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Restoration/Repairs on a 10" LD Utilathe - Standard Modern

Brent H

Ultra Member
The hole is not a “standard” size. The closest is a “Z” drill size.
Using the tables in the Machinist Handbook for ACME threads:

D= depth of the thread = P/2+ 0.010”
P= Pitch of the thread so for an 8 TPI the pitch is 1/8 = 0.125”

D =0.125/2 + 0.010 = 0.0725” this will be how deep you cut the threads
The root diameter (bore hole size) would be 9/16-2D = 0.5625-2(0.0725) =0.4175”.

A Z drill would give you a 0.4130. That will be a bit tight so you can bore off 5 thou to get to 0.418”.
As per the Treading speed I went slow and light cuts to prevent chatter of the threading tool. I also found it easiest to run the lathe in reverse with the threading tool facing opposite to Right hand threading and the Compound angled at 14.5 degrees in the normal orientation.
 

Brent H

Ultra Member
Mon parler "tech" en français n'est pas bon. Il est difficile d'expliquer certains détails plus fins. Le (tap) vous aidera énormément.
 

Marc Moreau

Marc Moreau
Please all member's let me know if you don't understand I try to put my computer with french to you and english and transfer your message in english to french for me . But sometime the word have no sense. Sorry for the problem. I am working on it. Thank you
 

Marc Moreau

Marc Moreau
I found it look easy to understand in english than in french. Thank You Like I say don't hesitate to let me know if you can't understand I will use other word. I have hard time all my life to learn english but I never quit. Thank You
 

Hruul

Lee - metalworking novice
Google translate does an OK job translating. There are definitely some words that are clearly wrong, but I can usually work out what the word or phrase is trying to say. Thanks.
 

Brent H

Ultra Member
Fixing up the magnetic chuck worked out quite well. The corner that supports the engagement eccentric had fractured in a huge way:

4E9D71B8-4420-4BB2-B931-0598F9FF0451.jpeg
to fix it I decided to machine a new corner out of aluminum and change things out. The piece of aluminum is a block that was used to support the feed back controls on the steering gear of our ship. It was a scrap bin piece I nabbed about 15 years ago - LOL - but it now serves a great purpose. I originally measured about 2.5” square and I needed it to be just over an inch thick (1.026”) so I milled it down as it would not fit in my small bandsaw - ugh - (new purchase coming perhaps - haha)

I needed to bore in a 0.794” hole for the eccentric handle.
DC7B18A2-7E20-4FCE-9E13-E1E73EA020A9.jpeg
That went very well and the fit was great on the eccentric shaft. After that I milled it to the corner dimensions. I used the original corner (assembled pieces and held in place) and centre punched the location of the original screw holes. I used a set of transfer punches so the holes came out on the money! I then scribed cut off lines on the original broken corner and milled just up to them on the mill. 0116DB51-AA8F-4DC4-A7E8-D830C6305E9E.jpeg
2C42691E-6101-4C68-9792-97A8197BBB30.jpeg
Since my style mag chuck doesn’t appear to take oil (no port in it anywhere) I reassembled using Lubriplate 105 after stoning the base and the top. I then drilled out the last two dowel pins to ensure the new corner was in proper location. After screws all tight the chuck works great !!!
Questions: It is not 100% flat - is it wrong to skim cut a flat surface on the mill? I have no access to a surface grinder.
0C28D3A1-7B74-4039-AC37-EA85FB482F4A.jpeg 5E548F8D-2FF8-48B9-8154-32C99AF574EA.jpeg
This was not a “Lathe” project but I think I will be using it to either help cut the angle on a new gib or hold the gib for scraping in.
 

RobinHood

Ultra Member
Questions: It is not 100% flat - is it wrong to skim cut a flat surface on the mill?

i think that is how they are made in the first place. (I can see milling marks on the bottom of my mag chucks). After the laminations are fused together, the surfaces are milled and ground. Once you have it on a surface grinder, you grind it to your table (usually bottom first then top second).
I would take a skim cut on the mill with a sharp fly cutter - can only make it better if it is not flat now. Mill it with the magnet ON. You could then finish it off on your surface plate with ever finer sand paper to remove any marks and make it even flatter.

great repair by the way Brent.
 

