# Enterprise 1550 Rebuild



## Sailor (Nov 10, 2020)

I obtained this lathe earlier in the summer. It worked but while not abused it was neglected. Slides barely moved and none to their full travel.it had some rust and I don’t know if the coolant or oil had ever beeen changed. The delightful part was there was little wear on any gears, bearings, threads or bronze blocks. I suspect it had limited use as the last owner who operated a large oil field and caterpillar repair shop did not know how to operate a lathe, he simply would bring someone in when he needed something turned. I have been taking pictures as I go although not enough but it will show the progress.


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## Sailor (Nov 10, 2020)

I’ll try to upload a few pictures every day.


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## Brent H (Nov 10, 2020)

Gotta love old coolant!!

Nice big lathe!!!


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## RobinHood (Nov 10, 2020)

Yummy looking stuff - I can feel for you.

Went through a similar “resurrection” with my Colchester Master...
Good luck - slow and steady wins the race.


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## CalgaryPT (Nov 10, 2020)

What is it about restoring something old and big that's so satisfying and therapeutic? Tons and tons of fun. Good luck.


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## Sailor (Nov 10, 2020)

I know, right!!!


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## YYCHM (Nov 10, 2020)

What size is that beast?


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## YotaBota (Nov 10, 2020)

Enjoy, you'll have a good machine when you're done.


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## Tom Kitta (Nov 10, 2020)

Its an Indian made machine that is a copy of a Harrison and is 15x50. Mine is 16x75.

They are not too well made lots of little issues all over the place - mostly to do with poor materials (weak) 

Company went under few decades ago so I guess I was not the only one that sees this as imperfect copy of Harrison. They can be had for very cheap as well.


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## Sailor (Nov 10, 2020)

You’re right it is an Indian made machine and a 15 x 50. I don’t know about other ones but I am very impressed with this machine. I tried it for a few items to check tolerances, tapering and twisting and I am excited. Took the gears and bearings out and literally no wear. So I guess I lucked out.


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## Tom Kitta (Nov 10, 2020)

Maybe you got one of the school machines. There were some on sale a year ago or so from Calgary SAIT.


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## Sailor (Nov 10, 2020)

Not sure but do you know how old by the serial numbers?


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## Tom Kitta (Nov 10, 2020)

No, I did not go that far in research - you can see what are your first two digits of serial number - that may be the year. I think they went out of business in 2002/2003. Parts are somewhat available - see here https://www.practicalmachinist.com/...nd-history/mysore-kirloskar-questions-214295/


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## Sailor (Nov 10, 2020)

I’m on PM as well but didn’t see that thread. Thanks


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## Sailor (Nov 10, 2020)

Not to give anyone nightmares but here are a few more of the coolant pump and sump before sandblasting. Put a bit of absorbent in sump to aid in picking up the last of the slime.


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## Sailor (Nov 11, 2020)

Some missing or broken switches. If anyone has a source for these I would appreciate it.


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## RobinHood (Nov 11, 2020)

Try Princess Auto. They have a selection of push button type switches.
https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/momentary-push-button-switch/A-p0700320e

Alternatives are B&E Electronics and MRO, both here in Calgary. Maybe even Digikey.ca ?


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## PeterT (Nov 11, 2020)

Re your head stock picture - a Metric/Inch lever. That looks highly desirable. I assume for threading? I assume it shifts into appropriate gears internally? What TPI/MOD range can you do?


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## Sailor (Nov 11, 2020)

The button looks good for one switch but I’ll need spacers, the holes are quite large. 
yes it switches from metric to inch for threading


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## Dabbler (Nov 11, 2020)

You will have a very functional lathe after your resto.  No need to take a hugh chip and break something... If used well, it will serve a lot of years!

You might try your hand at 3D printing the levers.  They don't undergo huge forces if not 'rammed' into gear...

I love when old stuff comes back to life!


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## Sailor (Nov 11, 2020)

I’ve never done 3D printing. Would love to know how but not quite ready for that.


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## Sailor (Nov 11, 2020)

I did find out that the original makers of this lathe shut the plant in the early 2000 because of labour disputes. Some of the workers and engineers have recently started their own plant and are making a very similar lathe under a different name. I may be getting a contact soon.
Thanks to Tom for showing me a thread from Practical Machinist.


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## Sailor (Nov 12, 2020)

Going deep

WOW A few of those snap rings were difficult and one was so hidden . . .


