New Hydrashift Owner

mukymuk

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Dec 17, 2016
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Hi guys. I recently bought a hydrashift 10 and while moving it into my garage it fell over and broke some hand wheels and levers.

I want to try to repair the damage and could sure use some guidance. I'm new to the hobby and have read/watched a lot but have no real practical experience.

Here's a picture of how it landed:
2016-10-19 11.17.14.jpg

The carriage hand wheel looks like it contacted first. The casting fractured, but I have all the pieces and they all fit together well. Was wondering if it could be salvaged--brazed or otherwise rejoined? I'd like to get this fixed first as its the only show-stopper than I'm aware of right now.

2016-10-26 11.41.21.jpg 2016-10-26 11.49.50.jpg

I can see that there is a pin through the wheel, but it's not clear to me how to remove it so I can get wheel off.
2016-12-16 23.33.36.jpg 2016-12-16 23.04.04.jpg
The cross feed handwheel was pretty much destroyed--I have some of it but I have no idea where the knob went and I'm missing some of the casting. The dial looks undamaged, but the screw is bent at the very end where the handwheel attaches. The rest of the screw seems ok as I can move the cross slide through it's entire range with no problems.
2016-10-22 12.29.52.jpg
As with the cross slide wheel, I'm not sure how to get the dial off to get at the screw. I can see what looks like some kind of pin.
2016-10-22 12.30.00.jpg

The next couple of issues don't seem like a big deal, but I wanted to include them just in case there's more to it than I think.

Lever bent upward a bit:
2016-10-26 11.41.42.jpg

End knob completely destroyed but lever seems to work:2016-10-22 12.24.55.jpg

Anyway, that's about it. Would greatly appreciate any pointers.

Thanks,
Shawn
 
Ouch! Hope no one was hurt.
I would start hunting around on eBay for parts, you might be able to fit hand wheels from other lathes by re-boring or adding a bushing.
 
Oops. Not that hard to do, very top heavy. That first wheel might be a good candidate for some epoxy. Does the pin have a slit in it, does it go all the way thru? It could be the often found rounded out hex set screw. Someone with the same machine will probably be along soon to clear it up. Welcome to the forum. Mike
 
That looks like it is probably a taper pin. If so, one end will be slightly bigger in diameter than the other. Hit the small end using a punch that fits it. Make damned sure you are hitting it on the small end and that it is a tapered pin! If it does not come out after a few solid smacks, stand back and regroup...
 
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Hey thanks for the advice guys.

I gave the pin a good whack and it didn't budge. I checked the manual and it is a tapered pin, and I'm pretty sure I'm on the small side of it, but it's in there real good.

I like the epoxy idea. I think that will work just fine and maybe I won't have to remove the wheel to do it. That's my plan for now.

Yeah, I know there's a few here with this lathe, so I'll wait for them to chime in.

Thanks again, guys.
 
Shawn
I'm sorry to see that!!! They ARE very top heavy machines!!
If you have it back up and on its feet, take a deep breath, relax and try not to get in a hurry.
You might be lucky in a way that the hand wheel took the hit and crumpled absorbing a lot of the energy. It can be brazed back together or a variety of other remedies including replacing it with a used wheel.
Before you do any disassembly on the carriage wheel you might clean the face, put an indicator on it and check the runout. Also check for binding while turning it.

From your pics of the pin, I would guess the one on the left is the big end and the right is the small end. I would measure them to be sure.
It appears that small end may have been bradded. File (or grind if your comfortable) until its flush. Then tap lightly using an appropriate size punch.

The cross slide screw is quite soft. I might consider trying to correct that bend with a piece of snug fitting pipe. Again set up an indicator, mark the high spot and note the deviation. Go slowly, bending it just a little bit at a time then re-indicate. Its soft and bends easily.
If you need to dissemble it, remove the two allen screws facing outward. The part they hold is screwed onto the shaft. If its not too bent it should unscrew (CCW) fairly easily. The pin in the knurled area does not have to be removed. Did I mention that the cross feed shaft is soft.......One other tidbit of information. The hole for the tapered pin may not be centered on the shaft. They seem to be hand drilled so even though you find an exact replacement handle, the pin may not fit without modifying the hole.

Keep us updated and welcome aboard!
 
Hi all,

I haven't indicated it for runout yet, but I did run the carriage down the full length and starts to bind about halfway between the headstock and the end. It moves fairly easily close to the head. It is a bit difficult to turn without a proper wheel, but I think it's quite a bit harder than it should be.

Is it possible I knocked the ways out of parallel?

Plum, you mentioned cleaning the face and checking for runout. Can you give a little more detail on what your talking about?
 
With a hit like that its possible to have damaged the ways. if its just a dent it may be possible to fix but if they are bent in some way, you might have a real problem. It is also possible to have bent the leadscrew, which could be straightened or replaced.
 
Shawn
Did you operate or get a demo on the machine when you purchased it? Under power or not? Did you feel any binding when operating the carriage by hand?
These are pretty well built machines, I would be really surprised if there were any issues with the ways not being parallel but I suppose its possible.
The pic of it on its side shows the carriage about halfway, Is that where the binding starts?
In regards to indicating the face. I was trying to get a feel for whether or not the carriage hand wheel pinion was bent. In reality indicating the face is inconclusive at best. The parts are not precision ground or machined and end play cannot be controlled, but thats where I would start. The paint should be removed. I use the orange stripper from H Depot and leave it on for 24 hours or more. It seems to work pretty well and doesn't require a lot of abrasion to get a clean surface. Once the surface is clean set up an indicator (base)on the carriage since it will move when you turn the wheel, and the measurement pin on the face. start at the outer edge of the flat, make a rotation and note the high spot with a marker and note the amount of deviation. Move the pin inward about a third of the way towards the shaft and repeat. Also indicate the end of the shaft. The Metrology forum is a good reference for general measurement setups if you need help, or pm me. (Im new too though.)

Since these repairs are not Cincinnati specific you might pose the evaluation questions in the Questions and Answers or restoration forum. There are far more experienced members here than I, and they are very helpful.
 
No unfortunately I don't know how well the carriage moved before I dropped it. I did see it under power but I didn't operate it.

It does seem to tighten up approximately where the impact was, but it stays tight even when I move the carriage well beyond that point. I know old lathes tend to wear near the head and less toward the tailstock. That could be what I'm seeing and without any experience to draw on, I'm left scratching my head.

For now I think I'll just fix what I know is wrong and go from there. I bought the lathe so I'd have something new to learn and tinker with. This isn't exactly what I had in mind, but might as well play the hand I was dealt.

Thanks for the advice!
 
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