Worm Gear removal

D

dhoppe1

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Dec 21, 2013
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I have removed the Apron from my south Bend 16 but I had some issues. It is a series 0 apron from 1919. When I tried slide the apron off of the end of the lead screw it bound up on me. Am I correct that they worm gear should just slide along the lead screw? I ended up removing the lead screw from the lathe and then disassembling the apron but the worm gear is still on the screw. I will not move either way. Am I missing something here? Could my lead screw be bent at this point and that causing the binding? I have included a pic of what I have at this point.

Thanks,
Derrick

20140805_205751.jpeg

20140805_205751.jpeg
 
Yeah that worm gear is supposed to slide off the leadscrew. The gear is keyed to the shaft but should be free to slide. The mounting bracket should be free to rotate on the gear. It has a collar that screws off to allow the gear to be removed from the bracket. Can you not slide the gear back in the direction you came from? Some gentle persausion may help. Maybe a piece of crud is binding in the keyway? If you can slide it out of the way maybe sight along the screw looking for a bend. If your saddle was able to be cranked from full left to full right before you pulled it down then the gear should be able to move past where it is binding now.
Good luck

Cheers Phil
 
That is the funny thing, I never took the carriage that far down because of the tail stock so I don't know if it would go that far. They key freely moves around but it will not go either way at this point. I have tried a little heat on the worm gear, but that did not help. And I have not been able to get the collar off either. I am just trying to be gentle and not break anything. I already found that the gear that moves the carriage back and forth needs replacing.

Thank you for your reply.

Derrick
 
Derrick,
how did this go?
Im inclined to think you need to knock the gear back along the shaft where it came from and check for a problem. If its a bent leadscrew you may be able to get past the offending area by flexing the shaft. if its crud you may be able to clean it enough. Maybe also it is a burr that has been pushed into the keyway and is catching the key as it slides?

Cheers Phil
 
Thank you for checking on me. I got frustrated and scared of damaging things so I left it for a few days. The metal on this 1919 lathe just seems to be soft and easy to damage. Or maybe I am just paranoid. Last night I came up with a plan and it worked. I bought a piece of 1 1/4 inch schedule 40 pipe and slid it over the leadscrew against the worm gear. It allowed me to drive the worm gear back where it came from. Before that I could not figure out where to drive it back without breaking something. After the worm gear was out of the way I found some damage to the lead screw. I am going to clean that up to allow the removal of the worm gear.

I found that the pinion gear that drives the carriage is damaged. Any idea where I can get on of those for a Series O apron? I also need to get a new key for the worm gear. My old one is broken.

Thanks,
Derrick
 
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