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Looking for some opinions from those of you how rebuilt a head stock

marcman1

marcman1

New Member
Hi everyone , looking for a lathe for my shop and found the size I am looking for but it's in need of repairs! For those of you who dug into and rebuilt your head stock please chime in.
This is quoted in the add

"20" x 60" Modern Lathe was new in 2010. It needs work to be done in the headstock, there is a stripped gear and a bearing that needs to be replaced so there are only a few speeds that work. There are some other minor problems with it, broken handles, name plates, etc. "

My first question is part avaliablility, are they readily available?
Any idea the cost to rebuild a head stock?
I have physically been to look at the lathe yet, not sure if it's worth going to have a look or to pass and keep searching.
Looking forward to hearing your opinions and knowledge

Thanks
marc
 
That would have been one heck of a crash to strip the gears. I'd be concerned what damage was done but not readily apparent ..... like something cracked or a bent spindle?

Not enough info to make a call imo, what bearing, what gear? As a general principal, bearings are going to be catalogue items and there is nothing else you couldn't make if determined enough although for smooth running you'll have to generate the gears and if the bearing is the spindle bearing you can be into some big dollars. Unless you have another lathe I'd be reluctant to take it on.... major surgeries seems to always requiring a supporting cast of machine tools.
 
A 20x60 lathe is a BIG machine! I assume you know that and that it's the size you want/need.

From my limited experience, BIG machines like that are so hard to move and take up so much room that they are hard to sell and therefore they often have surprisingly low prices.

If that really is the size you want/need, I'd simply pass on this one and wait for a fully operational one to show up.

The more normal BIG lathe for hobbiests is more like 14 or 16 by 40 or 45.
 
@marcman1 Modern tool might be able to get you the parts you need. You can also have a gear made; there used to be 3 gear hobbers in Calgary, but I don't see any in the phone book.

The cost to repair (in parts only) depends on where the damage is, and how easy it is to disassemble the headstock. One of our members rebuilt a Colchester 16 speed headstock; several bearings had to be damaged during reassembly (cheap fix), but there were about 200 parts to keep track of in the headstock. I think it was a 6 month job.

Another member rebuilt a lathe from a box of parts,but it was a significantly simpler headstock than you have.

Since you are a millwright, you have the skills to keep track of everything. Unless you want a large project, I'd pass on the lathe, even if it is free. Secondary stress damage on other parts may well cost you more than the late is worth.

I found a working FREE lathe last summer that ended up with @Tom Kitta It was a functioning 22" X 70" lathe (metric, so approximate) with chucks as I remember. It needed minor work on the clutches.
 
Some random thoughts: It's just a gear box. It's Chinese, so sourcing gears is possible. I haven't had to do that but it is possible, other guys have though.
You will want to do the bearing, precision head stock bearing are very expensive, you will be very lucky to find them for $1000 USD each . You don't want Korean,Taiwanese or Chinese
 To do bearing clearances, you need a dial indicator that reads in 1/10ths
 
Thanks you guys for responding, great info here! I will take the advice and pass, i got more info and sound like there is multiple gears stripped and bearings shot. It would be a good project for someone with time.


I am trying to set up for to open a business, and don't want to be stuck mths without a lathe.

Thanks again for everyone opinions, I greatly appreciated it

Marc
 
Dabbler said:
@marcman1 Modern tool might be able to get you the parts you need. You can also have a gear made; there used to be 3 gear hobbers in Calgary, but I don't see any in the phone book.

The cost to repair (in parts only) depends on where the damage is, and how easy it is to disassemble the headstock. One of our members rebuilt a Colchester 16 speed headstock; several bearings had to be damaged during reassembly (cheap fix), but there were about 200 parts to keep track of in the headstock. I think it was a 6 month job.

Another member rebuilt a lathe from a box of parts,but it was a significantly simpler headstock than you have.

Since you are a millwright, you have the skills to keep track of everything. Unless you want a large project, I'd pass on the lathe, even if it is free. Secondary stress damage on other parts may well cost you more than the late is worth.

I found a working FREE lathe last summer that ended up with @Tom Kitta It was a functioning 22" X 70" lathe (metric, so approximate) with chucks as I remember. It needed minor work on the clutches.
Click to expand...

Modern tool is done for. Family decided that after death of the founder they don't feel like running the company. They are to be auctioned off in less than a month.

Yeah that free lathe had a lot more issues then just that clutch system. It had random electrical issues + the whole thread / feed gear box was stuck and would need to be taken apart - only some feeds / threads worked. Essentially a major project.

I am back from my trip.
 
Tom Kitta said:
Modern tool is done for. Family decided that after death of the founder they don't feel like running the company. They are to be auctioned off in less than a month.

Yeah that free lathe had a lot more issues then just that clutch system. It had random electrical issues + the whole thread / feed gear box was stuck and would need to be taken apart - only some feeds / threads worked. Essentially a major project.

I am back from my trip.
Click to expand...
Climbing again?
 
Doggggboy said:
So 6 climbs of 6000m each? On 6 different peaks?
I know nothing about climbing in case it's not obvious.
Click to expand...

Yes, 5 in Bolivia and 1 in Peru. I tried for the 7th one - Huscaran in Peru but got sick - actual cold - at the time I though I got altitude sickness but it was a cold. Still have some left over cough. It is too bad I turned around just past camp 1 - at around 5450m as at the same time two Japanese girls were stuck above 6000m, one of them got sick and lost her sight - probably legs as well and when I was coming down she froze to death. A helicopter rescued the other one... a helicopter was in the area as few days before three guides died on nearby peak and it was there for body recovery.

My other peaks were not as eventful as the one I had to turn around on. Bolivia is much colder as far as mountains goes than Peru but has far less snow.
 
Lucky7 said:
What does Condoriri look like now? Any snow/glacier left? Was on it (and a few other Bolivian beauties) almost 20 gears ago.
Click to expand...

I did not do the condor head climb / hike but given descriptions of mountains from over 20 years ago and what I seen there has been very little change. Around La Paz I did two mountains - Huyana Potosi as well as Illimani.

For example, on Huscaran on the left side from 2003 description glacier starts at 5000m. I went there in 2025 and the glacier as per my watch was exactly at 5000m. The rocks show glacier extended in the past a bit lower - maybe to 4600m but this could have been 100s or 1000s of years ago.

This is different to other areas of the planet - Karakorum in Pakistan is experiencing huge changes with climbing season moving around and heat waves literally taking out all the snow month+ sooner than before (this creates rack fall danger).
 
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