AVM MAS 140 lathe

[Sonic EscapeParticipant @sonicescape38234]

About changing fast the drills. In the local Sunday bazar I found this huge MT3 drill. It fits directly in the tail stock!
I bought it only because it was very cheap and it looks new. At the moment I don't see what I could do with it.

It will take a while until I'll use the lathe. I started to remove metal chips and since then then I keep removing parts. The chips are everywhere. They almost enterd inside the DRO sensors. This is how the lead screw was looking:

Now I'm thinking if I shouldn't take a look in the carriage as well. Although I don't want to do that because it seems very complicated. At least not now.

"Plus you need to know exactly what all the knobs do"
Actually I don't know what most of the knobs do. But in general I have a hunch. I'll figure it out when I start it.
More important are all the locations where you have to pour oil. I keep discovering those small metal balls that you have to push them to allow the oil to enter.

I couldn't resist not to try to repaint it. I started with the head stock cover. There the original paint was the most affected. I have a kind of gel that I'm using to remove paint. But this green paint is very hard. For two days I keep applying the stripping gel and it still looks like this:

Normally in 2-3 hours the paint should turn into foam and after wiping I would have clear metal. I think this rules out the option of removing the paint from the whole lathe. It will take weeks and a ton of gel.

I'm not worried about safety. I'm always extra careful. I'm playing also with big vacuum tubes up to 2-3kV DC for a long time. I'm using a good pair of safety googles for many years after a bad electrolytic capacitor made a dent on the celling after it decided that it had enough.

I found a felt disc for my grinder. The brass steady rest pins are now shiny again:

 

Edited By Sonic Escape on 28/02/2023 19:26:05

Edited By Sonic Escape on 28/02/2023 19:26:43

Edited By Sonic Escape on 28/02/2023 19:28:32

[JellyParticipant @jelly]

Drills on a MT shank are generally somewhat more rigid than an equivalent size drill in a chuck, in a non-production setting that usually translates to being able to drill bigger holes (which is great if you need to make something with a large hole in it as drilling is one of the fastest metal removal methods, compensating for boring being one of the slowest).

If you find yourself doing multiples or even whole batches of a specific part for a project, then you can purchase MT drills in smaller sizes which will allow you to both drill more aggressively and switch the drills in and out faster, which is a god-send if you have a lot of parts to make.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

The Leadscrew can be cleaned by running it with the half nuts disengaged and holding a clean toothbrush against then thread, so that the brush travels along and pushes any debris out of the end of the thread.

i e. move the Saddle to towards the Headstock and set bthe tumbler reverse so tnat the brush travels towards the Tailstock This should push the debris out of the end of the thread..

When the right hand end of the thread is clean, move the Saddle to the Tailstock end, and set the tumblr reverse so that the brush travels towards the Headstock.

iIn this way tghe Leadscrew shoulkd be be clean from end to end.

Hooward.

[Richard MillingtonParticipant @richardmillington63972]

doesn't appear to be one for the 140, but others may be useful.

https://passion-usinages.forumgratuit.org/f32-tours-lathes

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

And don't throw anything away no matter how useless it appears, only get rid of swarf and useless scrap

It's amazing how some apparently useless pieces of metal suddenly become useful or essential

I have bits of stairlift and old imperial bits which have suddenly become super useful after lying about for years

And get the swarf issues sorted, a bed protector, a leadscrew protector, anything that saves you time and protects your lathe is a good thing, time spent not cleaning up is time spent doing interesting lathe stuff

Edited By Ady1 on 01/03/2023 00:41:43

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

My advice: Stop worrying about a bit of swarf on that shaft. As above, easily cleaned. It will collect swarf whenever swarf is being spread around by metal cutting operations. However much you clean it, it will re-occur. A clean screw, virtually clear of oil is the best way to help stop material sticking to it.

One can install telescopic covers to protect the screw from swarf impinging on the screw.

