Hello sparky2,
Thank you for your question.
I found some interesting information for you on this machine:
http://www.lathes.co.uk/nichols/
Nichols Horizontal Hand Miller -USA
This is a wonderful page with complete history, drawings and photos.
"Manufactured by W. H. Nichols & Sons of Waltham, Massachusetts, the
Nichols "Hand Milling Machine", as it was termed in their advertising
literature, was a very robust, well-built tool intended for "volume
production of small parts at low cost." The miller was available in a
range of models: Standard, Production, Heavy-duty Production, Tool
Room, Duplex, Twin-mill and Semi-automatic. The "Standard" was the
basic machine and fitted with a table 20 inches long by 6.75 inches
wide with 10 inches of longitudinal travel operated by a lever-feed;
the 7 inches of cross feed and 13 inches of vertical travel were
generous for a small miller and both driven by screw feeds; the
"Production" was identical in construction and specification to the
Standard with the sole exception of a lever-operated traverse feed;
the "Tool Room" was supplied with a table 10 inches longer than
standard (and an extra 9 inches of travel) and with both lever and
screw-feed to the longitudinal movement; the "Duplex" was fitted with
two independent spindles and available in two models: one had the
spindles facing each other on a single axis whilst on the other they
were parallel, one above the other, and able to be adjusted so that
they could be brought to within 3.75" of each other - or moved until
14.375" apart; the "Semi-automatic" was a standard machine but
equipped with a pneumatic longitudinal feed which could be arranged
for simple cycle jobs where the table could be rapidly advanced from
its start position, slowed to a rate suitable for the cut to take
place and then returned at high speed to the start position to repeat
the process; the "Heavy-Duty Production" was a late edition to
catalog and featured a longer table, strengthened castings and the
ability to cut more metal in a given time than the standard production
model; the final machine in the range, the "Twin-mill", was a very
special, automatically-controlled machine which used two independent
heads amounted one at each side of the table.
Although the stand, main body, knee and table were of conventional
design, the Nichols employed (for a horizontal miller) an unusual
arrangement whereby the entire head assembly, counterbalanced by the
weight of the motor and complete with main spindle and overarm, could
be moved up and down over a distance of 4.5 inches. The movement, on
hand-scraped dovetail slides, was under the sensitive control of a
long lever acting through rack-and-pinion gearing whilst a
cleverly-engineered sliding pivot between motor and head allowed the
belt to remain at a constant tension no matter what the position of
the head. The pulleys fitted to both the motor and spindle was
manufactured in cast iron and were, claimed the makers, heavy enough
to produce something of a flywheel effect and so smooth out the drive;
in addition, because alternatives sizes were available to increase the
top speed and reduce the bottom speed, each was held to its shaft by
as split, tapered bush retained by three set screws - so making
removal and replacement a quick and easy operation..."
The page continues with a great deal of detail of the design and
operation of this machine.
Blueprints and more pictures appear here:
http://www.lathes.co.uk/nichols/page2.html
and here:
http://www.lathes.co.uk/nichols/page3.html
There is a used unit for sale at Brothers Machinery for $1,150
http://www.brothersmachinery.com/milling_machines.htm
As well as one at Red Stripe with a picture:
http://www.redstripeinc.com/usedmachinery.htm#12
and http://www.redstripeinc.com/usedmachines/Nichols_mill.htm
We are pleased to offer the following hand milling machine for your
consideration
Nichols Hand Miller Model #6 Toolroom
S/N 5-T-2211 New about 1943
Specifications:
Table Travel (X)...............................19"
Table Travel (Y)...............................10"
Table Size.........................................7" x 25"
Knee Travel......................................13 1/2"
Rise & Fall of Spindle Head...............4 1/2"
Spindle Size Max..............................15"
Spindle Speeds..................................3560 & 4300 RPM
Spindle Taper....................................#40
Spindle Drive..........................3/4 Hp
Electric's 440/220/3/60
Equipped with:
Coolant in Base
Arbor and support
Overarm
Lever Action Table Travel
Good Condition
Machine Price: $1,250.00 FOB Hartford CT
This page was posted in October of 2001 and may not still be
available, but should help provide information on this miller.
Search Strategy:
"NICHOLS HAND MILLER"
NICHOLS HAND MILLER
NICHOLS HORIZONTAL HAND MILLER
As you might well imagine, there is not a great deal more information
on the Internet on this device other than the above listed pages.
Howver, I think you will be pleased with the completeness of
infomation and illustrations provided by Lathes.co.uk.
If a link above should fail to work or anything require further
explanation, please do post a Request for Clarification and I will be
pleased to assist further.
Regards,
-=clouseau=- |
