Anyone motorized the Patriot Mill Height Adjustment?

[Gridley]

Just got a new Patriot last week. Have it unloaded, set up and ready to go. I spent the last couple of days going through it, cleaning, adjusting and lubricating everything.

Had one little problem. The run capacitor on the lathe motor smoked the first time I turned it on. It stopped smoking after a little bit and I was hoping it would be OK. However after I used it a few minutes it really went. I called Shoptask and John said he would send out a replacement.

So far, everything seems to work as it should. It takes more force to move the table than I would have thought. I cleaned off the ways and put plenty of way lube on them and then adjusted the gibs. It is smooth but doesn't move all that easily. The two-piece, adjustable acme nut on the X-axis (left-right movement) was not set right either. I am hoping it will loosen up some after I use it a while.

Also the height adjustment on the milling head takes a lot of force to operate. I would like to motorize it. If any of you have done that, I would love to know how you did it. Particularly, what motor did you use and where did you get it.

Thanks for the help,

Gridley

[smallblock]

Gridley,

JT usually sets the gibs and the backlash pretty tight when delivered because they tend to loosen up as the machine wears in. Watch the brass nut adjustment because its real touchy and easy to go too far which makes the handle hard to turn. With some fiddling I got my backlash down to under 0.004" with free handle movement.
On the mill head, the machine comes with a bracket, pulleys and cover designed for a NEMA 34 stepper motor, but I have seen a number of variations-
here is a link
http://home.smartz.com/max/Machines/MachineMain.html

Over on the Delphi forum there are more, but you have to search- I remember one guy used a garage door opener complete with the infra red sensors and remote control.

[digitalmdj]

It seems thing haven't changed . The shoptask motors are junk.

[sharpshooter90]

Just got a new Patriot last week. Have it unloaded, set up and ready to go. I spent the last couple of days going through it, cleaning, adjusting and lubricating everything.

Had one little problem. The run capacitor on the lathe motor smoked the first time I turned it on. It stopped smoking after a little bit and I was hoping it would be OK. However after I used it a few minutes it really went. I called Shoptask and John said he would send out a replacement.

So far, everything seems to work as it should. It takes more force to move the table than I would have thought. I cleaned off the ways and put plenty of way lube on them and then adjusted the gibs. It is smooth but doesn't move all that easily. The two-piece, adjustable acme nut on the X-axis (left-right movement) was not set right either. I am hoping it will loosen up some after I use it a while.

Also the height adjustment on the milling head takes a lot of force to operate. I would like to motorize it. If any of you have done that, I would love to know how you did it. Particularly, what motor did you use and where did you get it.

Thanks for the help,

Gridley

Gridley,
I've had 3 machines from Shoptask and never had a motor failure,but have replaced a few start capacitors. They seem to be the " safety valve" that goes before you hurt the windings. Despite comments from the " April Fool", these motors are very simple and reliable.
Here's another link to a powered lift from the shoptask forum
http://www.lockeyone.com/shoptask/millhead/index.htm

[digitalmdj]

All you have to do is read through the old posts and you will see the motor has had this problem for quite some time . Some would like you to believe that the problem doesn't exist but it does and the old posts will answer all your questions. Since they only talk and don't show very many pictures makes you wonder if they actually own a machine. Or it belongs to someone else.

[smallblock]

Gridley,
I've had 3 machines from Shoptask and never had a motor failure,but have replaced a few start capacitors. They seem to be the " safety valve" that goes before you hurt the windings. Despite comments from the " April Fool", these motors are very simple and reliable.
Here's another link to a powered lift from the shoptask forum
http://www.lockeyone.com/shoptask/millhead/index.htm

I ran my 17-20 model ragged for years and the original motors were still on it and running when I sold it. My Patriot has a newer style motor with more HP, but so far no problems. You can see some of my projects on the Shoptask website. By the way- these were posted years before a certain whiner joined the group.

[sharpshooter90]

I ran my 17-20 model ragged for years and the original motors were still on it and running when I sold it. My Patriot has a newer style motor with more HP, but so far no problems. You can see some of my projects on the Shoptask website. By the way- these were posted years before a certain whiner joined the group.

Yeah- he's posted about 200 times and I haven't seen one that had anything positive to say about anything. Sort of reminds me of those anti war protesters in the 70's. They thought everything was a big conspiracy by the government. The thing that griped me about them was they were all hanging around some campus living off student loans and welfare provided by the very government they hated.

[digitalmdj]

Here a guy buys a Shoptask at a hefty $3695.00 . And that is just the base price he still has tooling to purchase. He gets it set up in his garage. Then he goes to start it and the motor doesn't work. This is not the first time this has happened to someone. You can find all the information in the old posts. It is almost insulting that they don't test the machine before it arrives. And do they really adjust the ways and all that stuff. It makes you wonder $3695.00 later doesn't it. What did you really get for your money. AND THEY SAY YOU SHOULD BE GLAD YOU GOT WHAT YOU GOT FOR $3695 .

[Gridley]

I got the new capacitor. Put it in and everything seems fine. I think the friction clutch to stop the spindle when put in neutral is a little tight. Other than that, it seems just fine.

It takes a lot of effort to raise the mill head. I will have to motorize that. Doesn't look like too big a deal.

Thanks for the response.

Gridley

[smallblock]

Yeah- he's posted about 200 times and I haven't seen one that had anything positive to say about anything. Sort of reminds me of those anti war protesters in the 70's. They thought everything was a big conspiracy by the government. The thing that griped me about them was they were all hanging around some campus living off student loans and welfare provided by the very government they hated.

I get the feeling he is unhappy about everything in his life- He posted something about how he hoped the company that fired him would get in trouble with the IRS. According to the forum he joined 2 years ago- by that time i had been running my first machine for over 10 years and made myself a pile of money with it.

[digitalmdj]

Gridley look for some misalignment and make sure the shaft isn't rubbing against the framework. That is a common problem because of bad machining. I had the same problem and I have a gear motor and ball screw to fix the problem. Remember most of this stuff is metal to metal and it's machined with burrs that haven't been removed. The lift screw is a 5/8" Acme thread just for your future reference. As for the two lairs I work for a honest company now. Jt tried to threatened the other company I worked for and found out they were just like him crooked. He wanted me to remove my posts with the pictures. I had my machine delivered there and he thought he could strong arm them to stop me. He was totally out classed and asking for trouble. These guys just keep digging a deeper hole for themselves they must be desperate because business is so bad now. My job is recession proof so they are probably close to the unemployment line as we speak.

[sharpshooter90]

I get the feeling he is unhappy about everything in his life- He posted something about how he hoped the company that fired him would get in trouble with the IRS. According to the forum he joined 2 years ago- by that time i had been running my first machine for over 10 years and made myself a pile of money with it.

Love those conspiracy theories- now he thinks Shoptask and his former employer conspired to get rid of him. At least he now has a recession proof job- OMG! That means there is one more disgruntled postal worker on the loose!