Rare Earth Magnet in Headstock?

middle.road said:
A computer guru's method of attaining magnets for the headstock:
Inside a computer's hard disk drive (3.5" or larger) you'll find a pair a very nice strong magnets. Odd shaped but very useful.
I use them all over the shop, I've been salvaging hard drives for their bearings and magnets for years.
Working distance is low. I've placed one at the front and back on the bottom of the birmingham headstock housing where the slopes in the casting are.
Scrounging hard drives is pretty easy.
View attachment 80666

Do be advised, they are strong, field of about 1 to 1.5 inches. Don't get them near you wallet (debit/credit card mag strips) or mobile phone.
They are usually attached to a backing plate which you can use for mounting screws and such. The yellow shrink-tube one in the lower left
is from an old 5.25 full height disk drive. It is darn near a 1/2" thick and very strong. I put the tubing on it to allow getting chips and filings off of it easier.
I've had luck using solvent or heat to remove the magnet from the mounting plate.


_Dan
Click to expand...


Dan / All,

I used the same kind of magnet shown here in my 1236 lathe after the first oil change. They work very well for that purpose with no fear of it dislodging and causing a disaster. It was installed after the 1st oil change. When that oil was changed there was very little on it and after the 2nd change, just a light film of residue that so fine you'd need a microscope to see it. I left it in there and don't expect to find much on it (if anything) when I change the oil next year. After the first 2 oil changes, I only do them every 2 years now. It seems that once the gears break-in, the amount of wear is trivial. Given these gears are submerged, the last thing I'm concerned about is excessive wear.

Ray
 
Haha, you ought to see the state of two of my gears! The muppet that's managed to inflict that much damage ought to have been strung-up (or at the very least, I hope he didn't pass his machining tests!!!)....he/she re-inforced that age-old saying, "if you've got teeth, clean 'em" [crrrrrunnnnchh]

Seriously though, that's really encouraging Ray, cheers. Fingers crossed, I've got all the particles out, and with a good flush, it'll carry on for many years to come.
 
Excuse my ignorance, (I'm a newbie) but what is the structure that can be seen at the back of the lathe? It appears to consist of two connected rods and could be connected to the carriage as well. It is best seen in photos 2 and 4.
 
Doc said:
Excuse my ignorance, (I'm a newbie) but what is the structure that can be seen at the back of the lathe? It appears to consist of two connected rods and could be connected to the carriage as well. It is best seen in photos 2 and 4.
Click to expand...
If I read you correctly...look at pic #1 you will see that one is a chip guard holder and the other is actually pipe work for cutting fluid supply.
 
I purchased a three pack of rare earth magnets that where about 3/32" thick and between a U.S. dime and one cent piece in diameter. Cost was a little over one dollar. I placed these at the three lowest points in the botom of my headstock on my Cincinnati Tray-Top 12 1/2 x 42" lathe. I did this as when I drained the oil out, via the drain plug, I found particles trapped in these low points that did not drain with the oil. I have no fears about them magnetizing gears.

Vlad

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