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Andre
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In the shop before I wanted to go any further on my experiment rifle build, I wanted to make sure my new South Bends capillary oilers were working. They wick up oil from the oil reservoir in the headstock to lubricate the plain bearings. Since this felt wick acts as a filter also if it gets clogged the spindle will run dry and gall. So I wanted to make sure these were in good shape. I lifted the spindle and pulled them out, they were oily and all black. I soaked them in paint thinner and squeezed them like a sponge repeatedly until they were clean. Only took about a minute each. I then flushed out the front bearing oil reservoir with the left over solvent and Kerosene. I put it all back together and adjusted the bearings and it ran nice and free with little play.
I then part off the end of the rifle barrel, only 7/16" diameter with .22 caliber bore down the middle. Just a thin tube basically. While parting it off, using the power crossfeed, the spindle just growls to a halt, and the flat belt slips. I immediately shut the motor off and remove tension from the belt. Nothing was caught except for some reason the carriage moved to the right and nearly ripped the tool from the holder during parting. It didn't break though. Next time I will lock the carriage, but this was only the beginning of the day....
I then rotate the spindle to see whats up. Nothing. It's dead stuck, it stalled out the flat belt and I can't move it my hand......
I remove the bearing blocks and nothing looks bad. No galling, plenty of oil, no sign of anything gone wrong thankfully. I readjust the bearings, add a ton more oil and finish parting off the barrel, then face it. I notice while facing the bore of the barrel is not centered with the OD. This was not unusual in cheap barrels, and actually I expected it.
I extend out the barrel from the collet closer so I can use the steady rest with a cats head to align the bore of the barrel the chamber, turn, and thread the barrel. Well I'll be darned! The steady rest doesn't fit the lathe
anic: It is for a 13" swing model, like my lathe, but is either too far to the left or too far to the right of the spindle on the carriage or tailstock V way....
So off with that idea, I mount the 4 jaw on the spindle so I can offset the barrel that way, well guess what. The 12" chuck doesn't close enough to grip the skinny barrel......
Looks like I need a a copper ring around the barrel to space the jaws out and make a rear spider.......
Some days just don't go as planned!
I then part off the end of the rifle barrel, only 7/16" diameter with .22 caliber bore down the middle. Just a thin tube basically. While parting it off, using the power crossfeed, the spindle just growls to a halt, and the flat belt slips. I immediately shut the motor off and remove tension from the belt. Nothing was caught except for some reason the carriage moved to the right and nearly ripped the tool from the holder during parting. It didn't break though. Next time I will lock the carriage, but this was only the beginning of the day....
I then rotate the spindle to see whats up. Nothing. It's dead stuck, it stalled out the flat belt and I can't move it my hand......
I remove the bearing blocks and nothing looks bad. No galling, plenty of oil, no sign of anything gone wrong thankfully. I readjust the bearings, add a ton more oil and finish parting off the barrel, then face it. I notice while facing the bore of the barrel is not centered with the OD. This was not unusual in cheap barrels, and actually I expected it.
I extend out the barrel from the collet closer so I can use the steady rest with a cats head to align the bore of the barrel the chamber, turn, and thread the barrel. Well I'll be darned! The steady rest doesn't fit the lathe
anic: It is for a 13" swing model, like my lathe, but is either too far to the left or too far to the right of the spindle on the carriage or tailstock V way....So off with that idea, I mount the 4 jaw on the spindle so I can offset the barrel that way, well guess what. The 12" chuck doesn't close enough to grip the skinny barrel......
Looks like I need a a copper ring around the barrel to space the jaws out and make a rear spider.......
Some days just don't go as planned!
