Slightly OT: Drum Switch Lubricant

[elevmike]

Rod, Thanks for the tip. I'll lookinto that also. But really I just wanted to have the orig for nastalgic reasons. Any real machining will be done on the new 14" x 42" convertable gap lathe, or the Bridgeport. (both have readouts).

 

[pstephens]

Hi Mike,

My SB is older then yours, as there's no gearbox to the right of the drivescrew. I've just got a selection of gears and a chart to indicate which gears for what speeds or threads etc...

Possibly, but not necessarily true, as both types of lathes were produced concurrently from 1939 through 1968. If you would like to know when your grandfather's lathe was made, see if you can find the serial number -- it should be stamped on top of the front bedway at the extreme right end of the machine. I have an Excel program that we can plug the number into that will tell its date of manufacture. Mine has a S/N of 232NAR7, which translates to a mfg. date of approx. March, 1947.

Paula

 

[elevmike]

Paula, My S/N is 62627. Can you plug that into your Excel spread sheet?

Now I'm courious.

Thanks.

 

[pstephens]

Mike,

That serial number indicates a mfg. date of late Jan/early Feb. 1936! I would be interested to see a picture of that lathe.

Last weekend I finished reassembling the headstock for my lathe. The spindle and bearings showed almost no wear at all -- it appears that this lathe was only barely broken in. Also shown is the finished drum reversing switch that was the subject of this post.

Paula

 

[jstolaruk]

just a small FYI

Paula (and other machine tool enthusiasts), I'm not sure if you are aware but there is an excellent forum called the "Practical Machinist" that has a lot of posters that are knowledgable on older machine tools, specifically in the "Antique Machinery and History" section.

 

[Rod]

jstolaruk,
Thank you sir for the link!!!!!!! A CNC forum (I gots happy feet)

Rod (The CNC Dude)

 

[elevmike]

Mike,

That serial number indicates a mfg. date of late Jan/early Feb. 1936! I would be interested to see a picture of that lathe.

Paula, after seeing that photo of you head stock I'd be embarrased to post a picture of mine without putting some time into cleanup/dressup before hand. That's amazing what you did there.

Mines pretty tight also. My grandfather had it at his house, then in 58' my dad moved it to the shop for rewinding coils. That idea died so then it just sat for 20 years unitil this emagrant he sponsord moved it to our new shop in 79' and set it up on a new bench. I used it to make a few dozen UHMW bushings then it just sat again. About 2 years ago I notice the belts were all dryed out and the tool stock was missing. (somebody swiped it).

I'd like to have it whole but its not necessary since we have 2 other newer (one is just a few years old), larger and much more precise lathes. So when/if I get the time....

 

[gas]

I'm with Darren. Blow most of the dirt out and it will be good for another 50 years.
If you feel like grease put it in there, it will still work. I'm an old timer and I've seen those things work all day long under unbelieveable conditions.
Why did you take it apart in the first place?
It wasn't broke until you fixed it right?

 

[pstephens]

Paula (and other machine tool enthusiasts), I'm not sure if you are aware but there is an excellent forum called the "Practical Machinist"...

Yes, a great forum -- I've been posting there since September. I've currently got a thread going there about this lathe project, if anyone wants to look at it.

Paula

 

[elevmike]

Wow Paula, Seems like your always good for a long, (but interesting) thread!

 

[leitmotif]

Paula

I think you should drop engineering and go into the machine tool rebuild business. Looked at that other web page - what a beautiful job of rebuilding and putting in added stuff like oilers etc.

Dan Bentler

 

[Rod]

Paula,

I don't mean to nit-pick but, it appears that the rear screw on the 'Rev' side of the reversing switch's cover appears to be scratched.

It does not look like you have backlash adjustment for the feed thread gears - makes precision threading a problem.

I give you an A- because there are no dings in the paint from useage.

I have a 72 station 20 ton turret press in Monterey, MX that needs your touch. Pay is lousy but, the barbaquoa is great!

Anyone want to bet that Paula's concrete shop floor is painted a light-grey and has a RMS 64 finish?

Paula, I both kid you and applaud you. You show attention to detail that obviously reflects in all your work.

Stay happy, healthy

Rod (The CNC Dude)

Now where is Mike's tool post?

 

[Rod]

Quoted from your 'other' thread


With the saddle assembly resting on the ways, I offered the saddle up to it, and started the two cheese-heads. Had to rock the cross-feed screw a bit to get the gears to mesh, but everything lined up fine. For the purpose of the tryout, I slipped the rack between the bottom of the front way and the carriage drive gear, and installed the mounting screws.

Good gosh woman! Most people don't know swarf from dross!!

Cool Beans

Rod

 

[elevmike]

Now where is Mike's tool post?

Sitting in a box on the lathe bench! I also need to get new belts.

Paula, are you using synthetic belts or leather? I know where to get them but I think I might want to upgrade for better traction.

Some day I'll get to it...but the thing is that I use the other big dog MTs in the shop. So it's just a matter of preservation out of respect for Gramps, but I'm not pressed to put it to use.

 

[pstephens]

Thanks for the comments, guys. I was fortunate that early in my career I worked in a small R&D dept. of a larger company. The guy who ran the dept. didn't believe in engineers sitting behind desks or drawing boards all the time, so he encouraged me to get out in the shop and "get your hands dirty." Found that I had a real knack for shop work, and there's been no looking back. Took over my hobbies, too!

With regard to this lathe, I'm glad to get the compliments but this project is not really a 'rebuild'. It was in such good shape mechanically when I got it that I decided that its appearance should match. I've made a few improvements, but most of the work has been cleaning, painting, and polishing.

It does not look like you have backlash adjustment for the feed thread gears - makes precision threading a problem.

Actually, there are stop screws in the reverse gear tumbler to set the backlash between the spindle gear and reverse gears. You can see one of them in the picture -- on the tumbler bracket, near the base of the handle. So there.

Paula