Restoration/Repairs on a 10" LD Utilathe - Standard Modern
- Thread starter Brent H
- Start date
Brent H
Ultra Member
@YYCHobbyMachinist - pictures coming right up! No tool envy Craig - LOL - our little shop is well packed with many things but - as you know - when space is a premium, sometimes you have to go without a few things. - the shop is only about 8 feet wide and you need to keep access to valves and such (note large valve handle behind the lathe) so lots of pre planning.
Our old lathe was a giant Kingston that could do 72 inches between centres and basically took up a lot of shop. That giant drill press was in the corner (left of the grinder) with the grinder still in that location. In the early years there were plenty of accidents and hospital visits due to folks getting projects all jammed into a tight spot. The new (2009) lathe is a 13” with 24” between centres - Clausing Colchester professional 10 HP variable speed - however, it has a pretty feeble BXA (maximum) tool post and suffers from same deflection (sometimes worse) than smaller less powerful lathes. I think the variable speed eats a lot of power as my 10” Utilathe performs just as adequately for most projects.
Anyway, without more delay :
Back of lathe:
Pic of layout:
Shop space:
Our old lathe was a giant Kingston that could do 72 inches between centres and basically took up a lot of shop. That giant drill press was in the corner (left of the grinder) with the grinder still in that location. In the early years there were plenty of accidents and hospital visits due to folks getting projects all jammed into a tight spot. The new (2009) lathe is a 13” with 24” between centres - Clausing Colchester professional 10 HP variable speed - however, it has a pretty feeble BXA (maximum) tool post and suffers from same deflection (sometimes worse) than smaller less powerful lathes. I think the variable speed eats a lot of power as my 10” Utilathe performs just as adequately for most projects.
Anyway, without more delay :
Back of lathe:
Pic of layout:
Shop space:
trlvn
Ultra Member
@Brent H That's pretty cool. Do you have a big stash of fasteners in there? Every little thing I do seems to require a run to the hardware store for some bolt, nut, screw or washer that I don't have on hand. Not quite so easy for you when you're on the water!
BTW, do ships generate single phase or three phase electricity? Or both?
Craig in Oakville
BTW, do ships generate single phase or three phase electricity? Or both?
Craig in Oakville
Brent H
Ultra Member
@trlvn : Hey Craig, so we do have a pretty substantial "stash" of fasteners, pipe fittings etc. All over the engine room and other spaces. Things are spread out a bit - which can be a pain from time to time - like all our precision measuring gear, some is in the cage in the cargo hold, some is in another locker on the compressor deck, some is behind #4 Main engine and some is in the shop....bolts and such - Imperial on the compressor deck, divided into fine and course threads and the metric stuff is on the mezzanine with the freshwater manifold and purification systems. Takes a bit to figure out things - I guess a few shops would be the same - stuff in the basement, stuff in the garage, stuff in the office etc LOL
We generate three phase power. So we have 2 CAT C18 generators 415 KW @ 600 Vac each and 2 shaft Gens at 1200 KW @ 600 Volt 3 phase each. The 3 phase is stepped down to 240 and 120 via transformers and then "single phase" - however, single phase would really be 2 phase....
At home you have a neutral and your hot or power line, essentially I would say a true single phase as you are running 120 on the hot wire to neutral. On the ship you split the 120 and you have 60 volts on each leg - no neutral and a floating ground. Most motors have a delta connection and the generators are a delta delta configuration. You can get some that would be a delta -Wye with a neutral center tap but we do not have that type of a set up.
The 600 volts is a bit of a PITA these days as most new fangled electrical things are 575 volts and that accounts for typical line losses etc that exist on shore based facilities. Since we are making the electricity we can pump out a near 600 Volts. Our motor starter cabinets all have under voltage protection so when we plug into shore we need to make sure the power is tapped at the shore transformer for 600 and not 575 volts. We only plug in a few places so not a big problem. We are also at 60 hz - north american frequency - we have to watch we do not receive any 50 hz motors when getting new equipment - it has happened and things do not run very well.....
