New lathe arrived today : The ongoing saga

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

When you remove the feedscrew you can then push the cross slide in and out by hand and feel if there is more resistance in one part than another etc. I just leave the screw in position when I do mine, you can feel on the handle if it is too tight. It might pay to pull the slide off (just keep winding the handle until you can pull it off) and clean out any swarf and packing grease that may in there and then lightly oil the sliding surfaces and gib key etc. Mark the gib strip so it goes back in the same way round that it came out.

The Mens Shed set up sounds ideal for you, right around the corner. My anti-viurs (Norton) has no problem with their site so not sure what the go is there. I hadnt realized they had someone there every day now. Might have to drop in some time. They have a very nice Hafco 45 milling machine that could be handy to use.

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

I tightened everything up again and things were good for about two hours then I started to get the same problems : bad finish caused by movement in the cross slide. I have tightened everything right up this time to the point where the wheel is a bit stiff to turn. I will see what happens tomorrow. If it does happen again then I will take the slide off completely and see what is happening.

I finished another aluminium mandrel today and this time the bush was 5.95 – 5.99mm…not too bad. Now that I know how to do it I will try to make one in steel.

I am using the carbide tools and I am quite happy with them. The HSS tools seem to need constant sharpening and I will have to buy a grinder soon to do that. What about indexable carbide tips : do these last a long time ? They seem quite expensive.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Brian as the gibs are going out of adjustment so soon I wonder if you are adjusting them right.

You need to loosen the nut on the caphead screw, make the adjustment with the caphead screw and then do the nut up again to stop the screw working loose. The action of tightening the nut can affect how much pressure is applied by the screw so you may need to do the process a few times to get the right feel.

Also what oil are you using on the bed and ways?

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

I am sure that I am adjusting them correctly. When I tighten up the lock nut, I hold the allen key in the caphead to make sure it does not move. When I am finished making the adjustment I then check the cross slide and there is no movement at all.

At the moment I am not using any oil on the bed and ways.

Check out what this guy is using as a shield for his lead screw…clever :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI53JLcA7go

Edited By Brian John on 21/09/2015 08:35:19

Edited By Brian John on 21/09/2015 08:48:42

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Brian John on 21/09/2015 07:51:20:

I tightened everything up again and things were good for about two hours then I started to get the same problems : bad finish caused by movement in the cross slide. I have tightened everything right up this time to the point where the wheel is a bit stiff to turn. I will see what happens tomorrow. If it does happen again then I will take the slide off completely and see what is happening.

.

Brian,

When you take the slide off; may I suggest that you do two things:

1. Check to confim whether, or not, those lock-nuts are still tight.
2. Inspect, very thoroughly, the bearing surface of the gib-strip and dovetail.

Logic suggests that either the screws or loosening and/or the 'high spots' are being polished.

MichaelG.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Posted by Brian John on 21/09/2015 08:34:53:

At the moment I am not using any oil on the bed and ways.

Well thats your problem, get some oil on them, preferably proper slideway oil but engine oil will do.

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

I have machine oil, steam oil and paraffin. Which is the most suitable…if any ?

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Machine oil, its may be a bit thin but better than the other two.

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

I am not sure what these marks are on the cross slide ''rails''. Should they be there ?

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Bit of hand scraping, nothing to worry about

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

I think you might find that surface with the marks on it is not a bearing surface. It seemed to me when I looked at it the other day that the two bottom surfaces were the load bearers and were much smoother than the upper surface.

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

Ah, yes…that makes sense. The cross slide is now lubricated with machine oil. I will see if it holds tomorrow.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Don't forget to do the cross slide and lateh bed too. You will then be best to readjust all the gib strips and carrage screws as the parts will be moving easier with some oil on them and you should be able to get them a closer fit.

[Peter HallParticipant @peterhall61789]

And oil the screws.

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

Everything was oiled with light machine oil last night : things all went well today. I machined another aluminium mandrel which was then used to machine two pulleys. The finish with the carbide tools (not indexable) is quite good. The next job is to make a mandrel from steel. A half centre is very useful for this sort of thing. I am surprised that one is not supplied with the lathe as they do not cost much.

I have been in contact with the Australian company again today regards the steadies and the 4 jaw chuck. They are going to contact the Chinese factory where they are made. I am surprised that the steadies were not ordered/supplied with the lathes as these are also are very cheap. The German company quoted me 30 Euros for both (but 200 Euros postage !).

I will buy a 3/8 inch combination spanner tomorrow and I will have a go at unbolting the lathe chuck later this week. I think it was Ketan who wanted a photo of the back to see if it is generic chuck fitting. I only have metric spanners and an adjustable spanner but these nuts are on very tight so I need the correct tool to remove them.

Why would they have chosen an MT1 – SHORT taper for the tailstock spindle ? Is there an engineering reason for this ? An MT2 taper would have been far more useful.

