[Newbie] Need Help getting my ATW Lathe going, Oil and Electrical

I have run 16" and 26" American Pacemakers built in the mid 1950s quite a bit, and they are very good and very productive, and long lived lathes, what with their hard ways. The joy stick speed change is very convenient and the sealed up feed change box running in oil is a very good feature; I also like the rapid travel feature on the carriage travel on the 16" and on the long travel and the cross slide on the 26". Another good feature is the tang slot in the tailstock ram; if drilling is done from the tailstock, there is less chance of the drill spinning in the taper and damaging it. The built in thread stop on the cross slide is also nice, but it limits the outward travel of the cross slide. Having all Vee ways contributes to the longevity of them also.
I agree on Bob Korves' comment about using the Vactra oil in the carriage, and the oil recommended for the headstock is a good choice. Perhaps it would be a good idea to replace the way wipers, I expect the original type can be obtained from American Tool Works.

Just remembered (this was back in the late 1960s), the oil recommended for the carriage on the lathes that I ran was Sunoco Waylube, but Vactra is virtually the same thing.

3 phase motor will need 3 live wires and it looks like you have ground in the cable. I don't know what the transformer runs unless the previous owner was making 120v for a light.

I purchased AW46 and still looking for a local source on the Way oil. I have a Mcmaster order for next week so I might just wait. Attached is a photo of a handle that feels stuck, any suggestions, or does it only operate when something else is in a certain configuration?

Many times on modern machine tools, a control transformer is provided for the magnetic starting switches; this way it is not necessary to change magnet coils in the contactors when a change in line voltage is made, only

JeffEck said:

I purchased AW46 and still looking for a local source on the Way oil. I have a Mcmaster order for next week so I might just wait. Attached is a photo of a handle that feels stuck, any suggestions, or does it only operate when something else is in a certain configuration
the motors need to be connected for the voltage used and the transformer connected for the same line voltage.

Click to expand...

That handle reverses the carriage cross and long feeds; it is in the position that the feeds are disengaged. It would feel stuck if the half nuts are engaged.

@JeffEck,

Hi Jeff, I do NOT mean to insult you in any way, but I do see the word "Newbie" in the title.......so this may not be obvious.

From the picture that handle is different than the one above it.
Those two holes behind it indicate that there is probably a spring-loaded shaft that holds the lever into one of three positions.
The knob needs to be pulled out first, then the handle should swing into the other positions.
It is commonly called a plunger.

I wasn't sure I should post at all, but you did not mention if the plunger was tried, or seized.
I'd hate for us to overlook an easy answer.

-brino

brino said:

@JeffEck,

Hi Jeff, I do NOT mean to insult you in any way, but I do see the word "Newbie" in the title.......so this may not be obvious.

From the picture that handle is different than the one above it.
Those two holes behind it indicate that there is probably a spring-loaded shaft that holds the lever into one of three positions.
The knob needs to be pulled out first, then the handle should swing into the other positions.

I wasn't sure I should post at all, but you did not mention if this spring-lock was tried, or seized.
I'd hate for us to overlook an easy answer.

-brino

Click to expand...

Thanks for filling in what I took for granted! The center position allows the half nuts to be engaged and disengages the power feeds when in that center position; I think the upper position makes the carriage feed from right to left and the cross feed outward, the bottom position, just the opposite, but then it has been 47 years since I ran one. Most lathes seem to be set up that way.
Another thing that is nice about that lathe is that both feeds can be engaged at the same time, and cut a 45 degree angle; we used that feature often for wide chamfers on parts.

I am new to this machine, so there is no insult. I am very grateful for any advice or pointers I can get. I did eventually find that it cannot move when the half nut is engaged. I think the handle is supposed to pull out before moving from neutral to either forward or reverse, I have soaked it in several penetrating oils and have yet to find a way to get the handle to pull out of the detent. I do not want to apply any excess force and break anything.

Another issue I have come across, the tailstock has been cranked out past the threads on its wheel and it doesn't want to move in or out. I loosened the shaft on the backside and could get it to thread into the quill(?), but it is still stuck not wanting to move. I think I have a small corrosion issue here where I need to get it all apart and cleaned up so that it will work again. Might be a good sign of tight tolerances and just a small cleaning issue. It wasn't stuck when I bought it, (just stiff moving) but I think one of my employees was playing and got it out past the threads...

The headstock holds right at 5qts from drained to full line on the sight gauge. I also found that I can turn the headstock by hand in a mid gear to turn the oil pump enough to fill the oil lines and pre-lubricate before turning it on for the first time. The oil filter on the backside is a cool fin setup that you rotate to clean. I scrubbed from about 7 pm to 2 am last night and made a small dent in cleaning her up. I had the headstock top plate off to check things out and replace the bolts that were wrong. someone had replaced a few bolts with bolts that were too long and not holding the lid tight or sealed. I'm planning to try and get some more time in this week before we head to Port Aransas for a week on the beach.

I want to thank everyone for the help so far. I am getting closer and closer to getting this beast ready for some play time!

JeffEck said:

Another issue I have come across, the tailstock has been cranked out past the threads on its wheel and it doesn't want to move in or out. I loosened the shaft on the backside and could get it to thread into the quill(?), but it is still stuck not wanting to move. I think I have a small corrosion issue here where I need to get it all apart and cleaned up so that it will work again. Might be a good sign of tight tolerances and just a small cleaning issue. It wasn't stuck when I bought it, (just stiff moving) but I think one of my employees was playing and got it out past the threads...

Click to expand...

One possibility ...
The tailstock has an anti-rotation pin, which is supposed to engage a slot in the quill. If the quill was pulled out and then cranked back in at the wrong angle, the pin may be jammed against the surface of the quill. You may have to "persuade" the quill outward to get it off the pin (remove the crank, use a wooden dowel and a dead blow hammer from the crank end). Then check for a gouge on its surface, clean up any raised edges, etc. Finally, look inside the housing and check for damage to the pin. If need be, you can probably figger out how to remove and replace the pin.