Need Help!- HELP CNC Milling maachine stuck in snow

[bullethead67]

Ok this is my first milling machine. I am trying to get it in my garage. If it were flamable i would set fire to it. It is a Wells Index 810. How exactly do you tilt the head so it will clear. There seem to be thousands of pictures on the internet but no instructions on how to do it. I have so far loosened 4 nuts on the back of the machine. unfortuniately the studs are keeping it from rotating. So i try to remove the studs and there isnt enough room to back them all the way out. I have located a small hex head to put a wrench on that seems to be driving a gear that wants to tilt the head but unfortunately the studs are screwing me.

yes i know this is the bridgeport thread but there is no wells index thread and i assume somebody here can stop laughing long enough to tell me what im doing wrong. All I know is i cant figure it out and it should be simple. Ive been on it for 9 hours now and google is not being my friend. I also have a rented forklift that i just cant pay another day for.

anybody ... help. Its been snowing all day and its really getting cold. Even my tools are freezing now. And its dark...... what a fun hobby.

[Geof]

The four nuts you loosened; did you loosen them a long way?

Sometimes when you get these really loose when you try to tilt the head the studs cant sieways and jam things.

The fix is to retighten the nuts and wiggle the head using that hex that drives on the worm gear until the nuts have pulled the studs nice and straight. Then just loosen them a very small amount and try turning the hex on the worm. If the studs still try to cant sideways tighten and releasw them and you may be able to work it around.

[MrWild]

It may not tilt. You may have to remove the head assembly. I have a Supermax with a head assembly similar to the Wells, and it is solid with no tilt option. To get it in my garage, I had to pull the auto drawbar, and the motor. The Wells looks like you'll have to pull the entire spindle assembly off the column. Take some pictures and we can get a better idea. Not many pictures on the Web, but the few I saw, didn't look like the head tilts.

[TOTALLYRC]

Just to add to Geof's note, you will use that hex bolt to tilt the head all the way. Since it is driving a worn gear, it will not "freefall".
It is a fun hobby when all the problems stop.

Somebody tell me when that is.

Mike

[123CNC]

Mr Wild is probably right, if the 810 is anything like their 700 series, the worm gear and allen-head you are refering to allow a few degrees of motion for tramming only with the four head bolts loose. Nothing like the Bridgeport J-head turrets.

You may consider removing just the motor, or the complete head. You can use the forklift to get it down. Going back up, inside the warm heated garage, use an engine hoist.

Good luck, and whatever you do don't stick your tongue to that cold thing outdoors.

[TOTALLYRC]

I would be suprised if it had the worm gear for only a few degrees of movement.

Of course it wouldn't be the first time.

Mike

[bullethead67]

PICTURE ATTACHED

OK i retightened 3 of 4. the 4th was a broken stud with no nut. Still not working. Im going to keep trying. This has to tilt or it wouldnt have the worm gear there but here is a pic. It moves just a little in either direction but stops. it is acting like the studs are stopping it. Mabye just one of the studs is a locking device?

Earlier today I bought a book off ebay, its the owners manual in PDF format. I had to pay immediately and assumed i would also get the Ebook immediately. Wrong, Apparently thios unprofessional guy wants to be paid immediately but will email whenever he gets around to it. 50 bucks for a file.... hmph.

[bullethead67]

I must say I was considering removing the motor. But this being my first machine I dont know what I might be getting into. For all I know there a bunch of springs under tension that will launch themselves into the night.

..... this is the part where i hope somebody says "Naw its just a easy lift off job"

[MrWild]

Yep, you're going to have to pull your spindle motor. It isn't that hard of a job to do, just some finagling to get it back on.

[bullethead67]

crap...well i better get on it. Turns out i need to pull the pulley assembly too. still a few inches too tall.

[123CNC]

Yep, the 810 castings for the ram and head look just like the 700 series. Tram adjustment only, it will not rotate more than a few degrees. And if I recall, you have to remove a very small allen set screw, near bottom of ram/head, to remove the worm drive shaft before getting the head assembly to remove, along with the more obvious four bolts. It is a tiny set screwand deeply recessed, you can't really see, you have to feel for it, making it all the more important to know its head size before even trying.

I see you have the magnetic break on top of the motor, adding more to clearance issues. I hope you have enough ceiling clearance once inside?

The other down side of removing the motor and vari-drive, it has to be the messiest part of the machine.

Good luck.

[bullethead67]

ok I see 3 bolts that seem to hold the entire motor and vari drive assembly onto the head. Is it ok to remove it as a unit?

Im glad i checked again I was taking the bolts for the "tram" I think out. doesnt seem like a good idea now. Ill go for the uupper unit