Well, about 6 weeks ago I was trying to use the Sherline lathe to learn to turn a piece of aluminum stock down to .5 inches and I burned out the stock motor. I guess taking off 3 mlls at a time was just too much for it. I was using a new, sharp HSS bit so I don't think I did anything wrong. I was running about 350 rpm and the curl was coming off really great when the motor just stopped..with a big stink of burned magnet wire. Took the motor apart and the white stuff around the armature fell out onto my work table. So much for Sherline.
Since replacing the Sherline would cost $300 estimated, and I might just toast the new motor too, I looked at other lathes I might crater. I liked the idea of 2 way power feed so I ended up with a Precision Matthews 1022. I like it...since I rebuilt it. When the crate came in, I took it out of the crate, called a much younger and stronger young man from across the street and we lifted it up on to my work table. It sure looked nice (its "clean" but has oil all over it now because I live in Florida) so I could hardly wait to try it out. Checked the electrical connections for proper voltage, made sure the ground was secure and fired the jewel up! First thing was to turn down the aforementioned piece of aluminum! It's swarf now! Then, the first problem...the tool post stopped moving even though the wheel was spinning! Tried to contact the seller, no response after three days (still none) so I opened the transport mechanism up to check the gears and found that the shear pin had literally fallen out. It seems the the nice Chinese folks that make this machine use only ¼ of a pin...saves lots of money..snort..so I put a full length shear pin in and put things back together. Ran very well except if I turned a cylinder the tail end was about 8 mls smaller than the chuck end. After thinking about it (yes I was using the steady rest and the follower both) I moved the tail stock away from me about 3 mls and now over 18" I only have about a 1 mil difference. (actually less than that but sometimes...) So, because things seemed a little loose, I started taking things apart, cleaning and relubricating them and putting them back together. Almost everything was loose. Then, the lead screw nuts fell off on the tail end! I got the machine stopped before the bearings joined the dirty rags on the floor... Hadn't thought of that word since basic.
So, put back together, things seem to be working so its time to to try threading on a lathe! Turned the aluminum down just a little to smooth the surface and took off the end panel to install the proper gear sets for 20 tip..the first thing I notice was that the running gear set had a pair that was loose..not loose, the bushing bolt was stripped! So, no worry, the seller will contact me soon! Nope! I put the old bolt back in long enough to turn a piece of brass bushing, used my hand taps to thread it, pulled the cross threaded bushing and installed the one I made...up and running again. So, tomorrow I'm going to have a shot at making a duplicate of the factory bolt to replace my kludged one. Oh, I forgot, yes, I got up and running and put another piece of aluminum on the lathe just to see how precise I could turn with the PM1022...I am very, very new to machining. I have to work a while to be a nubie... So, I start the machine, put it in gear, turn 5 mils in both directions, then half way toward the tail end, the machine stopped...there is that word again! Took the back off, horrible burnt odor@!!@%!%!%!$%@!@^@& But, the smell is coming from the controller board and not the motor! I look to see if anything shows having been burnt...nothing, then I lightly push a few components around...the resister they use to match the horsepower of the motor is loose! One end is making intermittent contact with the board...I soldered it, defeated the interlock and tried the start button...success! Yes, as I said before, I'm back in service....except, the drive is slipping on the lead screw again and it won't move the tool post!
But, in all, although I have not really had the chance to do any machining, I now have a pretty good idea of what a lathe is supposed to do...so wish me luck tomorrow. I really would like to learn how to do threading with a lathe....in fact I'd like to learn anything about using a lathe!:whiteflag:
Since replacing the Sherline would cost $300 estimated, and I might just toast the new motor too, I looked at other lathes I might crater. I liked the idea of 2 way power feed so I ended up with a Precision Matthews 1022. I like it...since I rebuilt it. When the crate came in, I took it out of the crate, called a much younger and stronger young man from across the street and we lifted it up on to my work table. It sure looked nice (its "clean" but has oil all over it now because I live in Florida) so I could hardly wait to try it out. Checked the electrical connections for proper voltage, made sure the ground was secure and fired the jewel up! First thing was to turn down the aforementioned piece of aluminum! It's swarf now! Then, the first problem...the tool post stopped moving even though the wheel was spinning! Tried to contact the seller, no response after three days (still none) so I opened the transport mechanism up to check the gears and found that the shear pin had literally fallen out. It seems the the nice Chinese folks that make this machine use only ¼ of a pin...saves lots of money..snort..so I put a full length shear pin in and put things back together. Ran very well except if I turned a cylinder the tail end was about 8 mls smaller than the chuck end. After thinking about it (yes I was using the steady rest and the follower both) I moved the tail stock away from me about 3 mls and now over 18" I only have about a 1 mil difference. (actually less than that but sometimes...) So, because things seemed a little loose, I started taking things apart, cleaning and relubricating them and putting them back together. Almost everything was loose. Then, the lead screw nuts fell off on the tail end! I got the machine stopped before the bearings joined the dirty rags on the floor... Hadn't thought of that word since basic.
So, put back together, things seem to be working so its time to to try threading on a lathe! Turned the aluminum down just a little to smooth the surface and took off the end panel to install the proper gear sets for 20 tip..the first thing I notice was that the running gear set had a pair that was loose..not loose, the bushing bolt was stripped! So, no worry, the seller will contact me soon! Nope! I put the old bolt back in long enough to turn a piece of brass bushing, used my hand taps to thread it, pulled the cross threaded bushing and installed the one I made...up and running again. So, tomorrow I'm going to have a shot at making a duplicate of the factory bolt to replace my kludged one. Oh, I forgot, yes, I got up and running and put another piece of aluminum on the lathe just to see how precise I could turn with the PM1022...I am very, very new to machining. I have to work a while to be a nubie... So, I start the machine, put it in gear, turn 5 mils in both directions, then half way toward the tail end, the machine stopped...there is that word again! Took the back off, horrible burnt odor@!!@%!%!%!$%@!@^@& But, the smell is coming from the controller board and not the motor! I look to see if anything shows having been burnt...nothing, then I lightly push a few components around...the resister they use to match the horsepower of the motor is loose! One end is making intermittent contact with the board...I soldered it, defeated the interlock and tried the start button...success! Yes, as I said before, I'm back in service....except, the drive is slipping on the lead screw again and it won't move the tool post!
But, in all, although I have not really had the chance to do any machining, I now have a pretty good idea of what a lathe is supposed to do...so wish me luck tomorrow. I really would like to learn how to do threading with a lathe....in fact I'd like to learn anything about using a lathe!:whiteflag:
