Clausing 100 saddle oiling

[ab_al]

Hello! And greetings from North California!

I have been silently coming here since June, 2018 - when I bought my Clausing 100 Mk3a Dual QC lathe off CL - loading it into the Lexus RX with huge forklift was one heartbreaking experience... It was kind of running but clutch did not work and there were some other problems - serial places it into 1948-1949. And dirt probably comes from same time. But actually lathe has been cared for and few mods have been done to it some time in the past. Here is the lathe how it appeared in the CL ad.Three chucks, MT2 turret, spindle thread thingy, 4 positions tool holder that is hard to use, carriage stop that hits the wiper area...



Don't ask how but all this (but metal box) has been loaded to my Lexus RX and brought home and then unloaded - almost safely... Some cleanup started, but then lathe has been completely disassembled and counter-shaft fixed, and then my family moved to the new house and lathe sat in the garage corner - bed on the bench and all parts in boxes... For two years. Recently I decided that enough is enough and started full cleanup and reassembling. After couple of gallons of WD-40 and brake cleaning fluid I got it reassembled. I fully restored counter-shaft and clutch - bearings were shot but I managed to find the replacement (those are special bearings with set screws).



Brake band leather has been replaced (see how ends are nicely bent - this is not how those should be...)



Spindle has been dismantled, bull gear with 4 broken teeth has been replaced (replacement came with lathe but looks like spindle disassembling became too big obstacle and it wasn't installed).



Attempt was made to fix broken front gib by brasing but failed (no real torch) - for now it's still broken at clamping side.



Cross feed screw is very much worn, as well as the nut (it has been replaced with similar but bigger one and wore down again). Also handle end of the cross feed screw is slightly bent. All this will be addressed later. Decision has been made not to repaint it for now and felt wipers are ordered but did not arrive yet.



Ok. It's the story - or part of it actually - there is that elusive taper attachment - clearly factory made cast iron, heavy as hell, missing few small parts (probably misplaced by me, one was probably used for clutch brake) - stay tuned.

Now the question - saddle does not have any means for oiling. How come? Just smooth surface...



There are no oil grooves, there are no oiling holes? How it's supposed to be oiled at all? By soaking the wipers with oil? Those depressions in the middle of sliding surfaces are also really bad if I would like to add oil grooves. What you guys do for oiling?

Right now lathe is running and I even made some swarfs but I do not oil it (apron is also empty) as I am thinking about doing additional work on it or maybe painting. BTW what kind of paint will you recommend? It looks somebody once touched it with bluish-gray nitro, and there are traces of some green?

Thanks in advance!

 

[WEL0058]

Welcome abroad ’Al’ ? You have a great lathe there.

I see your point about no oiler on the carriage. Notice the later model lathes did have oilers. When I had my lathe apart, I thought about drilling a hole.

I think while you are restoring the lathe and it is totally degrease is excellent time to paint it. My lathe was a light gray before restoring it. I used Rustoleum ‘Gray’ paint in 1 quart can purchased at Lowe’s. Brushed the oil based paint on with a 1” wide brush and a 1/2” wide ’acid’ brush. It brushed on well. Put on a second coat an hour later. Paint dry to touch about 24 hours later but still soft. I takes about a month to fully cure toughen up. This paint turned out to be the ‘blueish‘ gray when it dries. You can see the shade of gray my paint in ‘My Clausing serial 5396’ thread.

Bob G.

 

[wa5cab]

I'm not really familiar with the Clausing 100 series but do have scans of the 100-3 manual. It says that the apron is filled with oil through the cup. It also says that the wipers are felt, not leather, with a steel washer backing them. My Atlas has a steel backing which holds on a neoprene scraper and a felt oiler. The oiling instruction for the 100-3 says to put oil on the felt "semi-circular" washer, That oils the V.Way. Doesn't say how to oil the flat way at the rear of the saddle.