Van Norman Rotary Broach at auction

[cjet69]

Dad couldn't resist and bought this old Van Norman Rotary Broach at the local auction. Its missing a few pieces and really needs to be cleaned and oiled up. We'll see if it was worth it when we get it into the shop and see what work and what doesn't. Everything turns and moves with no funny noises but it didn't have a plug on the cord to test it out. We have many tractor and vehicle heads that could use milling so we decided to take the risk. Its in the back of the F-250 right now and I need to put the loader on the Case IH 485 to lift it out. Not sure of the weight so we may need to use 2 loaders to lift it. This is an auction photo. I'll get some more tomorrow.

 

[cjet69]

My brother stopped in after work and helped me unload the rotary Broach. Had to use 2 tractors to lift it, then drove the F-250 out from under it, and then set it down. Once on the ground we pulled the upper clamping fixtures and plates which must weight over 300 lbs total. Then I could get the Case IH 485 closer and pick from just behind the bucket for more leverage. It picked it up easily then and I set up on the concrete where we started cleaning the ways. It had so much build up of turnings under the cutter head that it wouldn't lower down all of the way Its much better now but I think the cutter head should be removed for a thorough cleaning. May need to remove the carriage to clean underneath. Need to move a bunch of stuff now to get this machine in the shop door.

 

[cjet69]

Spent the day cleaning up inside of one of the roll up doors. A little more and I should be able to move the rotary broach inside before the rains hit again this weekend. Haven't seen this much floor in years.

 

[cjet69]

I managed to get the rotary broach in the door today. Now I don't have to worry about it getting rained on. Rains are supposed to return on Sunday. I also bought a new electrical plug for this machine. For some reason it didn't have one, maybe it was hard wired in where it came from. Plugged it in, flipped the switch, and it ran smooth and quiet in both directions.

 

[cjet69]

Mounted up the cylinder head clamping fixtures. The arms were stuck on the slides and wouldn't move. The PO must have coated this machine in LPS #3 or something similar because everything has a gooey waxy coating on it. After cleaning with solvent and scotchbrite we managed to get things freed up and then oiled them thoroughly. My brother wanted to make a test cut on something so we grabbed a broken cylinder assy for a Minneapolis Moline Z. Got it mounted up and made several passes on the manifold surface. The cutters are dull and out of adjustment but it did mill it off. The ridging you can see in the pics is from one cutter being a bit higher than the others. The cutting bits aren't sharpened correctly either according to the manual. I think if we get new cutting bits and set them up accurately we should get a nice flat milled surface.

 

[4getgto]

Hope the new cutting bits don't cost you a fortune. It'll come down to how much you're planning to use this machine to out weigh the cost.

 

[cjet69]

Hope the new cutting bits don't cost you a fortune. It'll come down to how much you're planning to use this machine to out weigh the cost.

Tool bits are wear items and have to be sharpened or replaced from time to time. I think 1 pair of heads would pay for the new bits. With all of our tractors that need heads and manifolds milled it will easily cover the cost of the machine and any parts we need for it. With a tool post grinder attachment these machines will resurface flywheels and brake rotors also.

 

[MFDAC]

I'm sure you will get plenty of use out of this machine, CJet!

DAC

 

[cjet69]

My brother stopped in and we pulled the cutter head off of the machine. These have a piece of spring steel that put upward pressure on the cutter bits and one appeared to be missing and several weren't centered in the hole. Turns out all of them were there but can rotate on a rivet in the center. We also wanted to remove the cutter head to finish cleaning underneath. The old turnings are set up like concrete but loosen up easily with a scraper. The new cutter bits arrived Friday so we can start the process of changing them out and setting the heights. That can be a little tedious.

 

[cjet69]

Did some more cleaning on the rotary broach. Just about ready to put it back together and install the new cutting bits.

 

[UncleWillie]

I don't know what it us, but it looks neat.

 

[cjet69]

I don't know what it us, but it looks neat.

Its used for surfacing cylinder heads, engine blocks, manifolds, or just about anything that you can hang in it.

 

[MNGB]

Its cleaning up good, waiting to se it with the new bits and giving it a try then

 

[UncleWillie]

Its used for surfacing cylinder heads, engine blocks, manifolds, or just about anything that you can hang in it.

I'll send you my next set of heads.

 

[cjet69]

My brother came over we set the cutting bits up as close as we can until we get a dial indicator setup for this task. Decided to make another test cut on the manifold surface of the Minneapolis Moline ZA cylinder assy. The new bits cut way better than the old dull one's. Its actually plenty good to use as is but we will still try to dial it in some more. We then tried a Ford 351 Cleveland head to see how it worked on a longer cut. Worked great on that head also.

 

[MFDAC]

That tool is working great, CJet! Can you set it up for engine block surfaces too?

DAC

 

[MNGB]

It looks to be cutting good cjet, I think you guys done good with the machine

 

[cjet69]

That tool is working great, CJet! Can you set it up for engine block surfaces too?

DAC

Yes you can.

It looks to be cutting good cjet, I think you guys done good with the machine

Its looking pretty good but we hope to get it even better.

 

[cjet69]

Bought 4 castor wheels to mount on the rotary broach to make it mobile. The plan is to roll it out when we use it and roll it back against the wall when not in use. These are 5" dia. and rated at 1000 lbs a piece.

 

[cjet69]

Finally got the video uploaded with the new cutting bits installed. We still need to get a dial indicator set up to fine tune the bits. Youn can see the machining marks but the surface feel smooth to the touch.