Question re: boring bushings for Atlas 6 inch lathe

[Woodsman 22]

Hello Everyone;

I originally posted this in the Atlas threads section, but decided I might be likely to get more replies here, as mine is very much a newbie sort of question:
"New forum member here and this is my first post (and I am a novice at machining). I was given an old Atlas 618 lathe by a friend who passed away and I have taken it down into parts for rebuilding/refinishing. The old countershaft hanger bushings (or bearings, if that is the correct term) were so worn and the countershaft spindle so scored and worn in spots that I ordered a new spindle and bought two bushings from a local bearing supply house.
I pressed in the bushings and rigged up a setup on the lathe using an angle plate and bolts (Chinese 9 X 20) to hold the spindle holes/bushings in line with the lathe axis but the countershaft hanger slipped while boring through the first bushing (which I did by turning the lathe spindle -three jaw chuck attached- with a spindle crank in the lathe).
I stopped there and checked the new spindle in the bushing and it was a tight fit, and "looked" straight, but it is off by about 1/16" when pushed over to the other bushing. In other words- the two bushings will not line up.
So my question is; can anyone suggest a rigid setup for holding this oddly shaped piece (the countershaft assembly) on the lathe cross slide to bore new bushings for the countershaft spindle? I am wondering what kind of fixture they used at the factory for this job. And by the way, I used the hand crank rather than boring under power because I was afraid the reamer would do damage to the part if the part slipped while being bored under power. Thanks for putting up with my long post!"
Also, am I correct in assuming that the right procedure is to press fit the bushings into the part first and then bore the bushings to size for the spindle since they most likely get squeezed down a bit after pressing into the bore?

 

[Bob Korves]

I am assuming that the bushings come slightly under the finished internal size. If so, I would install the bushings, and then ream or line bore them to properly fit the shaft (spindle.)

 

[Woodsman 22]

I am assuming that the bushings come slightly under the finished internal size. If so, I would install the bushings, and then ream or line bore them to properly fit the shaft (spindle.)

That was my assumption also, and what I tried to do. Thanks for your reply, Bob.

 

[Bob Korves]

What are the bushings that you bought made of? Also, what are the rough I. D., O. D., and length of the bushings?
Edit: What provisions did Atlas (or someone later) make for lubricating the bushings?

 

[4GSR]

Find you a "king pin" adjustable reamer with a guide bushing. They are all over eBay as "adjustable reamer". Not a valve guide reamer.

Here's a couple of examples of the one's I'm talking about:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chadwick-an...161559?hash=item33cc320257:g:8CwAAOSwdGFY38cd

A Hand reamer may work if the flutes are long enough.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cleveland-T...717187?hash=item3d32870f83:g:GzcAAOSwUKxYmQUm

Never had much luck with these, but may work too.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-8-Hand-Ex...732756?hash=item2126508854:g:vXAAAOSw32lYwDkL

 

[Woodsman 22]

What are the bushings that you bought made of? Also, what are the rough I. D., O. D., and length of the bushings?
Edit: What provisions did Atlas (or someone later) make for lubricating the bushings?

Bob;
The bushings are oilite.
I am a little embarrassed to say that I don't really know the dimensions of the new bushings that I installed!
What I did was I pressed out the old bushings and took them to the local "Philadelphia Ball Bearing" industrial supply house and handed them over to the clerk behind the counter (these guys know their stuff- really!) . He told me he did't have them in the original length, but did have could get the appropriate sized ones in a little longer length (about 3/16" longer) . So I ordered them and when received, I just pressed them into the housing using a 12 ton hydraulic press. No problems there. I can trim them to length on the mill afterward.
The spindle that rides in those bearings miked to .49975" , so I figure a .501" chucking reamer should be appropriate. But I didn't go that route and buy one (should have though). Instead I found a piece of .500" bright steel rod of unknown composition (probably leaded, by how easy it cut) and made a "D" reamer per
Dave Gingery procedure. In retrospect, not so good an idea- it worked on the first bushing, but it was a bear to get through and when I pushed it over to the other bushing it was out of line by about 1/16th inch. Yeah, I had to laugh at my own silliness. I didn't want to get them from Clausing (if they even still have them) because they charge so much. They charged $66.00 for the new countershaft hanger spindle.

 

[Woodsman 22]

Find you a "king pin" adjustable reamer with a guide bushing. They are all over eBay as "adjustable reamer". Not a valve guide reamer.

Here's a couple of examples of the one's I'm talking about:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chadwick-an...161559?hash=item33cc320257:g:8CwAAOSwdGFY38cd

A Hand reamer may work if the flutes are long enough.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cleveland-T...717187?hash=item3d32870f83:g:GzcAAOSwUKxYmQUm

Never had much luck with these, but may work too.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-8-Hand-Ex...732756?hash=item2126508854:g:vXAAAOSw32lYwDkL

 

[Woodsman 22]

Ken;

Those are some interesting alternatives that I will investigate. I noticed that one of the ebay reamers you linked to has spiral flutes. Are those better for this application than the straight fluted ones? Also, is driving the reamer with a crank better or should I be doing this under power? The weak link in all this is the setup for holding the odd shaped countershaft hanger so that it doesn't move. When I tried to bore the bushings the first time, the reamer lifted the entire hanger up by about 1/8" as it moved into the bore even though I "thought" I had it bolted tight to an angle plate on my lathe compound slide (the slide has T-slots like the old Emco Maier lathes did).

 

[4GSR]

I would hand ream the holes back into alignment. Power reaming could get you hung up and getting yourself hurt. Plus with hand reaming, you have better control over the alignment while reaming. With the adjustable reamers, you're only taking a half thousandth, more or less, at a time. Yes, it is slow. Does a spiral reamer work better than a straight flute reamer? Under power, yes, take more force to get the reamer to cut. Stick with the straight adjustable blade reamer with a pilot, if you are able to find one not too pricy.
I don't know the distance between the bearings, can't be much on the 618 lathe from what I recall. Maybe able to modify a adjustable reamer with some kind of pilot to work with you situation.

 

[Woodsman 22]

I would hand ream the holes back into alignment. Power reaming could get you hung up and getting yourself hurt. Plus with hand reaming, you have better control over the alignment while reaming. With the adjustable reamers, you're only taking a half thousandth, more or less, at a time. Yes, it is slow. Does a spiral reamer work better than a straight flute reamer? Under power, yes, take more force to get the reamer to cut. Stick with the straight adjustable blade reamer with a pilot, if you are able to find one not too pricy.
I don't know the distance between the bearings, can't be much on the 618 lathe from what I recall. Maybe able to modify a adjustable reamer with some kind of pilot to work with you situation.

Thanks for all the information. Yes, I will locate an adjustable reamer. As for modifying with a pilot- I don't know how to do that. I put dead centers in both ends of the bushings (between headstock and tailstock) and made sure they were positioned snug into the holes, then setup the angle plate and bolts to hold the countershaft handger in place. I am going to have to come up with something more rigid this time. As to the distance between the bearings; it is maybe about 4 inches. Hand reaming it will be.