Is It Possible To Accurately Grind Lathe Ways At Home?

[Superburban]

I’m sorry to say, but if you offered the 9A and or 9C to me for free, I would not take them. I have been around the block. Been there and done that kinda thing. I no longer want any frustrations that go along with lathes that have idiosyncrasies. If I had limited space and short on time. I would get the best newer working lathe with bells and whistles and be done with it. Use it and enjoy it. And not play around with repairing anything about it to maybe make it work. I have 10 generations of hobby shop projects and only one lifetime to do it in. Maybe some folks have it in their cards to do this sort of lathe entertainment, I do not. Sorry, my three cents…Dave.

If the lathe has any of the below, I don’t want it…



It has change gears that are stored in a draw

It uses a belt just like you wear around your waist

The chuck will smash your toes if the lathe is run in reverse

It turns a taper, but the lathe does not have a taper attachment

The spindle turns so slow, you think you’re looking at a second hand

You wonder why the longitudinal feed handle is way over on the right end of the bed

You can’t find any carriage power feed, maybe longitudinal, but that’s not good enough

The bed is made out of aluminum or something other than a good grade of cast iron.

The jib shims/wedges are plastic

I think we all got your opinion the first time, but since no one responded, you had to hit harder. Its great that you are in such a position in life. Do you have anything positive to say? Anything even relevant to the topic? Or you just like poking jabs at others that are not up to your standards?

 

[Downwindtracker2]

Being one of the retired with a fixed income with a very expensive hobby, machining, I think Chip&More is right IF you want accuracy. I find even cheap Chinese is very expensive. But there are lots of times when something +/- .005 is perfectly fine. I have one right now where +/- .010" would work fine and it requires a metal lathe. I would even question the money for the paint for the old machine. Certainly it's a huge waste of time and money to resurrect some old iron, when for less you can have a working PM or Grizzly. You have to ask yourself if you want to be a machinist or museum curator .

I think his reaction, though harsh, is to to the "ol' 'merican arn ".

 

[ezduzit]

OP--don't let worn out junk distract you from your primary goal. Let it go and move on.

 

[hman]

If the lathe has any of the below, I don’t want it…
<snip>
The spindle turns so slow, you think you’re looking at a second hand

I'll generally agree with most of your grumps, except the one quoted above. A slow spindle can come in handy when threading, especially if going toward a shoulder. But then, there is some absolutely magnificent work being turned out (pun intended!) on small, less capable, even "primitive" lathes. Shucks ... just look at what Savarin is doing with a 9x20!

 

[Cadillac STS]

If the lathe has any of the below, I don’t want it…



It has change gears that are stored in a draw

It uses a belt just like you wear around your waist

The chuck will smash your toes if the lathe is run in reverse

It turns a taper, but the lathe does not have a taper attachment

The spindle turns so slow, you think you’re looking at a second hand

You wonder why the longitudinal feed handle is way over on the right end of the bed

You can’t find any carriage power feed, maybe longitudinal, but that’s not good enough

The bed is made out of aluminum or something other than a good grade of cast iron.

The jib shims/wedges are plastic

It is valuable to hear one person’s opinion.

 

[martik777]

My "slow", belt driven, screw on chuck, taper turning 9A has paid for itself 20x over making a 1.5" part for the last 2 years

 

[Bob Korves]

I'll generally agree with most of your grumps, except the one quoted above. A slow spindle can come in handy when threading, especially if going toward a shoulder. But then, there is some absolutely magnificent work being turned out (pun intended!) on small, less capable, even "primitive" lathes. Shucks ... just look at what Savarin is doing with a 9x20!

Spindle speed is related directly to the diameter and nature of the work. .250" (6MM) work needs a screaming high spindle speed, 6' (2M) work needs to be going a whole lot slower -- for the same surface speed. Same for different materials. I thought we all learned that in Machining 1A. The perfect lathe needs a spindle speed to match what we are cutting, not better or worse, just appropriate for the work at hand (or being held by tweezers, or hanging on the bridge crane.)

 

[Susan_in_SF]

Possible? Yes.
Probable? Very highly not...

Susan, if the lathe is too worn, simply sell it and get a different one that serves your needs better. Some (very few) people enjoy scraping in an entire machine for their hobby shop. Others enjoy other means of self flagellation. Be ready for the very high learning curve and immense amount of work, time, and patience it will take to do the job properly. I would guess that 99 of 100 machines that are torn apart by amateurs for restoring to functionally new condition (not just made pretty again) are eventually put back together unfinished or sold as basket cases or as replacement parts. Keep in mind that hobbyists do things for enjoyment.

Good point, Bob. I'd probably get super frustrated. I just was hoping to rehabilitate the bed.

 

[Susan_in_SF]

All these amateur devises have been thought of already, lathes have been worn for years and years. Nothing new. Go for it and wreck your lathe bed. Be sure to take a lot of photo's a You Tube shows. . We all need a good laugh.

Sorry, but Bob already talked me into just selling the bed off, lol.

 

[Susan_in_SF]

If the lathe has any of the below, I don’t want it…



It has change gears that are stored in a draw

It uses a belt just like you wear around your waist

The chuck will smash your toes if the lathe is run in reverse

It turns a taper, but the lathe does not have a taper attachment

The spindle turns so slow, you think you’re looking at a second hand

You wonder why the longitudinal feed handle is way over on the right end of the bed

You can’t find any carriage power feed, maybe longitudinal, but that’s not good enough

The bed is made out of aluminum or something other than a good grade of cast iron.

The jib shims/wedges are plastic

Well, then you'd be ok with the 9A lathe. As for the free 10" Logan I recently acquired. I am actually stoked about having it as a secondary lathe. The bed is in great condition. I used to loathe lathes with leather belts, but after some online reading, I bought a serpentine belt (works way better than leather, less maintainance) along with "hog rings" to close the belt. This 2nd lathe dies not have a gearbox, but then I read how this lathe would have a greater range of threads it would be able to cut compared to using a gearbox.
As for speed, why would it be an issue? Curious.
Oh, and I agree on your comment about the beds. Cast iron is the only option.