- Joined
- Aug 4, 2015
- Messages
- 291
OK, hate to open up with a huge post, but here goes nothing...
I have been wrenching for a LONG time. Remember changing sparkplugs with dad when I was 5 or 6. Pulled the wheel off a 73 Duster when I was 14 and repacked wheel bearings so I could go on a date so basically I been w0rking on cars longer than I have been legal to drive them. Decided one horrible day when I was 17 laying under a 78Volarie Wagon pushing a 904LA tranny back into place that as soon as I had my own money I would have a garage and my own tools so I wouldn't need to lay in gravel to work on cars any more. It tool a while but I made it to the point that the last purchases were a mill and a lathe. When my 15 year old son decided he wanted to go to school for welding and machining, I pulled the trigger on an Excello 604 mill. Once that was home the lathe was next order of business. This is where my lack of experience bit me and I am now trying to figure out what to do next. I bought a 13 inch South Bend cone drive lathe that's a late 20's or early 30's model. It's a Series O. The lathe is tight for it's age. Measured runout on the chuck is +/- .003 and the slop in the bearings is non-existant. I don't have a reference bar to check the table for square, but I also have +/-.001 slop in the carriage when pushed and pulled on referencing compound from the chuck. Problem is that the gentleman that owned the lathe until his death was a machinist. He made modifications to the manual change gear assembly and while I have some change gears, I have no idler gear and not sure I have the right idler gear arm for the lathe. The gears that are on it don't properly match the pitch of the rest of the gears, and the cross feed screw was sleeved to accept these other gears. I removed the sleeve and where the South Bend gears I have were to small they are now too large. Not sure what direction to go here. I am no where ready to try to make gears, parts for something thing old are either unobtainable or very expensive form what I have seen. I am trying to figure out to I just sell the lathe (have $500 in it currently). Do I convert it to CNC and use a 100 year old lathe hanging 21 century parts all over it to make it useful, or what other options do I have. I need some guidance here and I am hoping someone here can help.
I have been wrenching for a LONG time. Remember changing sparkplugs with dad when I was 5 or 6. Pulled the wheel off a 73 Duster when I was 14 and repacked wheel bearings so I could go on a date so basically I been w0rking on cars longer than I have been legal to drive them. Decided one horrible day when I was 17 laying under a 78Volarie Wagon pushing a 904LA tranny back into place that as soon as I had my own money I would have a garage and my own tools so I wouldn't need to lay in gravel to work on cars any more. It tool a while but I made it to the point that the last purchases were a mill and a lathe. When my 15 year old son decided he wanted to go to school for welding and machining, I pulled the trigger on an Excello 604 mill. Once that was home the lathe was next order of business. This is where my lack of experience bit me and I am now trying to figure out what to do next. I bought a 13 inch South Bend cone drive lathe that's a late 20's or early 30's model. It's a Series O. The lathe is tight for it's age. Measured runout on the chuck is +/- .003 and the slop in the bearings is non-existant. I don't have a reference bar to check the table for square, but I also have +/-.001 slop in the carriage when pushed and pulled on referencing compound from the chuck. Problem is that the gentleman that owned the lathe until his death was a machinist. He made modifications to the manual change gear assembly and while I have some change gears, I have no idler gear and not sure I have the right idler gear arm for the lathe. The gears that are on it don't properly match the pitch of the rest of the gears, and the cross feed screw was sleeved to accept these other gears. I removed the sleeve and where the South Bend gears I have were to small they are now too large. Not sure what direction to go here. I am no where ready to try to make gears, parts for something thing old are either unobtainable or very expensive form what I have seen. I am trying to figure out to I just sell the lathe (have $500 in it currently). Do I convert it to CNC and use a 100 year old lathe hanging 21 century parts all over it to make it useful, or what other options do I have. I need some guidance here and I am hoping someone here can help.