USS Iowa machine shop - photos

[rdarrylb]

The milling machine in the second to last picture is interesting. I've never seen one like that. Does anyone know the brand? Thanks!

[Toolmaker51]

The milling machine in the second to last picture is interesting. I've never seen one like that. Does anyone know the brand? Thanks!

That's my idea of a service shop, fully capable as a job shop too.
To rdarrylb, the mill is Kearney & Trecker, of near certainty, by placement of the feed selector. I am baffled regarding the universal head, those contours are unlike mine, [bald, not pointed or painted, lol]. Not likely this was used horizontally, no parking attachment. But well suited to low headroom, compared to a conventional vertical knee mill.
All the brands depicted are my lyrics for singing about best American machine tools. As a toolroom guy, choices get some tuning. IE, radial Morris drill I'd seen in many Naval environments, my choice is American Hole Wizard. The Monarch lathes are incredible, and Sidney engine lathes came from same locale, but no lathe beats American Pacemaker. Cleereman round column drill = A1. Normally, heavy shops take box columns, but they aren't suited to low headroom either.
And all you shop floor planners, note overhead rail trolley. That's how heavy work-pieces are moved where a forklift won't fit! Before a move, they contact navigation bridge that a straight course is planned, at least duration of such. A big stuffing box or pump case swinging during heel to port?

[rdarrylb]

Thank you, Toolmaker51 ! I used a Kearney & Trecker rotary head mill many years ago when I was a mold maker apprentice. Sadly the market went bad foor our company and I was laid off. Never did get back into that line of work. Saw a Kearney & Trecker rotary head mill at the US Air Force Museum shop in Dayton on a visit 10 years ago. I still find them fascinating.

[Toolmaker51]

Thank you, Toolmaker51 ! I used a Kearney & Trecker rotary head mill many years ago when I was a mold maker apprentice. Sadly the market went bad foor our company and I was laid off. Never did get back into that line of work. Saw a Kearney & Trecker rotary head mill at the US Air Force Museum shop in Dayton on a visit 10 years ago. I still find them fascinating.

No coincidence, we all started in mold work, and you mention apprenticing on Milwaukee-Kearney Trecker Rotary Head Milling Machine Model 2D...I did precisely the same thing, recounted story here many times.
They had two, side by side. Running one, by a big Swede, the other idle. "You're going to be running this one". Certain my reaction was utter confounded surprise, plenty of tool background but seeing a completely unique machine in action was total amazement. To this very instant, still equate his effort with the Wizard Dr. Oz behind his curtain...
Took to it like a duck to water, made cores and cavities, punches, dies, carbon EDM electrodes, copper spot weld electrodes, etc. We shut off mold corners with it too, milling beyond wall of perpendicular faces and swinging a radius each end. Then profile milled a key with same outside dimensions, pressed into position and top ground flat, the separation barely visible only because different material, P20 mold, C1018 keystock. That mill had been modified with longer bed-ways and leadscrew for increased capacity. Those bed-ways make ALL the difference over other knee mills. The 2D table is never without full support under table, compared to a knee mill that drops when you extend past mid-point [Abbe Error]. IMNSHO, a finer built, more feature packed, or so interesting a machine does not exist. But with different capability, DeVlieg's are next.

And yes they still fascinate nigh-on 50 years later. Despite an endless list of machinery run, I hold none in higher esteem, of course wanted one. Late 70's, you couldn't get a new one, a full factory rebuild was $50k on your core, [and nobody wanting to sell theirs] but I kept looking. Mold shop owners retired, I went elsewhere. Later, interviewed at captive shop of a injection molding company. They took some equipment at auction from mold shop, including 'my' long bed mill, and still run it. Guess who got hired on the spot? Years later, went to a machinery repair shop and dealer for a Gorton 9J or equivalent; guess who built the extensions and longer leadscrew?
Finally own one; collets, small collet adapter, PTO, offset head, cherrying attachment, slotter, universal indexer, air and coolant pumps, all the manuals...Still searching out a powered horizontal rotary table, never seen the right angle milling attachment.

[rdarrylb]

Well, you did WAY more than I ever did on it. I only ran a couple of jobs on it. But, I was thrilled with the idea of being able to mill a circle (with power feed), which is what I needed for brackets for hydraulic cylinders on the side of the mold. Through hole for the rod, and recess for the collar. I was 18 and didn't really know what I was doing. Was going to use the big radial arm drill press, but figured there wouldn't be enough material left for support after drill those big holes. Boss gave me two brackets and said "make this fit". Came out great. Still got laid off.