The metal lathe needs some tlc. If you feel comfortable. Feel free to tackle item(s) on the list. Just chime in on this post so people can collaborate. I will have some time next week to work on the lathe. I think I will be in Wednesday.
-Clean the lathe
-Look at tail stock alignment
-Fix the tailstock lock handle. It needs to welded, turned, and rethreaded. (Joe)
-Add a polycarbonate shield. I will drop it off this week. It might require having to make a bracket to mount it.
-Add a sheetmetal backer for catching chips and coolant
-Clean and adjust the gibs on the crosslide.
-Adjust some of the backlash out of the crossslide
-Fix the coolant system (Probably a leaking hose. The trough drains into a hose and then to the reservoir.)
-Figure out and repair the powerfeed system. I want us to be able to single point thread in the future.
I used the lathe recently and had been thinking about posting about it. I was getting a terrible finish on some simple turning, with several different cutters. I think this may be related to the huge backlash in the Y-direction; it’s just not very stable.
I’d be happy to help, but I have at best a vague idea of how to proceed with most of these. But maybe I’ll start with cleaning; the entire machine is oily and covered in aluminum dust.
I tightened the carriage recently. I will look at the backlash in the cross slide. I assume there are some thrust washers in the crossslide assembly. The gib washers are poorly adjusted. Also the cutters are a mix of garbage and Iscar cutters. I will look to get rid of all of the garbage carbides and order quality.
Yeah, I was definitely not impressed with any of the cutters. I was going to get some for myself perhaps. But I don’t use the lathe a lot; if we can keep a shared set in acceptable condition that would be great.
You may want to leave the cheap cutters there as well. I’m doing low tolerance work, and I’d much rather be working with a cheap tool then an nice one… at least until I have more practice turning.
Also, could you add making/getting a backplate for the 4 jaw chuck to the list?
Maybe we can 3d print a small box with for the other cutter?
Any kind of small box to hold them should work. I’d rather have the choice since we already have the tools. Plus if those are considered trash-level tools, people can reform them if needed for a specific job.
And for quick reference, here’s the manual for the lathe. http://wiki.atxhs.org/images/f/fd/Takang_Manual.pdf As a sub-task for making the backplate, we need to see which spindle nose we have. See section 9 of the manual for the 2 possible ones we may have. It’ll require removing the 3 jaw chuck and measuring the nose a bit to verify which one we have. If we’re super lucky, we might not even need another backplate, just another bolt.
No worries thank you for looking at the backplate. For some reason I thought it was a tapered thread on chuck. I like the cambolt type. This might speed things up. I will look at the chuck when I get to the space.
I looked at it a little bit last time I was there, but I hadn’t read the manual recently. I didn’t see the multiple holes on the side for the cambolts. So it might be the second style, which I think actually has a hole pattern we could just mount the 4-jaw chuck directly to.
My schedule is pretty open; the only day I’m completely unavailable right now is 3/19. I’ll start looking through the manual to see what I can figure out. Also, are there any appropriate cleaners in the shop for getting oil off of the lathe?
Great. I’m thinking Wed the 16th. How about 9 am? I was thinking about 6 or 7 hours. Anyone else is welcome to come to help with maintenance.
Things to get done:
-Make a new sheet metal backplate
-install polycarb shield
-Dial in the tailstock
-Fix the coolant system
-Adjust the backlash out of the crosslide
-adjust the gibs
-adjust the carriage on the waze
-adjust the brake pedal
-lubricate
-Look at the 4 jaw mount and make a plan
-Look at the powerfeed system and make a plan.
I’m slightly curious about that… I figure you’d want everything coated in the (correct) oil. Or is it more about getting the motor oil that’s probably all over it off, and getting the correct lightweight oil on it? What is the correct amount of oil to be on it? I’ve kind of ignored the oil on it, assuming it’s supposed to be there. If it’s supposed to be a much thinner layer, I’ll try to make sure I don’t transfer more on it.
-Make a new sheet metal backplate (Aluminum? Stainless? Does the space have stock aready? Do I come up with a design and present to anyone first or just do what ever I feel is right?)
-Fix coolant system (If parts are needed who should I contact about buying them?)
As far as the oil on the machine goes… I’m no expert but I think having any type of oil on the ways of the machine is better than no oil. If there is oil on components without metal to metal sliding frictional contact I think its safe to say that oil can be cleaned off.
We have steel sheet stock at the space. I might have some Al that size at my shop. I don’t think the backstop needs to be too crazy. I think it needs to help with draining coolant and containing chips. I assume it needs a couple of brackets or tabs to mount to the lathe.
I think the drain hose under the trough is rotten. I think some chem resistant hose would work (gasoline hose). It has been a while since I looked at it. The drain is in the trough and flows to the reservoir. The reservoir is under the tailstock side.
Also thank you to everyone who is taking on a project and lending a hand. You are helping make the lathe better for current and future users