Atlas 7B Disassembly and Teardown! Pic Heavy!

[Weldo]

Yesterday I made the spacer I was missing.

The piece was 2-1/8" square so there's a few flat spots on the 2-1/4" outer diameter. I don't think it's critical.

I scribed some marks from corner to corner to find the center point then drilled a center drill hole. I then used that center drill hole to chuck up the piece in the 4 jaw by pinning the piece to the back of the chuck with a center in the tailstock.

I bored it out to about 0.751". The pin itself mic'd exactly 0.750" to maybe a few tenths under.

After I had the center hole I just happened to have a 3/4" slitting saw arbor. I mounted the washer in the arbor and made a scratch pass on the face at the proper diameter. I then belt sanded off the bulk and cleaned up the OD on the lathe using the arbor again.

 

[frugalguido]

Hey where do the side oil holes connect to? Do they run up into the semi circular "dish" on the top of the block? I'm thinking about adding them on my block like you did.

Sorry for the late reply. The semi circular dish is just to catch the oil when it is supplied though the "OIL" hole at the top of the arm, there is an additional large hole at the bottom of the dish,( kind of a reservoir for the oil), then there is holes that intersect this large hole to bring oil to the face grooves. Here is another picture looking at the top of the block,

I also made the block longer than the stock block, which is shown in the previous photos.

 

[Weldo]

Thanks for the pic! If my block is easily drillable I’ll probably add those side holes.

Does that added length of your block limit the stroke length of the ram at all? I believe it’s the position of the block in the crank arm that sets the ram stroke length, is that right?

 

[frugalguido]

Yes, the position of the block in the crank arm that sets the ram stroke length. No, on the limit, I measured the room left between the stock block and the arm with it assembled at the max stroke length , then added this amount to each end of the block. I hope you are going to make a new block? Yours looks pretty bad, have you measured your slot width for wear and grooves? Mine was worn in the center of the slot, probably from being used at a small stroke length most of its time. The block must be fitted with a very small clearance to the slot or you get a clunk when the ram changes position. This area of the shaper is a high load situation , which is why the pivot pin was broken and the sliding block wear takes place.

 

[Weldo]

I've not actually measured the sizes of the slot or block. They do fit together pretty nicely. Maybe I'll assemble the parts and check clearance with feeler gauges.

I had not planned on making a new block, though it may end up being my first shaper project. I don't have a mill to make a new block so I'd have to put the shaper back together and use it to make new parts for itself. Talk about earning your keep!

 

[Weldo]

I just spent some time with my parts and a feeler gauge. Looks like I have about 0.005-0.006" on one end, about 0.007" on the other end and 0.011" in the middle.

Any idea what's the target? Some gap is required for a film of oil I'd imagine.

 

[Weldo]

Finally got my oil! Shipping was super fast! Thanks to Renewable Lubricants!

I decided to just go with ISO 68 way oil since I had a hard time finding ISO 32 way oil in a reasonable size. Renewable Lubricants had it but it's not very common and would have been an expensive special order.

Here's a few pics of the jug.

It's plant based and made in the USA. It's biodegradable and toxicity is very low. The gallon was about $28. I plan to use it for everything, bearings, bushings, ways, everything. It think it'll be fine.

 

[ErichKeane]

Nice! My bottle of Vactra 2 (which I use for everything) is about empty, so perhaps I'll consider that for my next gallon!

 

[Weldo]

REASSEMBLY!

The time has come! I've finally begun reassembly. I considered making a new thread for this but decided to keep it here for completeness sake.

So the last thing to come out of the shaper column was the pinion shaft, thus it's the first to go back.

Here's all the parts to the pinion shaft laid out. The two larger pins secure the pinion gear and the right hand spacer to the shaft. There's also a woodruff key and a small pin that I'll show next.

The small pin goes here, between the pinion gear and the thinner spacer. The thinner spacer does not have a cross pin of its own to secure it to the shaft.

There's a corresponding hole in the spacer. This secures the spacer to the pinion gear.

