Alexander master toolmaker - jammed!

[Broady]

I have just come across reference to the Alexander Toolmaker machine on this site, and wonder if I can get any advice? I have only had my machine a few months since I rescued it from several years in a barn on a pallet, but a lot of wire brushing and oil later it works a treat. Well it did. The problem began with very limited upward table travel that I couldn't understand - as there were no stops in the way. Today it refuses to let the table travel up or down, in fact it appears to be jammed. Same goes for the gearstick arrangement for selecting power feed up or down. Won't move. I came to the conclusion that it needs to come apart and wondered whether I coulod get some words of wisdom from like minded millers on this site?
It appears to me that the whole cross slide should come off the machine by lifting up and off the top of the guides? In order to do this I think I will need to remove the bottom bearing on the leadscrew which I think anchors the mechanism? If I can get the cross slide to move then I think that would work - apart from the fact that the horizontal spindle is in the way! Does the horizontal spindle have to come out in order to get the cross slide off the machine? There is a collar behind the spindle bearing and the straight cut gear appears to be held in place by a grubscrew, which I have got out - but no movement. I have released the collar behind the bearing and tapped the shaft from the back and I can get about 3/16 movement before everything is solid. Any advice?
I enclose some pics shopwing where I am at the moment; the spindle nose in way of releasing the cross slide, the horizontal spindle, bearing collar and gear, the bearing housing at the bottom of the leadscrew which I think anchors the whole thing and finally a shot of a little bellcrank whose purpose is to deselect vertical power feed. It is jammed solid in the position that you see, which I think corresponds to the maximum down position - even though the machine is about 3 inches up from that position.
Any advice greatly appreciated as once you have a machine - to have it not working is worse than never having one at all!

 

[4ssss]

Try taking the gibs out there should be 1 in there somewhere, though I'm not familiar with that machine

 

[Broady]

Thank you for that, I will investigate in the morning. It would certainly make life a great deal easier if I could remove a gib strip and lift the whole thing away from the front of the machine. It would also be consistent with the way the bearing mount is located - by dowels as well as bolts - making removal forwards more likely than sliding upwards?

 

[Broady]

A good idea but no cigar! I have been able to free the gib strip but it appears only to want to come out from below - and because I can't get the machine more than 4" up its vertical travel, I'll not be able to get it out. The pics show the gib strip slid out of the bottom of the saddle. The first pic shows the bellcrank that cancels the vertical power feed. The fault is related to this as I think it is in the full down position now? By fiddling about with this I can get about a quarter inch of movement out of it, which is enough to release the saddle so that it as least goes up and down its customary 4" - with the power feed selector in the "Down" position. When you try to wind it up more than that, it just comes to a dead stop - as though its a gear baulking?

 

[4ssss]

Maybe try jacking the front of the table bed a bit will allow you to jiggle out the gib. Just enough to take the weight off it. I'm wondering if maybe one or more of the gib screws that hold it in place may be jammed against the gib. Take the screws all the way out and see if there's a brass plug that goes against the gib and the screw are jammed up in there. I think that gib is your problem and getting it out will solve your dilemma. It may be burred up or damaged in some other way. If a gib is not adjusted right or tightened correctly, a lot of times you can run the table in one direction smoothly, and when you turn it around the opposite way it will bind due to the gib moving in place when you change direction.

 

[Broady]

I think the vertical gib is tapered along its length. There are no screws along the machine edge for adjusting the friction of movement as you might expect, just a cut out at the bottom end of the gib strip (you can see in the photo) which engages on a wide headed screw such that tightening the screw adjusts the friction by forcing the gib further up against the slide. The other clue of course is that the gib strip is thicker at the bottom end than at the top - which you can't really see from the last pics. With the gib out as far as it currently is, you can move the saddle about a bit so I think that's the clincher.

Whatever is stopping the saddle movement it is solid like two gears coming together but failing to mesh and so simply jamming the mechanism - not something I would be keen to force. The fact that it happens consistantly 4 inches from its lowest point should be significant to somebody who has had one of these apart I would guess? I know there was a guy on here from Indonesia talking about stripping and rebuilding one and I have messaged him but so far no response. So I have my fingers crossed he will respond. Until then, thank you very much for your help, it's much appreciated.

 

[Tim9]

I was trying to find a picture of the knee screw. It just looks odd to me the way there’s a lot of stick out of the turned smooth end piece which then has a slot in it. Like maybe the knee was binding and now sticking out of its bearing surface.
Anyway found a write up. Maybe it will help you.
Home shop machinists Alexander mill

 

[fitterman1]

Would this help?