Making chips with 100 year old lathe

682bear

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I finally found time to get my 'new' 1919 Hendey lathe running... I had to machine a new pulley for the gearbox, replace the v-belts that connect the motor to the gearbox, and repair the guard that covers the bull gear.

The guard had been broken in 2 places, and previously brazed (poorly)... it wasn't brazed straight and wouldn't bolt on correctly. I ground the brazing off and re-broke it, then rebrazed it straight.

It ran very smoothly... until I mounted the chuck (10 inch 4 jaw). With the chuck mounted, the whole lathe shimmys, vibrates, and wobbles... I'm wondering if the chuck could be that bad out of balance?

Everything is tight and seems to function very well... after adjusting the tail stock, I made a 5 inch skim cut on an aluminum rod...I measured about a half thousandth taper over the 5 inches... I'm pretty happy with that.

How would I go about checking the balance on the chuck? I have an automotive computerized wheel balancer... I'm kicking around the idea of seeing if I can set the chuck up on it and giving it a spin... any thoughts on that?

I still have some tinkering to do on the gearbox drive assembly, but nothing too serious.

Pics of the repaired guard:
20191012_080243.jpg
Yeah, I know it's not the right color... someone obviously put the wrong cap on a can of paint at the store... I'll have to repaint it...

A pic from the Craigslist ad...

20190926_184215.jpg

I think it will turn out to be a decent machine.

-Bear
 
were the chuck jaws adjusted to relatively the same position when vibration was noticed? A good test for out of balance of the chuck body would be to remove the jaws and try it again.
 
I have a 1916 SB. 13”X 5
it still runs great I need a backing plate (blank) for a new chuck
the plate needs to be plank as the thread and spindl threads are diff from newer ones
and to rebuild the cross ways but the lathe cuts very good
 
were the chuck jaws adjusted to relatively the same position when vibration was noticed? A good test for out of balance of the chuck body would be to remove the jaws and try it again.

Yes, I had an aluminum rod chucked and indicated before I turned it on, so the jaws were about as close to centered as they could be... This chuck is really too big for the lathe, so I'm planning to buy a new chuck anyway.

-Bear
 
I have a 1916 SB. 13”X 5
it still runs great I need a backing plate (blank) for a new chuck
the plate needs to be plank as the thread and spindl threads are diff from newer ones
and to rebuild the cross ways but the lathe cuts very good

What is the spindle thread on your South Bend? My SB 14 1/2 is a 2 3/8x6 tpi, but my dad's SB 13 is a 2 1/4x8 tpi...

My Hendey is a 2 x 8 tpi... I'm probably going to buy a backing plate with a 1 1/2x8, bore it out, and re-thread it when I buy a new chuck for it.

-Bear
 
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