Harrison Mill question

This topic has 31 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 30 March 2018 at 16:19 by Andy Pugh.

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1 July 2015 at 03:41 #195451
Mark Rose
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@markrose67046
I am hoping someone can help me with my Harrison mill on here. How do you fill the power feed gearbox with oil? I bought this mill a month ago and the oil level is way down. I have read the manual and missing a trick here. There is a screw back by the cutting oil return, but the return pipe seems to be in the way.

I live in Canada and new to milling, but I have owned a lathe for years. The machine came with lots of holders and parts and was owned previously by a model engineer. I would really like to build a steam engine one day but right now machining parts for my woodworking machines.

Thanks, Mark
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1 July 2015 at 03:41 #17761
Mark Rose
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@markrose67046
1 July 2015 at 23:37 #195535
Phil Whitley
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@philwhitley94135
I will be at my workshop tomorrow,
I will have .a look and get back to you tomorrow night

phil
2 July 2015 at 05:48 #195538
Mark Rose
Participant
@markrose67046
Thanks Phil, I did figure it out today. On mine you have to unscrew the cutting oil return, then you can unscrew the oil fill for the power feeder.

But I was wondering if there is any tips you could pass on using the mill. All my machinist friends have Bridgeports or Mill/Drills.

Thanks, Mark
2 July 2015 at 18:38 #195615
Phil Whitley
Participant
@philwhitley94135
Hi Mark, It sounds like you have the Universal model, mine is the standard one. On mine the feed gearbox is on the right under the table, and the oil filler is behind an aluminium cover, which when removed exposes two gears, the gearbox filler is an allen grub screw plug to the right of the lower gear, (mine is empty%-() from your description, yours is totally different, can you post up a picture? I will share what little experience I have with pleasure. Do you have the vertical head for yours, or is it just horizontal. I had given up hope of getting one, and then one appeared on ebay and I won it.My workshop is in the midst of a massive refurb (it was built in the 70,s) but I can use 1 lathe, and the mill if I need to, so any problems, let me know, there are quite a few metalwork sites, and between them you will find many Harrison mill users, almost all of them more experienced than I am! Although there is a milling machine group on yahoo groups, there isn't much Harrison info on it. You can get the Harrison manual from [email protected], and he also has the worlds largest online reference of machine tools, with lots of Harrison info. http://www.lathes.co.uk/harrisonmiller/index.html

Hope this helps, any specific questions, just post up here

Phil
2 July 2015 at 22:35 #195640
Mark Rose
Participant
@markrose67046
2 July 2015 at 22:35 #195641
Mark Rose
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@markrose67046
3 July 2015 at 20:12 #195697
Phil Whitley
Participant
@philwhitley94135
Hi Mark, Are you trying to post a pic? You have to create an album, (see link at top of page), then upload pics to your album, then post a reply and add your pics to the reply. Here is the pic of my feed box with the Allen key in the filler plug.
3 July 2015 at 20:23 #195700
Phil Whitley
Participant
@philwhitley94135
Go to the top of the page and click on albums (on the green strip) and create an album. Then upload your pics to the album. when you answer a post click on the black camera icon above the text box, select the pic you want, and it appears in the text box. Simples(not!) It is the way this forum software works, others are easier, but once you get it, they are ok!

Phil
4 July 2015 at 04:25 #195714
Mark Rose
Participant
@markrose67046
Thanks Phil, I got through the create album part, tried to upload from my iPad and it failed to load, so I tried cut and paste and of course that didn't work. I will try again to post pictures.

Thanks for the photo of your machine, your power feed is in a different location to my horizontal Harrison, mine is at the end of the table, I did mange to get the plug out and filled with 40W oil, have a complete set of gears for it. So I guess I am off and running now. I wish I had the Vertical head as well, but the machine came with lots of cutters, holders and a carbide face mill for $300 Canadian so I can't complain. I see the are people out there that have added a vertical milling head that clamp on the top ways so that maybe an option for the future.

My machine came with the original manual from 1965. I did read all the info On Tony's site before I bought the machine, it's still a new experence for me getting the feel for the machine. I did some face milling on it today taking down a cast iron disk to make a spindle molder insert. There seems to be some back lash in the table and the front to back is quite stiff. So there is work to be done.

Thanks again, Mark
4 July 2015 at 04:41 #195715
Mark Rose
Participant
@markrose67046
4 July 2015 at 11:25 #195738
Phil Whitley
Participant
@philwhitley94135
Yes Mark, that is the universal model, if you loosen the two bolts above the feed wheel in the bed of the table, the table swivels , which on mine it doesn't. You got a REAL bargain there, I bought mine from the school where my wife worked, and TBH I think it has hardly been used, I will post a pic up.

Phil
4 July 2015 at 11:34 #195740
Phil Whitley
Participant
@philwhitley94135
4 July 2015 at 15:44 #195755
Mark Rose
Participant
@markrose67046
Phil, Thanks for posting the picture of of your machine, now I see the slight differences. The gearbox looks identical.

