Lathe repair advice needed

thebeebe5

thebeebe5

Registered
Registered
Joined
Jul 11, 2020
Messages
24
About a year ago I purchased a well used Taiwanese lathe. Here’s a link to the thread posted after my acquisition:
www.hobby-machinist.com

New to me vintage Taiwan lathe

Greetings all. Yesterday I came home with a vintage "Vico" Vital Corporation lathe. I've been using a ROMI 13-5 at my pal's engine machine shop almost every weekend for the past 6 years and I'm quite used to it. This new to me Vico is quite different. I can find no information on it but was...
www.hobby-machinist.com www.hobby-machinist.com

I’ve been satisfied enough with it for what I do, but lately have been having an issue with slop in the cross slide causing less than smooth facings, and when machining softer metals like brass or copper the cross slide has enough movement in it that it tilts and digs into my work and damages my project by ripping it partially out of the chuck. I’ve adjusted what I’ve learned is called the gib as far as I can at this point. When the cross slide is retracted fully towards me the play is almost non existent, but in the middle positions one would use when actually working there’s still considerable movement of the cross slide laterally. I’m not sure what to do to rectify the problem. Is it terminal and I should start looking for a more modern replacement, or is this something that can be fixed?
I still consider myself a novice, so if I’m not using correct terms please help me. I’m willing to learn so I can convey what the issue really is. All I know is it’s super annoying and I find myself doing most facing operations on the lathe at my friend’s machine shop which works like a dream.
I’m open to the possibility that this is terminal and I should begin finding a replacement, but honestly if I could repair the issue this lathe is sufficient for my projects. I use the lathe in the evenings and pretty much all day Saturday and Sunday now, so it’s not just a “once in a while” thing.
 
I think what you're describing is cross slide leadscrew wear, but you might need to be a bit more specific on what movement you're seeing. Is it purely lateral?
 
When you say "I’ve adjusted what I’ve learned is called the gib as far as I can at this point" do you mean you have bottomed out the adjusting screw(s)? If so, a shim can be put behind the gib to give you more adjustment. The gib might be too tight when taking the crossfeed to the ends of travel where there's not so much wear, but it will help where you use it the most.

A lot of us have to learn to live with worn ways on our hobby machines.... either that or have it re-built or buy a different machine.

Good luck,
Ted
 
I think that Lo-Fi hit the nail on the head - cross-slide leadscrew (or nut) wear. If the gibs were the problem, the movement would be mostly lateral.
 
It's a classic for "tight where you don't use it" and often overlooked for oiling. Keith Fenner has a good series on redoing his Clausing cross slide screw.
 
You might review toolbit geometry for copper. Using toolbits ground for steel will cause the tool to dig in.
 
Take apart the cross-slide and take some photo's. If you don't need the lathe for a month take off the saddle and ship it to me. I will fix it for you. It would be a great project to show my students in Norway. Jan Sverre Haugjord . Who has dozens of scraping shows on You Tube. I suspect the cross-slide ways are worn and as you move it toward the middle it is worn and wiggles. Take a look at this and check your cross-slide. Take it apart and lets see what the problem is. If it is the screw and nut I can help you fix that too.
 
I guess I should say that it's obvious from your description that the nut, screw, and cross slide ways could use some attention. And if I were you, I would take Mr. King up on his most gracious offer. But copper and brass take different toolbit geometry to work, and it seems most prefer to avoid them in job shops. So after you get your parts back, don't be surprised if turning copper and brass are still difficult using standard tools ground for steel. Copper is especially hard on tools. And again, if you aren't busily preparing your cross slide for shipment to Mr King, do that post haste. It's an amazingly generous offer.
 
Lots of good replies here, gents. To try to be more specific it’s as if the female dovetail on the cross slide is too big for the male dovetail on the carriage even with the gib screwed in as tight as it can go. There’s an adjustment or adjustment limit screw on the back of the cross slide to limit gib travel and i’ve backed that out all the way. I did shim behind the gib with some feeler gauge stock. No real help noted, and with the gib tight I can’t retract the cross slide all the way. I took it out this weekend to continue work.
I understand copper needs different geometry angles. I don’t have an issue with it on the Bridgeport lathe at the shop. The bit dug into a brass piece last week and partially extracted it from the chuck. I was able to re-turn the piece smaller and it was fine. The work I do at home is 99.9% artistic so it was no real problem for the final product.

I’ll post up some photos in a few minutes.
 
Richard King 2 said:
Take apart the cross-slide and take some photo's. If you don't need the lathe for a month take off the saddle and ship it to me. I will fix it for you. It would be a great project to show my students in Norway. Jan Sverre Haugjord . Who has dozens of scraping shows on You Tube. I suspect the cross-slide ways are worn and as you move it toward the middle it is worn and wiggles. Take a look at this and check your cross-slide. Take it apart and lets see what the problem is. If it is the screw and nut I can help you fix that too.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much! I will review this video this morning after I’m fully conscious and I’ll post up some images!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top