# Rockwell 11" Lathe



## EricB (Dec 18, 2015)

So a while back (late October I believe) I picked up my first lathe! I know some others on here had seen it on Kijiji as well, it's an 11" Rockwell.








I must have done a good job of re-framing the ceiling, because I had a piece of very solid aluminum channel resting on two rafters in the ceiling with a 1/2ton chain-hoist hung from it and it lifted this 850 lbs. lathe out of the back of my truck and set it down on blocks without even a creak. The guy I bought it from didn't really know much about lathes at all, he owns a water-jetting company, but he was able to tell me that it basically sat unused for at least 15 years. It turned under it's own power so I started looking it over and realizing that nothing on it seemed to be working. Gear-box arms didn't want to move back and forth, half-nuts didn't want to engage, and then when they did they didn't want to disengage...

BUT I had done a ton of research on this lathe, it's a super solid little unit that had a ton of really nice options (this is the base model, no flame-hardened ways, no L0 spindle with collet chuck, no taper attachment) and the price was right. 

Got it home and it sat for quite a while since I've been busy with other things, but I finally started tearing into it the other day. Pulled off the quick-change gear-box, and the carriage/apron assembly. Nothing wanted to move freely, everything was filthy, and there was one broken shaft:













Believe it or not there are brass parts in this picture! The shaft doesn't worry me, I'll machine and heat treat a new one while I'm in school next month. Thankfully I have access to a solvent tank, so some quick work made things look a bit nicer...







Like magic! Everything moves, the gears all look brand-new, I tightened a couple of set-screws on the handle of the half-nuts and they work great! The next step is one I'm not overly looking forward to though, it's time to clean up the drive-system (has a variable speed system run by sheaves) and the spindle. A buddy of mine is supposed to lend me his solvent tank which would be a god-send since it would save the hassle of having to haul heavy parts to and from the other one. Anyways, as with everything I do this is going to be a bit of a longer-term project. I have too much else on the go all the time (machining for some friends' Lotus projects, gotta hang, hook-up, and vent the heater, tons of holiday stuff with friends and family...) but I'll keep you guys updated. The overall plan is to get it clean and running smoothly, then when I have time I'd love to do a full tear-down and paint it.


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## Jyman (Dec 18, 2015)

That's a nice looking lathe.  And It's amazing what a little clean up will do to a drive train. A lotus project, what kind of lotus is it?


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## PeterT (Dec 18, 2015)

I have a lot of respect for people who take on TLC refurb jobs in the heavy machinery department. Your parts look amazingly nice when cleaned up. I hope its a case of low use dormant sludge. From what I've read on forums, belt drive is actually nice to have. They run a bit quieter & smoother vs. gearhead & guys are retrofitting reasonable $ motor/VFD combo packages to give lots of speed range utility.


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## EricB (Dec 18, 2015)

Thanks, @Jyman! Yeah, just cleaning this thing up is making a world of difference. The Lotus projects are called a Locost 7. Here's some info on and a picture of one, and a link for the other:

http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=16618&start=60

1.6 litre DOHC from an 89 Toyota Corolla GTS
carbs from a Suzuki GSXR
Supra 5 speed
diff from an 86 Toyota Corolla GST
front spindles and brakes from 87 Toyota Van
seats from an early Miata







@PeterT thanks, that means a lot! Yeah, it's a variable speed system using drive belts and sheaves, so it can already go between 50RPM (geared) and 1500RPM (direct drive) with a regular motor hooked up to either 110V or 220V. It's going to be a wonderful little lathe to run with it just being cleaned up, but I really would love to restore it to it's former glory and make it something I can really show-off in the garage. Looks like some ham-fisted putz ran the carriage into the chuck a lot more than once, so there is some damage but it's mainly aesthetic (I'd still like to fix that up someday too)

I'll be on the lookout for accessories for it once I have a little cash again! I'd love to replace the spindle with the L0 and have the ability to use collets, the taper-attachment would be awesome too, and the follower-steady would be on the list as well. *Sigh* some day. For now I'll have to keep it to necessary things. Speaking of necessary: It's time for new belts. Merry X-mas, little Rockwell! 2016 is going to be your year to shine!


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## John Conroy (Dec 18, 2015)

Way to go Eric. That's a nice machine. My lathe was in similar condition when I got it. It came out of a furniture manufacturing business and was covered with upholstery glue and sawdust. It was a great feeling to get it all cleaned up and running. Have fun!

