Good job as usual Winky. Just containing the chips is a significant accomplishment. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.

What great little coolant tank !

Mark, I like your modification to the coolant system. As far as equalizing coolant between the side that has a trap and the one that doesn't; I think it is best to keep the mill as level as can be and drill and tap a new trap on the side that is lacking. I have a 10"X48" Marena that has a trap on each side, it drains well

Great Idea Mark. But I would not have gone to all the trouble. I just stick with cutting fluid and a brush no more milling than I do. Most of my milling is to repair/restore other vintage machines. Flood coolant definitely has its place in production shops but on my Bridgeport clone it came with flood coolant, but I am not going to use it. Great craftmanship on your part though. Thanks for bringing us along.

Another idea. Have the 'suds' come in from both sides - that way chips are not so likely to be washed into the path of the cutter. I like the swarf guide ideas. I could do with something along those lines on my mill. Be careful when choosing a 'trough' vise (vice over here!) - that coolant channel can obstruct rearward clearance in some cases - I've even seen cases where the guide channel has been milled off!

You can tilt the entire mill out of level by a very small amount and it should be enough to force the coolant to flow to your drain side. However, flow rate will likely overcome that at times. So, ya know, cut another drain hole. That's the best solution lol.

Sand that coating way back when tig welding. Coating loves to migrate as you can see the contamination and sparks flying. Clean bright shiny metal. Cool project.

Very well done 👏

Looks like a nice upgrade. Thanks for sharing

Cool, works a treat Winky, you will solve any issues as the come along, if any.

To avoid having to walk around the table and bend over to turn the pump on and off, I would mount a standard receptacle in the box. Then mount the magnetic switch up on the machine with the load side wire powering the receptacle. You'd still have the advantage of unplugging the pump to remove the tank for cleaning, but would gain easy access to turn the pump on and off. G.

Mate nice work. If you go with plugs in the T slots nothing is lost if they don't work. Bit of rubber cut to shape and tapped in with a mallet and a stick. Another hole means another hose, you'll have more hose than a fire truck.

Hi Mark, nice addition to your mill, looks good.

Hi Mark, just watching how you cut the support frame pieces to fit was useful to see. Obvious, I suppose, but I doubt that I would have thought of it! Good idea to spilt the cable (obviously!).

Mark, you might need to go with stainless steel couplers for your coolant hose. These would not be cheap, but probably would be in the long run. The switch provided by Vertex is not magnetic, but is a mechanical action type switch. I prefer magnetic to mechanical if the power shuts off. It won't ne forgotten that way, and potentially run for a few days, or even hours. When i was in college, they had a print shop, and their used aluminum plates went to a company that made solar air warming panels.

Don's Rule # 2 of anything machine: If you make it easy to maintain, it'll get maintained! Nice job Winky. Ought to do a comparo between your old mill and this one. A stack up / pros n cons etc.. I think that would be interesting. Don

A coolant pump on that mill should work well once all the drainage problems are solved. I believe you’ll find that HSS cutters are entirely adequate for the speeds and feeds your mill will run. They’re widely available in all sizes, flute styles and lengths and much cheaper than carbide.

Happy Midsummer

I stopped at goodwill last week and there was a large, thick, square aluminum pan about 18" x 18" x 4" deep maybe 1/4" thick. The bottom was flat all the way to the sides with only a small radius in the corners and the sides were flat. It looked new. It would have made a good "something" for the garage, maybe something to put under a vise with coolant. I had trouble setting it back down, but I'm cured from dragging stuff home anymore.

Enjoyed

Ah, the drain challenge. I don't think tilting will work, far too much tilt required. If you don't want to drill another drain hole than maybe just pack the sump with a block of metal or infill with a casting rubber which could be pulled out. I think though that the 'drill another drain' is the best way to go. Maybe into the bottom of the table rather than the side. You would need a very low profile adapter, maybe installed from below and not protruding above the surface of the sump. Use a large diameter adapter and hose - less likely to get blocked, or have a mesh pre-filter mounted on the sump exit.

add a second drain and hose with a y to the outher hose i think i would put the drains in the bottom of the well for better draining

I haven't run the coolant, but have used the mist (quite a bit). Coolant is messy, but it does collect those fine chips that get everywhere including on you. Even with safety glasses, I used to make regular trips to the ophthalmologist to get a metal splinter taken out of my eye (work will see that as an injury now and drug test you on the way). It's best to just go see your eye doctor and don't even mention it at work. The other issue is the vacuum (wet and dry I guess), you need a hose that doesn't have all those darn ridges on the inside and maybe a little filter box that could catch the chips in a disposable bag of some sort and not crud up the vac.

Would a paper coffee filter on the return help?....put another table drain on the other side. "t" them together, then to sump...

Hi, A lovely job you made of the Wells Index milling machine. I am considering purchasing one of these myself. What do they weigh approximately please so I have an idea for moving it. Many thanks :)

Drill and tap the end that doesn't drain and run a hose over to the other drain and tee it in it will all end up in the coolant tank

On my model 40 someone drilled a coolant drain hole in the trough on the right hand side of the table, I guess they got fed up with the coolant pooling in there

The only setup I have ever seen which was close to 100% successful was similar to yours, this chap had a load of aluminium sheet a bit thinner than yours (I think it was the thick foil they used to make takeaway containers from) which he cut and folded into shields as required and held to the bed with old loudspeaker speaker and TV focusing magnets.

buen video amigo EL INTERUPTOR DE LA BOMBA NO SE VE DONDE LO MONTASTES

I know the advertising hype all coolants have regarding corrosion inhibitors. Mixed according to direction they all corrode to a certain extent especially where capillary action takes place, even if you mix on the heavy side. I coat my vise bottoms, and in your case that removable “fixed jaw”, with Sta-bil Rust Stopper or equivalent, before bolting to the table. (No they don’t slide around and come out of tram….they are held with tons of pressure for God’s sake.)Without doing so you will discover at the very least a nice shadow of your vise and, if you leave it long enough, pitting of both table and vise. I also offset my vise right and then left to even out wear on the lead screw. This leaves room for an indexer, or etc. besides.

Nice improvement Mark, I have used flood and mist in the past. They both have pro's and con's it just depends on your situation and your preference. Your sure scored finding a older mill that wasn't completely worn out. Have you been thinking about a power feed in the future? I have seen pictures of Bridgeport style power feeds on the X axis so I know that it is possible. Anyways I hope that all is well, you have a fine machine there.

does the aluminum plates affect the levelness of the vise ?

Awesome

Drill and tap a drainhole in the other end of the mill table, drain it back to the sump

Next week, curb feelers for the base.....

10 oz per gal for 2 gal is more like 20oz instead of 25 isn't it?

Why not just pump it dry into a bucket and then clean it out?

Winky,you are bending that poor vice real bad by putting alusheet under the ends and press down on the middle.Run an indicator over it and see how much it gets out of whack.At least put some alu under the vice at the middle,direkt under the holddowns.

Nice job, but...... $315,- !? that's $250 too much.

so you"re saying the chinese crap sucks