At what point is a lathe bed too far gone?

CarlosA

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I have discovered that my Clausing 111 lathe bed is severely worn, the tailstock and the carriage also have a groove. At what point is it too far gone? I don`t know if this is a machine that is worth learning scraping and all of that, or if it just makes more sense to part it out to those in need. Beyond that the screws & nuts are worn, the groove that drives the carriage is worn severely, the leadscrew & half nuts are quite worn as well.

This is my first "real" lathe - as in something bigger and more capable than a hobby lathe. Aside form chatter and turning a taper I really like the selection of feeds that it has (all the way up to 224 tpi) and the ultra fine power cross feed as well. If it were a cabinet lathe and not a bench mount I wouldn`t even be asking if its worth it, i`d be joining a Richard King scraping class in 2019...
 
more than .005" bed wear is too far gone :(
as nice as the Clausing lathes are, the time and money invested in trying to scrape more than that is not worth the effort for the lathe in question.
you would be better off finding another candidate, if you are looking for an excuse to learn scraping.
 
I have discovered that my Clausing 111 lathe bed is severely worn, the tailstock and the carriage also have a groove. At what point is it too far gone? I don`t know if this is a machine that is worth learning scraping and all of that, or if it just makes more sense to part it out to those in need. Beyond that the screws & nuts are worn, the groove that drives the carriage is worn severely, the leadscrew & half nuts are quite worn as well.

This is my first "real" lathe - as in something bigger and more capable than a hobby lathe. Aside form chatter and turning a taper I really like the selection of feeds that it has (all the way up to 224 tpi) and the ultra fine power cross feed as well. If it were a cabinet lathe and not a bench mount I wouldn`t even be asking if its worth it, i`d be joining a Richard King scraping class in 2019...
Can you post some picts?
How are the gibs?
 
I`ll post some more pics later today, as well as take some more measurements once I remove these: :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

IMG_20181128_160649928.jpg

IMG_20181128_162143618.jpg
 
more than .005" bed wear is too far gone :(
as nice as the Clausing lathes are, the time and money invested in trying to scrape more than that is not worth the effort for the lathe in question.
you would be better off finding another candidate, if you are looking for an excuse to learn scraping.

I have a difference of opinion on this subject. I have a 1916 Seneca Falls Star #20 lathe that is worn .015" for the first 12" near the headstock. It's still capable of turning out parts accurately to within .0005". The only drawback is it's difficult to make a long part without a taper. It can be done but often times is not worth the effort. I use the machine on a regular basis to make parts less than 12" long, and often times to work on shafting up to 4" long.

I have spoken to a company out of Chicago by the name of American Grinding about regrinding the ways:
https://www.americangrinding.com/grinding-services.html

They have assured me that they have done machines in far worse condition and have been able to achieve excellent results.

Back in 2001 they did the ways on my Sheldon MW-56-P lathe for $400.00. It's a slightly shorter machine, but much heavier and more difficult to deal with. The enclosed inspection sheet shows they were able to bring the machine back to .0003" in both the transverse and longitudinal directions. I would expect the cost to grind the ways on the Seneca Falls to be more expensive in that it's more worn and their rates have undoubtedly increased in 17 years.
Should the time come that I can no longer live with the situation I will disassemble the machine and take the bed and carriage assembly to them for regrinding.
 
I have a difference of opinion on this subject. I have a 1916 Seneca Falls Star #20 lathe that is worn .015" for the first 12" near the headstock. It's still capable of turning out parts accurately to within .0005". The only drawback is it's difficult to make a long part without a taper. It can be done but often times is not worth the effort. I use the machine on a regular basis to make parts less than 12" long, and often times to work on shafting up to 4" long.

I have spoken to a company out of Chicago by the name of American Grinding about regrinding the ways:
https://www.americangrinding.com/grinding-services.html

They have assured me that they have done machines in far worse condition and have been able to achieve excellent results.

Back in 2001 they did the ways on my Sheldon MW-56-P lathe for $400.00. It's a slightly shorter machine, but much heavier and more difficult to deal with. The enclosed inspection sheet shows they were able to bring the machine back to .0003" in both the transverse and longitudinal directions. I would expect the cost to grind the ways on the Seneca Falls to be more expensive in that it's more worn and their rates have undoubtedly increased in 17 years.
Should the time come that I can no longer live with the situation I will disassemble the machine and take the bed and carriage assembly to them for regrinding.
That’s nice but The op’s question was in regards to scraping the ways
 
I have a difference of opinion on this subject.

I`m going to remove that poor repair job and see if the machine still works alright... and i tend to agree with you, my issue is whether I want to spend time and money fixing the machine, and if it is the right machine. If I could get it ground for $400 tomorrow i`d do that for sure, round trip to chicago might make that impossible though.
 
That’s nice but The op’s question was in regards to scraping the ways

My point is that the lathe may be able to be resurrected depending on how much the OP is willing to spend. While scraping may be limited to .005" there are other methods to bring it back to factory specs.

In my case I would not spend the money on the Seneca Falls machine had I not inherited it from my wife's grandfather. Since it was a machine he used in his workplace for over 40 years, and was given to him as a retirement present it has considerable sentimental value. It may not be the most economical or practical decision to bring it back to factory specs, but given its history I am considering it.

I would think sending the bed from Oregon to Chicago might be cost prohibitive. However if you have the interest and means of restoring it I would still contact American Grinding. I would explain the situation and ask if they could recommend anyone in your area that would be able to perform the same service.
 
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Carlos. If you love the lathe, and you have a rebuilder near you - have the ways ground. Don't bother with scraping - this is not a 'first-timer' project. You'd have to take multiple classes and lots - lots - of practice to create the correct geometry.

Second: even if you have .050 wear, you can have the ways ground and get a great machine out of it. Grinding in Canada is quite expensive, but I understand that it is commonly much cheaper in many areas of the U.S. The cost varies wildly in different areas.

Third, you can always use the machine as it is, by documenting the taper for when you are doing longer work.
 
Seattle might have a firm that does way grinding. I know we not the mid west but there was a fair bit of industry on the coast at one time.
 
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