The Stars Have Been In Alignment For Me This Week. Just Got My First Lathe, A D/r 11x36, 25-100

[thenrie]

Almost forgot. I need to make a correction to a statement I made in an earlier post.

I said Evaporust will not etch good metal, but only removes rust from rusted metal. I was wrong.

Evaporust will definitely etch good metal if left for too long in the solution. I found that out when I left the nose of my spindle soaking overnight. Temps were in the high 20s and low 30s in my shop (only a wood stove for heat). Evaporust works best when warm, but works even when cold, just takes longer. I left the spindle soaking overnight. When I pulled it out of the solution it left a dark line where the surface of the solution was. I figured it was just sludge, but when I cleaned it off with 0000 steel wool, I could still feel the line with my fingernail. I few strokes with some fine emery took it off, but it was definitely an etched line. So, just a word of caution.

 

[thenrie]

On Friday we had a bit of warm weather. Got up close to 70*. I enlisted the help of my son and placed the lathe bed and cabinet on my flatbed trailer and took them up to the house for cleaning (no water at the shop). I used Purple Power from Autozone. They had a 2-for-one sale on the stuff. It worked like a charm. I sprayed it on, waited a bit, them blasted all the muck off with my power washer. I went over it all a second time with the Purple Power and a green scrubber. She cleaned up pretty well. I dried off the bed ways with paper towels, because it started to flash-rust while I was finishing up cleaning the cabinet. I left them both in the sun to dry afterwards.

That afternoon I went ahead and applied the first coat of paint to the lathe bed. I used the reducer and catalyst and brushed it on. It flowed out very nicely and cured well, despite the cool weather. If I get another day or two of warm weather this week I'll put the finish coat on it.

On Saturday I sanded out the chip pan and applied the first coat of paint. I decided to paint it with the Light Ford Gray, like the lathe. The cabinet will get a darker gray. Again, I used the reducer and catalyst and brushed it on. It turned out well, but the weather cooled off again, so it still hasn't hardened completely. I'll give it a few more days before I try to apply the second and final coat.

Phone is still on the fritz. Hopefully I'll have pics by this weekend.

- - - Updated - - -


Getting exciting, guys! I started putting things back on the lathe bed for trial fits today. It's still sitting on the workshop floor right now, because I'm working on painting the chip pan and cabinet. I'm hoping things warm up enough by Thursday to put a final coat of paint on the bed and chip pan, and maybe get a coat of primer on the cabinet. I need to apply another coat on the gearbox casting as well.

On the gearbox, when I removed the threading guide plaque, I broke off two of the drive screw heads. A standard drill would not bite into them, so I bought a 5/64 carbide bit and tried to drill them out. The bit kept trying to slide off to the side. I broke the tip of the drill bit several times and had to regrind it. Finally, I just moved the plaque up about 3/16", marked the hole locations with a center punch, and drilled four new holes with the carbide bit. I then enlarged the holes to fit the new drive screws by re-drilling the holes with a 3/32 drill. I have filled and sanded the old holes and will apply a couple coats of paint. Shouldn't be able to tell the difference.

If the weather will give me a couple of warm days this week, I should be able to finish the last of my painting and get the lathe completely back together and on the cabinet again.

Next project will be to find a 3hp 3-phase motor to make into a phase converter.

It's all coming together and looking great, if I say so myself. Can't wait to get it running and making chips.

Sorry, no pictures. Phone is still on the fritz. Hopefully I'll be able to post some by this weekend.

 

[AR1911]

Tony, you DO realize you are destined for Hell for power-washing that lathe, right? :jester:

 

[chips&more]

Almost forgot. I need to make a correction to a statement I made in an earlier post.

I said Evaporust will not etch good metal, but only removes rust from rusted metal. I was wrong.

Evaporust will definitely etch good metal if left for too long in the solution. I found that out when I left the nose of my spindle soaking overnight. Temps were in the high 20s and low 30s in my shop (only a wood stove for heat). Evaporust works best when warm, but works even when cold, just takes longer. I left the spindle soaking overnight. When I pulled it out of the solution it left a dark line where the surface of the solution was. I figured it was just sludge, but when I cleaned it off with 0000 steel wool, I could still feel the line with my fingernail. I few strokes with some fine emery took it off, but it was definitely an etched line. So, just a word of caution.

Nice job on your restoration! Evapo-Rust… I love the stuff! I did not know it could etch steel? Thanks for the insight. I do know it removes gun metal blue and black oxide finish, so be careful. And for a note, if I have a part to big for whatever reason, I just throw a rag soaked in the stuff onto the rusted area. Works just as good and saves on the amount of Evapo-Rust you use…Good Luck.

 

[thenrie]

Tony, you DO realize you are destined for Hell for power-washing that lathe, right? :jester:

Well, now wait a minute! All I power washed was the bed! Just the bed!anic:

Anyway, here she is in all her glory...on the floor of my shop. She'll look a little more glorious when I finish painting the cabinet and get her back on the top of it.



I still haven't finished with the gearbox, so it and the lead screw are missing in the photos. Maybe next week I'll have it all back together and on the cabinet.

Here's a couple shots of the befores:



Nice improvement, if I say so myself. I'm pleased with the way it is turning out. Now if I can just collect some more tooling without breaking the bank!

After I get it all finished and working, I'll post a complete list of what I have spent on the rebuild, so that others might be able to judge just how far they want to go and how much they may end up sinking into a "great deal on eBay", the way I did. No regrets, though, except that I wish my lathe had come with more tooling, like Tim's did :greenwithenvy:. Still, I feel pretty lucky to have come up with a taper attachment at a very affordable price. I'll eventually acquire or build a steady and a follow rest and a collet chuck, and little by little I'll collect the other stuff.

 

[GarageGuy]

That's an amazing transformation! Beautiful work! Hopefully now it will give you a lifetime of metal chips in return for your time and dedication. Tooling will come along. I find bits and pieces on Craigslist, and sometimes even score big. Be patient and check regularly, and you'll fill in much of what you need. Enjoy, you've earned it!

GG

 

[astjp2]

Well Tony, if you are still coming out to Utah, you can tear it back down and start scraping all of the ways that need it. I have the abilities to do it now. Tim

 

[thenrie]

It is looking pretty certain that we'll be heading to the Payson, Ut area. We're planning on putting the house up for sale in May. I'm going to be hauling all my tools out to my dad's place in Arizona and put them in storage until we find a place and get settled. Once I get a workshop in shape I'll haul everything up to Utah and get set up. Who knows how long that will all take, but once it's done, I'll sure be coming to see you, Tim. I think my bed is ok, but the ways on the saddle and tailstock could use some work. I'd like to learn how to scrape and do it well.

Back to the lathe. I have a question. The wipers on the saddle of my lathe were made of rubber. Before I noticed that, I bought some felt to make the wipers out of. What material are they supposed to be?

 

[astjp2]

Mine are felt and the 10" was felt also. Tim

 

[thenrie]

Just won an ebay auction for an 11" faceplate for my lathe. The owner had it listed as an L-1 mount, but looking at the photos with his tape measure, it is definitely a L-00 mount. I have bid on and watched a couple others that ended up selling for well in excess of $150. I picked this one up for $72 including shipping. I was the only bidder, I guess because of the mislabeled mount. It's not a genuine Rockwell faceplate, but who cares. I'm happy.)