John


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## Matt_b_m (Dec 18, 2015)

Ah yes! The 4A-GE!! That's awesome. I remember way back I used to have a Tercel wagon, with the 3A. I remember dreaming of finding the 4A-GE and doing a transplant! If i remember right, the A code blocks and transmissions mated, which would have really made the 4wd Tercel wagon a real blast!

Eric, you've inspired me to clean up the old lathe I picked up this week. I have been going slow at it, but I think i should really tear it down and go over it with a fine tooth comb. I'll capture some before and afters.


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## EricB (Dec 18, 2015)

@John Conroy Thanks! I'm already having fun, and I'm not even machining yet. You won't be able to beat the grin off my face when the first part comes off of it!

@Matt_b_m Haha that first bit was all gibberish to me, I just cut metal for those guys. What they're doing is beyond me.  Definitely clean up your lathe! Machines are so much happier when they're clean (what I always used to tell customers when I was a bike mechanic) everything just works better. You should for sure get some photos and either make a thread or post them here, I'd love to see them.

Does anyone know if you can use link belts with CVT sheaves? I know they're supposed to be a great way to replace v-belts, but I don't know about using them for my primary drive...


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## PeterT (Dec 18, 2015)

Is this the speed changer or what am I looking at here?
What kind of spindle nose does it have?
You mentioned collets one day, do you mean just getting a collet chuck & set or one of those collet closer thingy's?


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## EricB (Dec 18, 2015)

@PeterT The lever you posted there is to switch between Direct Drive, Loose Spindle, Locked Spindle, and In Gear (low RPMs) The speed select lever looks like this:







(not a photo of mine, just Google Image Search) it operates this system:







(again, not my photo) so that jack-shaft moves up and down with those two adjustable sheaves on it to change the drive-ratio.


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## EricB (Dec 18, 2015)

Sorry @PeterT I forgot about the second part of your comment. I currently have a threaded spindle that accepts threaded chucks. It's a decent system, but it's old and it makes turning in reverse very dangerous since the chuck could just unscrew and come off. There was an option available on these lathes (at no extra cost apparently!!) to get an L00 spindle, which is a tapered spindle with a key on it. It accepts chucks with a ground taper in them, is very precise, and allows the use of collets mounted directly in the spindle (no chuck) which is very useful for a variety of reasons (holds VERY tight, reduces vibration, doesn't mark the surface of whatever it's holding, ultra-precise, allows for extremely quick changes or advances of material being machined...)

I can't find a photo of the threaded spindle (I'll try to remember to take a shot of mine when I have a chance) but here's one of the L00 spindle. There's one on eBay right now, but money is too tight to justify it (don't judge me if I cry)


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## Jyman (Dec 18, 2015)

Oh i know the locost 7 very well, I started building one when I was in high school that would be about 13 years ago.  I wish I would have got to finish it, my parents moved to the states just after I finished high school and had to sell it, I always wondered what happened to the car


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## EricB (Dec 18, 2015)

After some research it sounds like my drive system is called a Reeves drive? Since it's not a speed-actuated CVT. Still not sure about the belts though.

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## John Conroy (Dec 19, 2015)

Eric, link belts were never intended for continuous service. They were originally designed and marketed for emergency repairs and have two advantages over V-belts. Machine down time is minimized. And spares stockage is reduced. On the other hand, they have several disadvantages. They cost more (unless you buy cheap Chinese). They are not reversible. Their load rating is about 1/3 that of the equivalent V-belt. They stretch. And they are more prone to slippage. The only case where a link belt runs better than a V-belt is when you use a brand new link belt to replace a 70 year-old V-belt that should have been changed 50 years ago.


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## EricB (Dec 19, 2015)

@John Conroy yeah, I know they were meant for temporary fixes, but a lot of guys who restore older equipment swear by them saying they improve power a bit, and reduce vibration a lot. The vibration reduction especially drew my attention on a lathe, but you're right, I forgot they can't run in reverse. Like I said, with the threaded chuck I doubt I'll run in reverse much, but it'd be good to have the option. Sucks that I have to pull the spindle to get the new belts on, but such is life.

I do plan on using link belts on the drill-press when the time comes though, I'd like to see if what others say is true.


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## John Conroy (Dec 19, 2015)

Hey Eric, if you want to make that shaft sooner than next month you are welcome to use my lathe and mill.


