Re: just bought an used knee mill ...
Will,
Did you notice that the nameplate on yours says "Made in Taiwan" ? My Enco mill also says that. At some later date, their manufacturing was moved to China, after Taiwan prices became too high. Rong Fu is currently made in Taiwan, which is why many people prefer the Rong Fu to the Chinese Enco.
If your mill doesn't already have leveling feet (like those you installed on the lathe), the perfect time to put them on is while you have the engine lift. Mill leveling is not critical like a lathe, but it is really handy to have the table close to perfectly level - that allows using an angle meter (under $20) for quick set ups:
all of the tricks to getting this beast adjusted
Daniel, your mill looks like a smaller version of a Bridgeport. If so, there are just a few things to fine tune. You'd think the instruction manual would help (Enco can provide one if you need it), but they are written in broken ChinGlish, and hard to understand
They have a pdf of their similar knee mill, Model 100-5100, at:
http://www.use-enco.com/Machinery/100-5100.pdf
If you Google Enco 100-5200, there's quite a bit of info available from different groups.
First is adjusting the saddle gibs that control the tightness of the ways on the table (X&Y movements). Next are the gibs that control knee tightness (Z movement).
The most important adjustment on any mill, whether it's a mill-drill or a knee mill, is the angular relationship of spindle to table, known as the tram. You want the angle to be 90.000° in both X & Y . Checking tram is easy, and is done by attaching an Indicol holder to the spindle, and using a dial test indicator (.0005" graduations) to touch off the table. When the spindle is in perfect alignment, the DTI will not move as it is rotated through a complete circle.
This photo shows how to check for tram, using a parallel.
I don't use anything under the DTI, and prefer to touch directly off the table. The machine's motor belt must be loose, so it's easy to swing the DTI. If you want to be extra safe, unplug the machine before proceeding.
If you want, a shop built tramming bar is not hard to make (shown here touching a gage block):
The problem with any fixture that uses either a collet or a drill chuck is that the runout of most drill chucks & R8 collets is substantial. Gripping on the spindle introduces the least amount of error.
It appears that the 100-5200 head will tilt left & right, which allows adjustment of the spindle to table in the X axis. It does not look like the head will nod up or down, so that adjustment is made by inserting very thin shim stock at the junction of the column to the head. Perfect tram is indicated when the DTI needle does not move when rotated in a complete circle, but reality is that +/- .0005" is acceptable.
(On the mill that many of us use, the head will not tilt or nod. Tram is adjusted by inserting thin shim stock at the junction of the column to the base.)