But, basically, that screw is only used when threading, not with general cutting duties, so it will not be worn unduly – like many hobby lathes – as it will (doubtless?) be stationary at all other times? The main risk might be that of swarf being carried into the half nuts within the apron. Without knowing the actual arrangement on that machine, I will just say it is not an issue worth worrying about with my 50 year old lathe.

I have (like many others, I suppose) a range of what we call ’blacksmith’s drills’. One does not need an extra piece of equipment in the chain – so more rigid – to take up more space and create more possible overhang. Most hobby lathes don’t need a larger drill chuck than 13mm, or 16mm at most. With a small hobby lathe, one does need to step up in size more carefully, to avoid overloading the drive. My largest is probably a 1 1/4” example.

Re dents in the ceiling – I remember a rather deep imprint in the high ceiling from a peroxide calorimeter which exploded (any dampness within the reactants was the cause) when attempting a coal analysis. I only used an adiabatic bomb calorimeter for that job!

[Sonic EscapeParticipant @sonicescape38234]

I continued to clean the lathe and made some discoveries. After removing the dirt I noticed that someone used the tail stock as an anvil. I guess it's not advisable to do that.

It leaks oil. Very slowly. One drop every 2-3 days. Mostly under the carriage. Is this normal?

At the right end of the lead screw I saw some fresh grease accumulated. Not like the black one that is on the rest of the screw. I found this interesting so I unscrewed the nearby oil nipple. An the hole was full of grease.

From what I read so far here and in other places I think there should be oil. Is is possible that this lathe is made to work with grease there? Or maybe somebody put the wrong stuff at some point? I can try to pour some acetone there to remove the grease.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

That is a slow moving application with little load.  Either oil of grease would suffice. I would likely grease it.

Edited By not done it yet on 04/03/2023 13:58:50

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

If they've used grease pump air through the nipple to clear the hole slightly, then pump light machine oil through

I use a push pump on my shaper, you can get cheaper ones on ebay

[DiogenesIIParticipant @diogenesii]

Posted by Ady1 on 04/03/2023 14:23:53:

If they've used grease pump air through the nipple to clear the hole slightly, then pump light machine oil through

I use a push pump on my shaper, you can get cheaper ones on ebay

+1.

I wouldn't worry about a drop of oil from the carriage. Running a lathe with gearboxes & powered feeds can often be a 'damp' business, partly because not all lathes are completely oil-tight, also because some operations benefit from lubricant anyway. The tray of my lathe is rarely 'dry'.

That said, the seals behind 'oil-level' windows are a favourite place for leaks to develop. If you wipe the apron down you may be able to see where the oil is coming from.

[Sonic EscapeParticipant @sonicescape38234]

My lathe is still on the wooden pallets it was brought on. At first it didn't seem complicated to lower it to the floor. But in fact it is not that simple. Apart from renting a forklift, I can't think of anything… Is there a safe method to remove the pallets?

[JellyParticipant @jelly]

The easiest way would be to use a toe-jack slipped between two of the wooden slats (this may require cutting a bit of a notch to let it through) to lift the lathe off the pallet, then cut a notch in the outer edge of the pallet to allow you to slide it out round the jack.

If you don't want to buy a toe-jack and can't rent one cheaply (they're about £20 for a week here) then you can probably make an attachment which fits onto a standard bottle jack, as I seem to remember you have welding equipment. I would use 10mm or 15mm plate if I was fabricating one.

When you get the first end free of the pallet, lower that end onto thick wooden blocks, then free the other end and step down slowly in small stages at both ends.

You might want to make some coupons of steel (20mm is a good starting point) to put the leveling bolts down onto, this will:

1. Let you take the jack out easily,
2. Protect the floor from deforming,
3. Reduce the chance of 2. causing the lathe to shift out of alignment once you do that.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Buy some Termites…?

There's definitely a similar thread or 2 in here, the guy lifted the lathe and cut the pallet away

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

FWIW, I would be inclined to leave the lathen on nthe npallets until it has been moved to it's site

If you can get a crane and a suitable sling, both pallets can be removed at the same time..

