Wabeco 6000E Modifications

[Cadillac STS]

I am going to start this thread for posting any modifications for the Wabeco 6000 or any other Wabeco lathe. Anyone else please post up!

First one, simple tailstock lock

I know some newer models have a cam lock lever for this but this is an easy way to get simple locking without a wrench.

I noticed it took less than a quarter turn with a wrench to lock the tail stock down so I made a "Nut" with some stock aluminum (10X1.5 thread.) Put it on instead of the standard nut. Turn until it locks and mark for a handle to drill and tap to fit right where it will lock with a pull to the left and unlock when back to the right. It works great, easy to lock and unlock with no wrench.

The handle is made from a 6 inch stainless steel bolt 5/16 18 thread. I cut one end off and threaded it to fit on a ball same thread. You can see the witness marks from the chuck while threading, stainless is hard and I could't keep it from spinning.

 

[Cadillac STS]

Next one is replacing the nuts on the cross slide with same aluminum nut and handle setup.

I do some things that repeatedly need to move the cross slide and didn't like to get the wrench out every time both sides when just pushing the handles works easily.

Need to make the "Nuts" (10X1.5 thread) short to clear the slide for turning. Big enough diameter to get a handle to thread in to pull tight. Same as the tail stock nut, make the nut, put it on and turn it tight so you can mark the place to drill and thread for the handle. You can see where on the right one I needed to drill and tap a second hole because it didn't lock down strong enough.

Most of the time there is no problem with any turning needed but the handles screw out easy enough on the occasion they are in the way.

On the head stock side there are times when I am too close to use the long handle on that side so I made a short piece with no ball that clears the slide turning and can get as close as needed. They screw in and out easily.

It has been a very nice handy addition.

 

[Cadillac STS]

Next one is a way to make very nice facing passes because it is simple to make the turns with the cross slide handle so large

I made this handle out of aluminum stock and made it so it was longest but not interfering with the hand wheel below.

The stock handle is held on with a pin that can be pushed out with a punch and mallet carefully.

Drill a hole in the bar the right size and drill a hole for the pin to fit back in.

The handle "Knob" is a handle that goes to a Bridgeport mill gib lock. Noticed those on my Bridgeport as a nice handle with 5/16 X18 threads. Can buy those on ebay.

The handle comes off when not needed for facing.

It also makes it very easy to move your cross slide through its whole range to be able to clean and lube it up easier. It is probably good to run the entire span from time to time to avoid too much wear just in the middle and grease build up at the ends.

 

[Jackch]

I have a D6000 Wabeco I added stepper motors, power supply, Gecko drivers and an ELS. If anyone is interested I will take photo's and do a description. Since very few hobby's seem to have the Wabeco lathes this is the first time I have seen any interest. I think its great you started this thread. Jack

 

[Cadillac STS]

I have a D6000 Wabeco I added stepper motors, power supply, Gecko drivers and an ELS. If anyone is interested I will take photo's and do a description. Since very few hobby's seem to have the Wabeco lathes this is the first time I have seen any interest. I think its great you started this thread. Jack

Go ahead and post pics of your setup. Close ups of the gear to connect the motors would be helpful for anyone looking here.

Not many Wabeco threads at all on the net and I think this will draw some viewership because of that. Adding keywords D2000 D3000 D3000E D4000 D4000E so people might be sent here by searching those.

The more pics the better!

 

[Cadillac STS]

Placing an inexpensive Quick Change Tool Post

I know there is a QCTP that goes right on the D6000 with the 9 degree steps for angle adjustment, etc.. That costs over $1000 from what I could tell. And the extra holders are $120 or so. This one is the lowest cost QCTP that I could fine that was a wedge design. Cost about $125 including 5 holders for cutting, facing, knurling, boring bar, cut off tool. And the extra tool holders are about $18.

There are some modification needed to make it work and this post will show how. Can also use this info for mounting on other types of lathes as needed.




The screw post coming up is too short to just add a nut to. So there needs to be an extension of that bolt for a nut to grab and hold down.



This is what I did. It is an error. I was planning on cutting and tapping a shaft that would be threaded to go over the bolt going up and then thread the top to match the same thread pattern as the bolt (10X1.5) and use the stock machine top bolt. (Essentially just extending the stock bolt about an inch or so using the same stock top handle) I cut the shaft on top too small to thread so threaded a smaller size and needed to make a top cap and handle. If I were to do it over I would do as first planned. But currently it works and until it breaks I'll keep going with it. For some reason this QCTP is a bit smaller right near the bottom and that is why that shaft is cut like that. Other holders might be different.



Next issue is the cross slide is too close to the bottom of the post holder and the tools are not able to go low enough to be used. See the "Ridge" next to the tool holder, that stops the holder from going down any further.



I didn't want to cut on the lathe in any way. What worked was to trim down the bottom of the tool holders. This was done easily on my Bridgeport. Took off almost a quarter of an inch from the bottoms. It does weaken the holder but for my purposes it is plenty strong. And the trade off of trimming a larger more rigid QCTP versus a smaller QCTP is much better.



See the bottom has about 1/4 inch of steel left. I got two matching left and right 3/4 inch Kennemetal tool holders and dozens of inserts so it made most sense to cut those down to fit as well and have years worth of inserts to change as I go.



Here is a comparison to show what was needed to trim off. I trimmed the entire bottom of the regular tool holders so I could swivel the entire path. On the boring bar, cut off tool and knurling tool I just trimmed the side.



The boring bar holder. I still think it is very rigid even with the trimming.

 

[darkzero]

Thanks for sharing, I've always admired the Wabeco lathes & mills, nice quality.

 

[Cadillac STS]

Tail stock mini turret. I know everyone has seen these but it does work and is nice for cutting two holes, small to start then easily change to Finnish size.



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This is my serial number. Is there a log somewhere with information based on number like date of manufacture? 9412116