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OK, here we go again. You may have seen my last rebuild of a Boxford VMC260 (https://www.mycncuk.com/threads/15971-Boxford-260-VMC-rebuild). I thought that would be my final one, but while browsing...

No worries at all Mike, it’s exactly the kind of thing that gets people inspired to have a crack at their own projects.

That EN24T sounds like a solid choice for the spindle upgrade, and I reckon...

Thank you Lee for your kinds words, its nice to be able to share the results and I just hope it encourages others to have a go. I am trying to work up the enthusiasm to start work on the spindle as...

Thank you for your kind comments, I did do a bit more while I was distracted from my main project (Fairbanks Morse 15hp Model N )...

Due to the cramped nature of my workshop, I decided to assemble the machine in situ. After manhandling the lighter VMC 190 out the door, I brought in the main cabinet body and rear section and got...

I used Rust-oleum hard hat top coat, it is fantastic paint. I was originally going to get the cabinet shot blasted and powered coated, but quotes seemed a bit crazy so rattle cans it was. The...

Well, folks, It's there—just a few odds and sods left to sort: reassembly, wiring, setup, cobbling together a 4th axis, and the small matter of squeezing this beast into my gloriously cluttered...

With the rogue ball screws sorted and the wonky tooling tamed, I turned my attention to the control panel. The old one was a sorry sight—rusty and bearing scars from what looked like a minor...

OK will retry posting some of the images as they seem to not show in my previous post.

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Above cross section of the spindle showing the Nilos ring (yellow) and spindle nose cover

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Yes you are correct about wear and oversized balls, I think the thing is with tiny ball screws the balls seem to wear first as I guess the load is less evenly spread on the balls, so was worth a try...

Well, the spindle was a right faff, but the ball screws? No surprise there. These VMC 260s have a bit of a reputation for knackered ball screws. They’re 14mm with a 2.5mm pitch, and to top it off,...

Right, if you’re thinking of picking up one of these mills, there are two key things to check before you part with your hard-earned cash:
Is the spindle running true? (Mine, er, wasn’t.)

How much...

So pretty much after checking all the parts I decided to rebuild the 260, I was originally going to scrap the cabinet as it was rusty inside and out, and also made machine pretty large for my...

The first thing to do was strip down and see what needed doing. The bed ways and head come off pretty easy and most of the rust was on the surface only, The ball screws seemed OK but felt very...