New To Me Mckenzie Lathe

Amazing how gratifying just cleaning things up can be. Coming along nicely. Mike
 
There is one thing in the apron that I wasnt completly sure of and I'll get a video tomoro that might better explain what I'm curious about but basically that small gear in the center right next to the beveled gear looks like it may have at one point meshed with the bevel gear, the small gear looks like the edges have been sheared off and the small gear is on a connical plate and the large gear behind it has the corresponding taper but, they spin independent of eachother. The large gear behind the small gear runs the cross power feed and the small gear engages with the gear train to move the saddle along the Z-axis so is that gear suppose to mesh and if so is it like z-axis power feed or what's the purpose of that small gear? IMG_20161226_155022.jpg
 
I think that's clearance, not engagement. Check to see if it engages something else? I've run across something like this once in a Chinese lathe: gear that engages nothing. I figured it was part of the casting that they copied form another machine, but had no purpose on that machine. The lathe wasn't mine, and it worked fine when we reassembled it, so we ignored the extra gear. If I remember it was in the Rack and Pinion gear train, but I can't remember where. (Sorry I just don't have a photographic memory, and this was 20 years before digital photography)...
 
That's deffinetly a possibility I mean the McKenzie group was only around for about 20 years they supposedly had thier own patterns and stuff but who knows if they copied an already existing machine or not. I wish I had more information on the manufacturer I could call the Guelph industrial mesuem I heard they had some info on the McKenzie group.... I'll take a video Wich should explain a little better. I'll be at the machine tomoro night :)
 
Ok time for an update! I've figured out the whole tapered gear thing and what I thought was an extra gear in the rack gear train. Turns out I assembled that part slightly incorrectly :oops: I wasn't suppose to tighten down the knob... This knob pulls the small gear with a tapered back plate into the other tapered gear which can then drive the carriage along! Glad it was a simple fix and nothing major! So It turns out I do have power feed in both x and z! I'm absolutely loving how simple this thing is to work on! :D
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And all back together with a bit of polish ;) wasn't done polishing the hand wheel but i couldn't resist mocking it up for a photo!
Next on my list is the head stock and tail stock. I'm also going to mess around with the broken pieces of steady rest might try my hand at brazing. If anyones got any advice for a begginer brazing or anything I should know about old head stocks let me know!
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Izzy you should do a little practice brazing if you haven't brazed before, and I would recommend pre-heating the parts also.
I like that color green!
Mark S.
 
Thanks! I believe it's the original color or atleast close to it.
The only thing I really know about brazing is that the area has to be red hot I'm not really sure what rod to use or anything. I've got a few pieces of scrap cast iron I could practice on though.
I've got nothing to lose really I mean either the steady rest gets fixed or I learn something new! Either way I'm always eager to learn/try something new! :)
 
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