Little mods making things better. (And other Stuff!)

[wa5cab]

Good show on the motor.

Note that the section view drawing of a tailstock is not from Atlas.. The first giveaway is that the locking lever in the wrong shape and in the wrong location.

 

[LX Kid]

Made a gear hobbing tool. Also with changing of the insert it can be a keyway cutting tool. I used a 5/8" round stock, cause it's what I had, and milled three sides to get it down to 1/2" to fit my OXA tool post. After making it, I gave a little thought to the size of gear hole it would have to be pretty large to be able to use it. Guess I use it on an outside shaft keyway but would probably use my mill for that.

 

[LX Kid]

I'm really liking my 6" lathe more and more and missing my South Bend 9A less. With all the little things I'm doing has made this 74 year old lathe work very good! Some things I'm learning is one carbide type doesn't do all things. Tightening the gibbs made a lot of difference in the cutting and finish. Going up to a 1/2 hp motor over the 1/3 hp along with a new 3-jaw chuck made a lot difference. Adding a steel OXA QCTP is really a must for speed and accuracy. I have a new live center which is called a "long nose live center" made life better. Now I can get close to the live center without the cutting tool holder hitting the live center. I need to start looking for a project that has an interest and use for me.

This restoration project has really been an expensive endeavor. I finished my listing all the parts, materials and accessories bought. Lathe and parts, $1339 and the accessories $465 for a total of $1804. Granted I didn't need all the accessories but what's the use of the lathe if you don't have all the goodies to be able to use it. Maybe a few items I spent a little more for because I didn't want to wait forever for them to arrive from China. If anyone would like to see the cost spreadsheet just let me know.

 

[LX Kid]

Three more little things! First in put grease on the gears, second I put "new" gears on the spindle as well as the forward are reverse gears and lastly I put a different handle on the cross slide. The faucet handle had to go as it was just too small a handle. The change gears are noticeably quieter. I was rummaging around dark corners of my shop and found a small box with the "new" and a couple other Craftsman 101 items. I have another "new" back gear as well. Wish I had found these parts before I bought them again for the restoration. About 20 years ago I had owned another Craftsman 101 and had sold it. I ordered two nylon reversing gears to see how they would work out as far as gear noise. goes. They were only $20 so why not!

 

[LX Kid]

My lathe has come a long way from the time I bought it for $150. But I guess worth and value are two different things! LoL

 

[Weldingrod1]

Hoooley C#%^!
That's an amazing change!

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[LX Kid]

I received my nylon reversing gears this afternoon and put them on. It sounded like a "thrashing" machine! I checked the outside diameter of both gears and the 20 tooth was .006" over and the 24 tooth was .013" over. After filing them down to proper dimensions my lathe now is so quiet! The were putting excess pressure on the stud gear causing all the noise. You can have a whispering conversation while it's running.

 

[LX Kid]

I ordered a 3" dialed hand wheel for the cross slide. It's same size as the original. Probably won't be here till about last week of December if I'm lucky. (China)

UPDATE 12/16/21: Received the calibrated dial and installed on my lathe. The Cross Slide shaft diameter is 3/8" so I had to make a bushing to reduce the dial's inside diameter to fit shaft. Worked out fine. Now I have to make a pointer to enable the use of the calibrations on the dial.

 

[LX Kid]

Well in my "infinite wisdom" the cross slide handle I put on isn't working out so well. Everytime I turn the carriage feed handle I accidentally hit the cross slide feed and changes the setting. It's gonna have to be replaced with a smaller handle. Guess I'll put the faucet handle back on as it ads so much character to the professional look! LoL Could remove the "spurs" off the handle and knurl the outside and would probably work alright. "OR" move the spur handle up on the compound as it's really ergonomic. I can't believe how quiet my lathe has become with putting nylon reversing gears on and using grease on change gears. With the mod I did on the back gear, as shown earlier, really made a difference in noise reduction.

 

[LX Kid]

Did my first purposeful use for my lathe today. A neighbor heard I had a lathe and brought me ten 3/4" rods he wanted to make into hinge pins for a very large heavy double door that he is building in his art studio. What a deal for him. I get the practice and he gets work done for free "but" with no guranteed results. As it turns out things are working out well after I quit using my electronic caliper and went to my micrometer. That electronic caliper just put me into a lot of measurement trouble. He's some pics just to keep it interesting. Chuck to tailstock is off by less than .001" over 10" but is not critical for these pins. Have four more to do.