I have taken the outer panels off of the mill in the past couple of days. The plan is to get it taken apart, clean everything, fix what needs to be fixed and reassemble it. Tear down has gone smooth so far, just messy. I did find that industrial floor cleaner and a pressure washer will do wonders when it comes to the plastic housings on these old machines.







First big question I have is can I take the lower tray off of the mill without a lot of headache. It has a fairly thick layer of sealant where it meets the base. I could clean it where it is but I had such good success getting the sides clean I would really like to give the lower tray the same treatment. I would also be replacing the sealant, which I am sure is original and couldn't hurt.






Next issue I ran into is the moving side cover for the tool carousel. Sorry for the terminology, I am just not sure of the technical name but it is the curved door that hides the taper portion of the tools when the carousel moves away from the spindle. The door is there but the mechanism that makes it open and close appears to be gone, why I don't know. I can see the slot on the rear side of the door that I am sure is part of the mechanism but the rest is just not there. In the picture the slot can be seen just behind the cable. Does anyone have any pictures of the correct setup or any other info that will help me sort it out?





Next issue is a random hose, blocked off, at the top of the machine next to the spindle motor. It is a plastic line, bent over itself and zip tied to seal it off. It looks to be too big to be way lube. It comes out of the service loop and I have not been able to find an empty fitting where it might go. I have not traced it back to its origins just yet, figure I would toss a picture out here and see if someone recognized it.





On another one of my posts it had a picture of the mill as I was buying it and someone commented on the tarp covering the z axis ways. Well I found out the the way covers are not on the machine, they were badly mangled and showed up in a box with the mill when it was delivered. I have 3 pieces of the cover, one piece not usable and the other two are badly bent. Aside from the three pieces I have I am not sure what all is supposed to be there. Does anyone know where I can find a whole cover, new or used, or does anyone have any pictures or other info?





And last but not least. The wiring to the door switches is pretty bad. Would it be horrible to take the switches out of the circuit eliminating them. Are you guys disabling the door alarm when you run your mills? I know safety wise that's a bad idea but I am trying to come up with a game plan while it is apart.

Steve