It is possible to make a new apron gear case 10F-11 using lathe only.

Had to come up with a way to determine the centre of the lead screw hole, so I made a transfer guide which fitted the support bearing part which took a sharp pointed countersink but anything pointy would have done. Assembled it on a spare apron and punched a mark.

You can see my scribed lines for the top and bottom of the hole by transferring them from the old g/case with a height gauge, still no measuring..



Used a rough old boring bar that had a tool in it that was just right to make the through hole.



I took a couple of cuts, adjusting the tool bit out until it met the scribed lines. This hole is not round but oval to allow adjustment of the backlash in the gears, this was easy to do by moving the cross slide after I had the size correct, I kept going till I broke through into the spindle hole by near enough the same amount as on the original case.



And that's about all there is to it really..









You'll have spotted the three slotted holes are a bit err... 'distressed' this is a result of the milling attachment moving as I tried to mill them, I'll be hand finishing them later, lesson learned!

It would be preferable to have done those by pecking with an end mill, against a fence or some such fixture in a drill press, but as nothing except the positioning of the spindle hole is critical in this part I think I've got away with it on this hidden part!

I still need to finalize the lug area nearest the headstock where the fixing nut will clash with the cheese headed screw (may have to counter sink that one) that holds the part Atlas calls the 'bearing plate', as this lug is the area that seems to fail first I need it to be as stout as possible.

I'm leaving that until I've made a new spindle with integral small gear, which is my next challenge to study up on.....

Bernard

Tony Wells said:

Nice job, Bernard. You learned some things, and showed folks a few techniques they probably hadn't even thought of.

Good job of taking pictures as you worked, too. Most of my projects are on and off the machine and I never even think about pictures until it is over. I am kind of a single minded person, so pretty focused on the job at hand, whatever it is.

I think you should leave the 4 jaw on your VMC, btw :roflmao:

Oh, and I want to know how you got my saw out of the storage shed, used it, and brought it back without me knowing!

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Thanks Tony, I often wish I'd been able to employ a youngster to pass on all those ancient tricks of the Sussex country cottage restoration trade I'd learn from the older guys who worked for my dad all those years ago, but that would have required way too much discipline from me, I've always had a habit of taking rather long rest periods between jobs!

This is new stuff I'm learning and as I used to take a photo record of my building work as it helped if a client queried my fees, it's second nature to me now, and it saves taking notes..

I'm amazed that I got your saw across all that water and back without getting it wet..

Errmm I don't know where my 4 jaw would fit on a Vintage Motor Cycle.......you've lost me there I'm afraid...

bernard

Ahh....VMC = Vertical Machining Center....

Usually referring to a CNC vertical mill with tool changer. The sideways pic made me think of it.

I think I even have the same shims behind the blade guide! lol

Impressive

Your post showed me things I would have never thought of !! I'd like to be the youngster you could pass your knowledge down to . I'm 54 young and a self taught newbies.

Loved your post
Scruffy

Great job sir.
Another newbie here. Thank you for the enlightenment on all of the possibilities of using the lathe.
Jack

That really is excellent work Bernard:man:






[reverse box still going strong :thumbzup: ]

Well I found out one of the reasons why the Myford milling attachment was so reluctant to keep still, there where some numbers stamped right on the mating surfaces, :nuts: so there where only two points of contact, the raised bump around the numbers and the opposite point of the circle. There was a lot of oil on the surfaces which proves they weren't touching!

I scraped those off and it seemed to behave much better!

This is midway through scraping...BAD Myford!




I took a bit more off for nut/washer clearance, as I've now made that slot longer. I tried using my home made boring bar for this and found it cuts very much smoother than the end mills I used before and being longer it's easier to clear any clamping and holding stuff. As I can easily grind any shaped tool for it, its now my fave tool for lathe milling, and cheap.



Drilled two (one each side of the gap in the bearing) easy to reach angled oil holes which hopefully won't attract chips!





So there it is, as always there are a lot of things I would've done differently, and as I had a lot of fun doing it I may well have a go at a Mk 2 some rainy day...

Got a method for making a new gear/shaft worked out, will keep y'all posted on that as and when...

PS, having made one I now have a lot more respect for the poor chap who had to design that gear case, especialy if it the rest of the apron was designed by others! The other components are very tight close by and him having to use the tiniest amount of Zamac possible as his bosses where even tighter!

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robinj66 said:

That really is excellent work Bernard [reverse box still going strong :thumbzup: ]

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Thanks Rob, glad the box is working well, and hope you're having fun making lots of chips now..

Bernard

Not sure how I missed this originally but Fantastic Job Bernard! Very impressive.

Very nice work!

Wow! Just wow.
I am impressed with your ingenuity and creative use of available tooling.
My Atlas 12" lathe has a loose gear case, but I was planning to just buy one from mymachineshop.net
I never thought about making it.