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## RobinHood (Nov 12, 2020)

That looks nice and clean in there. Once you are done, you should have a really good machine.

For sure, one needs good set(s) of snap ring pliers when tackling lathe headstocks... and maybe even a custom made one or three to get at the real knarly ones.


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## Sailor (Nov 12, 2020)

I thought I had a couple really good snap ring sets but this was challenging, I could not reach in against the wall and on one it was hard to open it wide enough and get something in behind it. Another person would have been nice but with this COVID and our circle of friend's ages we're on our own. I'm sure many of you are feeling it too. There was no metal filings in any of the gear boxes. I did place ceramic magnets in all before reassembly and closing.


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## Dabbler (Nov 12, 2020)

That's a really nice looking lathe.  Looks like it hasn't been broken in yet.  Sometimes it's better to slip the snap ring to a nearly stupid location, to get the clearance to undo it...  I'm sure you've tried everything, though.  

-- One last resort on one machine was to score the back of the snap ring with a dremel (mind the abrasive dust) and break it, and replace it with new.  There wasn't any space between the gears to use any kind of snap ring pliers.  An assemble-only fixture!


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## Sailor (Nov 13, 2020)

A few more broken and missing parts. PeterT helped me a lot with my broken bolt on the apron. Turns out the missing part it screwed into was a stop block for the apron. Some brass ball oilers were damaged and a couple bearings on cross slide where it attaches to the taper. A spring behind this lever was damaged and the 6mm ball missing. I’ve sourced these parts and just waiting.


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## Sailor (Nov 13, 2020)

PeterT gave me pictures and plans for his upgraded block.


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## PeterT (Nov 13, 2020)

There might be some oiler fittings floating around members here who have also had to replace theirs. They appear on Ebay & Ali, but with some variations. They aren't too onerous to obtain but sometimes longer shipping time & variable quality. I think the barrel OD is usually metric but with Asian machines, seems like anything goes. I've seen some better looking (what I suspect are actually grease fittings) but I think same type of ball & spring mechanism would work for oil but often they protruded a bit too much so may or may not work depending if the originals are more flush mount for clearance reasons.


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## John Conroy (Nov 14, 2020)

I bought a bunch of ball oilers on Amazon. They came from Russia, took about a month to get here.

https://www.amazon.ca/Maslin-Quality-Button-Engine-Billiard/dp/B07KJDQY6H


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## Sailor (Nov 14, 2020)

Thanks for those suggestions. I did order ones very similar to the Amazon one from Ali Express. Waiting ... waiting ...w


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## Sailor (Nov 14, 2020)

Some rust on ways and cranks. So far polished to 2000 grit wet. I’m rubber coating some handles and gun metal on the cranks....I think. See how it goes. Original handles had a plastic coating. I have been using this spray oil as I polish and it leaves the slickest film and really dissolved the rust . . . https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/fluid-film-penetrant-and-lubricant/A-p6420392e


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## Sailor (Nov 14, 2020)

https://www.gitsmfg.com/metric-ball-valve-oilers/
https://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/balloiler8mm/
Good selection of ball oilers here as well. I ordered some from here as well to see which come closest to the originals. Mine are 8 mm.


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## PeterT (Nov 14, 2020)

Yup, those are the oilers. The ones on my (Taiwan) machine are ok but still prone to the ball sticking. Not related to injesting swarf or dirt, I think because the can & lip is kind of thin & fragile. Might also be related to how they were installed, like distorted a bit. The Chinese ones seemed just a smidge lower quality yet. There is a Stefan video where he replaced his with some better quality 'red ball' euro ones. I found the source but wasn't easy to get them due to their weird payment system. Probably if you search on 'oiler' here on forum you'll get the story.


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## John Conroy (Nov 14, 2020)

I also bought one of these Goldenrod oil cans and the tip is perfect for the ball oilers.

https://www.amazon.ca/GOLDENROD-707-Industrial-Oiler-Spout/dp/B00004YK76/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3NAOCOQ27LGB3&dchild=1&keywords=goldenrod+oiler&qid=1605378678&sprefix=goldenrod,aps,205&sr=8-4

I use Fluid Film too, great stuff. I coat all my bare metal stuff with it to prevent rust.