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## EricB (Dec 19, 2015)

John, if I can find some time I will definitely take you up on that! I'd like to see your shop sometime, you have some nice machines. Unfortunately 'tis the season to be busy, fa-la-la-lala la-la Time's booked. 

Seems like the only things holding me back from getting Rocky running smoothly are the belts, the shaft, and the long-overdue lubricating and adjustments that this machine require. Oh, and I'd like to find some nice levelling-feet for it as well.


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## sorrelcreek (Dec 19, 2015)

Just level the lathe with some shims than your first project on her can be making some nice leveling pads. She looks like it will be a great lathe omce you get it running. If you need any help with a shafts let me know won't take much to machine a new one.


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## EricB (Dec 19, 2015)

@sorrelcreek thanks for the offer! Yeah, it won't take much to machine at all, I could do it at my work, but if I go in for a 15 minute side job I come out 2 hours later (the manager gets bored and chatty) and since I have other work to do on it right now that shaft can wait until last.

I could definitely make some leveling feet, but I have other projects for myself and others so it's pretty tempting to just buy something and get it going. If I am just going with simple leveling feet I'll make them, but I'm pretty tempted to go with something like these guys here:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2P80S-2-Leve...lb-Capacity-/111508071642?hash=item19f66624da






They're made in China of course, but they're rated plenty high for my purpose and  the ease of moving the machine around would be fantastic especially since I'm not finished working on the garage itself yet. I can move it in other ways of course, but I have a feeling that if I got a set of these for my lathe they'd soon be on other things as well. Most places that sell them have them priced out of my range, but this ebay store has the same made in china product as all the others for half the price...


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## EricB (Dec 24, 2015)

Wait... how does it go back together again?













...I know all that stuff belongs on there somewhere, but I don't think the cigarette butts and other random gross shit that was under the head-stock does.







But the motor spins like a champ! With new belts this thing will purr like a kitten! (Disclaimer: very boring video to anyone who isn't me.  )


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## EricB (Dec 30, 2015)

Well yesterday it was time to get the v-belts out. They actually aren't in bad shape (unlike the vari-speed drive belts) but they're still the OEM belts. With how much you have to take the machine apart to change these belts (headstock has to come off) it's worth it to just do it now and not have any hassles. I'm ordering all Gates brand belts through Motion Canada. Dealt with a guy at the one on 57th ave named Roland and I'm very happy with him so far (so long as he calls me today  ) so I'd highly recommend trying them out if any of you guys need to pick something up. The guys at Acklands didn't really seem to want to help me "We don't stock belts here", their website has belts but they didn't mention ordering or anything, and the guy at Greggs was clearly VERY confused by belts. Anyways, Motion Canada. Give them a shot.

Anyways, back to removing the belts. Now that I've beheaded my lathe and the headstock is laying on the floor of my garage I can start the lobotomy. First step is pulling stuff off the back. I've already removed the feed reversing lever and it's components, now for the gear, lockring, spacer, and woodruff key on the spindle, and the lower backgears shaft.

This:






To this:






The reason for those two bolts is that Rockwell actually thought ahead when designing this lathe and made it serviceable! What a cool idea, right?? They even list how to do this whole process step by step in the regular ol' owners' manual! Those bolts get threaded in to that bearing retainer slowly and evenly, and they pull out the whole rear-bearing of the spindle. It's a fantastic design. A lot of guys when talking about these lathes seem to think you have to actually pull the spindle. This is not the case. Just pull the rear bearing for the spindle, move the lower back-gear shaft that's housed in the headstock out of the way by loosening the hex-headed bolt you see here:







Now the belts can slip out  through the opening at the back of the spindle:







And then around the spindle, back through the opening, and slip past the lower-shaft and bull-gear. It's a bit of a tight fit I will admit, but even with half-frozen hands I managed to get them out and I'm not too worried about getting the new ones in.







Sorry again for the awful pictures. My CAT phone's camera is pretty lack-lustre. Maybe when I'm able to get some jobs through the garage I'll actually be able to get a decent camera.  This weekend I should be picking up the solvent tank my buddy's lending me and then I can clean-up the headstock itself. Once that's done and I have some belts it can start goingack together! In the meantime I bought some kerosene to clean the bed and cabinet a bit, and I might find some time to start figuring out the layout for my heater (long overdue)


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## EricB (Jan 1, 2016)

Today the serious scrubbing began. Unbolted the ways from the base, but have to wait for a bit more muscle to lift them off. In the meantime I took some kerosene and a brush and started washing away decades of neglect as best I could. Gonna need some kind of plastic scraping tool apparently. No photos because there isn't really anything to show, but I'm starting to see paint in places again.


