series 1 iron, rigid ram vs V ram

[boss4]

I have a series 1 V ram. It seems like every time I use something larger than a 5/8 end mill I have to re tram the head. It is mostly evident when facing (with a face mill) on work that is wider than the 2.5" face mill. In really good tram the ridge between overlapping cuts can be as small as .0002. Facing at the end of a job the ridge gets much larger, anything bigger than .0006 can be felt with a finger and is way more evident visually.

I have the opportunity to buy a series 1 rigid ram head and ram castings. I would have to transfer over the motor and some of the drive components.

Would it be worth it in terms of having a more rigid setup that wouldn't need as much tramming?

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[mactec54]

I have a series 1 V ram. It seems like every time I use something larger than a 5/8 end mill I have to re tram the head. It is mostly evident when facing (with a face mill) on work that is wider than the 2.5" face mill. In really good tram the ridge between overlapping cuts can be as small as .0002. Facing at the end of a job the ridge gets much larger, anything bigger than .0006 can be felt with a finger and is way more evident visually.

I have the opportunity to buy a series 1 rigid ram head and ram castings. I would have to transfer over the motor and some of the drive components.

Would it be worth it in terms of having a more rigid setup that wouldn't need as much tramming?

Yes it would be better then the, knuckle head, but still may need some scraping to get the tram in the Y axes in the X axes there is a small adjustment that you can do, some are fixed with a tapered dowel once you have it aligned, the rigid ram is also bolted to the top of the column which would be another mod to do

[boss4]

So I would need to drill a bolt pattern into the top of the column instead of using the spider?

Do you think the difference would be worth about $300. I think that's about what the difference would be once I resell the spare parts I end up with.

Yes it would be better then the, knuckle head, but still may need some scraping to get the tram in the Y axes in the X axes there is a small adjustment that you can do, some are fixed with a tapered dowel once you have it aligned, the rigid ram is also bolted to the top of the column which would be another mod to do

[mactec54]

So I would need to drill a bolt pattern into the top of the column instead of using the spider?

Do you think the difference would be worth about $300. I think that's about what the difference would be once I resell the spare parts I end up with.

Is the quill and Ballscrew with the rigid ram, as the quills are fitted to the quill housing, yours may not fit, and yes you would have to drill and tap holes in the column 4 I think, there are different model Rams so it may fit straight on to the Boss 4 column

[boss4]

I have it now and I can confirm that it uses a bolt pattern in the column along with a couple of dowel pins. Apart from the extra holes the column looked identical and had been machined on the inside such that the spider would fit and ride on a machined surface. I pretty much bought everything above the column including the spindle and all of the varispeed parts and quill. Was missing the motor though I have the motor from my current setup I intend to retrofit to a surplus 3kw servo that's been in my parts bin for a while.

So if the tram is off, front to back in the nod after I put this on then my only option is to shim the head or scrape / hone the head or column? Also I have noticed that locking the knee makes about .001-.002 difference in the tram in this dimension (about a 6" circle). For the rigid ram I wonder if they had the knee locked originally when they set the tram.

I guess now here is my opportunity to make a couple of before and after videos. What would be a good comparison? 3/4" end mill in aluminum with flood coolant?

Carbide 2.5" 45 degree face mill in aluminum?

Is the quill and Ballscrew with the rigid ram, as the quills are fitted to the quill housing, yours may not fit, and yes you would have to drill and tap holes in the column 4 I think, there are different model Rams so it may fit straight on to the Boss 4 column

[mactec54]

I have it now and I can confirm that it uses a bolt pattern in the column along with a couple of dowel pins. Apart from the extra holes the column looked identical and had been machined on the inside such that the spider would fit and ride on a machined surface. I pretty much bought everything above the column including the spindle and all of the varispeed parts and quill. Was missing the motor though I have the motor from my current setup I intend to retrofit to a surplus 3kw servo that's been in my parts bin for a while.

So if the tram is off, front to back in the nod after I put this on then my only option is to shim the head or scrape / hone the head or column? Also I have noticed that locking the knee makes about .001-.002 difference in the tram in this dimension (about a 6" circle). For the rigid ram I wonder if they had the knee locked originally when they set the tram.

I guess now here is my opportunity to make a couple of before and after videos. What would be a good comparison? 3/4" end mill in aluminum with flood coolant?

Carbide 2.5" 45 degree face mill in aluminum?

You need to adjust the Gib on the Knee you should not see any more that .0005 of change when you clamp the knee, and yes you normally have the knee clamped when traming the head, it's not to bad to scrap the top of the column if you have to, it would be better than using shims, the head needs to be metal to metal or it won't be as rigid if you used shims in that position