# Homemade Mill power feed



## geoff

I have a Warco wm14 mill which i like very much and having used it for a while I have decided to try and make a power feed. I am using a spare small drill screwdriver as i think they contain many of the qualities you need, such as 2speeds slow and medium, a clutch in case of a jam up, and a battery. I am constructing a mockup in wood to workout the position of parts and have made a dog clutch so you can disconect the drive for manual positioning the work. I'm not sure how to engage the clutch, with some sort of lever i hope, if anyone has any ideas. You can see in my picture i have sawn off the handle of the drill as it would be in the way and will use a seperate speed controler which i have ordered on ebay, this will have a reverse switch as well. I also have to connect the large meccano gear the the feedscrew.

Geoff


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## mulac321

Looks interesting. One of my many projects on the go is a power feed for my mill. Have bought two timing belts so far to get the ball rolling. One was way to long and one was just an inch to short. Doh! Good idea using a screwdriver, plenty of torque and a slipper clutch too. Have you got spare batteries or an alternative supply for those long days in the shop?


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## Omnimill

I think I'd try and find a suitable plug top power supply rather than use batteries.


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## Journeyman

Looking forward to this as I also have a WM14 and a collection of old power drills. Hope it comes together OK. Are you thinking of connecting to the handle (right) end or to the spindle somewhere under the table on the blank left hand end?

Cheers, John


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## geoff

Hi John
Thanks for your interest, i'm still working on this project and feel i'm making good progress now i have worked out a clutch arrangement. Today i started on modifing the feedscrew and finding a way to measure it's exact position, and found it has a slight wobble so i will have to allow for that. I am fixing the drive to the plain end of the table and hope to keep it out of the way. in this picture you can see i found a piece of 16mm tube that just fitted the feedscrew, which i took to the lathe to drill a hole in the end and then tap for grub screws. the connecting shaft to the new drive is a loose fit and has 2 flats that slip between the grubscrews and so allows a bit of misalignment.
Regards geoff


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## geoff

I am progressing well with this project and have made a second test piece lefthanded so it does'nt stick out from the front of the table, i now have the electronics and had a test run with the wires dangling off the end to see if it was likley to work and was pleased with the result, The drill motor can have it's clutch set to it's lowest setting and slip if an jam up happens. The drill has 2 speeds and moves the table at up to 120mm/min on lo and 360mm/min on high for a quick return. I was pleased to find this speed control on ebay shipped from Hong Kong to UK all for GBP13. it works from 6-24v and had the forward/reverse switch already fitted. I have just got to find room for it in my setup. I think making a prototype in wood has been very usefull but now i am ready to make the final one in Ali. Here's a picture with it in place.
Geoff


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## Omnimill

Looking good Geoff. Makes sense to me to make a mock up in a cheap material like wood first. Have you got a link for the controller?

Vic.


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## geoff

Hi Vic
try this link http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150854583486?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 for the controler.
Geoff


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## Omnimill

Thanks Geoff!


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## geoff

Well it's almost finished, just a cover to make and relief it does seem to work after quite a bit of time making it. i did buy a power adapter with ajustable voltage and 1000mw output and this seems OK, My only change would be to gear down the speed a bit more as i'm working at the lower end of the speed range and there seems to be more buzz from the controler. At the moment it can move the table upto 120mm/min with the drill set to low and 360mm/min drill set to high. here some pics and a youtube link
Geoff
http://youtu.be/Ne-CaLbEA1c


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## gus

Very smart idea. Been trying to build same for long time. !5 years I have a Bridgeport with auto feed.
Thats gone with the factory shutdown.They moved plant to China and Gus went there too.

I almost fall asleep hand cranking the mill table. Buying one such device from LMS will cost me a bomb.
OK .Will monkey see      monkey do.  Thanks for the link.


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## jtrout13

Geoff, could you please post some more detailed pictures of your clutch arrangement?  I am working on a similar power feed for the cross slide of my lathe using a dog clutch, but I can't figure out how to easily engage/disengage it.  I'd like to see more of how you engage the clutch.

Thanks, John


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## Journeyman

Geoff, very nice job you've done there. I started playing with an old drill I have knocking about, unscrewed the casing to see what was inside and was showered in bits of epycyclic gearbox! Not a screw in sight everything held in place by the casing, oh well back to the drawing board..

Looking at the end of the table on your mill there seems to be a lot more room than on mine. I was trying to make my X-slide a bit smoother and the leadscrew only just clears both top and bottom. Have you milled a slot on the underside of the table casting, mine is basically as cast. The fit is so tight that the Chinese factory fitter has taken an angle-grinder to the X axis nut to stop it hitting the underside of the table. I got a spare nut from Warco but the threaded hole seems to be at an angle causing the thread to bind if it's adjusted too tight. Wondered about making a new one from Delrin but can't think how to fit it.

