EW lathe project

[Canadium]

Yesterday marked a milestone in my Elliot-Willson lathe refurbishing project. After months of cleaning and painting parts I was finally ready to reattach the bed and headstock to the base. This required some heavy lifting as by my estimate the bed and headstock probably weighed in the neighborhood of 800lbs. I do not have a lot of experience lifting/moving heavy machinery yet so I was more than a little nervous about how this would go. I'm thrilled to report that it all went well and the 2 major parts are now back together again.

I really hadn't intended to spend so much time and effort simply cleaning and repainting. After all I'm really more interested in what the machine will be able to do rather than how it looks. The object here is not to try to win any beauty contests for a lathe. However it was an incredibly grungy piece, old and battered, and already largely disassembled after the move to my place ....

 

[6.5 Fan]

Looks like a nice machine.

 

[Hruul]

Looking good.

 

[combustable herbage]

Looks great, I bet you were sweating buckets out there getting it back into place.
You'll be breaking chips in no time, glad to see your enjoying the project.
As a former lathe beauty contest judge, I would say you got yourself a nice second runner up there

 

[Canadium]

I've run into a glitch with my reassembly of the lathe. I had removed 3 small levers from the QCGB to simplify the repainting of this gear box. Unbeknownst to me when the taper pins and levers are removed the shafts they are on are spring loaded and retract a few millimeters into the gear box making it impossible to position the taper pin back in place and get the lever handles back on. Anyone have any suggestions for how to work around this problem? The only thing I can think of is to drill and tap some holes in the top of the shafts so that I am able to pull out on them while I try to position the taper pins back in.

 

[RobinHood]

Can you get a dentist pick in the OE tapered hole? Pull the shaft forward with it. Then insert a tapered punch from the skinny side of the taper pin hole. Wiggle around until you can start the taper pin from the normal direction.

The key is to start with really thin tools and work your way up to the final alignment.

Last resort will be to open the QCGB and get at the shafts from in behind to push them forward to pin them.

 

[Canadium]

Can you get a dentist pick in the OE tapered hole? Pull the shaft forward with it. Then insert a tapered punch from the skinny side of the taper pin hole. Wiggle around until you can start the taper pin from the normal direction.

The key is to start with really thin tools and work your way up to the final alignment.

Last resort will be to open the QCGB and get at the shafts from in behind to push them forward to pin them.

It worked! A dentist pick and a small allen wrench did the trick! Many thanks Rudy for the great idea!!!

 

[Canadium]

Just as I thought I was getting close to the finish line with my project I discovered an oil leak that seems to be coming from the QCGB. A not so fast moment! I'm faced with either putting up with an oil leak or tearing apart my QCGB again to try sealing it. I'm inclined to tear it apart again and try sealing it with some Permatex Ultra Black. What would you guys do?

 

[combustable herbage]

For me it would depend on the amount that was leaking but if its leaking now it probably will be worse once you spin it up so I would be inclined to open it up again, besides more practice doing those pins.

 

[YotaBota]

Agree with above. If you do take it apart, run the mating surfaces over a sheet of emery to see where they don't mate and by how much. Milling off a skim with and adding a thin gasket (and goop) may be in order.

 

[RobinHood]

x3 what was said above.

 

[Canadium]

So I took the QCGB apart and discovered to my surprise that the thing was full of grunge including metal chips from machining! A major cleanup job required! Probably a good thing I took it apart! Trouble is when I opened it up a bunch of parts fell out. Getting it back together again properly and leak free could be a challenge!

 

[RobinHood]

Once you have the QCGB cleaned and reassembled, you have given it at least another 50 years - well worth it. Especially since you are going to the trouble of cleaning up the rest of the machine.

 

[combustable herbage]

Its good you have it apart I don't think it will be too bad getting back together(easy for me to say) once you get everything in position and probably once you have it cleaned up it will make more sense in getting back together, I would get it all cleaned up and give it a dry run by hand before you seal it up to make sure all the gears line up.

 

[YotaBota]

Good call, Do you have an exploded view of the GB to help show where the pieces go?

 

[Canadium]

..., Do you have an exploded view of the GB to help show where the pieces go?

I have a manual from the UK which cost me an arm and a leg but its crap. No exploded view and the drawing of the GB does not show the parts of concern. Anyway I think I know how it goes together but its not going to be easy to fit the two halves together and get the pieces inside to fit together just so. There are U shaped pieces attached to the levers on one half that have to slip over the appropriate gear on the other half as the two halves come together. Also a loose ball bearing for each lever that rides between 2 possible positions. I have to be sure that I place that ball bearing in the right position or things will be buggered.

 

[RobinHood]

For non-spring loaded ball bearings, use a good dab of bearing grease. It will hold them nicely in their recesses during assembly.

There are U shaped pieces attached to the levers on one half that have to slip over the appropriate gear on the other half as the two halves come together

Those would be your shift forks. There may a certain position (speed selection) where the forks are easier to guide over their respective gears. Might even be able access them (to guide them) with a chop stick (or other suitably long, non marring tool) from the outside while you get the two halves together. The grease trick might help here as well: “stick” one end of the fork into the proper location and put the GB half on.
If the shift forks are CI (ie magnetic) a strong magnet on the gear shaft can help keep things in place as well during assembly.

 

[Canadium]

So after a thorough cleaning of the inside of the GB I experimented a little with getting it back together again. It was greatly complicated by the fact the sliding gear plunger handle is an odd shape and the top half has to be twisted artound to get it through. Once through there is not much space left to apply a joint sealer to the seams. Eventually I made the plunge, put the Permatex sealer along the seams and dropped the 2 halves together. I used some long bolts threaded into the back half as guides so that the top piece just dropped onto the Permatex without wiggling around. Bolted the halves together and all appears to be working as it should. Refilled with oil, tested under power, and Eureka! No oil leaks!

Now onwards with the last major step to completion. Reattaching the apron and the drive feed screw!

 

[Canadium]

First chips made today with this machine! Its been almost 4 months since I brought her home and started work on it. Still needs some fine tuning. I'm thinking of changing out the motor. The one thats in it was designed for use on a compressor and its open. Very loud and gets all kinds of grundge falling into it. I would prefer a quieter closed motor maybe 3 phase with a vfd.

 

[YYCHM]

NICE!!!!