Brent H

Ultra Member
Thank you!

It moves so well now it is night and day! I will mag it to the mill table and clean up the bottom and then do a flip. When I drilled the fitted pins in I could tell it had a bit of a bottom bow. I will ink it on the surface plate and see just how bad it is just for fun.
I did have thoughts of milling in a spline at the joints but figured since it contained no oil and the load to turn it on is solely in that corner; I left it.
 

Marc Moreau

Marc Moreau
A bit of information that maybe one in a few million may find interesting......

A person on Kijiji was looking for a motor for his 10" Utilathe so I contacted him and we have a few e-mails going back and forth. He sent me some pics of his lathe and the mount section and I got to thinking.......

I went to the Lebond site and re-read their brief history of "Standard Modern"

"Standard Machine & Tool was founded in 1931 by two partners in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. In 1935, an unrelated company began operations in Toronto as Modern Tools Works. Staveley Industries, a British company, purchased both Standard Machine & Tool Ltd. and Modern Tool Works Ltd. in 1955. The combined entity was incorporated under the name Standard Modern Tool Company Ltd. with operations in Toronto."

The big "MODERN" is also cast into the gear cover on the end of his lathe. My lathe has a plaque riveted on and no "Modern" on the gear cover :
View attachment 7247View attachment 7248

There are a couple other noticeable things as well, his lathe is metric - all metric for the QCGB. His head stock sports a threaded chuck spindle verses the D1-3 spindle fitted to mine. I am not sure if the gibs on his are set screw adjusted or a taper but I think they are probably set screw. His Serial number is like 71-4 and mine is U530

I am now wondering if his lathe is perhaps from the Modern Tool Works and would be built between 1935 and 1955. My lathe has the "Standard- Modern" plaque and has Toronto Windsor as the build location - So built after 1955.?

It is fascinating that the "MODERN" lathe is metric and built possibly before 1955 as Canada was not really a metric place until things got going in the 1970's. My lathe is all Imperial and it is laid out that way in the manual.....The fact that a British company bought and put the two companies together should have strengthened the metric preference, however, a big purchaser was the US military. hmmmm.....can the serial numbers be worked into a date code........will have to break out the enigma machine...
Do you know how to reconize the year of my Ultilathe same at this one ? Thank You
 

Brent H

Ultra Member
Hi Marc,

Does your lathe have a big "MODERN" cast into the head stock above the Quick Change Gearbox or does it have a lable that says Standard Modern
Toronto Windsor
 

Brent H

Ultra Member
Hi Marc,

I have tried to link a file folder of pictures for you in this icloud thing....hopefully it works?
 

Brent H

Ultra Member
Restoration on the Utilathe update:

so in the process of my restoration of a 1930 something Cincinnati No2 grinder I made a new handle for it and had to cut some 1 x 8 tpi threads. My compound has yet to have the taper key re-made and it was a PITA to cut the threads as I only had about 1 inch of travel in the compound and things would get sloppy. So, after making the handle I decided enough was enough and ripped apart the compound and also pulled the lead screw out for the cross feeD as it will also get a make over.
The cross feed lead screw is 9/16” end to end so it is a pretty straight foreword lathe job except for the 9/16 x 8 tpi Left Hand ACME threads - so will need compound running much better.

so far I have made up a jig to hold the new taper key for final milling. It has a 30° dovetail for the key to fit into once one side has been milled and then I need to swing the taper (about 1.4°) and then mill it.
Here is the jig being built : 6B2C80A0-772D-44AA-A7A2-22B8659229DC.jpeg

and the jig holding the original key as a demo

7BF81AE4-F613-4B9C-A45A-7CEE9B8FB254.jpeg
The jig is aluminium and will be just off the vice to allow the 30° cutter to dimension the key. Going to be fun!
Will update progress.
 
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