Basic Tools for Restoration of a small lathe?

[Polktools]

I had posted this in Richard King's forum because I was mainly seeking out his advise, but I appreciate all the opinions shared. I think I'll take that advise and forego reconditioning the ways, and if they truly need it I'll have it planed or ground. Thanks for the suggestion of Axle Fors, I looked into it and I think he's listed as A W Fors Machine Shop, and the address is in Salt Lake, So they may have moved down from Ogden, which makes things perfect for me.

If I nix the idea of working on the bed, that leaves everything open to the size I currently have, surface plate wise, though I will still likely need a straight edge for dovetails and interior surfaces, Maybe I'll try my hand at building one of those from durabar. I also have an adjustable Angle plate and Cross Slide Rotary table to work with, so maybe I'll get some work done with those.

 

[Richard King 2]

Thanks for understanding about my sponsored forum. I use it so I can answer questions as a professional Machine Rebuider and no guessing from others. Also to show info on my classes.

Many times one starts to dream about scraping in a machine and they never consider the cost to do it the right way. If your only planning on doing one machine, you have to consider costs and skill. I love to help folks learn , but one has to be realistic. I told a guy a couple of days ago when he asked if he could rebuild his Bridgeport after watching my 60 minute video. I said would you let a person do brain surgery on you after only watching a 60 minute video? Benchee (John York) and Rex Waters are good examples. They have spent years acquiring tools and a skill to rescrape machines. Sure it is romantic to dream of doing it, but it is so easy to screw something up worse then it was.

 

[Polktools]

Main reason I wanted to start small with a cheap old craftsman. It would be a good opportunity to learn and practice, and the stakes are low. This weekend I'm getting a quick change toolpost for the lathe as well as a few indicators, surface gauges and mounts. I'm also going to get a couple of those tapered stones, a 6" Precision Level, and a couple small machinist squares. I figure these are all things that I will need and make use of in machining anyway. The main things people address on these little machines are the gibs and spindle bearings, so i'll level everything, take some measurements and cuts, then start with those. If I need to have the bed addressed I'll have that done professionally, everything else I'll try my hand at. messing up any of the single components isn't too risky because these things are parted out on ebay constantly, so finding a replacement casting wouldn't be too hard. I know it takes years to get a measure of competency, but everyone starts somewhere, maybe I'll take a shine to it enough to take a class. I just hope you're still teaching when that time comes!