Martin P
Titanium
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2004
I got myself distracted today and pulled parts out of bushes and barns to see which enclosure I want to put on my FP4AT. I do not like the original enclosure with its awkward doors in the front and the fixed window on the right side.
When I originally got it, I steam cleaned the enclosure and even hoped to blast the paint off off it. It had been painted with a toilet brush type implement using some thick radiator paint and without any regard where paint should go. A real mess and I cannot wrap my head around who does this. Did he put his base cap on inverted? Was he a gender studies major? But I do not want to stereotype, though I could go on. It looks value diminishingly horrible and this paint extends even to the machine itself and the NC table. Really really bad. To not see it I had it in the bushes outside the last 2 years.
These later style enclosures are quite heavy duty and as disgusting as it looks, this one is reasonably straight. The windows seem to be replacements, they are only 3mm thick and badly cut. Re-doing the entire enclosure at a professional level (getting it blasted and painted) would cost more than I paid for the machine.
I also pulled an older style FP4NC chip pan out of the bushes, which has been there several years, but for all the add-ons I had to really rummage in the barn. I never had an FP4NC with a full enclosure, just piece parts. But I think I got a set together from at least 2 parts machines and some parts from unknown locations.
It is a lot of stuff! I was expecting interchangeability issues, but it seems to go together quite well.
I like that it is lower and has a tiltable right window. More windows in general.
But more flimsy and not "correct", or as James May would say "standard".
I think I will not even get quotes for blasting, it will be too expensive, but may change my mind after some hours of trying different attachments on the angle grinder. I will not go for perfection, I just do not want to be repulsed when seeing the machine.
When I originally got it, I steam cleaned the enclosure and even hoped to blast the paint off off it. It had been painted with a toilet brush type implement using some thick radiator paint and without any regard where paint should go. A real mess and I cannot wrap my head around who does this. Did he put his base cap on inverted? Was he a gender studies major? But I do not want to stereotype, though I could go on. It looks value diminishingly horrible and this paint extends even to the machine itself and the NC table. Really really bad. To not see it I had it in the bushes outside the last 2 years.
These later style enclosures are quite heavy duty and as disgusting as it looks, this one is reasonably straight. The windows seem to be replacements, they are only 3mm thick and badly cut. Re-doing the entire enclosure at a professional level (getting it blasted and painted) would cost more than I paid for the machine.
I also pulled an older style FP4NC chip pan out of the bushes, which has been there several years, but for all the add-ons I had to really rummage in the barn. I never had an FP4NC with a full enclosure, just piece parts. But I think I got a set together from at least 2 parts machines and some parts from unknown locations.
It is a lot of stuff! I was expecting interchangeability issues, but it seems to go together quite well.
I like that it is lower and has a tiltable right window. More windows in general.
But more flimsy and not "correct", or as James May would say "standard".
I think I will not even get quotes for blasting, it will be too expensive, but may change my mind after some hours of trying different attachments on the angle grinder. I will not go for perfection, I just do not want to be repulsed when seeing the machine.