Logan backgear shifting difficult

Redlineman said:
Since we are on the subject;

It occurs to me that the lack of any real ability to lube the back gear shaft sleeve bushings, and the difficulty in getting that shaft out for periodic maintenance, is unfortunate. I had been toying with drilling and tapping a small hole in the outer sleeve so that I could drizzle some oil in there that would find its way out to the bushings. A very short bolt would be used as the hole plug.

Opinions?
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I guess it couldn't hurt. The shaft runs on oil impregnated bushings. If you have it apart you're probably going to clean and oil it before you reassemble it. I don't run my lathes in backgear a high percentage of the time so it isn't really an issue for me. I've taken a few of those shafts out and I haven't found any extreme wear even on some pretty used and abused machines. I can guarantee you if Logan had put oilers back there, the only time they would have seen any lube would have been at the factory. The coolest addition of oilers I've seen is on the saddle fore and aft of the wipers. I haven't personally done it but the Sheldon lathe I have now has them. They appear to be original equipment. When I read the thread about doing it on a Logan I didn't think much about because I use way oil liberally on my machines. After using them on the Sheldon I'm really sold on the idea. It's pretty impressive to see how well it keeps the ways lubed.

Chuck
 
Chuck K said:
I saw this posted on the Logan forum. I had mine apart at the time so I milled the slot in the end of the shaft as was suggested. I found it to be real helpful when the machine is together and your trying to tweek the gear lash.
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Hmmmm...

I can see it might be helpful. It's probably obvious, but I'm not seeing it. So, to get a mental picture. Where do you mill the slot? Or... a real picture? ;)

edit....
.... alright... you keep posting about all these cool mods. How 'bout some links to help a fella out with this neat stuff??? :))
 
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"Since I'm just starting out should I try to find an old style simple holder to learn on? Thanks again for the help & Happy Thanksgiving to All."

Like Terry said, lantern toolposts are plentiful, but unless someone is giving it to you I wouldn't waste any money on one. It's just a pia setting up your tool everytime you change it. I realize I'm leaving myself open to the purists who'll tell you that in some instances the lantern post will allow more versatility....ok, I have drawer full of them and they never get used. Look at Shars.com or CDCO for an AXA set. They're cheap and they work. You can always upgrade to a higher quality version later, but you probably won't want to.

Chuck
 
Good show, Jack;

These machines are simple enough that the price for tearing into things is usually small, and you learn a whole lot about how it all works. That makes it a lot easier to figure out when there is some issue or symptom to diagnose. Perfect time to clean everything really well, check for bushing wear, polish the bushing lands, and lube things up good. There's nothing nicer than having everything spinning free and easy. Do spend some good time fiddling with alignment though. You can just throw things back in, but time spent getting the spacing right so gears don't rub together will pay off in the end.

Tool posts. Yeh, I think it's a good idea to spend some time with an old lantern style, and they can be had for next to dirt. Mostly you will learn quickly how critical good alignment is for cutting. Having said that, I simply did not have the patience for very long, and grabbed a Phase II wedge type. Seems to be decent enough quality at a nice price. To save you all the reading, AXA/100 is the size you want (the small one).
 
Redlineman said:
Hmmmm...

I can see it might be helpful. It's probably obvious, but I'm not seeing it. So, to get a mental picture. Where do you mill the slot? Or... a real picture? ;)

edit....
.... alright... you keep posting about all these cool mods. How 'bout some links to help a fella out with this neat stuff??? :))
Click to expand...


The slot goes in the end of the shaft with the back gears. It makes it easy to put a screwdriver in the slot to turn the shaft while adjusting the gear engagement. Since I didn't have a mill when I refurb'd the lathe, I just cut a slot in the shaft with a hack saw.

Here's a link to the Logan Yahoo list......I assume that's what you're looking for.

http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/lathe-list/info

Hope that helps.

Steve
 
No...

I'm a member. I was looking for a more direct route than an endless search through hundreds of posts in dozens of back gear threads. I did not see direct reference to that mod anywhere. Could be right in front of my face, but I didn't see it.

Now it suddenly occurs to me (bink.. light comes on!) that the slot goes in the change gear end, since that bushing is open ended. For some reason all I had a mental picture of was the front bushing, which is close-ended. Obviously a slot does no good there, eh?
 
"edit....
.... alright... you keep posting about all these cool mods. How 'bout some links to help a fella out with this neat stuff??? :))"

Looks like Steve found the original post about slotting the shaft. I probably saw the post about the oilers for the saddle on the l
Logan site too...but I don't remember. If nobody posts the link I'll take some pics of the saddle on my Sheldon tomorrow.
 
If your new and just starting out were in the same boat!!! If you really want to use a lantern tool post I'll mail u one for the postage. When u get tired of screwing with it all the time, and u will just send it back

Do u have any tool holders for a latern post?

If not, by the time you would buy a left, right ,straight, cut off holder. You could buy a 125.00 qc. And they come with everything you'll need. Ac. Will speed up your learning imnsely. Not fiddling trying to keep tool centered and right height while tighting lantern.

Jmop. Scruffy
 
"Now it suddenly occurs to me (bink.. light comes on!) that the slot goes in the change gear end, since that bushing is open ended. For some reason all I had a mental picture of was the front bushing, which is close-ended. Obviously a slot does no good there, eh?"

Correct....I didn't actually follow the link Steve posted, but if it isn't the actual thread about the slotted shaft you could spend a lot of time searching for it. I don't have any pics and the lathes went done the road a long time ago. Basically just put a slot in the end of the shaft that fits your favorite screwdriver and you're good to go.

Chuck
 
Hey;

That link just goes to the group. I looked through every thread with back gears mentioned in the title, and it did not jump out at me. Likely buried in one of them. Considering that it appears that back gears are one of the topics of greatest angst, this mod would be a good thing to make available to and easily searchable for people.
 
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