Clausing 5418 Lathe

[Rick_B]

Now that I have the two easier taper attachment clamp parts I decided to start looking at the upper clamp - a bit more complex. This is the drawing for the part in question - I added a dividing point where it makes sense to me to make two parts and then join them



Then I found this laying around the scrap pile


The arm is a bit long and the hole is oversized but generally speaking it has a close resemblance to the top section in the above drawing. I reamed out the hole to 5/8" (very poorly I would add) and used some 5/8 bronze bushings to take up the slack of the 1/2" tie rod



Then I made a wood prototype of the bottom section of the clamp - it doesn't have the styling of the casting but it works.



So I'm getting a block of steel to replicate the wood prototype. The question is how to join the two parts - more specifically how to prepare the joint lines. My initial thoughts were to mill the appropriate angle on the arm so that butts against the upper block and weld but is that a good joint for welding? Should I leave the angle alone and use the gap for welding? Should I leave a gap by milling a smaller angle? Lots of stuff I don't know about welding and joint preparation.
Thanks for your thoughts
Rick

 

[4GSR]

I would suggest bolting the two parts together. I hate to see welding on machinery stuff like a lathe. My suggesting is making a new one-piece clamp from scratch out of cast iron or aluminum. BTW- I left a you a message in the Wanted section on your material request. Ken

 

[Rick_B]

Thanks to a another member I was able to get some material to make the upper clamp section. Took me quite a while - probably a few hours for a real machinist - all day for me





And the two parts that will make the upper clamp assembly



I spent today putting together a positioning jig for aligning the two parts.







So now I need to figure out what needs to be done to prepare for welding or if welding is even an option given the fairly small amount of material available. Any thoughts regarding welding or should I be pursuing other alternatives. For example I could add a section to the width of the upper clamp body by bolting on - this would give me potentially more contact area. I would rather not have to do this but will if what I have would not provide an adequate weld area.
Thanks
Rick

 

[wa5cab]

Depends upon how much filler rod you have.

 

[BGHansen]

Hi Rick,

FYI there's a lead screw bed bracket for sale on eBay for a 4800-series lathe. Might be adaptable to use as your taper attachment clamping part (in case your assembly above doesn't work). It'd need an adapter to clamp to the bed, just a thought.

Best regards, Bruce

 

[Rick_B]

Hi Rick,

FYI there's a lead screw bed bracket for sale on eBay for a 4800-series lathe. Might be adaptable to use as your taper attachment clamping part (in case your assembly above doesn't work). It'd need an adapter to clamp to the bed, just a thought.

Best regards, Bruce

Hey Bruce - I did see that and thought the same thing - I should know in a few days if what I have will work. It wont be as styalistic as a casting but should get the job done.

Rick

 

[Rick_B]

I've been fooling with the taper attachment clamp for awhile - well actually my friend Charlie and I have been fooling with it. At the last report I had the two pieces of the upper clamp ready for welding - the first step was a simple tack weld to check positioning - I should note that Charlie would have preferred no photos of his welds - but after some discussion he is OK with it. The welds are strong but not pretty. Much better than I could do



There was a little twist (from my fixture I believe) so that the top plate doesn't sit exactly flat on the lathe bed but it works. Once positioning was validated we welded the underside with the arm in place.





Once this was done I milled off the top of the arm where it stuck above the top plate and did some grinding/sanding/filling with JB Weld and then painted. My paint job on this piece really sucks but I decided that I was going to leave as is versus stripping and starting over







Clamp installed on the lathe



I'm calling the clamp complete and moving on the steady rest - more to come
Rick