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## John Conroy (Jan 1, 2016)

It's a crappy part of the re-build but I'm sure the results will be worth it.


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## EricB (Jan 1, 2016)

Yeah john, fun it is not. I'm also taking this thing more apart than I initially planned on, but I'm actually pretty happy about it. Since it turned out that I need to replace the belts right now it just made sense to go right through it. I still haven't taken all the sub-assemblies down to nuts & bolts, but I might consider doing them one by one as I put it back together. We'll see. I need to pull the jack-shaft for the vari-speed drive out of the cabinet too it looks like, because the plate in the middle that should move back and forth to adjust the ratio doesn't want to move at all.


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## EricB (Jan 2, 2016)

I don't know about you, but I have often wondered to myself "Eric, what would it look like if half a mouse spent a few decades in a lathe cabinet?" Well boys, now I know. It looks a little something like this:








The FUN part is...

...I haven't found the other half yet! Always need something to look forward to. In other news, I went to town today and pulled the ways off the cabinet. I hadn't planned on it, but there was so much crap to clean out that it seemed worthwhile. I found Skittles, Spitz shells, chips, dust, what I think used to be insulation, gum, and a bunch of cigarette butts. Made for an appetizing afternoon.













I also noticed the other day that the plate over my switch says that this is a 3-phase 550 machine with 1.5hp!







Which is funny since the motor (both the switch and the motor are OEM) disagrees.







I also pulled out the Reeves drive sheeves because the middle plate that is supposed to slide back and forth to adjust the drive ratio doesn't want to move. No pictures of that, though. I'm getting closer and closer to the point where I may as well just to a complete tear-down and paint, but I want it running NOW!  I guess this just means I have to buy another lathe to use while I fix up this lathe...


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## Matt_b_m (Jan 2, 2016)

Hahah! Classic find.

Nice work Eric. I ran my lathe a bit over  Christmas and I'm going to build a new stand. Since I still remain inspired by your tear down, I figure I might as well build it back on a new stand. Now of course I'm dazzled by VFD research and the ease of a DRO and QCTP. Ahh the acronyms....

I'm really looking forward to seeing how far you go with yours, and I agree, you're this far, show the gang some shiny new paint!


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## EricB (Jan 3, 2016)

Haha thanks Matt! Oh man, the acronyms. Just wait until you get into inserts. They aren't actually acronyms, because they don't stand for anything but they have letter designations. "For this step I'd probably take down the DNMG 432 and put up a VNMG 331. Then on the boring bar use a TNMG 433..." the "NMG" part of all those can change too based on the features of the insert like different chip-breakers and wipers. It gets pretty ridiculous.

What did you make on the lathe? Keep us up to date on what you go with as you upgrade it too, I for one need to choose a QCTP and would love to hear some reviews. I'd be interested in your stand-build too.

Dammit Matt, you're not supposed to ENCOURAGE me to keep tearing further into this! You're like the guy who brings a bottle of scotch to an intervention!! Hmmmm, what colours to use... 

*EDIT: *On a further note, I think I've decided that I can't in good conscience hand over money for those cheap knock-off caster/leveling feet I was looking at. Instead I'll be looking at making some feet like @sorrelcreek suggested and for ease of moving it seems like a good excuse to start fabbing up a lathe dolly, possibly a toe-jack, and at some point I need to get to work on a small gantry crane. I had to get my brother's help to lift the ways off the cabinet, and I should have asked for help pulling the headstock off too (this thing has some heft to it) so the gantry crane sure would have come in handy a couple of times already.


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## Matt_b_m (Jan 3, 2016)

It's funny you mention the insert acronyms, I had a "Kijiji Haul" as referenced by @Jwest7788  in another thread, I literally ended up with handfuls, so that leads to more reading and well exactly as you indicated, it gets deep quick. 
Speaking of which, would a "Kijiji Hauls" sticky be of any fun?

