CovMac Lathes

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CovMac Lathes

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  • #424156
    Brian Wood
    Participant
      @brianwood45127

      Hello Phil,

      You've answered one of my earlier questions and put 5 belts on it. It certainly looks businesslike now. Next test is to run it surely?

      Good luck

      Woody

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      #424209
      Phil Whitley
      Participant
        @philwhitley94135

        yes Woody, test run………………but, I have been through my collection of starters, and found that I do not have one with overloads in the right current range, 5.6A, and they are all so old that getting new coils and overloads is virtually impossible, so I will be getting a new one, and have decided to complete the rest of the three phase wiring in the workshop, thus only having to make one trip to the electrical factors for all the bits and pieces. I did get the first coat of white on, which was a bit fraught because I realised that it is a bad idea to suspend parts for painting, then try to roller them! Obvious really DOH! anyway, I got them done, and I will assemble them, and maybe fit them to the machine before the second coat goes on. all in all, not a very productive day, but I did get a good tidy up done as well!

        #424297
        Brian Wood
        Participant
          @brianwood45127

          Hello Phil,

          Seeing those bits of belt guard hanging up rather brings home, to me at least, the size of these Covmac lathes. I have only dabbled at the edges fixing things etc for Chris Mills

          One job of his was on the tailstock barrel, a hefty piece about 18 inches long and yah thick into which he had jammed a 3 MT drill sleeve, then tried to knock it out with a 6 inch length of 3/4 inch precision ground bar that had also jammed in the bore of the barrel having beaten it down as far as he was able. The postal charges in sending it to me would make you weep!

          I got an article in MEW out of that job and had a proper stroke of luck too in tackling it.

          Good luck with the trial run, I imagine it will be interesting.

          Best wishes Woody

          #424349
          CHRISTOPHER MILLS 1
          Participant
            @christophermills1

            Phil,

            Many congratulations all round here!

            But, you have covered up one of your CovMac's most beautiful components, its clutch drum?!

            Did you ever look inside clutch drum?

            Very nice to see you on verge of making chips

            Mine is still sadly in bits, as my engineering world is presently shelved, in lieu of becoming a house builder

            Best,

            Chris

            #424475
            Brian Wood
            Participant
              @brianwood45127

              Hello Chris,

              Nice to hear from you again; I thought you might be into the house construction phase by now but clearly not.

              Is there an end to the bureaucracy in sight yet?

              Best wishes to you both

              Woody

              PS I agree with Phil by the way, rotating bodies, however pretty to look at, need guarding and he is making a nice looking job of it

              #424588
              Phil Whitley
              Participant
                @philwhitley94135

                Hi Chris, good to hear from you again! No I never did take the clutch cover off, but you never know what might happen when I get it goinhg, it may become necassary. Haven't got any specifically Covmac work done today, apart from wiring three phase sockets. I have got all the armoured cables run, and started connecting up. I will go to the electrical wholesalers on Monday for the rest of the kit I need, including the Covmac starter.

                #428075
                John Lapthorn
                Participant
                  @johnlapthorn83182

                  img_1382.jpgimg_1367.jpgimg_1364.jpgimg_1361.jpgimg_1360.jpgimg_1349.jpgHi Chaps, its been a while………..

                  However, I am uploading some pictures of my 17" Covmac working….yes actually working! The material is 300mm x 300mm bright steel. Technically this doesnt fit in the lathe over the saddle so I had to do some lathe jiggery pokery to actually machine it. You may be able to see the clearance achieved over the saddle with the finished outside diameter. The lighter on the tool post is for comparison and the last picture is self explanatory, I hope.img_1348.jpg

                  #428078
                  John Lapthorn
                  Participant
                    @johnlapthorn83182

                    Of course all the photos have posted last first and first last……The smaller piece of material is 150mm in diameter.

                    For those interested I do have a short video of the action but i dont think i can post on here.

                    Regards

                    John

                    #428079
                    larry phelan 1
                    Participant
                      @larryphelan1

                      Not the kind of machine to fit in your 6×4 garden shed !

                      This looks like a machine made for SERIOUS work !

                      Would love to see it running when you get it set up.smiley

                      #428089
                      George Jervis
                      Participant
                        @georgejervis86082

                        Hi John,

                        Where do we find your clip of your covmac lathe in action?

                        George

                        #428094
                        Phil Whitley
                        Participant
                          @philwhitley94135

                          HI John, welcome back! that is truly awesome swarf collection, I note that your Covmac is the same colour as mine, was it reconditioned by I L Berridge as well? Does it have a war finish build plate on it? I have been sidetracked by my Grafton drill rebuild, but that is almost complete, and I expect to have my Covmac running next week! (said that about two weeks ago!), also, my daughter asks, and I would also like to know what it is that you are making?

                          Phil

                          #428098
                          Phil Whitley
                          Participant
                            @philwhitley94135

                            Just looked through your album. I see yours is a Tullis built machine!

                            #428099
                            Brian Wood
                            Participant
                              @brianwood45127

                              Hello John,

                              Yes indeed, good to hear from you again. And what a lot of swarf ! A respectable surface finish though, one big advantage of a heavy machine, it holds to the cut because of the sheer mass of the saddle/cross slide combination.

                              For Larry's benefit, these Covmac lathes were made for serious work, they weigh about 1.5 tonnes and use big tools to shift all that metal Certainly not a garden shed job!

