Just joined the community here so I figured I'd start a post with what I'm working on and how I got here. I'm not a machinist just a hobbyist with limited knowledge in machining, I took some basic machining courses in college 15 years ago and I really enjoyed it. I had been wanting a lathe ever since I left college, and then about 2 years ago I found a lot of machines at auction with really crappy photos showing what appeared to be 2 dirty, rusty Southbend 13" lathes, a drill press, band saw and radial arm saw. I ended up winning the lot for $2600 sight unseen, I knew it was a bit of a gamble but figured if they were junk I could part them out and likely break even.
Luckily, they ended up being in much better shape than they look. These were used in a technical school in a really small town in the middle of nowhere, they were pulled out of service and placed in the back of a pole barn with an open front for 2 years. So they were left covered in oil and just collected a bunch of grime over the years.. They really don't look like they've been abused, just neglected.. but luckily, they were put away covered from head to toe in oil which really helped preserve them... The rust on on the ways is actually metal debris sitting on top of the layer of grime that was protecting the ways.. They came with taper attachments, drawbar, collet rack, collets and some other stuff, No tool posts though. It looks like they never pulled the chucks, because there were no witness marks on the ways near the spindle and even though its a d1-4 cam lock, it was stuck on there pretty damn good. Long story short, I put new power switches in the saw and drill press and they both fired right up, after that I sold the bandsaw and I gave the powermatic 1150 to my dad (I already have an 1150VS). I ended up selling the lathe for $1500, which was probably a little low but I really needed it out of the way... After all was said and done I ended up getting 1 lathe for free minus gas and my time spent driving.
So recently I've started cleaning it up, cleaning the bed in between the ways took forever, it was caked on thick... I disassembled the tailstock and the compound cross slide with taper attachment because almost everything was seized up from the grime. I stripped all the paint and just repainted those items, I'm currently waiting for my jug of Mobil DTE 26 for re-assembly as well as a replacement thrust bearing for the crossfeed screw and the rubber washer to prevent binding the screw in the tailstock.
I'm going to move at the end of this year, so I don't want to tear much further into the machine until I get to the new place. I would love to get my VFD wired up and play around with it for a bit to see how it runs, but I also don't want to damage anything as I plan to replace all the wicks, etc.. Spindle is smooth and has had oil in the cups the entire time.
Should I pull the apron off and clean it all out? I'm hesitating to remove the apron because it moves really smooth. I will dig into it eventually, but would love to postpone that until after I move the machine.
If the spindle oilers are holding full with oil, is that likely good enough to fire it up and test it without replacing the wicks? I've been rotating the spindle by hand every time I go into the shop in the hopes that its spreading oil throughout it.
Any other checks anyone would recommend doing before attempting to power the lathe?
Somehow I lost the pin for the handle on the crossfeed slide, is there a good place to get a replacement? or will a piece of tig filler rod or something like that work?
Does anyone know the correct size oilers for the gear box? mine are completely smashed in there and I'd love to buy some new ones to replace them with before I pull them out.
I purchased a Bostar toolholder, I need to find someone to machine the nut down for me. I also picked up a 4 Jaw Buck 1308 chuck (still need to make a D1-4 backing plate, I plan to make a backing plate for it once I get the lathe running). I got a bunch of free HSS bits and some live and dead centers from my dads friend... hoping to get a mill once I move to colorado.. hopefully I'm not dumb enough to buy one right before I move
.
I also purchased a TECO L510 VFD. My dad advised me on that purchase when I gave him the motor specs, hoping that will work just fine for what I'm doing. He knows a lot more about electrical than I do
Anyhow, looking foward to getting this thing up and running!
Luckily, they ended up being in much better shape than they look. These were used in a technical school in a really small town in the middle of nowhere, they were pulled out of service and placed in the back of a pole barn with an open front for 2 years. So they were left covered in oil and just collected a bunch of grime over the years.. They really don't look like they've been abused, just neglected.. but luckily, they were put away covered from head to toe in oil which really helped preserve them... The rust on on the ways is actually metal debris sitting on top of the layer of grime that was protecting the ways.. They came with taper attachments, drawbar, collet rack, collets and some other stuff, No tool posts though. It looks like they never pulled the chucks, because there were no witness marks on the ways near the spindle and even though its a d1-4 cam lock, it was stuck on there pretty damn good. Long story short, I put new power switches in the saw and drill press and they both fired right up, after that I sold the bandsaw and I gave the powermatic 1150 to my dad (I already have an 1150VS). I ended up selling the lathe for $1500, which was probably a little low but I really needed it out of the way... After all was said and done I ended up getting 1 lathe for free minus gas and my time spent driving.
So recently I've started cleaning it up, cleaning the bed in between the ways took forever, it was caked on thick... I disassembled the tailstock and the compound cross slide with taper attachment because almost everything was seized up from the grime. I stripped all the paint and just repainted those items, I'm currently waiting for my jug of Mobil DTE 26 for re-assembly as well as a replacement thrust bearing for the crossfeed screw and the rubber washer to prevent binding the screw in the tailstock.
I'm going to move at the end of this year, so I don't want to tear much further into the machine until I get to the new place. I would love to get my VFD wired up and play around with it for a bit to see how it runs, but I also don't want to damage anything as I plan to replace all the wicks, etc.. Spindle is smooth and has had oil in the cups the entire time.
Should I pull the apron off and clean it all out? I'm hesitating to remove the apron because it moves really smooth. I will dig into it eventually, but would love to postpone that until after I move the machine.
If the spindle oilers are holding full with oil, is that likely good enough to fire it up and test it without replacing the wicks? I've been rotating the spindle by hand every time I go into the shop in the hopes that its spreading oil throughout it.
Any other checks anyone would recommend doing before attempting to power the lathe?
Somehow I lost the pin for the handle on the crossfeed slide, is there a good place to get a replacement? or will a piece of tig filler rod or something like that work?
Does anyone know the correct size oilers for the gear box? mine are completely smashed in there and I'd love to buy some new ones to replace them with before I pull them out.
I purchased a Bostar toolholder, I need to find someone to machine the nut down for me. I also picked up a 4 Jaw Buck 1308 chuck (still need to make a D1-4 backing plate, I plan to make a backing plate for it once I get the lathe running). I got a bunch of free HSS bits and some live and dead centers from my dads friend... hoping to get a mill once I move to colorado.. hopefully I'm not dumb enough to buy one right before I move
.I also purchased a TECO L510 VFD. My dad advised me on that purchase when I gave him the motor specs, hoping that will work just fine for what I'm doing. He knows a lot more about electrical than I do
Anyhow, looking foward to getting this thing up and running!
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