New to me 6561H

H

Hozzie

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2016
Messages
260
Well, I had been out of a lathe and mill for about a year as I was planning to sell my place, but with the real estate market as it is, probably going to be a while. As usual, Facebook perusing led me back to another lathe, a 6561H. I had a PM1440GT before with all of the bells and whistles, but in some ways it was too fancy for me. I know nothing about Logans other than their reputation in general so kind of looking forward to getting this old girl cleaned up and running. I am going to do a VFD, but just a simple setup, nothing as elaborate as I had for my 1440GT.

Anyway, I saw Randy's rebuild of his so I am sure I will be checking out that thread quite a bit. Not planning to restore anything just now. Seems to be in pretty decent shape, but like I said, just needs a good cleaning.

Time for some Youtube watching on how to run the basics of it. Been a while since I have been on HM, but am looking forward to being back.

Here is a pic just after I set it in the shop before it gets cleaned up and moved to its new home. It came with a 3 Jaw, 4 Jaw, and has the steady rest and the taper attachment. Paid $1800 which I didn't feel was terrible. It wasn't hooked up so taking a bit of a chance, but think it will be just fine. Time will tell.

i-JkxqLR6-X2.jpg

i-vfVStBx-X2.jpg
 
Last edited:
I recently saw one of these on the marketplace for $2200, and it appeared to be in worse shape than what you’ve got there. Looks pretty nice to me!
 
Very hard to find those 14" with the accessories you got- congrats!
 
jwmay said:
I recently saw one of these on the marketplace for $2200, and it appeared to be in worse shape than what you’ve got there. Looks pretty nice to me!
Click to expand...
It may have been the one I bought. The guy bought it at an auction and when he got it home he decided he didn't want to mess with setting it up. It got rained on a couple of days before he took the pics which was only a day before I went to look at it. Lucky advantage of being close I guess. He sprayed it with WD-40, but didn't wipe off the surface rust. It literally just wiped off with a rag. The pictures on Facebook looked way worse than it was. I have no idea why people don't try to make things look a bit better for things like that. Got it home and made sure to get the surface rust off and it seems to be in decent shape. A little backlash overall, but not terrible. I have a Touch DRO and scales from a previous project I didn't use so I will probably throw that on it. I won't know for sure how it is until I get the VFD and controls here on Friday, but for what I do I am sure it will be fine.

Question for those with one of the similar models. I bought a potentiometer for the VFD, but am also considering just using the factory variable speed. If I do use the VFD and potentiometer, should the variable speed be set in the middle of it's settings, or just disconnected altogether?

I am going to put push button controls on the left side on that plate. Just simple E-stop, Run. Stop, and F/R.
 
Yep! That’s the one.
 
She's a beauty. You are going to love this machine Hozzie. Not sure why you are considering VFD. Just put in a good 220v 5 or 7 hp motor and you are good to go. You have got some really good options there. I would love to have a center rest and a taper attachment. Good score.
 
Hozzie said:
Question for those with one of the similar models. I bought a potentiometer for the VFD, but am also considering just using the factory variable speed. If I do use the VFD and potentiometer, should the variable speed be set in the middle of it's settings, or just disconnected altogether?

I am going to put push button controls on the left side on that plate. Just simple E-stop, Run. Stop, and F/R.
Click to expand...
I think it's highly unlikely that machine has a serious problem, and assuming that's true, you got a fantastic deal! I have the shorter 6510H and like it so much I'm actively looking for the longer models with the L00 spindle. You could literally sell the steady and the taper attachment for almost what you paid for the machine. A new steady is $500 and the taper is $3,100 from Logan (not bashing them, that's in line with other brands).

As far as the variable speed goes I think it would be simpler to just use the VFD to provide power and use the variable mechanism to adjust the speed. It's one of the simpler systems of its kind so it's reliable and works really well. I see Randy suggested swapping motors, and that's certainly an option, but if it was mine, I'd stick with the 3-phase motor if it's functional. In theory the 3-phase motor will be smoother, and motors from that era tended to be overbuilt and last forever. It sounds like you may already have the VFD and in that case no sense in spending more money on another motor.

The motor cabinet is pretty large so you could probably even hide the VFD in there and there's already a channel for wiring up into the box the plate covers going off memory. That would make for a pretty clean setup.

One important topic that comes up with a lot of folks concerns the headstock oil. Unlike many brands, the headstock oil is just to lubricate the bull gear, not the spindle bearings (which are sealed). You only want enough oil in the sump to just barely coat the bull gear teeth. Any medium or medium/heavy weight gear oil is fine, and some people simply use grease from the fitting on the back of the casting and don't bother with the oil. If you overfill the sump the oil can get to the bearings, and depending on the type of oil, it can actually ruin the bearings (some oils aren't compatible with the bearing coatings).

I don't know if you plan to go with a QCTP, but you can use either BXA or CXA on that machine. I borrowed the BXA from my 14" Clausing initially since I had the apron off that machine. BXA works fine, but I did some measuring and saw the Logan page said CXA would work as well. I got lucky at a local auction and got a nice Aloris CXA with a dozen tool holders really reasonably so I put that on the Logan. The top of the compound to center height is 1.8" and CXA has a range of 1.5" to 2.375" so it's on the lower end, but not a problem. The only real downside is CXA stuff is more expensive. BXA range is 1.25-2" so with this machine you're either at the top range of one, or bottom range of another.

I'd be interested to see your impressions compared to the 1440GT after running it a bit.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I had already ordered the VFD and switches so just going to go that route since I am familiar with it.

I bought a PEWE MultiFix size E that I had planned to use on my 1440GT and never got around to it, so I am going to use it on this. I need to get the T-bolt made, but thinking I can find an old 4 way tool holder to use to make that. Just need to order one and make the T-Nut.

Just starting to put together the VFD box today so will probably be at least a few days before I am near running, but look forward to seeing how it goes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top