If not, could you lift the one cabinet and place rollers under it, ( Pry barand packing? ) to ease dragging out the pallet beaneath?

Having then lowered that end onto the floorrepeat the action, at the other end.

If not can you a couple of sturdy friends to lift the one while you darag out the pallet before moving to the second pallet.

Don't be afraid to "jack and pack"

Howard

[Sonic EscapeParticipant @sonicescape38234]

Posted by Jelly on 07/03/2023 14:41:10:

The easiest way would be to use a toe-jack slipped between two of the wooden slats (this may require cutting a bit of a notch to let it through) to lift the lathe off the pallet, then cut a notch in the outer edge of the pallet to allow you to slide it out round the jack.

I had another idea with the jack. I bought a normal one, 10 tons. I could weld a 30x50x2mm bar on the jack screw. As in the picture below. In this way, I think I could lift the right side of the lathe if I fix the jack between the pallets. Of course I would put a piece of wood under the jack. But is that bar strong enough to hold 4-500kg?

The lathe is already on it's final place. I'm not sure that the part with sturdy friends would work
It is quite heavy and they would have to sit on the pallets anyway.

[peak4Participant @peak4]

When my Warco GearHead 1330 was delivered, it was left on substantial wooden blocks, so I could retro-fit some levelling feet.

I lowered and moved it on my own using rollers, and a wheeled heelbar like this
https://www.safetyliftingear.com/products/steerman-rpb-1500kg-roller-pinch-bar/cm-rpb15-rs/cm-rpb15-rs

Mine was a much older one with solid wheels, which I'd bought many years previously.

Bill

[Sonic EscapeParticipant @sonicescape38234]

Finally I managed to lower the lathe. It was like solving a puzzle. This jack is great.

Edited By Sonic Escape on 12/03/2023 16:48:27

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Hurrah!

Hopefully, the adjustable feet will allow you to take out anyb twist from nmthe bed.

If not, at least the bolts at the tailstock end are accessible, mto mallow myou to do this.

Now you're ready to start making swarf!

Howard

[JellyParticipant @jelly]

Nice work!

That looks like it was really very awkward to accomplish, so I hope you have a suitable sense of satisfaction at your achievement there.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Well done you. Always feels good to accomplish those major one-off tasks successfully.

And all you needed was a jack

Welcome to the brotherhood

Edited By Ady1 on 12/03/2023 16:56:54

[Sonic EscapeParticipant @sonicescape38234]

It definitely feels good! Now I feel like I can lift/move anything

On this occasion I discovered some screws that seem to be for adjustment. But I don't understand one thing, if the lathe is going to sit on a rubber carpet then does the adjustment still make sense? I can't put the lathe directly on the tiles.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

That's a good question for a lathe needing adjustment

The loading still needs to be equally distributed, any bed twist must be eliminated

More experienced folk than me will know the details concerning a bigger machine like yours

some searches to help you on your way

Edited By Ady1 on 12/03/2023 17:50:46

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

As a simple example the smaller Pultra 1590 lathe uses its base for leveling purposes and to resist bed twist under load

The lower base section is actually essential for completing this small lathe setup, it creates a steel box when it is bolted to the lathe, together the base + the lathe are much stronger

Bigger stronger machines like yours need to be straightened up manually by the user

 

Edited By Ady1 on 12/03/2023 18:25:45

[Sonic EscapeParticipant @sonicescape38234]

The first thing I will check is how unbalanced the lathe is. For now, I still have a few parts to clean. After that I will see what needs to be done.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

You do need to remove any twist from the bed; especially if you intend to turn anything long.

If the bed is twisted, even slightly, the lathe will cut a taper.

Instructions on using what is known as "Rollie's Dad's Method" are given in Ian Bradley's "The Amateur;'s Workshop" and "Myford Seven Series Manual". Those both tell where to add packing to remove the twist.

The usual method is to bolt down the Headstock, and to adjust or shim at the tailstock end.

Howard

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