… and that’s all you needed, because you are a rockstar. 
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Thanks everyone for the diligent work. I know the new lathe is close to being operational.
I seem to recall that we don’t have the tooling for the old lathe to cut RH shoulders on part - I don’t know if it’s an issue with not having LH cutters or with the tool holder itself. Either way, do we either have or plan to get that tooling for the new lathe?
This has since been corrected…
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Is that a replacement for the inner plastic speed selector that was epoxied?
Yes. It sure is. Colchester wanted 624$. To make it out of aluminum would have been 36$. But we had that steel that David commandeered. It is about 3.125 in diameter, so really close to the outside dimensions we needed.
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Team,
Today I spoke to a sales/applications fellow at a real industrial felt supplier, Sutherland Felt, and learned that F1 grade felt, usual 1/4" thick is what is used for the chip sweepers on lathes and mills. Unfortunately, his minimum order size for that material is 7.5 ft sq.
So I have placed an order for that material with Grainger Supply for less than 1 foot sq. We will have to figure out how to cut it to size for the holders; perhaps regular snips can do it.
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I can think of a fantastic way to cut it.
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CAD it, laser it. Felt is just hair, if it is real felt.
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I vote for the foot break if we can get it. Hands free to kill rotation was pointed out during training on the old lathe and I quickly learned it’s value not just as a safety feature - but as the best way to break rotation without any hands or other fiddly bits in the mix.
It’s also a great feature to have for when one of us catches someone else making a bone head move on the equipment and we can freeze it before the accident occurs without putting our hands into the mix. I know - super rare - shouldn’t happen - but I can see how it might save someone from a tragedy.
This lathe has two ways of stopping it and both engage the magnetic brake that stops faster than the Colchester. Our model did not come designed with a foot brake. There has been some discussion about adding one but it was felt, and I concur, that rewiring it and messing with the existing interlock magnetic brake system and adding the mechanical system to do this to produce a “hacked safety feature” would not be wise given it has two stops that engage a magnetic brake.
Also, this machine has a safety cover for the chuck. Machine will not start if the chuck engagement lever is engaged - the two “on” switches" are interlocked. Additionally, all chuck keys for this lathe will be the spring loaded type so they can’t be left in when starting.
The past incident, if you are pulled forward you can’t use a foot brake because you’re being bent at the waist which makes you unable to move you feet forward to step down. The leverage fulcrum point is at your waist so your legs want to move backward. However, with stop buttons/levers available to both hands you can reach to either side as can anyone near you to make it stop.
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Some more progress on the new speed handle for the lathe. @IanLee & @Photomancer gave me a hand Friday evening. After class this afternoon @BobKarnaugh & I worked on the last bit of turning. We then put on the Bridgeport & counterbored the hole for the socket head screw to go in as well as the cap. Tomorrow I hope to broach the keyway then turn a handle for it.
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And the new handle is now broached. It really is not difficult at all to do.
I still need to check the depth but someone was using the lathe at the time.
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Ok, more progress. Pushing ahead. David @Photomancer found the oil for the apron to oil the ways. We topped that off last night. I added coolant as well. Turned a handle out of 3/4" cold rolled & welded to the assembly. With the handle broached, I found that there is a slight inverse dome on the arbor press. At the time I was pressing the broach through, I was more concerned about breaking the broach. I would back the arbor off every few teeth to make sure there wasn’t side load. With the slight dome, the broach put more cut out on back side. But the handle still fit ok. So all that is left on the handle is to transfer the color dial to the new handle & attach.
Also on the power feed, it does appear to be clutched. I can engage the power feed then hold the axis handle that is being power fed, it will then pop the engagement lever out.
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Nice! Gonna toss it in the tumbler for a bit to shine 'er up?
Actually, when we put the anodized aluminum cover around the outside that show the gear selector positions, you won’t be able to see much of the “puck”. There’s a cap that fits into the top. that covers that and the retaining screw.
Tim did a really really great job on this, and tensioner assembly, and … you get the idea. Super Hero!
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He’s like JB Weld and 3-in-1 oil, but better.
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Tim did a great job … And he was able to weld something! This is a win-win!
I think Machine Shop may want to consider getting a dedicated welder just for Tim so he won’t stray over to that other metal working area … he gets to much done for us! Will put on next month’s agenda.
At the very least he could Teach:
- If it’s metal, it’s weldable: Why use a tap and die when you can weld it.
- Using the Cold Cut Saw as part of the Weld Prep process for better welds
- Machining Weldments: When grinding alone isn’t pretty enough
- Over-machined it? Who says you can’t put the metal back?
Truly thanks for all the work you’ve done on the so many tools. Will be getting some metal for tables and storage racks … all will need welding.
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Funny thing is I pondered welding the part of the keyway back up. Then re-boring it & running the broach back through it.
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