As for what I made, let's call it a it a round thing with some shoulders. Nothing more and just me fooling around to feel the machine cutting. It did alright with just grabbing one of the hss tools that came with it. I honestly didn't even look to see if it needed to be ground, just lined it up and went. I noticed some vibrations in the whole lathe that are related to it not being levelled on the floor and the stand needs to be wider with more bulk in my opinion. I had to buy a 10' length of 10" channel iron the other month and since I only needed 16" of it, I instantly realized I now have a perfect place to use most of the rest. The stand right now is just a few thoughts on design, but my wife heard me talking about hockey pucks as levelling feet and sure enough Santa brough four of them! I'd love to simply bolt it to the concrete, but when I built my garage I heated my floor, so drilling isn't an option. I'm sure I can make it work fine without having to do so.
Haha it's all about encouragement now, I think you've passed the point of wipe it down, oil it and go. I've been wondering myself if I'd keep the factory green color on mine, or change it up...

Here is the piece I turned.


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## John Conroy (Jan 3, 2016)

Keep up the good work Eric, by the way if you need to borrow an engine crane I have one taking up space in my garage.

John


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## EricB (Jan 4, 2016)

Gotta start somewhere, Matt! In third-year we made the same little stepped piece like 8 times. It had 1 tight tolerance on OD, a radius, some chamfers, etc. You can learn a lot from goofy little things like that. I think a Kijiji Hauls thread is a good idea, @Jwest7788 is the man to talk to about it. As for bolting it to the floor, that really makes a difference on large lathes with nice thick pads, but for a small lathe you really don't need it. The lathes at NAIT aren't even bolted down. To get a nice finish in a bore at school one time I ran a really high RPM and got that little bugger shaking around a tiny bit. One of the CNC instructors looked a bit concerned. 

@John Conroy it's funny that you offer that, I know a guy who has one I was trying to borrow but he shares it with a few other guys. That sure would have come in handy! I might have to take you up on that at some point. I'd just like an excuse to come see your shop  Had the first day of school today too, sounds like this year might not have as much free-time in the shop to make the shaft I need, so I might bug you for that too. I might also use it as an excuse to get a bit more chummy with my neighbor who will hopefully help me get a job at one of the University machine shops some day.


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## John Conroy (Jan 4, 2016)

I welded up a base for my mill and my lathe from 2"X 2" square tubing with 1/4" wall thickness. I welded 1" nuts on each corner and used 1" threaded rod to make up the leveling legs and then added some 2" round by 3/4" thick stainless steel feet. This allow leveling, raising the machine high enough to move with a pallet jack or screwing on the heavy duty wheels I made up so it can be moved around easily.


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## EricB (Jan 5, 2016)

You aren't kidding those are heavy duty, John! Have you tried it yet, and does it roll smoothly with the wheels on? I forgot about a pallet jack, that might be the way to go, just pick up a cheap used one off Kijiji and make sure I can get it under my machines. I don't really NEED to build a frame at the bottom of my cabinet since it has 4 tabs for leveling feet already, but I might look at putting one together anyways. The only issue with a pallet jack is the room it will take up. I was thinking it would be pretty damn easy to fab up a system like what's shown below for moving machines around. They'd take up basically no space when not in use, but would definitely be more work than the pallet jack. I'll have to think on it for a bit.






*EDIT:* Hmmmmm, a pallet jack WOULD be just the ticket to move the motorcycle-stand around too though...


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## John Conroy (Jan 5, 2016)

I like his set up but I wonder if those plastic wheels would carry the weight of that big lathe. I'd be tempted to use some 4" steel wheels like you find on an engine crane. I moved my big mill around easily with the heavy duty wheels I made up. The first set of wheels I made used bearings like Tom Liptons front skate but I had trouble with the races splitting, they seemed to be brittle like glass, 
however Tom used larger bearings. The heavy duty wheels I made are pretty much bullet proof.

One of the reasons I built the frame under the lathe is that I felt it was too low and I was always bent over when using it, and I'm only 5'8" tall. Raising it 4" made it a much better height for me.


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## EricB (Jan 5, 2016)

They're supposed to be pallet jack wheels, so they should handle a fair bit of weight, but you might be right. If I remember right I think in his blog post when he actually moves his lathe in he has different wheels on there. Either way, for the stuff I'd be moving around I'm sure it would have a long service life, plus it would be easy enough once the lathe is set-up and running to make some steel wheels myself.

