Crawford lathe cone drive conundrum...

[KeeponDragon]

I was checking out the Crawford, and noticed the bolts for the caps, that hold the spindle in place, seemed to be a little loose.
Not surprising...as this thing is 100 years old...and at some point was taken apart and painted...
Erring on the side of caution, I simply snugged them up. Now the spindle wouldn't turn. Ok, loosen the three that were adjusted, only one was properly tightened.
Behind the chuck, those two can stay tight and it spins freely. At the back, anything tighter than finger tight snug and it's locked up again.
I haven't removed the cap yet to look. It's on todays list of "what I'd like to do's"...
Any insights are welcome
I'll post pics later today

 

[KeeponDragon]

 

[Susquatch]

Any insights are welcome
I'll post pics later today

There are many cases where it's somewhat common to tighten screws such that a spindle won't turn or gets too tight. You didn't really identify which ones you mean.

Generally speaking I tighten things only as much as the machine likes. If that let's the screws come loose, I'll put loktite on them.

 

[KeeponDragon]

On a classic like this lathe...that's a good way to think about it...tighten as much as the machine likes.
thanks

 

[Johnwa]

On my Southbend the cap is part of the casting with a saw slot cut in the front. There is a sandwich of fine shims that go in the slot There is one bolt that is tightened up against the shims to squeeze that cut. . The idea is that as the spindle/bore wears, shims are removed.
I would imagine that your cap should have shims as well so the bolt can be tightened down.