new (old) logan 920

[s1dev]

I'm in the process of acquiring a Logan 920 I've nevered owned a lathe before, what sort of preventative maintenance should I do before making chips and what should I be careful of?

 

[Chuck K]

Those are some really vague questions. Maintenance would depend on the condition of the lathe. If it's been sitting unused for years it might need a complete tear down and clean and lube. If it's been in use by a conscientious owner it might only need the usual day to day lube and maintenance...or anything in between. You could do yourself a big favor by downloading and reading the book "How To Run A Lathe" by south bend. It's a book that's been around forever but everything in it is still applicable. The 11" Logan is a great lathe. Good luck and have fun with it.

Chuck

 

[s1dev]

So I found out that I'm missing a toolpost, a compound rest, a threading dial, and the mechanism that advances the turret. Where can I find these?
it appears the v belt is worn out since it keeps slipping and there doesn't appear to be a way to change the tension other than adjusting the screws on the motor mount which is already fully out
there also is something odd going on with the gears, all of the visible ones are turning although the leadscrew is not, is it possible a gear is missing in the thread per inch selection lever area?

I have what the previous owner said is the manual although it doesn't make mention of the turret much at all

 

[Chuck K]

I didn't realize that the 920 was a turret machine. Do you have a standard tailstock for it also? I think my logan manuals have the turret breakdown in them. You might not have the original Logan manual. A few pics of your lathe would go a long way toward getting answers to some of your questions. The tool holder isn't a big problem. You can get a Chinese Aloris knockoff for around 100 bucks. Your going to want to find a compound for it. Logan parts are plentiful. If the machine has the rear mounted motor assembly (again pics would help), the belt adjustment is the stud sticking through the top of the countershaft cover. When you run the machine do any gears in the quick change gearbox turn? Is the tumbler on the back of the headstock in the forward or reverse position? If it's in neutral the lead screw won't turn.

Chuck

 

[s1dev]

I've figured out that the bolts on top just sit in the holes and by tighting the bolts it tightens down on the tools, one of the bolt's threads needs to be run through a die. I believe the threaded rods on the end are for depth but they were in a bag of tooling when I received the lathe. I didn't notice it before, but maybe someone took the turret and the gear cover from another, restored, lathe?


It appears that someone attempted to make a toolpost for it but it doesn't hold any of the tools that came with it

These I couldn't figure out what they were. the nuts on the part on the right are cotter pinned


The pulley in the back of this picture turns free of the rod although when the set-screws were taken out to get a look at it and the shaft was turned there was no movement at the bottom of the hole. it appears to have enough grip to turn the chuck
I forgot to get a picture of the belt that's slipping but its the one in the cover behind the drum switch


Also, the lever that engages the gears for the powerscrew was in the up position. all the gears that were visible from the left side were turning, although when looking up into the quick change gear box, there was no movement

 

[jererp]

When I bought my 850, one of the first things I did was purchase the parts manual from Logan Actuator. I got both the paper copy and an electronic copy. My electronic copy has an exploded view and parts list for the turret you have. Paper copy does not. It is the LA 70 pilot wheel turret. The third picture from the top appears to be parts of the indexing mechanism for the turret. They were probably removed to keep the index mechanism from turning. Does it lock securely to the lathe bed? If so, then you may not be missing much, if any, of the mechanism. If all the parts are there, you may want to consider selling it. There aren't as many of them around, and could help fund getting the other parts you need. I know I've been asked if I would like to get rid of mine....so far I am keeping it.

 

[Chuck K]

Your drive belt between the motor and countershaft is tightened by the adjuster behind the motor. Looks like you have a machine that was setup for production work. You have the double cross slide rather than a compound....turret rather than conventional tailstock. It kind of limits what you can do with the lathe. If you want to turn, bore, tap, and part small pieces you have the perfect setup. For most hobby machinists a compound and a plain tailstock is a bit handier. I have one of those turrets if you find that you need a few parts. I haven't looked at it for some time, but I think it just has a broken handle on it.

Chuck

 

[s1dev]

just missing a spring and a pin which I'll probably acquire from mcmaster carr as Logan Actuator wants $37.25 for the spring and $10 for the pin.
what's a ballpark figure for the completed turret? Is it enough to get a compound and tailstock?
Also turns out that both the belts are too small which seems to be causing a significant portion of my problems

 

[Chuck K]

When you say "Also turns out that both the belts are too small which seems to be causing a significant portion of my problems", are you referring to the flat belt that drives the spindle and v belt from the motor to countershaft...or do you have 2 v belts on the motor pulleys? That would certainly cause some slippage.....unless you have pulleys with no steps. I have no idea what the market is for turrets. If someone wanted one bad enough and they had a parts lathe with a cross slide and tail stock, they would probably be willing to work out a trade that at worst wouldn't cost you a whole lot. It looks like your going to need the top of the cross slide and the compound. I'll look through my parts today and see if I have any of those parts. I sold most of one parts machine, but I think some of the cross slide is still around. I might have a tail stock thats missing the spindle. I would just have to look.

Chuck

 

[s1dev]

The V belt is 37" where the manual says 40" and the flat belt is pulling the flat belt pulley for the V belt into the nut for the drum switch mount