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## Sailor (Nov 14, 2020)

Yes, I have two golden rods for my other lathe, they have just the right tip for ball oilers. One has a straight nozzle for oilers on the side and the other is bent for top oilers. I used to use another kind and actually heard about these oilers on Blondie hacks?? site. Cant remember. I super appreciate everyone's input, a great bunch, I hope I will add a little as time goes by. I will look into those other oilers PeterT. Found some, will keep looking. https://www.mafa-shop.com/shop/en/b...h-for-press-fitting?number=A096010&c=99700488


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## PeterT (Nov 14, 2020)

Looks like you know your way around machines but FYI some of my lathe oil passages were plugged off. Some had what I think was the preservative wax in there. It wasn't old or stagnant oil because the other passages were clean. One passage was an incomplete drill connection between 2 right angle holes so unfortunately the target parts were never getting lube from day one. When you have everything disassembled, its an opportune time to check for this with some fluid. I found WD40 or some mild thinner softened the waxy mung. I used a squeeze bottle to inject the solvent with a bit of pressure it & sure enough a turd residue plug came out. The passages on my apron make a few right angle turns & then down to the apron gears. I think more sophisticated lathes, especially if they have apron oil bath may not be this way.


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## Sailor (Nov 14, 2020)

Very good suggestion, thanks I will do that.


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## Sailor (Nov 14, 2020)

Lots of cleaning. Using PeterT’s suggestion to clean out oil passages. More cleaning. Amazes me where metal filing can gravitate to. And I need to gravitate to bed.


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## Sailor (Nov 15, 2020)

Time to prime. Then paint the base.


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## Sailor (Nov 16, 2020)

Do a little ORANGE 
Then tape some more for final colour


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## YotaBota (Nov 16, 2020)

Orange,,,,,,did someone say Orange,,,,,,,lol
Coming along quickly.


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## Sailor (Nov 16, 2020)

Kubota Orange no less, hahaha


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## Sailor (Nov 17, 2020)

Well this is the last pics. Put the last colour on and now I wait for parts plus Christmas and family coming. Still lots of assembly so hopefully I will have some pictures of it running by late spring.


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## Chipper5783 (Dec 2, 2020)

Looks good.  ModernTool sold a lot of those.  I've had my 1550 since 1983 (I really like it).  It has been a great machine (the small spindle bore is the only issue I have to complain about).  I posted in the above refenced thread on PM (I also posted a manual and product brochure - either on PM or HM).  Once you get everything sorted I'm sure you will enjoy the machine.

Let us know when you start making chips.  David


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## Dabbler (Dec 2, 2020)

looks like it is going along very nicely!  beautiful!


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## Chipper5783 (Dec 3, 2020)

I must say Randy, that you sure can progress quickly.  I've been cleaning up a Huron mill (the smallest one they offered - still a sizeable chunk) - after a month I still have not got it to the point that I can power it (probably another month).

What condition are your aluminum indicator plates?  On most of the Enterprise machines I have seen the plates are in poor condition.  Mine have never been beaten up, yet they are getting pretty faded.  David


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## Sailor (Dec 16, 2020)

The plates are in fair condition except for some nicks and wear around the edges and handles. I’ve been looking at obtaining an engraver to redo plates. I would like to redo my Dad’s old Martin which I’ll start after I finish this one. Also have a Czechoslovakian lathe I picked up to fix up and sell so I would really like to do this but still learning the best machines and programs for this plus would it pay for itself doing this for others. I priced out  having it done and it ranged between $600 and $1000us for one of the larger plates. Right now I’m on idle with Christmas and takes a lot of heat in shop to do decent work.


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## Chipper5783 (Dec 16, 2020)

Fixing machines to sell seems like a tough gig.  I've picked up several "boat anchors" for cheap.  I think I have done real well at bringing them back to life - however with the time and effort I've put into them (time that I really enjoy), I'd be lucky to make $5/hour.  I'm working on a "baby" Huron mill right now.  In good knick it is a very nice machine (back in the day it was a very expensive machine).  That was then, this is now.  At the moment it is just scrap metal.  I'll probably spend a couple hundred hours disassembling, cleaning, fixing, making tools, making parts - if I'm really lucky there will be nothing truly wrong with it (the main issue seems to be that it sat outside some - got rained on).  Then I'll have yet another mill that doesn't do anything that my other mills can't do, takes up quite a bit of space, does not have any of its' own tooling (though common to my Cinci), will be hard to sell on (#8000, 575V, 3 phase) - but is really cool.

On the pricing for your indicator plates - it that with you doing the graphics?  I though there were places around that would generate the plate fairly cheap, so long as the file was ready to go?  Some of the guys on Hobby Machinist seem to have it figured out.


