sell the same equipment at different prices and that results in well aligned machines or poorly aligned machines. Nice job. I wonder if the same guy who destroyed the table dis something so egregious that it knocked tram off. Ring Fu is a quality manufacturer whether so,d under their own name, Grizzly;s or some others. It’s hard for me to imagine it got out of the factory that badly aligned. Maybe dropped in shipping.

[@BensWorkshop]

@@melgross Re tramming isn't difficult. I did it on my Naerok mill when I erected it in my shop.

[@LetsRogerThat]

Glad that worked for you. I'm trying to make a sine table that is 8" x 8" and doing the initial milling with a fly cutter. I'm 0.005" out over 8 inches. Its time to tram the mill head I reckon. :( Gilles

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

I noticed a big difference once it was in tram. Mind you, mine was so far out that anything would have been better than what it was. Thanks for watching.

[@gregwmanning]

Welldone your finished results look excellent.
I have seen some pretty poorly treat drill vices but you mill table takes the cake.
But if you are mostly using a vice or rotary table it should not really matter I reckon.

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thanks Gr eg. Yes, I mostly use the vise and sometimes a rotary table.

[@zukjeff]

my column base is cast into the table base. I am lucky , my X-Y table screws to the cast base with 12"x12" bolt hole spacing.

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thanks for watching.

[@freestyla101]

You make it look simple. What happens if you lower/raise the head on the column? Do you have to repeat the process?

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Hi, thanks for watching. That is a good question. I have raised and lowered the mill head several times since tramming it in, but I have not checked to see if it is still trammed in. That said, the cutting marks on the milled work show that both ends of the end mill are touching the work so I presume that everything is still trammed in.

[@freestyla101]

@@thehobbymachinistnz I’d be interested to know if you ever get around to checking. With a bit of luck I’ll have one of my own soon and I’ll check it as well. I’ll be following your tutorial.

[@1crazypj]

Bit late but I found it matters how you tighten head on column.
Top bolt has to be tight tp prevent overhang making spindle droop then nipping up bottom bolt to stop vibration
Edited to clarify how I tighten head to column bolts, sequence below.

[@freestyla101]

@@1crazypj do you mean the two or three bolts that lock the head in place on the column?

[@1crazypj]

@@freestyla101 The two bolts that lock head to column.
I found that if I tighten top then bottom, mill is out of tram
I'm sorry, I described it wrong in initial reply, correct sequence (at least for me)
I nip bottom bolt, tighten top bolt then go back to tighten bottom its just about perfect.
Really surprised me, I don't know how much time I spent (wasted?) trying to shim under the column base

[@paradiselost9946]

clock to a ball, and traverse the table rather than reference the table surface. you want a point relative to the slides. the surface aint necessarily square or parallel.
and the way thats been hammered... definitely. its really begging to be pulled off and run through something a bit bigger first.

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thanks for watching and your comments.

[@miguelcastaneda7257]

Often previous owners rebadge their machines

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thanks for watching.