rigger

For climb milling many older conventional mills had a "split-nut" IIRC. By actuating a mechanical lever the halfs of the nut were moved apart, thereby taking up the slack. I don't remember what the problems were (if any) caused by uneven lead screw wear. Dennis

The little bit of info I have is: Pels and Company, Henry 90 West St. New York, NY 10006 I show machines were manufactured between 1919 and 1935. Dennis

I'd say you've got a bad cylinder. When the seal on the piston fails (as they must eventually) the oil gets pushed into the "dry" side of the cylinder (when the piston moves in that direction), and out the power valve (not the flow control). Depending on how you have the system plumbed, you may also see bubbles coming up inside the oil reservoir caused by air being pushed into the "wet" side of the cylinder; this is then "proof-positive" showing the cylinder seal is blown. The question I ask myself in a case like this is "Where did the oil come from and how could it get from there to the puddle on my floor?" The answer is almost always (except for leaky hoses, etc.) a blown cylinder piston seal. Many cylinders are re-buildable, some being much easier than others because of ease of assembly. This would be the least expensive "fix" of this problem. By the way, since this is my first post, I'd like to say "Hi everyone." What a great site this is. I'm just starting out with a small anvil and small gas forge (and plans for a larger one). I'm looking forward to learning and hopefully, eventually, contributing some day. Dennis