What kind of cutters do you have for your machine? I was thinking of getting a wider spiral/helical cutter, the widest I have now is 5/8. They are really expensive new, but there are a few used ones around.

Thanks, Mark
4 July 2015 at 17:39 #195768
Phil Whitley
Participant
@philwhitley94135
Hi Mark, I was lucky, my machine came with the original boxed set of accesories it was supplied new with, and I have picked up quite a few at auctions and machinery sales, usually at scrap prices. Always be on the lookout for int 30 tooling and arbors, the more different sized arbors you have, the more different bore scrap cutters you can accomodate. Also think of using a piece of keyed bar stock in a collet chuck as an arbour, with a bush into the support bracket, but Don't go overboard with the feeds and cutting depth. I will take some better pics when I am back at the shop on Monday, been today but forgot the camera. If you are considering buying new cutters, I would only buy what you need for a job as the retail ones aren't a patch on the quality of the ones the factories and machine shops chuck out by the pallet load!

Phil
4 July 2015 at 17:44 #195769
Phil Whitley
Participant
@philwhitley94135
Edited By Phil Whitley on 04/07/2015 17:44:47
23 October 2016 at 10:33 #262471
Paul Appleton 1
Participant
@paulappleton1
A old post I know, but hoping some one will pick up on it. I recently bought a similar mill to yours, Phil. no drop arm for the horizontal set up, no arbors and no vertical head. But I do have a Richmond universal vertical head that I intend to attach to the overarm. Amongst other problems, I can't figure out how the feed dials are set on their respective shafts. All three will not loosen from the feed shafts to zero them. One I could understand, but all three? Before I start pulling it apart, can anyone offer some insight?

Thanks, Paul
23 October 2016 at 17:47 #262569
Phil Whitley
Participant
@philwhitley94135
I will have a look on Monday, but I think mone are free to rotaote and are secured by allen screws.

Phil
24 October 2016 at 18:12 #262775
Paul Appleton 1
Participant
@paulappleton1
Thank you Phil, that was quick! I got the job sorted. The real problem was 40yrs of dried out goop on all 3 axis scales. A wee warm and gentle persuasion was all it took. The dials do have a seperate locking ring, all nicely cleaned and regreased.now. I found out today that the mill is 1976 vintage, suprisingly little wear on the ways. Got the vertical head motor wired up, single phase capacitor start/reverse, needs bearings and a new belt. BTW, on some very old motors using segmented bobweights, the spring from inside an oil seal makes a handy subsitute.

Many thanks

Paul
25 October 2016 at 21:45 #262987
Phil Whitley
Participant
@philwhitley94135
Yes, mine was exactly the same, mine is a 1970's metric model, and was covered in a generous layer of 30 year old set solid cutting oil, which meant it was immaculate underneath, but everything was gummed up. Good idea about the oil seal spring on the centrifugal switch! Interesting about the vertical head, can you post some pics up? I was lucky with my vertical head in that one came up an ebay in a rather out of the way place quite near to me! Still hads to pay more than I paid for the mill though.
25 October 2016 at 21:51 #262989
Phil Whitley
Participant
@philwhitley94135
BTW, you probably know, Tony at lathes.co.uk has manuals for these mills, and the "grease" nipples are for oil only, and you wont believe how smooth they are when you have oiledthem up with a pressure oil gun!

Phil
26 October 2016 at 20:56 #263119
Paul Appleton 1
Participant
@paulappleton1
I'm finding more of the oilers as I clean the machine, quite a lot of them, actually. Also found that what l thought were oilers were the sheared off remains of the gib adjusting screws on the rear of the table. All extracted and new on order – ebay.. Strangely enough l have a Colchester lathe too, an older Master, you wouldn't have a F. Pollock pedestal drill would you Phil?

I was kindly sent an operators handbook as a pdf by Paul Clapham. But could use info on the Richmond hyspeedmil, which is '50's vintage. The Harrison is 3ph 415v, So as there are 3 motors,a neater alrernative, and probably less expensive option would be a rotary converter. Then l shouldn't have to rewire the whole machine and can run the head off a seperate 240v supply. I'll post some pics if I can get to the shop tomorrow.

BR, Paul
28 October 2016 at 11:15 #263363
Paul Appleton 1
Participant
@paulappleton1
http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/albums/member_album.asp?a=42631

With luck, there should be photos at the end of this link,

BR, Paul
28 October 2016 at 22:29 #263518
Phil Whitley
Participant
@philwhitley94135
No, no Pollocks, I have a Taiwanese floor standing pedestal drill, plus a Alfred Herbert high speed precision drill, but my go to drill press for everyday use is a Grafton made in USA!
11 November 2016 at 13:33 #266012
Andy Pugh
Participant
@andypugh44463
Just found this looking for something else.

A friend of mine is planning to make castings for an adaptor for one of the cheap eBay ER20 high-speed spindles that will fit onto the overarm dovetail. I have said that I will take one too. Is there any interest here?

I have the original vertical head for my machine, but it is a bit slow and loud (I got one with both low-speed options so the vertical head tops out at 1000 rpm).

For fun, here is my Harrison in action. Did I mention that it is converted to CNC?
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