New (to me) Logan 200

TomKro

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Dec 27, 2012
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I was trying to avoid another “project”, but I really wanted to find a lathe, this one was close, and the price was right.

From the serial number, it’s a real oldie – 1943 timeframe. It’s not real pretty, as the previous owner was in the middle of stripping the paint. It has some problems – the motor is poor (has to be kick started), the flat belt is definitely on the way out, the chuck appears worn, there’s a chewed up tumbler gear, and the feed drive gear on the back of the spindle has a chipped tooth. On the plus side, there isn’t a lot of play in the cross or compound slides, the spindle appears to turn smoothly, and all the castings appear fully intact. I hope to find some replacement parts to get everything working as it should.

Can anyone please advise as to how to break the chuck loose? Should the back of the chuck be soaked in penetrating oil for a while? Are there any sort of locking screws to remove before trying to turn it off? Is it OK to lock the back gears in place and lightly “malletize” the chuck a bit? Are there other ways to stop the spindle from turning?

Taking the spindle out to get the belt changed has me a bit concerned. This Logan has been running for 50+ years, and I sure don’t want to bust up anything important. Does anyone possibly know of specific instructions for getting the spindle out? From what I can tell, there’s a nut on the back and a cap on the front. Does it just slide out the front? Any advice would really be appreciated.

I guess it’s time to pick up a gallon of WD-40 and few brass brushes. Plenty of parts to clean up.
Tom

Logan Bed.JPG Logan Carriage.JPG Logan Lathe Head.JPG Logan Motor and Pulleys.JPG
 
Locking a lathe in the back gears is the time honored method of chuck removal. Proper chuck installation procedure calls for the final quarter turn to be a quick spin, which effectively locks it in place. The "lightly" malletizing (or any other "light") procedure will have no impact. Real effort has to be put into the process. A few jerks on a large adjustable wrench fitted over a chuck jaw usually works well. Unfortunately, the "process" has been know to pop teeth out of the backgears. Knowing where to stop comes from experience. Fortunately, I don't have that experience. At least not yet.

Unless the lathe is very rusty, which yours isn't, I wouldn't expect penetrating oil to be much help. BTW, WD 40 is not a penetrating oil.

Bill
 
Bill,
The possibility of busting up any of the main gears has me a bit concerned. I have to bolt the head back onto the bed to give it a try.
Good point on the WD40. I was going to use that to clean up the grease and old goop. I have to go get some real penetrating oil.
Thanks for the guidance.
Tom


Locking a lathe in the back gears is the time honored method of chuck removal. Proper chuck installation procedure calls for the final quarter turn to be a quick spin, which effectively locks it in place. The "lightly" malletizing (or any other "light") procedure will have no impact. Real effort has to be put into the process. A few jerks on a large adjustable wrench fitted over a chuck jaw usually works well. Unfortunately, the "process" has been know to pop teeth out of the backgears. Knowing where to stop comes from experience. Fortunately, I don't have that experience. At least not yet.

Unless the lathe is very rusty, which yours isn't, I wouldn't expect penetrating oil to be much help. BTW, WD 40 is not a penetrating oil.

Bill
 
Tom, I'm totally sympathetic with your situation. Problem is, I don't know how to tell how much force is too much. For all I know, the busted backgears happen when a 6 ft bar is used.

Bill
 
Fashion wooden wedges that you can feed between the back gears and the spindle gears. As you rotate the chuck for removal let the teeth take up the wedge to absorb the pressure. And some penetrating oil never hurt either...
 
Hello Tom,

The flat belt appears to be leather, if you have to replace it just cut it and get a kit cut to length and either glue or metal hinged coupled back together. I don't think it is necessary to remove spindle.

The belt kits leather or canvas type can be seen on Ebay. Just make sure you get the right length, not the stretched length of the old belt.

Others here can give better advise and more info with correct terminology.

RWW
 
Tom,

If you do a search on this site (or Google) you find lots of info - some good, some not so good. As has been said already, the danger is breaking teeth on the back gear/bull gear. They will usually come off with a little persuasion, just be careful - no harsh whacks, use a deadblow hammer.

Yes, remove the gear and nut on the left side of the spindle. There is also a set screw (sometimes two back to back) in the cone pulley. The the spindle assembly goes out the right hand side. It will probably be stuck as well. I had to make a puller assembly using heavy all thread rod thru the spindle.

If you remove the spindle I would recommend replacing the leather belt with an automotive serpentine belt. It will give you much better grip on the pulleys.

It looks like a nice lathe and in decent shape. Good luck.

Steve
 
Looks like you found a good Winter project. Another product that has not been mentioned is Loc-tite brand 'Freeze and Release' my gunsmith and I have been having good luck with it on lower receiver and hand screws on double guns.It freezes the part to minus'something' and puts a very thin lube in the joint.We haven't lost a screw yet.I've even started using it on lathe part teardowns.I have several tumbler assemblies for your Logan and alot of misc. parts from a school system inventory that's 25yrs.old.You need a parts book to identify and give me part #'s. If that gear you mentioned is the spindle gear I have one NOS. Get a list togeather and send me a PM if I can be of Help.--David
 
Just got back the computer – lots of good info here…

The only progress I made today was picking up some penetrating oil, a can of WD40, some soft metal brushes and a metal wash pan. When at Tractor Supply I saw a large hangar rod connecting nut that looked just small enough for one of my larger sockets. I thought that might work in the jaws of the chuck as a turning point so that I don’t beat up that old chuck any more than it already is. Also, that will limit me to a 2’ breaker bar, so less chance of me doing something too silly. I do appreciate all the advice on chuck removal. The chuck may not actually be stuck; I just have to get things back together to find out. More to follow on that in a few days.

Steve – As to spindle removal, I believe you mentioned setscrews in the cone pulley. I found one setscrew hole and one oil port in the stepped belt cone. It appears a little odd to me that all the torque from the pulley gets carried thru one screw (?). I’m really not understanding this quite yet.

Rwwells – I’m warming up to the idea of using a split belt. I’m a real novice, and maybe I’ll try and get some use out of this machine before I bugger up anything important. I guess it comes down to how badly I want to clean all the goo out of the head. I’m still thinking about which way to go. The chip in the tooth on the spindle gear isn’t real bad, so taking the spindle apart isn’t a functional priority yet, unless I do really badly on the chuck removal.

Stonehands – I’ve never heard of “freeze and release” – sounds real handy. When looking at the rack under the edge of the bed, I was really wishing I could take out the flat head screws to paint things up a little nicer. Those screws look like brass, and I’m concerned about chewing them up. If I get brave, I may give the freeze and release a try.

It looks like I only have an hour or so before I have to get things ready for work tomorrow. I’ll try to update later in the week.

Thanks to all for the advice.
Tom
 
Removing the spindle is not that big a deal and then you can more closely inspect bearings and races. I replaced the leather with a serpentine automotive belt...big improvement.
 
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