Greg's Logan 820 Restoration

[gjmontll]

In February 2013, I bought a Logan 820. Serial Number is 24157 (Made in 1944, it would be be interesting to know its history). A good project for my upcoming retirement!
This Logan was to be an upgrade from the Atlas 618 I've had for the past 4 years and that served as my entry into this home machining hobby. The 820 was operational, but clearly in need of some refurbishing.
In April I retired. First, I needed to get the Atlas repaired and sold to make some room in the garage. Had to move the Atlas every time I needed to get to my X2 minimill.

Preparatory Logan work: Get AXA toolholders for the Logan, the parts diagram/list, a face plate, threading dial, and other assorted tooling. I made chuck keys for the 8" 4-jaw chuck, and then overhauled the chuck, and overhauled the 3-jaw chuck. (Both interesting exercises in their own righ!)

Finally, I used the Logan to make new cross slide and compound slide crank handles for the Atlas. Now it's sold, gone, and I've got room to tackle the Logan.

Here is the starting point, prior to whatever degree of restoration I get done.

Some major issues I hope to remedy:

• QCGB: left selector arm is almost frozen. With the aid of a brass rod and a mallet, it does shift and appears to work okay. Hard to read the gear chart, if it doesn't clean up then I'll get one from Logan Actuator.
• Headstock: Backgear lever missing the detent mechanism. Oil leaking on the left hand spindle pulley. I'm not sure if it's leaking from the "Oil" setscrew or the other setscrew, and not sure if the setscrews are quite the right length and type.
• Apron and saddle: Apron leaks oil. I'm not sure when the lathe was lasted oiled, but it didn't appear to be very recently. Hopefully the prior owner(s) didn't do too much damage. There is no carriage lock, so I plan to make one or order one. Handwheel bushing is very worn and will be replaced. I assume that several other bushings in the apron are also worn. We'll see when I tear it down. Power feeds are in working condition; I'm not expecting major problems.
• Appearance: Ugly paint. The blue on the belt cover, legs, and tailstock is not too bad, but the headstock, bed, QCGB, apron/saddle, and tray need to be restored. I guess I'll make them blue to match.
• Leveling:The garage floor is not level. I plan to get/make some jackscrew-type levelers to put under the feet.

And then there are many minor issues, other minor missing parts. I'm sure I'll be assembling a shopping list or two for Logan Actuator.

And now it's July, Stay tuned as I dig in. I welcome your feedback, ideas, hints, comments of any kind.
Greg

 

[stevecmo]

Greg,

Welcome to the forum. Looks like you've got a nice Logan there. And congratulations on your retirement! You'll find that the Logan is a huge step up from the Craftsman 618, but you probably already know that.

Looks like you've already got the QC tool holder installed. Did that come with the lathe and you're only needing the tool holders? I sounds like you are going to completely tear it down. That's a good move. You'll learn how everything works and you'll be able to inspect and correct as needed. If you are going that far, I would recommend you strip the paint a put on a new coat. Personally, I would not try to match the blue. You would be better off using something that is more traditional - machinery gray or green. The original Logan blue/gray is tough to match.

I made hockey puck leveling feet for both my lathe and mill and they work great. I have some pic's of both in this Logan/Rockwell forum.

Good luck and feel free to ask questions if you run into a problem.

Steve

 

[Rennkafer]

Welcome! Your 820 looks like a good starting point and definitely an upgrade from the Craftsman. Not sure if you know but Logan still supports their lathes with parts (www.lathe.com). They're a little spendy but if you can't find a piece on EBay or wherever it's better than not having the part. I'm just getting to the end of going through my 2555VL Logan (12x24) and it's definitely worth the effort.

Looking forward to more pics!

 

[Chuck K]

Congrats on the new lathe. Logan 820s are great machines. With new bushings and a little tlc it will do nice work. Most of the stuff you need, like bushings and such can be found at a hardware store or supply house. For 5 or 6 bucks you can replace all the bushings in the apron and qc gearbox. If its had a lot of use you might find that some of the shafts are a bit worn too. Pretty easy stuff to make if you have another lathe to use while that one is apart. Good luck with your project.

Chuck

 

[RandyM]

I'm on the edge of my seat. Keep the posts coming. You are going to have one sweet machine once your are finished.