 

Edited By Brian John on 22/09/2015 12:36:28

Edited By Brian John on 22/09/2015 12:37:11

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Check the size of the nuts, you probably want 10mm not 3/8. Also if its anything like all the other far eastern lathes you wont get the combination spanner off once the nut lossens as there is not enough room between headstock and flange. Does the lathe not come with an open ended spanner?

To get a full MT taper the lathe would need to be bigger so would come up into the next size class.

Several companies don't supply steadies, faceplate and 4-jaw in the initial package as it makes the lathe look more attractive finantially but in the long run usually more expensive once you have bought the extra bits. Just like a car comes with a basic spec and you add the extras like metalic paint, alloys etc.

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Brian,

Provided it is a generic Chinese 80mm chuck, Jason is correct in suggesting the use of a 10mm open end spanner. To help you with releasing the nut, put/hold another spanner in the jaws, as a lever to hold the chuck down, before trying to loosen the nut. See picture below. Hope it makes sense:

I would be grateful to have an MT1 taper in a baby lathe like yours. Usually, Unimat/SIEG C0s have a 10mm parallel bore in the tailstock. As Jason said, MT2 taper is to be found in bigger lathes.

Ketan at ARC.

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

Jason : no, I have measured it and the nuts are 9.5mm so I am assuming that they are 3/8 inch (9.5250mm). Remember, the holes for the bolts in the base of the lathe were threaded 1/4 inch. It is a strange mix of metric and imperial. Hopper looked at them too and agreed that they were not metric nuts. If I cannot get the ring end over then I will use the open end.

They could have reduced the distance between the centres slightly to accommodate an MT2 taper. I doubt that anybody is going to be using the full length of this lathe and turning something 300mm long….not without a steady anyway

I suppose these smaller lathes are always a bit of a compromise.

Ketan : MT1 would not be so bad but it is MT1 – SHORT. There is only 25mm of taper to insert in the tailstock. It does the job I suppose but it would be nice not to have cut the ends off each time I buy dead centres, half centres, drill chuck arbors etc. It's pretty tough steel ! I would rather have it shorter between the centres and have a full MT1 or even MT2 but that is personal preference I suppose.

Good idea with the second spanner. I will remember that.

Edited By Brian John on 22/09/2015 13:54:36

Edited By Brian John on 22/09/2015 14:02:31

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

To take a full MT1 taper would mean having a much longer barrel, and therefore you'd need a much larger tailstock; going up to MT2 would mean a seriously heft lump of metal compared to what is there now. It would also get in the way even more -think about how your half-centre is a blessing!

You can probably shorten some MT0 tapers to fit with a decent bimetal hacksaw blade, or if it bounces off use a cutoff wheel in a dremel-type multi-tool (wear goggles!)

Neil

[Keith LongParticipant @keithlong89920]

Just a note of caution, don't try MT0 tapers they're a different taper angle to MT1, You'd only get a fit at one end, over a 1 inch length the tapers differ by .002 inch – quite significant.

[Peter HallParticipant @peterhall61789]

You could look further afield for short MT1 tooling. Sherline do some, but you will have to poke through their accessories catalogue item by item to find them. Their lathe has a MT1 taper in the headstock. Also Manix (formerly Toyo) ML-210, with short tapers in head and tailstock. They do centres and a drill chuck at least. If you gain some skill at turning, you will be able to make your own. I make all my short MT1 and MT0 tapers myself. It's not as daunting as you might think, although you will probably need to develop a little more skill and confidence before you have a go.

 

Pete

Edited By Peter Hall on 22/09/2015 16:53:27

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Sorry MT0 was a typo – I meant cutting down MT1 tapers.

Neil

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

I use the carborundum wheel In the dremel tool to shorten the MT1 tapers. A hacksaw blade barely put a scratch in it which surprised me.

I always use a full face mask when using the dremel tool. I initially tried to cut through the dead centre and the drill chuck arbor with a diamond cutting wheel but only succeeded in snapping two of the shafts which went flying off across the room…exciting stuff !

NOTE : I had a look at the manual and those chuck nuts are listed as M6. I have measured those nuts on the lathe and they are 9.5mm AF. I have also measured an M6 nut from my tool box and it is 9.85mm AF so I am really not sure what is going on there.

 

Edited By Brian John on 22/09/2015 18:32:45

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Metric nuts max across flat 10.00mm, min 9.78mm.

neil

[Keith LongParticipant @keithlong89920]

From experience of working on many older cars (and some newer ones) the best thing with spanners is not to get too hung up on the size stamped on it. Use the one that gives the best fit on the bolt head or nut, you'll do far less damage to the machine, nut, bolt or your knuckles. But above all use a good quality spanner.

Edited By Keith Long on 22/09/2015 22:41:43

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