Re: Some properly old school heavy metal
 

For the denham its about 9" and with the gap removed up to 15.5" in diameter and 4" thick.

Mine is annoyingly *just* too small to take a 17" wheel as it'll *just* do 17" by 4.25" so wouldn't take a rear wheel even if I had inch larger L5A/L6.

Druid

Re: Some properly old school heavy metal
 

Although I can at least manage some useful large bike bits!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4106/...0b77d14c7e.jpg
DSC06591 by fastdruid, on Flickr

Druid

Re: Some properly old school heavy metal
 

Nice one bud...I'd always thought it'd would be nice to learn to use one properly.

YC, re tooling, I don't know what your 'contacts' are like on that, but I have a mate who could be persuaded to do you a good price on some bits...used and new. Depnds on what you'd be looking for and if what he has, would fit.

You can PM me if of any interest to you.

Re: Some properly old school heavy metal
 

Detail of top slide
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/2189/dscf4283.jpg

Damage to compound slide
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4711/dscf4285o.jpg


Running it at full speed, in highest gear makes an odd noise from the headstock. Not sure whether it is a bearingy rumbling or a gear grinding noise, so decided to open the headstock up and have a look.

It makes the noise only in the higher (of 2) second stage reduction gears. (Bottom right of pic)

Headstock innards
http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/9069/dscf4288f.jpg

Closer look at suspect gears
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/4018/dscf4290w.jpg

Which look fine to me, and it is a definite continuous noise, not a part-time rumble as if a shaft is bent and taking up all the lash in the gears.

Which leads me to a second theory, that the noise is there all the time and it's only in top speed that it becomes loud enough to seem a problem. So I reassembled everything (including b*stard heavy motor which mounts on top of the headstock cover! :smt092) And fired it up again.

On applying resistance to a faceplate in any gear there is an increase in noise. So, it could be any of the gear shafts which are making noise.

Spindle is lovely and smooth, as is the countershaft. But, the input shaft is quite hard to turn and has 2 bearings on it's right-hand (chuck) side. The outer one does not spin when the lathe does!

So, the theory is that one or all of the input shaft bearings is toast, and under the side loads imposed just by running friction they make a grumbling.

The offending (maybe!) bearing, on right. Not sure why this shaft needs keyway on it, no idea what you could drive from it. Toolpost grinder maybe?
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/8625/dscf4287p.jpg

Re: Some properly old school heavy metal
 

Oooh, nasty damage. I'll go measure mine now for you...

The Harrison drives the (optional) coolant pump off the input shaft, could be something like that.

Druid

Re: Some properly old school heavy metal
 

Progress... ish

A quick trip to a local spot, basically a massive toybox of goodies in no particular order, with a guy who seems to know where everything is nontheless :confused: Despite it being a 3 floor mill with tables, machines, boxes, and shelves everywhere!

A small sum sees me the owner of this monster of a compound slide and toolpost.
http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/6162/dscf4357.jpg


Which happens to be low enough (just about) to get the tool roughly to center height.

This is the cross slide of my lathe.
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/9343/dscf4358x.jpg

And this is the bottom of the compound slide base
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/9936/dscf43590.jpg
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/5614/dscf43600.jpg


That ain't gonna fit!

Well, not without a little bit of help. The two stud holes on the base are too far apart by a couple of mm. But there is plenty meat in it to enlarge them a bit. There should also be enough room to sink the 0.5" spigot on the cross slide into it and even drop the whole thickness/height by a few tenths just for more tool clearance.

So, time to double check all the measurements and go find a mate with a mill...

Re: Some properly old school heavy metal
 

Nice, at least its a QR toolpost but trust me you really want a Dickson (or similar) type toolpost, I got very tired very quickly of packing pieces and sorting out centre heights.

Druid

Re: Some properly old school heavy metal
 

Just being nosey, what is this Dickson type toolpost of which you speak, I thought packing to raise the tool to centre was the norm. Cetainly was when I drove students etc. in the 70s. My only other lathe experience was with big capstans and I cannot remember how the cutting was set up, except it was called something like a chip breaker or similar.

Re: Some properly old school heavy metal
 

http://www.lathes.co.uk/latheparts/page13.html

HTH

Druid

Re: Some properly old school heavy metal
 

Ahh, thanks for putting a name to that design, I had seen them on ebay ads, but thought them somewhat inferior to a traditional toolpost. I hadn't realised the height could be set. Maybe it is the victorian over engineer in me, but they do look flimsy and reliant on that cam to hold the setting. Does the centre mounting spigot pull in somehow to pull the tool holder tight against the tool post or are you simply using the fit of the slide ?