Machine Tool Restoration....

Machine tools....  How exciting can this be???  Well there are tons of these things lying around and there is only a dedicated few folks that like to drag them out of the mud and give'um a new life.  Reluctantly I'm one of them....  I had had it with my JET lathe....  I bought it new and fought it until the day it was gone.  I mean, what a piece of shit!  Never would repeat like it should and was always a challenge.  I was able to get good parts out of it but it always put up a fight.  So I called a friend and asked for help, I couldn't take it any longer...  I had to have something new!!  Along comes a Craigslist ad and then along comes these machines....  Why did I buy both?  Well it was kinda like a package deal ya know??  I went for the lathe but after giving the low ball offer it was tossed back in my face with basically a "take this as well for the same price....."  Hmm....  Well OK...  I guess I'll make it work.. Knowing that I had a great milling machine already I knew I didn't need another, but, this one was so much more and when it was restored we would have a winner!  Right...  When It's restored....



So we begin.... Tearing shit apart and wiping everything down. Can a machine really be this dirty?? Who the Fuck let this thing get to this point? Well.... Sad but true... This was a shop that was focused on making money... Not making clean machines. So we are just about at the point of turning this PIG around and getting it on the road back to recovery. How the folks that do this for a living make any money I will never know... This has been a HUGE task and I will certainly be happy once it's finished!

But there is hope... After all this scraping and scrubbing, 3 gallons of Lacquer Thinner Later and at least 300 shop towels we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Paint is not so important in these machines.. Only for looks ya know. But the shit that matters is still in fine shape. And after a little RED scotch brite pad and WD-40 we start to see what's still there and ready for active duty. Perfect ways and factory scrape marks! Score... We knew it was there! Just had to find it...

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