Rudy’s Shop Wisdom?

[IanTParticipant @iant]

I have an Atlas MF Mill that may need some effort to get back into a usable condition and although I have other projects in hand at the moment, I'd like to gather as much background info that I can before I get stuck into what may be a major rebuild project.

I'm aware that Rudy Kouhoupt restored his Atlas mill and detailed it in HSM some years ago. I've also discovered that these articles are included in Vol. 3 of Rudy's "Shop Wisdom" books. With UK publications I can usually find a copy to inspect (before spending my pennies) but that seems unlikely in this case.

I've looked for S/H versions of the book on eBay but they are listed at silly prices. The cheapest I can get a copy in the UK is probably about £40 (approx. $65?). So my question is this:

Does Rudy give a detailed (step-by-step?) description of his rebuild (methods, dimensions, replacement parts used etc.) or was it a more general 'overview'. I'd be obliged if someone can give me an opinion on this. Details of how many pages & the number of drawings/photos/illustrations relating to the Atlas sections of the book would also be very helpful.

Regards,

IanT

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Is the description of an Atlas Milling machine refurb detailed?

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

A quick glance shows its only about 10pages, no drawings and a couple of B&W pics to each page.

[LADmachiningParticipant @ladmachining]

Hi Ian,

This article runs to 9 pages, and seems to be more of an overview of the process, with pointers as to pitfalls and useful dodges. He does seem to give step-by-step instructions on disassembly.

There are no drawings, but there are 24 black and white photographs.

I wouldn't have said it was worth buying the book for this article alone, although the rest of the content makes the cost worthwhile.

I have most of the HSM series, and ordered them over a period of several years from http://www.powells.com. Even with postage, they are cheaper than in the UK.

 

Anthony

Edited By LADmachining on 07/06/2014 14:50:13

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Thank you for the feedback – much appreciated.

Regards,

IanT

[John McNamaraParticipant @johnmcnamara74883]

Hello Ian T

If you want a good book on reconditioning your mill this book is well worth reading.

**LINK**

Machine tool reconditioning by Eduard F Connelly It covers lathes as well.

Regards
John

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

That Connelly book is about scraping and not machine tool reconditioning.

There is far more to reconditioning than scraping slides. One thing it is good for though is insomnia, impossible to read more than a chapter without falling to sleep.

[John McNamaraParticipant @johnmcnamara74883]

Not Just scraping………..

It covers measuring and alignment of Mills, Lathes, Surface and Cylindrical Grinders using simple jigs and fixtures. The book was written in the middle of the last century about the same time the Atlas mill may have been made. There are hundreds of illustrations. My copy is a nineteenth edition. Not bad for a technical book, clearly there are many that have found it useful.

I used it to recondition and align my lathe. The book was an invaluable source.

The first thing to do when reconditioning a machine is to check the geometry of the various slides for error and identify which areas need attention, this book will assist that process. At the same time the gears, bearings and drive system can be checked for wear, broken or missing parts Etc.

I found a manual for an atlas MFC series mill Not sure if it is the correct one? **LINK**

Regards
John

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