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## PeterT (Dec 16, 2020)

I've always wondered about making replacement nameplates. I think there are different techniques depending on the colors, embossed/raised vs flat & other variables. This link shows some info but seems like folks go about it differently.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=323165


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## Sailor (Dec 16, 2020)

They said it would be cheaper if I did the graphics but by how much I’m not sure. The lathe I might fix up was cheaper than the scrap price so if I change my mind. . . I hear you though it’s a love interest not a get rich enterprise. I just have a hard time seeing a once functioning piece of machinery going for scrap. At worst I thought I could strip it down and perhaps cut the bed which sits on 3 massive legs and make a great work or welding bench .


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## Sailor (Dec 16, 2020)

Thanks Peter, I’ll put that with the info I’m collecting on this.


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## PeterT (Dec 17, 2020)

Looks like a few specialized materials & chemicals but nice results


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## Sailor (Dec 17, 2020)

Very nice. I feel the fastest results appear to be a diamond drag, having said that, for me, the chemical etch may be the route I take for now as my wife has a high end vinyl cutter that does very fine detail. It can cut the masking material used in etching. But this guy took it to another level and doesn’t explain anything.


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## Sailor (Dec 17, 2020)

This is one site using the diamond drag. If you powder coat first you could get some nice effects.


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## Dabbler (Dec 17, 2020)

@Sailor Chris of Clickspring took a hiatus from narrating his videos to concentrate on other things.  He explains some of it in a previous video that the clip was taken from.  He's back now as I hilighted in the Links section.


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## Sailor (Dec 17, 2020)

Thanks Dabbler, very kind. I was just reading the process that Peter T sent from garage journal and the price is very reasonable. Just watched the Clickspring one with narration and I’m impressed. I need to make a list of materials and see how available these chemicals and waxes are here. Thanks again. I really like this site and the willingness to share. That only comes with self confidence and a desire to be life long learners.


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## Sailor (Jan 1, 2021)

I watched the Clickspring several times and made a list of stuff. Most of it I can find on Amazon. The slivering products are from the UK and very pricey. I also watched another fellow that was the source for Clickspring’s video. He does the lettering with different material and didn’t appear to bother with the slivering, finishing only with a coat of lacquer. Now I just need to remove my plates and start to copy them. *Is there a way that I could photocopy them and turn that into a vector file?*


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## Janger (Jan 1, 2021)

Sailor said:


> I watched the Clickspring several times and made a list of stuff. Most of it I can find on Amazon. The slivering products are from the UK and very pricey. I also watched another fellow that was the source for Clickspring’s video. He does the lettering with different material and didn’t appear to bother with the slivering, finishing only with a coat of lacquer. Now I just need to remove my plates and start to copy them. *Is there a way that I could photocopy them and turn that into a vector file?*



Scan them with a scanner, import picture to cad, and then trace the scanned photo with line tools. That might be onerous if there is too much detail. There are ways of turning pictures into vectors with various drawing tools. I can’t make any specific suggestions though. Adobe had software for this but it’s been an age since I looked at it.


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## PeterT (Jan 1, 2021)

From my experience the 1-step direct scan to vector file conversions don't work too well in detail applications. Too much noise in the scan, distortion, aspect ratio. As Janger suggests importing it into a cad/drawing app & using that as a high resolution guide (ie human drawing over top) is a better cleaner result. But a lot more labour intensive depending on the detail & how authentic you want to replicate lines & font. I think that's why the 'decal' method gets employed. Its more like a high res picture but might be good enough to fool the eye. More like a picture of the original, no vector behind the scenes. But vector is required for any kind of machine cutting/engarving.


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## Sailor (Jan 1, 2021)

I’m thinking I may not need vector just the correct dimensions. On the larger plate there is just too much to trace or start from scratch. I really don’t need to change the size and the largest plate is about 10” x 8”, lots of detail. This would after cleaning up scratches etc. be printed onto overhead, clear, projector plastic. I think I would print in the negative as I want the lettering to etch not the background.