We generate three phase power. So we have 2 CAT C18 generators 415 KW @ 600 Vac each and 2 shaft Gens at 1200 KW @ 600 Volt 3 phase each. The 3 phase is stepped down to 240 and 120 via transformers and then "single phase" - however, single phase would really be 2 phase....
At home you have a neutral and your hot or power line, essentially I would say a true single phase as you are running 120 on the hot wire to neutral. On the ship you split the 120 and you have 60 volts on each leg - no neutral and a floating ground. Most motors have a delta connection and the generators are a delta delta configuration. You can get some that would be a delta -Wye with a neutral center tap but we do not have that type of a set up.
The 600 volts is a bit of a PITA these days as most new fangled electrical things are 575 volts and that accounts for typical line losses etc that exist on shore based facilities. Since we are making the electricity we can pump out a near 600 Volts. Our motor starter cabinets all have under voltage protection so when we plug into shore we need to make sure the power is tapped at the shore transformer for 600 and not 575 volts. We only plug in a few places so not a big problem. We are also at 60 hz - north american frequency - we have to watch we do not receive any 50 hz motors when getting new equipment - it has happened and things do not run very well.....
What did you use to cut the keyways?
Brent H
Ultra Member
@John Conroy the key ways were done on the lathe with a boring bar and tool bit sharpened to the key profile. Headstock locked in low gear and the cutter centred on the 90°. Use the cross feed to advance the cutter a few thou at a time and then plow out the key way with the longitudinal feed. Takes a few passes and you can cut to depth. This is bronze so it peels off a bit easier than steel but it works quite well.
Really nice work Brent. I have to try that one of these days, I've never done a keyway.
Brent H
Ultra Member
@John Conroy : Thank you very much! - I will try to remember the camera next time - I have about 5 other gear blanks to make..
Brent H
Ultra Member
Home yesterday and got onto making a few things today in prep for the gear cutting:
Lots of blanks and arbors ready to go. Working on the fine/coarse feed plunger
Squaring up the slot corners:
The spring loaded button key all good to go:
Next up is milling some flats on the new cross feed spindle for the lathe and then I will start cutting gear teeth.
Lots of blanks and arbors ready to go. Working on the fine/coarse feed plunger
Squaring up the slot corners:
The spring loaded button key all good to go:
Next up is milling some flats on the new cross feed spindle for the lathe and then I will start cutting gear teeth.
Marc Moreau
Marc Moreau
Nice job
Brent H
Ultra Member
Hey Craig,
it is a 1/8 x 1/2 x 1-1/2 tool steel fitted to a 5/8 steel dowel with a 1/2” diameter landing on the end so it cannot push back into the tool holder. I can take a few pics tomorrow for you if you wish. I sharpened it so that it would cut the round curve off the milled out slot like a broach. Worked well. Locked the mill in low gear so it could not turn and used the spindle to make the cut. Would work on the lathe to cut a key way.
it is a 1/8 x 1/2 x 1-1/2 tool steel fitted to a 5/8 steel dowel with a 1/2” diameter landing on the end so it cannot push back into the tool holder. I can take a few pics tomorrow for you if you wish. I sharpened it so that it would cut the round curve off the milled out slot like a broach. Worked well. Locked the mill in low gear so it could not turn and used the spindle to make the cut. Would work on the lathe to cut a key way.
How is the tool steel attached to the 5/8 dowel?
Brent H
Ultra Member
Hey @YYCHobbyMachinist the tool is actually a solid piece of steel and then ground.
looks like a lathe job out of 4140 or higher carbon steel and then hardened and ground. You could make one and then braze on the cutter.
looks like a lathe job out of 4140 or higher carbon steel and then hardened and ground. You could make one and then braze on the cutter.
Would 4340 work for this application? I have some odd ball shaped 1/2" pieces (what was left from squaring a 1/2" slice from a 6.75" dia log) that I got from @John Conroy (thanks John). I could picture milling them into bladed tools that would fit my lathe tool holder and then heat and quench them using my coffee can forge.
Feasible or not?
Last edited: