Seneca Falls Star #30 lathe Resto-Mod

When we first got this machine moved into some good light and give it a good once over, I noticed some peculiarities that needed to be addressed. The first thing being the oddball taper in the tailstock quill. It was not quite right to be a #2 morse because the big end seated before the small end and left some wiggle. The small end of the socket was bigger than a #2, and to clean it up for a #2 was out of the question, so I bored it to a #3 on my lathe then finished up with a # 3 morse reamer. While I was at it, I set it up in the mill and cut graduations on the quill for quick reference.
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It didn't come with a dial on the crank end like most lathes of the era, so while I was on a dial binge, I made one for it. The original retainer nut had to be turned down so a hollowed out dial would fit, and it is large enough to read fairly easy.
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Another thing missing was a graduated dial on the compound. After I pulled the screw, it was found to be a 14 tpi, which comes out to .0714285" per revolution. So when I made the dial, I just made 72 lines and called it close enough.
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Although it was optional at the time, there was no thread dial, or a provision for mounting one. Once I figured out the gear size, I made the unit using a couple of 1" pipe caps for the flares top and bottom, and a scrap piece of barrel for the middle and brazed them together. I added the angle iron bracket and tipped it slightly so the gear meshed with the leadscrew helix.
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It was cramped fit around the half nut lever, so a knob was added to the lever to better access.
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WOW! I'm impressed. What a project! I once built an airplane which I flew for twenty years. It was quite a project, so I can appreciate excellent work. Now I have a goal for my lathe, but I don't think I've got enough years left to do it.
Cheers, Chuck
 
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