Chester mill spares amazing

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

Hi the guard holder on my Chester 16VS mill broke on Monday morning. The clamp which holds the square stem came away and the microswitch wouldn't work so no milling. I striped it down and found that the inner rotating part cracked and needs repairing. It had been a little stiff a while ago and was ok after a little oil which may have caused a problem as some plastics deteriorate in contact with oil. Anyway I rang Chester and Mark said send a picture of the part as it isn't in the parts list. I sent picture and today the part arrived free of charge evan though i bought the mill in 2017. Real support for my mill is most appreciated.

David

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Good service. Apart from that, it appears to be a poor design on someone’s part? Doing without the guard, as many do, is easy enough – just link out the limit switch or jam it in the correct position for running.

I doubt many machines pre-‘70s were ever fitted with a guard and many, after that, were fitted with guards without any limit switches. A bit like guarding the lathe chuck but not the workpiece sticking out of same. I only use such guards to prevent splashing or having swarf chucked in my direction.

[Peter Sullivan 1Participant @petersullivan1]

Hi David – I wonder if you can help me with my Chester Champion 20 mill? I’ve bought it and I’m going to collect it next week once Boris lets me. I’m going to have to transport it from Hull back home to Birkenhead. It’ll be just me and my brother and a Ford Focus estate. We’re in our 60s now and I’m certain the mill will be too heavy for just the two of us so I propose to strip it down on site before loading it into the car. How easy is it to do that? I imagine I’d remove the table then split the column from the base. But I’ve never seen a machine like this in the flesh before, so what would you advise me to do? I have a background in mechanical and electrical engineering so I can swing a spanner ok but I’m new to milling machines. I do have a 1935 Drummond M lathe (I believe you have the later Myford M) and this Champion 20 will complement it. So there you have it, what do you think? Thanks a lot. Peter.

[Stuart Smith 5Participant @stuartsmith5]

Peter

I have a Warco WM16 mill which looks to be the same design as the Chester 20v.

I bought it secondhand and it was in a first floor workshop with access via a narrow staircase.

I split it into 3 parts to move it.

I removed the head in one complete part with just 3 nuts/bolts to remove. I watched this video on you tube to see how to do it. He went over the top making a block to hold it. I just lowered mine onto a block of wood on the table. **LINK**

Then I removed the table just leaving the base and column together. I removed the complete x/ y table by winding it forwards. I had to remove the lead screw nut from under the table . It was held in place by 2 screws, accessed from the back. This is the heaviest part but one person can lift it though best with 2. (My son in law moved it from my car to my workshop on his own before I had chance to help!)

Myself and previous owner carried the parts down the stairs between us without any problems.

So you should have no trouble doing the same.

You can download a manual from the US site of Grizzly tools which looks like the same design. https://cdn0.grizzly.com/manuals/g0704_m.pdf

Stuart

Edited By Stuart Smith 5 on 23/03/2021 20:10:53

Edited By Stuart Smith 5 on 23/03/2021 20:15:15

[Peter Sullivan 1Participant @petersullivan1]

Hi Stuart, thanks a lot for that – the Grizzly pdf is streets ahead of the Chester one and providing it’s the same machine (other than fine detail) it looks to have all the info I might need. So, I’ll remove the head first and then the table. I’d like to move the table to the end of its X travel then remove it by taking off either one of the turn wheels, plates, roller bearings, Woodruff key, having released the gib screws and removing the gib strip prior. That’ll leave me the base with saddle plate and the column. The base is bolted to its cabinet and after separating them we could then lift the base/column assembly between the two of us and move it out. Does that strike you as a sound plan? If so, I’ll make up a toolkit to take with me. BTW, how do you access the upper two nuts of the headstock? The lower one is obvious but the top two not so much. Thanks for your continued help. Peter.

[Stuart Smith 5Participant @stuartsmith5]

Peter

The head is just held by 2 bolts ( numbers 8 and 9 on the Grizzly drawing). Number 9 is a captive t-bolt so you just need to remove the nut and washers. This is used to stop the head rotating.

The central bolt 9 and washers can be removed complete.

You don’t need to remove any other nuts/ bolts.

I lowered the head onto a block of wood on the table to take the weight off the head and wound the table with head on it forward then lifted it off. The control box and wiring is attached to the head so comes off as one.

I removed the table and saddle as one by undoing the 2 screws holding the y axis bearing holder and removing the y axis lead screw assembly. I then removed the y axis lead screw nut (71 on the Grizzly drawing) . This is held by 2 Allen key bolts accessed from underneath the back of the saddle. I could then pull the saddle off complete with table attached. I didn’t remove the gib but with hindsight I should have done.

Hope this helps.

Stuart

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

Hi Peter just found your question and it looks like you have all the questions answered already. The head on my mill is just held on by two bolts and a nut, make sure the T bolt is not lost. On the table I would unscrew the end plate, two screws, with the handwheel and wind out the leadscrew before sliding out the bed, you are less likely to damage the leadscrew. You may have to slacken the gib strips if the table dosn't slide out. Take boxes and plastic bags for screws etc and label where they came from. Take a set of combination spanners. Socket set and Allen keys as well as a set of flat and cross head screwdrivers. Hope the M Type is working ok my lathe is turning out pieces ok. Take a picture before dismantling or removing wires is always a good idea.

David

Edited By David George 1 on 24/03/2021 07:07:31

[Tim StevensParticipant @timstevens64731]

If you still find the base and column a bit heavy or awkward there are four socket bolts holding the two together, accessed from the rear. Separating these parts is useful anyway as it allows you to have a good look at the means for adjusting the tramming, especially in the y direction. Once you know where shims can be fitted it is much easier to make them the right shape, etc.

And in my experience, you will need to attend to the tramming.

One day I will do a little article about the useful tweaks I have done to my Chester 20V, but not until my Student is going well. See elsewhere on this list.

Cheers, Tim

[Peter Sullivan 1Participant @petersullivan1]

Stuart, David & Tim, thanks for your assistance. I think I now have enough information to progress, your help has been invaluable. I’ll let you know how I get on – thanks again. Peter.

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