                              Regards Brian

                              #428120
                              John Lapthorn
                              Participant
                                @johnlapthorn83182

                                I made two of these from 300mm material and they took 3 days each. The third was made from 150mm material and took about 6 hours!! The 300mm material weighed approx 166 Kg each and the swarf weighs about 120Kg.

                                They are to hold up a balcony on a house. A 50mm round bar goes in the hole and the spigot on the opposite end of the cone goes inside a 10" pipe so when complete it looks like the balcony is supported on nothing! Architects for you.

                                BTW my lathe celebrates its 75th birthday on 25th October………smileycake

                                #428121
                                John Lapthorn
                                Participant
                                  @johnlapthorn83182

                                  Here's the smaller one

                                  img_1381.jpg

                                  #428218
                                  larry phelan 1
                                  Participant
                                    @larryphelan1

                                    That is not the kind of machine I would like to have a disagreement with !cheeky

                                    #428765
                                    Phil Whitley
                                    Participant
                                      @philwhitley94135

                                      Well, we are a step nearer , I am planning switch on for tomorrow. Needless to say, as usual, there have been interuptions! I struggled looking for somwhere on the machine to mount the starter, and in the end, gave up, the starter is going on the wall, which is good as they generally dont last too well when mounted on machines, due to vibration. I found an antique Estop in my collection, and have fitted that to the machine just below the clutch bar on the headstock. Yesterday I moved the machine back to the wall, and I will finish the wiring tomorrow. Finally got the belt guard fitted in a position where there is clearance for the belts, and still room to fit the transfer gear cover. Also made a splashback which will help to keep the walls clean! More pics tomorrow, and maybe even some video of it running, if I can get my head around the technology…………………blush

                                      #428781
                                      Neil Wyatt
                                      Moderator
                                        @neilwyatt

                                        Nice to see these big old lathes being looked after and used

                                        Neil

                                        #428813
                                        Brian Wood
                                        Participant
                                          @brianwood45127

                                          Looking forward to seeing it run again now Phil, you've made a nice job of it too.

                                          Woody

                                          #428814
                                          CHRISTOPHER MILLS 1
                                          Participant
                                            @christophermills1

                                            Phil,

                                            Lovely job!

                                            Have you not got the plinth's door?

                                            Best

                                            Chris

                                            #428819
                                            Phil Whitley
                                            Participant
                                              @philwhitley94135

                                              Yes Chris, I have the plinth door, need to make a replacement hinge block, but have all the bits!

                                              There is many a slip betwixt cup and lip!! What was I saying about interuptions? I am now back in Driffield, having been to the workshop, and come back after a call announcing a delivery at 10-30, and another between 11-30 and 1!! Damn, but I will get back today, Determined!

                                              Edited By Phil Whitley on 13/09/2019 10:34:22

                                              #429069
                                              Phil Whitley
                                              Participant
                                                @philwhitley94135

                                                The covmac LIVES! Got it finished Friday afternoon. As an added bonus, everything works, ran through all the feeds and speeds, and it's all good. Did a meticulous clean of the three jaw backplate thread, oiled up the nose thread, and fitted it. Interuptions notwithstanding, on Monday I will be finding a suitable pump from my collection, for the coolant system, and looking at making the missing hinge block for the plinth door, and then it will be truly finished, and fully usable. I will combine the pump search with a tidy up and general sort out of my "stores" which contains quite a large quantity of stuff which will be bound for the scrapyard, which gives me a chance to go poaching for materials! Hope this link works! https://youtu.be/bYIWqdY8FmQ

                                                Edited By Phil Whitley on 15/09/2019 12:28:06

                                                Edited By Phil Whitley on 15/09/2019 12:39:16

                                                #429109
                                                CHRISTOPHER MILLS 1
                                                Participant
                                                  @christophermills1

                                                  Phil,

                                                  Congratulations! I am very pleased to hear this, and will watch your You Tube video

                                                  Best

                                                  Chris

                                                  #429114
                                                  Brian Wood
                                                  Participant
                                                    @brianwood45127

                                                    Well done Phil.

                                                    I don't like to be critical, but was there an element of variable speed running in the higher speed you demonstrated?

                                                    Next test of course is to make some swarf.

                                                    Best wishes Woody

                                                    #429174
                                                    Phil Whitley
                                                    Participant
                                                      @philwhitley94135

                                                      yes Brian, very keenly observed! it was a bit variable in the higher (lol) speeds, and I had noticed that the lathe was harder to turn manually than I would have expected, when turning the input pulley, so I need to check the clutch, and check the freeness of the headstock. I took the cap off the headstock to observe the oil splash, and got a rather closer view of the oil splashing than I would have prefered! After I had cleaned it off the wall and me, I drew the conclusion that the oil was somewhat sticky, and may be part polymerised, so a good warm up and oil change is on the cards. I think from checking lathes site that the headstock is all bushes apart from a ball thrust bearing, and it gives me an excuse (as if I really needed one) to take the top off the headstock and have a look. I found all manner of spare parts in the bottom of the Colchester headstock and once I am happy with the Covmac, I will be stripping the colchester headstock (which I think is noisier than even a Colchester headstock should be, and has had the  bearing adjustment nuts "messed with") with a view to changing some bearings, including the main spindle bearings, which I was lucky enough to get an immaculate set of for reasonable money, and if I need any bushes or spacers making for extracting the bearings, I can make them on the Covmac. Onward and upward!

                                                      Edited By Phil Whitley on 16/09/2019 10:25:59

                                                      Edited By Phil Whitley on 16/09/2019 10:26:42

                                                      Edited By Phil Whitley on 16/09/2019 10:27:34

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