Hello all,
A little background first. I am the proud new owner of a Clausing 4914 Lathe. This is my first metal lathe. I've never even run one before. I am however a skilled woodworker and own a small wood lathe, so I'm not exactly new to working with machines and problem solving. I have been reading several machining message boards for a while now, joined the Clausing yahoo group, and have downloaded every pertinent manual, document, and file I can get my hands on. I've also already contacted Clausing Industrial to get as much info out of them as possible. I've also read all the info I can get on inspecting a used lathe.
With all that being said, I inspected the lathe yesterday and decided it was worth the very low price that man was asking. My limited experience tells me the head stock and the bed ways are both in good condition. The current owner ran it under power to show me it has forward, and reverse, and despite a broken QCGB handle the lead screw does engage. It is missing the handle for the tail stock clamp as well. In my opinion the machine just needs a good dose of TLC. Until I get it home for a cursory cleaning I don't think I'll be able to decide if I'm going to do a complete tear down and re-furbish ala Kennyd, or just a very thorough cleaning ala PurpLev. So I plan on using this thread as a way of querying you guys for as much info you are willing to lend throughout the process.
Which brings me to my first problem. Getting it home. I own a Dodge Dakota pickup. The shop I bought it from has a forklift and could easily put it right into the back of my truck, however I don't believe I can easily get it out of there once I get it home. I've been slowly developing a plan and I wanted to run it by some people with experience moving these machines.
I am going to rent the smallest U-haul trailer that can handle the weight so that the lathe will be low enough for me to unload. I was going to lay down two 6x6 timbers on the trailer so the seller can lower the lathe with the forklift right down onto these runners. I'd then lag the lathe down to that. Can someone tell me what size the holes are through the leveling feet so I can get the right size lags and washers? I've got plenty of ratcheting tie downs to hold the lathe down. I can back up the trailer right next to the door to my shed. I bought a HF 2 ton shop crane and have several lifting straps. I plan on hoisting the crane up and driving the trailer out. I should be able to maneuver the crane around so that I can lower the lathe onto the sidewalk leading to the door. There is a slight, call it 2" step up into my shed. I'm thinking I'll have the runners long enough so that when I lower the lathe the tips of the runners will be able to reach through the door above this ledge. I can put down steel pipes as rollers under the leading edge. I have a pinch bar that I can then start using to lever the lathe onto the rollers, probably with the help of the crane on the end that's still out of the door.
Sounds like a lot of work but I think I'll be prepared. Any tips on exactly where to place the lifting straps so to not damage the machine? I know you should run them under the bed NOT the chip tray but I don't know anything else.
One downside of the low price is this thing doesn't come with ANY tooling whatsoever. So I'll have some forthcoming questions on tool posts and chucks.
Also as the motor is 220 3phase I'm looking into setting it up on a Teco FM50 VFD. This may sound crazy but my shed does not have permanent power and I currently run a 6" grizzly jointer and a 13" Dewalt Planer off of an extension cord from my apartment. Will this be an issue with this machine on the above mentioned VFD?
A little background first. I am the proud new owner of a Clausing 4914 Lathe. This is my first metal lathe. I've never even run one before. I am however a skilled woodworker and own a small wood lathe, so I'm not exactly new to working with machines and problem solving. I have been reading several machining message boards for a while now, joined the Clausing yahoo group, and have downloaded every pertinent manual, document, and file I can get my hands on. I've also already contacted Clausing Industrial to get as much info out of them as possible. I've also read all the info I can get on inspecting a used lathe.
With all that being said, I inspected the lathe yesterday and decided it was worth the very low price that man was asking. My limited experience tells me the head stock and the bed ways are both in good condition. The current owner ran it under power to show me it has forward, and reverse, and despite a broken QCGB handle the lead screw does engage. It is missing the handle for the tail stock clamp as well. In my opinion the machine just needs a good dose of TLC. Until I get it home for a cursory cleaning I don't think I'll be able to decide if I'm going to do a complete tear down and re-furbish ala Kennyd, or just a very thorough cleaning ala PurpLev. So I plan on using this thread as a way of querying you guys for as much info you are willing to lend throughout the process.
Which brings me to my first problem. Getting it home. I own a Dodge Dakota pickup. The shop I bought it from has a forklift and could easily put it right into the back of my truck, however I don't believe I can easily get it out of there once I get it home. I've been slowly developing a plan and I wanted to run it by some people with experience moving these machines.
I am going to rent the smallest U-haul trailer that can handle the weight so that the lathe will be low enough for me to unload. I was going to lay down two 6x6 timbers on the trailer so the seller can lower the lathe with the forklift right down onto these runners. I'd then lag the lathe down to that. Can someone tell me what size the holes are through the leveling feet so I can get the right size lags and washers? I've got plenty of ratcheting tie downs to hold the lathe down. I can back up the trailer right next to the door to my shed. I bought a HF 2 ton shop crane and have several lifting straps. I plan on hoisting the crane up and driving the trailer out. I should be able to maneuver the crane around so that I can lower the lathe onto the sidewalk leading to the door. There is a slight, call it 2" step up into my shed. I'm thinking I'll have the runners long enough so that when I lower the lathe the tips of the runners will be able to reach through the door above this ledge. I can put down steel pipes as rollers under the leading edge. I have a pinch bar that I can then start using to lever the lathe onto the rollers, probably with the help of the crane on the end that's still out of the door.
Sounds like a lot of work but I think I'll be prepared. Any tips on exactly where to place the lifting straps so to not damage the machine? I know you should run them under the bed NOT the chip tray but I don't know anything else.
One downside of the low price is this thing doesn't come with ANY tooling whatsoever. So I'll have some forthcoming questions on tool posts and chucks.
Also as the motor is 220 3phase I'm looking into setting it up on a Teco FM50 VFD. This may sound crazy but my shed does not have permanent power and I currently run a 6" grizzly jointer and a 13" Dewalt Planer off of an extension cord from my apartment. Will this be an issue with this machine on the above mentioned VFD?