Carriage Lock

[rock_breaker]

Irecently purchased a new Enco 13 X 40 lathe so this is part gloat. I have found a problem with locking the carriage when in a facing operation. The anchor bar under the back way slides easily, sometimes during a facing operation. With the lock tightened with a cresent wrench it can be moved real easy with the carrige moving wheel. My first thought is to put in a finer thread bolt Has anyone else had this problem? If so how did you correct it?

Looking forward to learning something today.

Ray

 

[Bill C.]

Irecently purchased a new Enco 13 X 40 lathe so this is part gloat. I have found a problem with locking the carriage when in a facing operation. The anchor bar under the back way slides easily, sometimes during a facing operation. With the lock tightened with a cresent wrench it can be moved real easy with the carrige moving wheel. My first thought is to put in a finer thread bolt Has anyone else had this problem? If so how did you correct it?

Looking forward to learning something today.

Ray

Can you get to the part that clamps the carriage to the ways? If it is not worn down to where it can get a good grip I would try a piece of shim stock and re-tighten the bolt. If it still moves you may have to remove it and build up the contact surface. I know how frustrating it is when a stop does do it's job.

 

[GK1918]

Yeh, thats a common thing over the years like people riding their brakes. Very noticable while drilling,,my big GK was so bad it was like I needed a
four foot pipe to clamp it. All lathes more or less have saddle or block or something oil soaked shinny and wore smooth as Ice. This was a few yrs
back, first carb. cleaner, that helped a little not much. Of course we drill big holes with big drills. the further I crank the further it slides. Mine is no
more that a L shaped block. Vised it in my shaper and shaped a criss cross pattern like a file. That grips, got brakes now. Never slipped again.

Whops I noticed your talking about the carrige, I spoke of the tailstock, but, its the same deal, it does the same thing, you have to roughen it up for grip.
I bet its shinny as glass.

 

[Ray C]

Also, many lathes of the modern type have a couple blocks of metal which hold from the underside and press (from the bottom upward) to keep the carriage on the ways. There's usually one single block in the rear and two in the front. If the ones in the front were not ground to close enough tolerance, they will allow the carriage to lift upward too much and when you tighten the carriage locking nut, the carriage just lifts up.

Inspect those blocks (which are typically a pain to get out unless you have really small fingers to reach the cap screws that hold them in).


Ray

 

[rock_breaker]

Thanks you Bill C.,GK1918 and Ray C.

Other things got in the way of my shop work lately so haven't been around much. The retaining block is just that, a piece of cast iron approximately 5/16" X 1" X 2" with a fine thread metric threaded hole in the middle. The block and tightening screw both are easily removed so I might try fabricating a steel replacement with grooves in it and a 3/8" NF bolt.

The clamping area is actually about 3/8" X 2" and the bottom side of the way is approximately 5/8" wide, so need to investigate a wider block also. The machine is new "out of the box" so it hasn't worn very much yet.

Again thanks and have a good day

Ray

 

[Bill C.]

Thanks you Bill C.,GK1918 and Ray C.

Other things got in the way of my shop work lately so haven't been around much. The retaining block is just that, a piece of cast iron approximately 5/16" X 1" X 2" with a fine thread metric threaded hole in the middle. The block and tightening screw both are easily removed so I might try fabricating a steel replacement with grooves in it and a 3/8" NF bolt.

The clamping area is actually about 3/8" X 2" and the bottom side of the way is approximately 5/8" wide, so need to investigate a wider block also. The machine is new "out of the box" so it hasn't worn very much yet.

Again thanks and have a good day

Ray

Ray, I would consider using a US bolt about the same size as the metric one with a course thread. The clamping piece is it a straight surface or a stepped one. Even a small step or ridge would increase the clamping pressure. One trick is to put a piece of folded emery cloth, grit side out, between the bottom of the way and clamping piece.

 

[rock_breaker]

Thanks Bill C.

I think I will start with 220 X 1" emery stip. I hope this won't affect the retainer blocks/guides. Perhaps I had better use 600 grit. There is enough bolt to provide the extra clearance necessary.