[Newbie] Doall 15 Lathe

LaVern

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This is going to be a long post and I have limited experience about this topic. I was contacted yesterday by a friend who works at a small machine shop that is closing down. He said they had several items for sale and one of them was a DoAll 15 lathe. Overall length is about 78", probably a 36 or 40" between centers. He said he didn't know a lot about it but he did know that it worked a year ago. The person who last ran the lathe has since retired and has no connection to the shop anymore. I went in this morning to check it out. Now before I go any further I must say that I am retired and have limited experience running any manual lathes other than my own Smithy 1220. I did run G&L CNC lathe at work, but for the most part I had very few hours on a manual lathes and that was 14 years ago. I also didn't have a way to take pictures that I can post.

The machine was very dirty and it was evident that it hadn't been used lately. We were able to get the motor turned on and the spindle to run through different speeds but were unable to get the carriage to traverse under power. The lead screw (I think that's the proper term) didn't rotate and couldn't get it to no matter what levers we engaged. I was able to get the carriage to engage on the screw and this of course made it so the carriage wouldn't travel manually. I think this tells me that the problem lies in the gear box and not the carriage. For what it's worth I tried the feed rate levers in all the positions, there was also a lever with arrows pointing left and right, I tried them in both directions. I assumed these were for feed direction and I could also get the cross feed slide to engage but of course it would move because the feed screw wasn't turning.

My question is where can I find some information on the DoAll 15? I find info on the DoAll 13, 16, and several others but nothing on the 15. For $500 and free delivery I would think I could get my money out of it for scrap if nothing else, but would surely like to get it running. It has with it several 3 jaw chucks a four jaw, a face plate centers, a QCTP and several tool holders plus quite a few turning tools. Does anybody know by the limited info I have provided what is wrong. Perhaps a lever or combination of levers. Or does anybody know where I can find an operators manual. Like I said I have spent several hours online last evening and this morning after looking at it to no avail. I did tell him I would buy it. Thanks for any help.
LaVern
P.S. I hope this is the correct place to ask these questions.
 
Your guesses are correct about how the lathe operates. The first thing to see is if the gear that drives the feed gearbox is turning. If it is, and the lead screw is not turning, you either have an operator problem or a gearbox problem. If the gear that drives the lead screw/gearbox is not turning, then the gear train from spindle to feed shaft is disengaged, incomplete, or broken.
 
A picture would be a big help.
I didn't have a camera phone that I could take a picture, but I do realize that pictures always help. I will try again next week to get a few pictures taken and posted. Thank you for your reply.
 
Your guesses are correct about how the lathe operates. The first thing to see is if the gear that drives the feed gearbox is turning. If it is, and the lead screw is not turning, you either have an operator problem or a gearbox problem. If the gear that drives the lead screw/gearbox is not turning, then the gear train from spindle to feed shaft is disengaged, incomplete, or broken.
Bob thanks for your reply. I guess I'll have to get it home and see how it goes. I do plan on running through all the levers and such again before I get it disconnected from the power supply because it is 3 phase and I don't have that in my workshop. Meanwhile does anybody know where I might get a manual for it, or even some information on where and if parts are available? Thanks again.
LaVern
 
It looks like they where made by Romi Take a look at Harrison They seem to have been the same back then
http://www.lathes.co.uk/harrison/page10.html

I did come across that link after a while and some research. On the page that you sent the link for, I do believe that by clicking on the 13", 15" late models, http://www.lathes.co.uk/harrison/page17.html , the first picture that comes up is very similar to the one I am asking about. I also see that a manual for it is available too. So I guess after this weekend I will go back and fire it up once more and again try all the positions of the lower gear change levers or what they call the "screwcutting gearbox" and see if I am able to get the lead screw to rotate under power. Thanks everybody for your input and replies. I will try to follow up with some pictures next week.

LaVern
 
Looks like a heavy duty lathe. Heck, $500 with delivery, don't see where you could go wrong. On the lathes.co.uk site, they list a manual available for the DoAll 13" and 15" lathe. (it is their for their late model 13"/15" model though).

https://store.lathes.co.uk/print/md398s

You could also contact the company and ask if they have any info on it:

http://www.doall.com/dgisupply.aspx

As far as not engaging the feed screw, I would start at the end gearing and go from there.
 
Looks like a heavy duty lathe. Heck, $500 with delivery, don't see where you could go wrong. On the lathes.co.uk site, they list a manual available for the DoAll 13" and 15" lathe. (it is their for their late model 13"/15" model though).

https://store.lathes.co.uk/print/md398s

You could also contact the company and ask if they have any info on it:

http://www.doall.com/dgisupply.aspx

As far as not engaging the feed screw, I would start at the end gearing and go from there.
I agree about the price. For a lathe that size I don't think I can go wrong. I did see the manual available but the one that I saw was 45L vs. the 37L listed on your link. Thanks Craig.
LaVern
 
CraigB1960 said:
As far as not engaging the feed screw, I would start at the end gearing and go from there.
I agree; instead of just trying different levers, look at the spindle and follow the gear train to see how they must connect to make the feed screw turn. You'll end up with a much better understanding of the lathe.
 
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