Leblond Dual Drive Just Because

David M

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I picked this up recently and (as usual) got the wrenches out before the camera. I have the compound/cross slide and tapering attachment off already, and it also came with a 12" 3 jaw chuck. I took a peek inside the headstock, belts are all shot but gears all look good. It has oil in it and the pump is working. There is a tag on the belt cover that says "Property of United States Air Force" and since I don't think Uncle Sam buys used equipment I am assuming they were the original owners. I put a dial gauge on the saddle and ran it back and forth, shows almost no wear in the ways. Gonna give it a good cleaning and a new coat of paint.
 
That is one beefy looking lathe, very nice. What does dual drive mean? The obvious answer is two motors but I'm not familiar with that lathe or what the term means.

thanks, Brian
 
One motor. It has 12 spindle speeds ranging from 28-1800 RPM, the spindle is gear driven in the 8 lower speeds and belt driven in the top 4.
 
"Dual Drive" could also refer to the fact that it has separate drives for threading and for other carriage or cross slide operations.
 
The good cleaning and new coat of paint I had planned is experiencing a little mission creep. After removing the apron I found that over time a few chips had worked their way inside, the gears all look good but a couple of the ball bearings were a little rough, off the shelf parts, so no big deal. A bigger problem is that the internal key in the bore of the apron drive gear is all but gone. I have not checked with LeBlond but suspect that a replacement gear from them will be cost prohibitive. I have an idea of how I can fix the old one but haven't done anything yet. In the mean time, flood coolant is something I will never use, so I decided to make some changes to the tray. I cut the center section out and turned it around so that the drop will be facing the front and should make cleaning the pan out easier. I am also going to cut out about half of the depth. IMG_2108.JPG IMG_2109.JPG IMG_2110.JPG IMG_2111.JPG
 
What was the back is now the front, lots of welding and grinding left. I think I'm going to like it. I hope I'm right.IMG_2112.JPG
 
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Not quite ready to work yet, but close. I took the power box off of the back because I plan on putting the lathe up against a wall and I wont have access if I need it without moving the lathe. I ended up making a new key for the apron gear, but that was the only repair it needed. Changing the chip pan was some work but now that it is together I am glad I did it. Going to require a little musical chairs in the shop in order to put it where I want it, I the meantime I'll just run a cord to the phase converter.
 
All that work in less than a month? Good for you! Looks nice!
 
Very nicely done! I especially like the reconfiguration of the chip pan. Very practical indeed!

Stu
 
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