23-11-2011, 10:32 PM
Hi,
Many thanks for your kind words in post #17 Alan. I was always taught not to blame the tools. It is true that I went to considerable trouble when I found my worn out Myford MF36" had broken the headstock right across the front main bearing.
I was cutting the wave winder gears at the time and couldn't understand why at times the lathe would take a decent cut then suddenly begin to chatter with just a skim cut.
I completed the 45 cast iron gears by rigging up a heavy temporary clamp to anchor the broken bearing in place.
Once the gears had been successfully cut I turned my attention to the broken headstock. It took considerable patience but I turned the pair of headstock bearings from Whale Tufnol and these were turned to very high precision; I then had the mandrel metal sprayed in hard stainless and ground to the original dimension; Metallizers who did this work were very impressed with the new bearings.
Next job was to do a great deal of hacksaw and filing work to remove metal from the headstock to accommodate new cast iron bearing caps which I also made. Once it was all assembled and powered up the bearings ran very hot for a short while until they bedded in and I kept adjusting as necessary. The headstock is now fine; just the rest of the lathe that is junk.
I do intend to restore this lathe and hope to add some detail onto the forum in due course. I've worked with lathes since I was 15 years of age and being trained as a mechanical engineer I'm used to using hand tools.
Even a rough lathe will produce accurate work with a little practice and a lot of patience.
I always work to the principle that you can turn small items in a big lathe but you can't turn big items in a small lathe and always go for the biggest lathe I have space for. I was deeply saddened to part with my Colchester Triumph engineering lathe and my huge Dominion woodturning lathes but they simply took up a vast amount of space in my garage.
If you have the space for a decent sized lathe then an old cast iron lathe will be a good start; once experience is gained then there is no reason why you can't change to a more suitable lathe.
My chum David (Yorkie) has a lovely small clock-makers lathe by the maker Lorch and it is delightful; this small lathe will do just about any turning that would ever be needed for radio/TV work in fact it is surprising just how much work such a small lathe is capable of.
I wouldn't be without a lathe so for anyone with a bit of space and wonders about buying a lathe I would say go for it; you won't regret it.
Kind regards, Col.
Many thanks for your kind words in post #17 Alan. I was always taught not to blame the tools. It is true that I went to considerable trouble when I found my worn out Myford MF36" had broken the headstock right across the front main bearing.
I was cutting the wave winder gears at the time and couldn't understand why at times the lathe would take a decent cut then suddenly begin to chatter with just a skim cut.
I completed the 45 cast iron gears by rigging up a heavy temporary clamp to anchor the broken bearing in place.
Once the gears had been successfully cut I turned my attention to the broken headstock. It took considerable patience but I turned the pair of headstock bearings from Whale Tufnol and these were turned to very high precision; I then had the mandrel metal sprayed in hard stainless and ground to the original dimension; Metallizers who did this work were very impressed with the new bearings.
Next job was to do a great deal of hacksaw and filing work to remove metal from the headstock to accommodate new cast iron bearing caps which I also made. Once it was all assembled and powered up the bearings ran very hot for a short while until they bedded in and I kept adjusting as necessary. The headstock is now fine; just the rest of the lathe that is junk.
I do intend to restore this lathe and hope to add some detail onto the forum in due course. I've worked with lathes since I was 15 years of age and being trained as a mechanical engineer I'm used to using hand tools.
Even a rough lathe will produce accurate work with a little practice and a lot of patience.
I always work to the principle that you can turn small items in a big lathe but you can't turn big items in a small lathe and always go for the biggest lathe I have space for. I was deeply saddened to part with my Colchester Triumph engineering lathe and my huge Dominion woodturning lathes but they simply took up a vast amount of space in my garage.
If you have the space for a decent sized lathe then an old cast iron lathe will be a good start; once experience is gained then there is no reason why you can't change to a more suitable lathe.
My chum David (Yorkie) has a lovely small clock-makers lathe by the maker Lorch and it is delightful; this small lathe will do just about any turning that would ever be needed for radio/TV work in fact it is surprising just how much work such a small lathe is capable of.
I wouldn't be without a lathe so for anyone with a bit of space and wonders about buying a lathe I would say go for it; you won't regret it.
Kind regards, Col.
Happiness is a wreck of a cabinet to restore.