Cheers
*John*


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## geoff

Here are some more photos i hope answer your questions, I found that the leadscrew wobbled a little so i did'nt want a rigid conection and the way i have connected does'nt take up any more width, you do need a dog clutch so you can still move the table manually for setting up, you can't turn the hand wheel with the drill connected because they lockup with no power applied. check the feed speed you want as i think some of the addaptions seem to run too fast. once you have a power feed it will make milling a lot more fun.
Geoff


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## jtrout13

Geoff, that's exactly what i needed.  Thanks!


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## bigo

check this out that i built from a linear accutator, cut the lead screw, put on timing pulley and built a speed control which varies the speed and a reversing switch for 






foward and reverse


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## dparker

Hello All:
I bought a 4 RPM motor (a take off from a Zerox copier) from Surplus Sales in Lincoln Nebraska several years ago for the driver.  The hand wheel was removed from the left hand side of the table and a "dog clutch" half was installed on the feed screw. A mounting bracket was fabricated and the motor with the other half of the dog clutch was mounted with a sliding hub to the end of the table.  The motor and bracket was designed to be below the surface of the table so as not to interfere with a work piece that was bigger than the table.  The motor is wired to be able to run in either direction and controlled with a double throw single pole switch.  When the dog clutch is disengaged the table can be cranked by hand.  No alterations were made to the mill/drill other than to drill and tap two holes to mount the bracket on the end of the table.

Previous to this I used two rotisserie motors ( one rewired to run in the opposite direction) to drive the table in the direction I desired.

Photobucket seems to be down right now,  if anybody would like to see pictures PM me and I will try to answer when it is back up.


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## gus

dparker said:


> Hello All:
> I bought a 4 RPM motor (a take off from a Zerox copier) from Surplus Sales in Lincoln Nebraska several years ago for the driver.  The hand wheel was removed from the left hand side of the table and a "dog clutch" half was installed on the feed screw. A mounting bracket was fabricated and the motor with the other half of the dog clutch was mounted with a sliding hub to the end of the table.  The motor and bracket was designed to be below the surface of the table so as not to interfere with a work piece that was bigger than the table.  The motor is wired to be able to run in either direction and controlled with a double throw single pole switch.  When the dog clutch is disengaged the table can be cranked by hand.  No alterations were made to the mill/drill other than to drill and tap two holes to mount the bracket on the end of the table.
> 
> Previous to this I used two rotisserie motors ( one rewired to run in the opposite direction) to drive the table in the direction I desired.
> 
> Photobucket seems to be down right now,  if anybody would like to see pictures PM me and I will try to answer when it is back up.



Good idea. Will build table feed drive after I put in the stops. End milling long pieces can be boring and tiresome.
I have to many tools to make.Just built a Rotary Table for US$50.A Dividing Head is on the board to cut gears for clock making.Worm and wheel cost me Rmb 20 which less than US$4. Divivding head will most likely cost US$60--80.

Need some expert advice.Where can I buy gear cutters?

About to go off to collect bar stocks to built a .46 aeromodel engine which will take 3 months .Promised myself-----no rush----no date line -----no rejects.  Sweet dream.


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## payner

Hi. Looks great, can you tell me what gears you used and the final gear ratio.
Thanks Bill


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## purpleknif

If you short out 2 of the contacts on the pot with a push button switch you will have instant rapid. I like this on mine becuse when you find the "sweet spot" feed rate you dont lose it or have to wait to clear .


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## deeferdog

About three years ago I made this X axis power feed for my mill. The motor is from a small battery drill and when locked in low speed they have enormous torque, certainly enough for my Optimum BF20 mill. I locked the gear box with a hose clamp. The motors are easy to get at by dis-assembling the drill. For a clutch I just made a sliding brass dog which I flick in or out with my finger, it is very simple and has never given any trouble. Speed control is by a 10 amp DC speed controller from a local electronics shop, cost was around $A20. For the power supply I used one from a wrecked computer, they have a range of voltages and can generally supply 10 amps/ 12 volts. I made a case for it and included an ammeter. The motor draws around 6 amps at max load. Google offers plenty of advice on using these as a power supply. In the three years this has been in use it has never given a moments trouble, the power available from these motors through the planetary gears is astonishing. I might add that battery drill that it came from was of the cheaper brand. Cheers, Peter


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## deeferdog

If anyone is interested, I powered the Z axis on the mill a while back. Pics and a brief description can be found in "Machine modifications" dated 2 March 2017.  Cheers.


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## BaronJ

Hi Guys,

Here is a link to one that I made for my Chinese BL20 mill.

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/showthread.php?t=23130


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