Old lathe repair today

[AGCB97]

A while ago, the back gear clutch on my 1920 (that's the year) Springfield lathe (cone head) stopped working. I remembered that when I 1st got this lathe, I found 1 or 2 bolts in this that were loose. At that time and until yesterday I did not understand how it works as it is hard to see w/o taking it apart. These bolts and nuts were almost impossible to access. So, I tightened as seemed appropriate, not realizing that there was a nut and jam nut which would have kept them from loosening.

So yesterday, I removed the spindle using my gib crane lift and set it on a barrel. the back gear slipped right off, and the problem was apparent immediately. There are 2 drum clutches that work together. One of them locks the back gear to the spindle while the other releases the direct drive of the spindle from the main input end. When the lever handle is moved the other way, the actions are reversed. These look just like the rear drum brakes of an older car. The bolts in question are the 'brake adjusters'. There are 2 per clutch. Easy to see and get at when sitting apart from the lathe, but very difficult to access when assembled.

While I had the spindle removed, I also replaced the glued together serpentine drive belt with a new uncut serpentine belt. The glued one has been working good for over 5 years.

I made 2 special crow foot wrenches to adjust these bolts when all was reassembled.

Today, on day 2, I will finish assembly by installing the bearing caps, and replacing 3 covers. Then do a thorough cleaning and lube of the entire lathe.

Thanks for looking.

Special crows foot wrenches.
Aaron

 

[sdelivery]

I like the special tools.
In my part of the world special tools were common and showed some ingenuity.
Good Job

 

[T Bredehoft]

Smile

 

[Manual Mac]

How apropos, I’ll be building a 3/4” slightly longer crowsfoot to tighten the
(impossible to get to) lower jam nuts on my 3 point hitch wood chipper tomorrow.

 

[Dan Krager]

wrong thread.