Quick Step Mill.

[LathejackParticipant @lathejack]

Hello.

 

 Does anyone out there own and use a Quick Step Mill? They’ve been around for a while but i’ve never seen one in the flesh. If so, are they any good and how are the speeds changed? They seem to be very well made and i may have some use for one.

 

 Many thanks.

[LathejackParticipant @lathejack]

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

I have a QuickStep mill, I actually made it to the Original designer’s design notes [not as a kit] which were published in MEW.

 

To answer you questions in order. As used on Myford S7

 

Are they any good?  For me it has a small number of useful attributes. I can just pick it up, lock it on the toolpost with the standard QC fitting and cross drill, slot/spline. Other uses are up to you, have you seen the blurb sheet from Hemmingway?

 

How do you change gear?  Thre is a 3 step pulley on the rear under the black cover, there is also a  3 step gear box withing the body, operated by the knob on the side, all changes are with the motor stopped. Motor is DC, so I can also very the speed by powering from AC variable source [Variac].

 

Are they well made?   Mine is!!    I have seen none kit versions on Hemmingway’s stand at shows and they appear to be OK.  Fwd/Rev switching is interlocked, you have to pass through Stop

 

I have a higher than standard speed motor which gives me 4000rpm  If interested I can find the internal photos.

 

K

Edited By KWIL on 17/11/2010 09:48:37

[LathejackParticipant @lathejack]

Thanks KWIL.

 

 I have seen it on the Hemingway website and i did notice the three position dial on the side, but the info there isn’t very detailed and didn’t confirm anything. Sometimes products change while adverts still show outdated images and descriptions, a bit like Warco’s brochures, so i wasn’t sure.

 

 Very interested in the photos. I think the Hemingway product is a finished item rather than a kit, and with an internal gearbox no wonder its expensive.

 

 Many thanks.

Edited By Lathejack on 17/11/2010 18:15:34

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

The present Hemmingway item is a finished item rather than a Kit, which at one time it was I believe. Hemingwaykits  Website prices says £687!!!!

 

If you look in My Album you will see a group photo of various  views, these are scanned photographs rather than digital images.

 

The finished item looks “just like a bought one” as my Australian friends would say, all aluminium sufaces are anodised, green body with black spindle housing and parts.

 

K

Edited By KWIL on 18/11/2010 10:07:05

[Stephen Ward 1Participant @stephenward1]

I have one bought as a finished item from Hemmingway and use it a lot.

 

Speed is changed as described above (3 speed gearbox and 3 speed pulley), takes just a few seconds to change.

 

Combined with a mechanism for indexing the lathe head I’ve used it for everything from cutting clock gears to machining bolt heads on parts, cross drilling, machining slots etc.

 

The only thing you have to bear in mind is at that it’s a small mill and not a Bridgeport! Light cuts are the order of the day, but us model engineers are probably used to that.

 

IMO I’d say it’s one of those bits of kit that is better than it has any right to be, but whether it’s worth the not insubstantial amount of money they cost is another question.

2nd hand they don’t seem to be any cheaper and any that appear are usually snapped up immediately.

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

To be honest, I built mine as a challenge for a new project, because I have other mills including a Bridgeport now, I can cover the whole range of cutting as required. The Quick Step does however have its uses although not quite as many as others would, perhaps  of necessity, find for it.

Edited By KWIL on 25/11/2010 14:05:24

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

The original build articles are in MEW issue 52 and 53. A reasonably straightforward build but does require precision machining.

I have all the gears machined, waiting on finishing shafts and finding a suitable motor to drive it.

CB.

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