Yeah, I'm 6' so I'll have to take that into consideration as well. Honestly I actually prefer to be leaning over the machine a bit when I work, but I don't want to turn into a hunch-back either. I still haven't gotten that solvent tank or heard back from Motion Canada (less impressed now) about my belts, so maybe I'll have to switch gears a bit and go start fabricating some of this stuff. Better get cutting!


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## Matt_b_m (Jan 5, 2016)

Hey Eric, not sure what your lathe weights, but I did use a Canadian Tire ATV jack to scoot mine across the garage on its present stand. I believe mine lists at 800lbs. I only lifted it a half inch and it made the journey fine, slow and easy. You might find one cheaper on Kijiji than a pallet jack, just a thought if you're in a pinch.

I can't stop laughing at the wood cutting!


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## Jwest7788 (Jan 6, 2016)

EricB said:


> I think a Kijiji Hauls thread is a good idea, @Jwest7788 is the man to talk to about it.



Leave this with me, I'll make a sticky today!


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## EricB (Jan 6, 2016)

Matt, I have an ATV/motor-scooters jack, but it's not the most stable thing in the world and the lathe is pretty top-heavy. I'd be a bit scared. [emoji14]

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## EricB (Mar 16, 2016)

What's that? Something resembling PROGRESS??? Oh my lanta!

Yup, school's done! Had some fun, made some bottle openers, but now it's time to get back to work and try to get this lathe together. The last of the 4 belts I needed finally came in a couple of days ago, and today I machined the shaft that was broken. It's actually made out of non-mag (basically nickle) because it's what we had lying around.  I have decided not to bother with paint for now (as much as I'd love to) because I need this thing together and working. Hopefully someday I can get another lathe and do a full nuts and bolts tear-down on this lathe, but right now that's not in the cards. Anywho, here's a picture of the new shaft:







I actually made it stronger than the last one, because on the last one that small diameter you see came to a sharp point which made for a stress-point. I ground a braze-on to the width I needed and then radiused the end, so there is a nice large radius there (it's basically just a little oil reservoir) Now I need to crank out some leveling feet when I have a chance! Oh, and just for fun here's a photo of the bottle-opener I mentioned. It has HammerRing engraved on one side and Metal-Works on the other. That's the name of the small side business I'll be starting once the garage is up to snuff. I made a bunch for family and close friends and then had them anodized. The non-machined areas were sandblasted (before machining of course) and so it came out as kind of a two-tone colour since the bits of sand that were embedded don't take the dye:


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## EricB (Mar 16, 2016)

Oh! I forgot the other thing that is helping move this forward: I finally picked up the parts washer my buddy offered to lend me. I had to clean a shocking amount of junk out of it, it needs a new hose and new filters, but then I'll be able to wash the head-stock and start reassembly! I don't have any photos of it right now, but it's an older Zep Dyna Clean. (he got a bottle opener  )


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## John Conroy (Mar 16, 2016)

Looking good Eric.


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## Alexander (Mar 17, 2016)

That is the best looking bottle opener i have ever seen.


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## EricB (Mar 17, 2016)

Haha thanks, guys! I wish I could take credit for the design of the bottle opener, but I can't.

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## Jwest7788 (Mar 17, 2016)

That is a fantastic bottle opener. I made a bottle opener for a buddy once. He wanted to see the lathe and mini mill in action and challenged "Make the simplest functional thing you can think of". This came to mind, not sure where I spotted it first, but not my design concept. - Total work time, 20 minutes or so, 0 measurements taken, haha.


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## Janger (Mar 18, 2016)

Alexander said:


> That is the best looking bottle opener i have ever seen.



Yeah! How did you do the engraving Eric? Nice.


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## EricB (Mar 18, 2016)

Thanks, Janger! The whole thing was drawn in Mastercam, then tool-paths applied and a program spit out by a post processor. Made them on a Haas TM2 

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## EricB (May 17, 2016)

The lathe has started to go back together! Sadly, no paint for now. This took longer than I'd hoped due to life getting in the way, so now I just want it together so that it's easy to move around. That way I can finish dry-walling, mudding/taping/sanding/painting, etc.







Managed to get 3 out of 4 belts from Gates. The last one I had to buy from a lower-end company since Gates doesn't make that size anymore, but it still seems like decent quality. Should get a nice smooth machine with plenty of power with these new belts on!







I still have to make a new linear bearing for one of the plates in my Reeves Drive, make a shear-pin for the lead-screw, and put a wee slot for the oil in the shaft I made earlier, but I'm heading in the right direction!


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