Boxford 260 VMC rebuild

[Lee Roberts]

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 once you make a start you’ll get right into the swing of it. Weak points like that easy change holder can make a huge difference, so it’ll be interesting to see how much of a performance jump you notice after the improvement.

Definitely keep us posted once you start turning chips on it, I’m sure plenty here will be keen to follow along

[Indy4x]

Hi Mike, many thanks for such a comprehensive thread on the 260 rebuild. I do have a vested interest as recently purchased a 260, already converted to modern electronics just very scruffy and needs some TLC

Will have to start a thread and record what I'm doing with it

[mike-f]

Hi Mike, many thanks for such a comprehensive thread on the 260 rebuild. I do have a vested interest as recently purchased a 260, already converted to modern electronics just very scruffy and needs some TLC

Will have to start a thread and record what I'm doing with it

Well lets hope it does not need quite as much work as my machine did! I would recommend UCCNC UC300ETH it works very well and has lots of inputs and outputs, it also can run using both Mach3 and UCCNC software which so so far seems better than MACH3. Good luck, please do some posts as it is always helpful for others. BTW I have started another rebuild thread , this time a Dyna Myte DM2800. https://www.mycncuk.com/archive/index.php/t-16072.html

[mike-f]

Here is a YouTube link to the whole rebuild condensed into 10minutes:

https://youtu.be/gk-EpXEnTgc?si=PUR2XCp-rGPtyo4a

[Indy4x]

Yep, will post on here what I do with it. It has already been converted by a previous owner and is running CNC JS. I also have the TCL 160 lathe which I need to convert and in my head it makes sense to have both running the same setup so I'm only having to work with 1 system. Whether that is CNC JS or something else, happy to take advice

I'm a complete newbie to CNC, have a 3d printer but that doesn't count as I didn't build it myself. Not sure is CNC JS is a good choice, its what it came with.

I did have a Boxford VMC190, it came direct from a school where it and the TCL 160 had been in storage for years, both have been sat in my workshop since 2018 waiting for me to get round to converting them, but have the usual problem of too many projects and not enough time. Started poking round inside the 190 this year and was potentially going down the FluidNC route based on nothing more than it seemed to do what I needed.

Then, while looking on eBay for some toolholders, I found the 290 listed local to me. It was a reasonable starting price and no one was bidding on it so threw a single bid in at the last minute and its now mine. Have subsequently sold the 190, unconverted for nearly what the 290 cost me.

It is a bit tatty, could do with a strip out, good clean and fresh paint but I intend to use it as it is for now