 

[gjmontll]

Re: Greg's Logan 820 Restoration - Thanks for the comments

Guys - Thank you for the encouragement and suggestions

The Phase II+ AXA tool post was on the lathe when I bought it. But no tool holders, so eBay, Amazon, lathe.com (Logan Actuator) and Little Machine Shop have supplied my tool holders and the other recent purchases.

Steve: I will, for sure, check out your "hockey puck" leveling feet info.

On the color issue, I realize that blue is non-traditional, whether or not I go with something else is TBD. Removing paint and painting is not my strong suit, so I'm inclined to keep that which is good, and redo the rest to match (assuming I can get a match.) Back in the Navy, and then again as a computer field engineer, I learned that if it works, don't mess with it. Here that applies to the paint.

Yesterday I removed the apron and saddle. The photo sequences on http://thepitchingmachine.com/lathe/LoganLathe.html were a big help. So far, a surprisingly easy teardown. I will show some detail in a subsequent message. I haven't opened up the apron yet, but other than bushings, nothing seems too bad. Nothing that would need a lathe to fabricate. I think it's cool how we can use a lathe to make its own parts! If needed, I will take measurements, reassemble the Logan, make the parts, and then do the disassembly/reassembly/repainting. Consider this pass as "exploratory surgery." And I may want to turn some bushing puller/pusher tools.

Greg

 

[Chuck K]

I kinda like the blue. Actually the original logan color has a lot of blue in it. When I go to look at a machine and I see different color parts, my first thought is that the owner took parts from another machine to complete the one he's selling. Nothing wrong with that, but you might have to do some shimming to make the tailstock the right height. Did it come with a threading dial? I don't see one in the pics.

Chuck

 

[Rixtools]

I am going to enjoy watching your restoration. Your 820 looks just like my 1820.

 

[gjmontll]

Re: Greg's Logan 820 Restoration - Colors, Apron

Chuck,

Thanks for your comments and the caution about multiple colors potentially indicating a "hybrid heritage." That thought had already occurred to me; an initial check on the tailstock alignment was okay. It's an odd collection of parts that are blue: tailstock, the legs, and the belt covers. Another possible explanation may be that these blue parts are each easy pieces to isolate for painting, without a lot of disasembly/reassembly. (I wish they had also done the pan while they were at it.)
When I got the lathe, yes, it was missing the threading dial. I got one from eBay (and it's yet a different color: lettuce-green.) Now the only missing part is the carriage lock. As I said earlier, I plan to make one. A picture on eBay gives me a good idea what it needs to look like.
I now have the apron disassembled enough to see what parts may be needed. I just sent an order to Logan Actuator for a gear and some bushings. Everything else looks okay. As I cleaned off the accumulated grime, I discovered that original gray-blue color on the back of the apron. Yeah, it is a nice color too. We'll see. While I wait for the bushings, I'll prep the apron for painting.

Greg

 

[gjmontll]

Re: Greg's Logan 820 Restoration - Apron Teardown

Here's a progress report on my 820 overhaul...

I now have the apron and its components disassembled, cleaned, masked, primed and repainted
​

• 
  [*=1]The following parts were seriously worn. Question to the group: any reason why just these parts are worn? Any additional lubrication needed here?
  • 
    [*=1]Apron handwheel shaft bushings (shaft is okay)
    [*=1]Longitudinal drive gear, shaft, and bushings (see picture below with the old and new pieces) Outer end of the shaft was worn way down to 0.475" (from 0.498) The gear teeth were heavily worn where they engage the rack.
  
  [*=1]All other apron parts seem okay
  [*=1]I scraped and brushed off most of the junky old paint. As I mentioned in a prior message, I did discover that original blue-gray on the inside, underneath the grime and sludge. But I've decided to use a standard "machine gray" as the basic color and have scraped and brushed the old paint off the apron and its arms/wheels/knobs. I'll use gun "bluing" on bolts and other exposed small spots. And based on some other restoration pictures that look good, I'll try some red trim (like on the handwheel hub / spokes and other pieces.)
  [*=1]Now I've got the repair parts from Logan Actuator and will start the reassembly.

​

Greg