L-W Chuck Co. DIVIDING HEAD DISMANTLE AND CLEAN-UP

Hello Brian,

Very nicely done, both the job you did on your dividing head, and the documentation on this thread.

I actually joined this forum because of this thread. I plan on staying for much more though. I believe I just bought the same DH for $40. Although it is missing a lot. I has no plates, or the crank handle, and is missing most, if not all of the auxiliary gear drive. I'll post a photo, when I get a chance.

Can you tell me, did you hot tank yours when you got it apart? Or did you soak it in something? I saw your mention of Varsol, and the maroon pad, and putty knife. But that casting looks perfect. If your did soak it, can you tell me specifically what parts you soaked?
 
m8298 said:
Hello Brian,

Very nicely done, both the job you did on your dividing head, and the documentation on this thread.

I actually joined this forum because of this thread. I plan on staying for much more though. I believe I just bought the same DH for $40. Although it is missing a lot. I has no plates, or the crank handle, and is missing most, if not all of the auxiliary gear drive. I'll post a photo, when I get a chance.

Can you tell me, did you hot tank yours when you got it apart? Or did you soak it in something? I saw your mention of Varsol, and the maroon pad, and putty knife. But that casting looks perfect. If your did soak it, can you tell me specifically what parts you soaked?
Click to expand...

Hello M8298,
Welcome aboard... :) This site is full of knowledgeable and helpful people...

Even with the parts that are missing from your DH, you stole it. I'm sure that those parts will come up on Ebay.

Well, I'm not sure what hot tank means, but initially all of the parts, including the main casting were soaked in regular de-greaser that you can pick up just about anywhere. Then the parts were rinsed off in hot water to help them to dry quickly and prevent flash rust.

Once dry, I simply carefully scraped the rust from the casting and then used the marroon pads to clean it up. You could do it all with the marroon pads, but the scraping goes much quicker and lessens the amount of pads you use and elbow grease.

The varsol was used only when I got it home to see more details behind the grime and isn't neccessary at all with the de-greaser.

Cheers... :)

Brian
 
So you got down to the bare cast iron with degreaser and maroon pads? It even took the original paint?

I did get lucky I think. Funny thing is I don't yet own a mill. But this is my second dividing head. Both were rescued from people who were going to scrap them. I am not sure on the make of the first one. It is a 5.5", and only one plate (so far.)

This one I am pretty sure is the same as yours. I just bought the plates on eBay (hopefully they fit.) They are 5" diameter with a 1.125" center hole and three mounting holes. The A plate is 1/4" thick. The B and C are combined on a single 1/2" thick, double-sided plate. They look like they should work, although I'll probably have to leave the quadrant off, when using the 1/2" thick plate. I plan on making the crank handle, once I get the plates.



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Hello M8298,

Yes, but the scraper did the lions share of the work with the surface rust. The casting wasn't pitted and cleaned up in about a half hour after the de-greaser. The degreaser will remove most paints as it did mine, although there isn't much that is painted on a dividing head like the L-W.

" Funny thing is I don't yet own a mill. "

You are starting down a slippery slope, my friend... welcome to the club... :biggrin:

You should tag along and post some pics of your DH or start a new thread if you like. It would be nice to compare the pics...

Cheers... :)

Brian
 
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I don't wish to hijack your thread. Here are a couple photos. I'd be interested if anyone knows the make of the smaller DH.

I am still building the courage to attempt the dismantle and clean-up.

IMG_0796.JPGIMG_0797.JPG

As for the "slippery slope" you mention, I've been sliding down it for a few years. I just haven't made it as far as some. But the interest has been there. A mill is pretty high on the wish list. Thanks for the welcome.


John

IMG_0796.JPG IMG_0797.JPG
 
So, what kind of degreaser did you use? All that comes to mind is engine degreaser, which is usually a spray, or mineral spirits.
 
Well, John... let me see.... *rummaging around * .... hmmmmm.... I've used " Zep "... " Mean Green " and some no-name stuff from Princess Auto.... Yes, I said.. or, typed... " Princess Auto " ... That's a Canadian chain of stores that sells.. errrrmmmm.... "high quality offshore merchadise ? " :yikes:...

Home Depot sells degreaser by the gallon. Most any de-greaser that you will find on the shelf will work just fine.

I must admit, that I was also intimidated about tearing this DH down and cleaning it up, but once I got into it, I thought to myself.... " I could tear down the bloody Space Shuttle " .... Well, no... I didn't really think that... :biggrin:

Really... I took lots of pics as I went along to refer to later as well to post the process, and bagged all parts relating to a specific component and labelling them. In addition, I took careful notes at any points that looked beyond my recall.... which was considerable... :headscratch: .... * looking for the vast volumes of notes * .... hmmmmm ... seems to be missing along with some of the parts of my latest project.... " Any body seen a whatzit... ? " ...

You will have no trouble at all with dismantling your DH. Just be organized with your parts and take notes and pics as you go along and you will have your very own archive on how to put it all back together. If you are stuck at some point don't hesitate to ask for guidance.

Cheers... :)

Brian
 
Now some, if not all of those are concentrates that you mix in water. Did you mix it with water per the instructions, or use it full strength? I take it that you soaked the different parts in it? Did you heat it at all?

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And did you get threads on the spindle that clean with just de-greaser?

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No, I didn't heat it and I used it full strength. Yes, the threads came out that clean from the degreaser. The degreaser won't remove any rust, though.

Brian
 
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