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Thread: Advice on an antique lathe

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Coon rapids MN.
    Posts
    84
    Buy the reamer on Ebay and chuck it up in the tail stock, Ream it yourself. Same with drilling through. the Babbitt bearings should be fine in load radially but this set up is not good for thrust loads. easy on tightening the tailstock or shoving hard on a large diameter drill bit with the tailstock. spindles not so good but bowls and faceplate work all day long!

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Oklahoma
    Posts
    23
    I thought about that.

    What's holding me back is the fact that I'm completely inexperienced with any kind of turning, much less metal turning. If I mess it up, I have to have a new spindle made, get the bearings repoured, etc. The wooden bed doesn't help - if I'm even slightly off center, it'll ruin the spindle.

    I'm just not willing to take that chance. If it wasn't an irreplaceable antique, I'd give it a try.

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Coon rapids MN.
    Posts
    84
    If you want to maintain its antique value then leave it be and buy a different machine lol. the reamer will self pilot on the existing hole. there is a "close enough" and a "not close enough" range. Take your time and try it. you don't have to run the reamer to full depth all at once. If it doesn't procede as planned there will still be plenty of room for the shop to bring it into shape. the shop that you take it to can use the reamer to finish the hole saving you a tooling charge.

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Oklahoma
    Posts
    23
    Oh, don't get me wrong - I'm not a collector. I definitely want to use the machine.

    To me, there's two kinds of antiques; working machines and museum pieces. The working machines of today, if properly kept, are the museum pieces of tomorrow.

    This may sound kinda corny, but this machine is history - it's a working example of a piece of machinery used in factories a century ago. I feel it's my responsibility to preserve it for the future.

    So while I'm perfectly willing to have a professional ream out a morse taper, I really don't want to attempt something that could destroy the spindle. If I had machining training and experience, I might feel different.

    Think about your job; ever worked with someone who had no idea what they were doing and screwed stuff up? Would you let them work on your lathe? In this situation, I'm that guy, and I'm not letting myself work on my lathe

    Also, no one I've talked to (including a company that specializes in spindle repair) will work on my spindle - it's 22" long, and their machines can't handle that. If I could find someone to do it for me, It'd be in the shop right now. So if I screw it up, I'd probably have to drive 100 miles or so to find someone who will.

    Right now I think I've found some options that will allow me to keep the Jarno taper in the headstock with minimal loss of functionality. I'll post an update when I'm sure - I'm waiting on an email from a company.

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Oklahoma
    Posts
    23
    Update, in case anyone on here cares what I do with my lathe

    The first machine shop I went to - the one that brazed my toolrest - actually is capable of reaming out morse tapers. Turns out the guy I talked to was just some shop guy and turned me down because he didn't really understand what I wanted.

    The spindle and tailstock are now in their care and should be ready sometime this week.

    The owner seemed concerned that I wouldn't be able to remove the centers. He doesn't seem to know much about lathes from a woodworking perspective though (even though he apparently owns six of them). I asked him if he could bore through the spindle for a drawbar or knockout bar, but he couldn't. He referred me to a place that does work for Ditch Witch and has the necessary machines. They gave me an over-the-phone estimate of $200-$300 to put a 1/4" hole through the center of the spindle.

    I've ordered a Supernova 2 chuck, a blank insert (they don't offer 10TPI 1 1/8" threaded inserts), and one of those 1" multi-point drive centers. The guy at the machine shop offered to sell me a three jaw chuck for $100. I told him I'd consider it, but after a bit of research, I'm going to turn him down. I know that's a good price (the thing is new in the box - he ordered it by accident several years ago), but I'm on a budget, and what would I do with a metalworking chuck, anyway?

    After talking to some guys over at OWWM, I've decided my best option is to run the lathe on the existing grease cups and just keep an eye on the heat. If it gets too hot, I'll look into converting it to oil - otherwise, I'll keep it as is. It would take a while to actually damage the bearings, and the heat will tell me something's wrong long before any damage occurs.

    I just cut up a dogwood tree that fell down in a storm. Some is going to be used on the lathe, some will be made into gluts, I'll try to cut some crotch wood for veneer (if the grain is interesting), and the rest is going into the smoker. I'm looking forward to actually being able to turn something.

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    north, OR
    Posts
    1,160
    Sounds like good progress anyway Will certainly be interested to hear how it all works out. Especially if the grease ends up being sufficient.

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Valparaiso In
    Posts
    156
    Instead of having the spindle drilled through for a knockout bar, have the spindle adaptor bored for a MT2 taper.

    When you want to remove the drive center, unscrew the adaptor and knock it out.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Central NJ
    Posts
    835
    You could also use a slide hammer to get the centers out. Glad to hear you are getting things sorted. Looking forward to pix.

    Doug

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    362
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Spaulding View Post
    The owner seemed concerned that I wouldn't be able to remove the centers. He doesn't seem to know much about lathes from a woodworking perspective though (even though he apparently owns six of them). I asked him if he could bore through the spindle for a drawbar or knockout bar, but he couldn't. He referred me to a place that does work for Ditch Witch and has the necessary machines. They gave me an over-the-phone estimate of $200-$300 to put a 1/4" hole through the center of the spindle.
    The thru hole for a knockout bar doesn't need to be precision machined. You could drill the headstock spindle yourself once it's mounted in the bearings. As for the tailstock, I have needed to tap a center from behind with a mallet on occasion.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Lancaster PA USA
    Posts
    254
    Wonder if you could use a set of wedges like those used to remove drill press chucks to remove the drive center ? http://www.jacobschuck.com/accessori...ed-on-3jt.html They come in different sizes and have no idea what size if any would work for mt2 but maybe your machine shop guy could help. I have an old babbitt bearing headstock which also has a taper in the inboard side of the spindle but is not drilled through for a knock out bar. I have no idea who made the head stock I have as it only has some casting numbers on it and have not seen another like it. If companies were doing this then there had to be a way of removing drive centers.
    I know the voices in my head aren't real but boy do they come up with some good ideas !
    People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it's simply necessary to love. - Claude Monet

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