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## Chipper5783 (Jan 1, 2021)

I made a new speed indicator plate for my Maho mill, with an approach similar to what you were thinking / PeterT suggested.  The original plate had black lines and number on a silver back ground, then colours for different options - in my zeal for cleaning I washed the colour off (the lines were not effected).  I had taken pictures first, so I knew what it needed to look like.  I scanned the plate, and imported the image into MS paint, then I repaired all the lines, then I "poured" in colour (which in MS paint fills only the bound region).  I printed many copies to get the colours as close as possible.  Finally I printed onto a sheet of mostly transparent Avery label material.  I made a new aluminum plate.  The result was great (now I'm thinking the feed indicator plate - that is original - needs to be renewed, it looks sort of shabby!).

The first picture is the plate prior to me "cleaning" it, then the "cleaned" plate, finally pictures of after and before on the machine.


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## Chipper5783 (Jan 1, 2021)

What plates are you looking at redoing?  For the feedbox, you may not need to make the entire plate - most of it is blank, and it is mostly just information (a data table).


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## Sailor (Jan 1, 2021)

Oh man that looks amazing. Did you etch it and how would you get the different colours?


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## Sailor (Jan 1, 2021)

Probably all of them just to make it look good. I was thinking of doing it on brass with black lettering, less chance for scratching background paint off. I have to ask you as well what the gauge is and the two buttons beside the emergency stop. Mine were both broken or missing. I suspect one, because of the wiring, appears to be a motor reverse and the second an override for safety guard.


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## Chipper5783 (Jan 1, 2021)

I printed on a "semi-transparent" label (cruised the label shelf at Staples).  I used the printer at work in colour mode (it is a good enough printer, but not really anything super special).  The image was just a .jpg or a .tif (I don't recall - it doesn't really matter, it is just an image).


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## Chipper5783 (Jan 1, 2021)

Most of these small Enterprise lathes that I have seen, pretty well all have indicator plates that are hard to read.  My indicator plates are pretty well pristine - since the lathe was very nearly new when I bought it in 1983.  I've always been a home shop guy, and there have been years at a time when the lathe was not used at all.  In otherwords, mostly one owner, never worked hard and babied.  Still the plates are deteriorating - the threading dial is nearly impossible to read.  Whatever technology they used for marking the plates was not very durable.


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## PeterT (Jan 1, 2021)

You did a really nice job Chipper5783. 
Actually the graphic type software is probably more suited to the task because it has tools for lines, fonts, fill colors. I think I know the adhesive product you are referring to. You can load sheets into color printers, print the image, peel & stick. I think the sign making people have upscale materials for exactly this task. I've seen color or white vinyl background or B&W on clear which looks like what you did on the buffed metal surface?


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## Dabbler (Jan 1, 2021)

Chipper5783 said:


> I made a new speed indicator plate for my Maho mill



Very nice work!  More mill pics please!  it looks very nice!


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## Hacker (Jan 2, 2021)

Sailor said:


> Some missing or broken switches. If anyone has a source for these I would appreciate it.


Most switches are of the cookie cutter/Lego variety. Check how they are configured on the back as was mentioned PA has some or DigiKey has  much better selection if you have something that is not generic, but they are pricey. Good luck with the restoration.


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## Sailor (Jan 9, 2021)

Well everything was going so well you know it can’t last. Started back on the lathe putting stuff together and back on yesterday and today. All the slides were moving so nice until the apron stopped but the handle kept moving. I sheared a pin on one of the gears?? One of the few pins or bolts I didn’t replace. So the picture is my triumphant celebratory pic of a great day. It’s apart again and the gear has turned on the shaft so having a terrible time finding the hole. I quit, maybe I’ll drill half out so I can turn the shaft and see the hole. Darn


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## Sailor (Jan 10, 2021)

I got that pin out, had to drill. Must have sharpened that bit 6 or 7 times so it stayed true. It took quite awhile . Drilled the first half then located the hole and still had to drill till I was through shaft. As you can see in photo lots of fillings to clean out, think I’ll flush it.

Ended up taking the bottom off apron and flushing. Need to cut another gasket and get a new pin for gear.


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## Hacker (Jan 10, 2021)

Good work!! Do you know what caused it to fail?


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## Sailor (Jan 10, 2021)

I think it started with a little paint settling around the forward/reverse bar. I thought I had cleaned everything but must have missed some. Anyways the pin must have been ready to fail since I wasn’t overly forceful. After getting the pin out I put a temporary pin in and it still wouldn’t move till I cleaned around bar.


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## Hacker (Jan 10, 2021)

Hopefully you have the issue resolved.


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## Chipper5783 (Apr 12, 2021)

Hi Randy, how are you making out on the Enterprise lathe?  David


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