In this picture all the pins are reinstalled. The pinion gear has a key so it's only got one possible alignment but the thicker spacer may have to be spun 180 degrees for perfect alignment. I noticed on mine that the holes only lined up perfectly one way. Also the pins only fit into the holes one way. They should slide in easily to about 1/4"-1/2" before they get snug. Try them from either end before you hammer them home.

Here I began tapping in the race on the NON SHAFT side. That is the side on which the shaft does NOT protrude past the bearing.

I tapped the race in with a properly sized piece of PVC pipe until I could start the threaded plug. I then used the threaded plug to push the race into the column until the plug was about flush with the surface. That's how it was when I disassembled it. That's why I take pictures!

Next I packed the bearings with grease. I did my best to clean them thoroughly in the parts washer of all the old crusty grease. I used Lucas X-tra Heavy Duty Green. At this point I also filled the shaft with grease from the end until it began coming out near the bearing. This will save time versus using the grease cup later on, and now I don't have to guess if the grease has filled the shaft and made it to the bearing.

Then I set the shaft in place and started the other race into its bore.

I again used a PVC pipe to tap the race in until it bottomed out on the bearing. Finally I reinstalled the shaft side plug. Just barely snug so there's a bit of load on the bearing. I'll probably check this again after the machine runs for a while. As the grease settles in a tiny bit of slop may occur, just like the wheel bearings on your truck.

Hopefully all the alignments are OK. I never pressed the bearings off of the shaft so I know they are in the proper place but the whole assemble can be shifted left to right by using the threaded spanner plugs. As far as I can tell the only reason to adjust the shaft position is to get proper gear mesh between the pinion gear and crank gear.

More will follow soon!

 

[ErichKeane]

REASSEMBLY!

The time has come! I've finally begun reassembly. I considered making a new thread for this but decided to keep it here for completeness sake.

So the last thing to come out of the shaper column was the pinion shaft, thus it's the first to go back.

Here's all the parts to the pinion shaft laid out. The two larger pins secure the pinion gear and the right hand spacer to the shaft. There's also a woodruff key and a small pin that I'll show next.

View attachment 329215


The small pin goes here, between the pinion gear and the thinner spacer. The thinner spacer does not have a cross pin of its own to secure it to the shaft.

View attachment 329216


There's a corresponding hole in the spacer. This secures the spacer to the pinion gear.

View attachment 329217


In this picture all the pins are reinstalled. The pinion gear has a key so it's only got one possible alignment but the thicker spacer may have to be spun 180 degrees for perfect alignment. I noticed on mine that the holes only lined up perfectly one way. Also the pins only fit into the holes one way. They should slide in easily to about 1/4"-1/2" before they get snug. Try them from either end before you hammer them home.

View attachment 329218


Here I began tapping in the race on the NON SHAFT side. That is the side on which the shaft does NOT protrude past the bearing.

View attachment 329219


I tapped the race in with a properly sized piece of PVC pipe until I could start the threaded plug. I then used the threaded plug to push the race into the column until the plug was about flush with the surface. That's how it was when I disassembled it. That's why I take pictures!

View attachment 329220


Next I packed the bearings with grease. I did my best to clean them thoroughly in the parts washer of all the old crusty grease. I used Lucas X-tra Heavy Duty Green. At this point I also filled the shaft with grease from the end until it began coming out near the bearing. This will save time versus using the grease cup later on, and now I don't have to guess if the grease has filled the shaft and made it to the bearing.

View attachment 329221


Then I set the shaft in place and started the other race into its bore.

View attachment 329222


I again used a PVC pipe to tap the race in until it bottomed out on the bearing. Finally I reinstalled the shaft side plug. Just barely snug so there's a bit of load on the bearing. I'll probably check this again after the machine runs for a while. As the grease settles in a tiny bit of slop may occur, just like the wheel bearings on your truck.

View attachment 329223


Hopefully all the alignments are OK. I never pressed the bearings off of the shaft so I know they are in the proper place but the whole assemble can be shifted left to right by using the threaded spanner plugs. As far as I can tell the only reason to adjust the shaft position is to get proper gear mesh between the pinion gear and crank gear.

More will follow soon!

Hmm, given all that you are doing, it would sure be tempting to replace all the bearings while you're at it.