# My "new" Clausing 5904



## djb25 (Aug 19, 2014)

Picked this up last week. 

Clausing 5904. Mostly surface rust, ways look to be in great shape. No actual chuck, just some weird disc that I suppose may be some kind of collet holder. No drawbar with it, so I have no idea.

Serial number is 505738, which I believe means it was produced around 1966. 

I took a bit of a risk, since I wasn't able to run it (seller didn't have 3 phase). Was said to have been running fine when it was removed from the machine shop that it spent most of its life in. 

I was planning on pulling the variable speed assembly from the machine, but after cleaning it up, it actually looks to be in good shape. The plastic bushings were replaced with bronze, for example, and the green coating looks to be intact. I do have a Teco vfd on the way, but I'm going to try and keep the variable speed if possible. 

I'm giving it a quick repaint using Benjamin Moore Super Spec in platinum gray. Not the original color, but I'm not going all out refinishing the thing. I hope to put it to good use shortly. 

Oh, and I paid $500. Seemed like a pretty good deal!


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## drs23 (Aug 19, 2014)

Looks like a good score. Any tooling that's not shown? How hard are tailstocks for that unit to find?


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## djb25 (Aug 19, 2014)

It does have the tailstock, micrometer stop for the carriage, and threading dial. I had to pull the motor, intermediate shaft, and tailstock to lift it with my tractor. Even then my 1026r barely lifted it. 

It's heavy!


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## drs23 (Aug 19, 2014)

Even better! Keep the pics coming while you make it pretty!


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## RandyM (Aug 19, 2014)

Deal like that you can't pass up. She's a beauty. Oh, and really like your moving equipment.

:thumbzup3:


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## djb25 (Aug 19, 2014)

Anyone know of a good (cheap) source for the belt that runs from the intermediary shaft to the spindle?


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## djb25 (Aug 19, 2014)

Okay, I did a search and found the info on the belts. 

This came from a thread on a 5914, but as far as I can tell, the belts are the same. 

The timing belt (from countershaft to spindle), Clausing part no. 051-047, is a 630H150 timing belt, 1/2" Pitch, 1-1/2" Width, 126 Teeth, 63.00" Pitch Length. 

The variable speed belt is a 1930v400 belt, 30 Degree Angle Pulley, Cogged, 1.2" Top Width, 0.47" Height, 40" Pitch Length. 

Both are actually available from Amazon. $56.90 for the timing belt and $60.10 for the variable speed belt. 

Unless someone advises me otherwise, I'm going to order one of each. My timing belt is in pretty rough shape.


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## djb25 (Aug 21, 2014)

It's alive! 

The Teco VFD showed up today, so I finally got the chance to test the variable speed system. 

I temporarily wired up the VFD, and after messing around for a while trying to figure out how to bleed the system, the sheaves moved! 

Unfortunately, it wouldn't hold the speed. 

At first I thought it was more air in the system, but it turned out that the spring inside the speed adjuster had broken off, so there was no spring tension. Apparently the spring works against the hydraulic pressure to hold the adjustment. 

I imagine I could just bend the end of the spring and reinstall it, but I can't figure out a way to bend the end of the spring so that it will fit into the shaft. 

Anyone have any ideas?


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## djb25 (Aug 24, 2014)

Pretty exciting discovery today! 

I cleaned up the backplate that came with the lathe and discovered it is a bison 6 1/4" backplate.

And I just happen to have a new bison 6 1/4" 3 jaw chuck just waiting for the lathe! 

Pretty lucky, really. The cheapest I've seen that backplate is $179. 




Now, a question. 

The backplate was attached to this: 




I have no idea what it is. It is nicely machined, but it has no internal taper and no apparent function. It is machined with a recess to fit the bison backplate.




The seller told me that the lathe was used with collets exclusively, so perhaps this was a sort of protector for the spindle cone?

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## djb25 (Aug 24, 2014)

I should also mention that I've gotten the variable speed working. Using a large assortment of vise grips and pliers, I got the spring bent and reinstalled. It holds speed very nicely now. 

The variable speed is kind of loud, but seems to run smoothly. No issues changing speeds. It works so well that the VFD speed control really isn't necessary.


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## djb25 (Aug 25, 2014)

Well, she's all painted up and mostly reassembled. 




The bison backplate I have is slightly too large to fit my bison chuck. The "plug" needs to be machined down a small amount to fit. Is this normal for a bison backplate? I kind of assumed it would fit right on, but perhaps this is so the chuck can be trued up a bit to the lathe? 


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## zmotorsports (Aug 25, 2014)

DAMN!!!!  That turned out nice. :man:

Mike.


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## djb25 (Aug 25, 2014)

Thanks! 

It looks better in the photo than in person, but I'm happy. I sprayed the removable parts and brushed the rest, but if I did it over again, I would spray the whole lathe. It turned out much better. I wasn't sure if the Benjamin Moore Super Spec would be okay if I thinned it (the can says "do not thin"). I thinned it with acetone and got a nice, smooth finish. The only problem is that it takes a long time to dry, whether brushed or sprayed. 

Now I just need to find an L00 backplate and a decent 4 jaw chuck.


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## djb25 (Sep 2, 2014)

Well, it's finished! 

Turned a piece of mild steel tonight and I have to say that I'm really impressed. Nice finish with zero effort. Definitely miles beyond my 8" junior south bend and the Sheldon the Clausing replaced.

VFD install was painless, too!

Here she is in her new home, all wired up and leveled: 




One question - does everyone bolt their lathe to the floor? Do I need to?

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## wa5cab (Sep 3, 2014)

djb25,

Everyone doesn't bolt their machines down.  Some even put them on fixed height casters.  But it's my opinion that one should follow the manufacturer's instructions which at least on the smaller lathes will always say to bolt it down.  In most cases it will reduce vibration because the mass of the floor is added to the mass of the machine.  The lighter the lathe is, the more adding mass helps.

Nice looking machine.

Robert D.



djb25 said:


> Well, it's finished!
> 
> One question - does everyone bolt their lathe to the floor? Do I need to?
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## Dhector (Jun 12, 2017)

djb25 said:


> Okay, I did a search and found the info on the belts.
> 
> This came from a thread on a 5914, but as far as I can tell, the belts are the same.
> 
> ...



I realize this thread is a little old but do you know if the variable speed belt you mentioned is the same as a 6913 Clausing? I want to get a spare of each of these belts. The 051-047 is the same as what I see in my manual but I cant find a manual for the 5904 you bought. My manual shows 051-038 as the variable belt is what I need. Is that the same as the variable belt number you posted? Any help is appreciated.


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## djb25 (Sep 16, 2017)

Dhector said:


> I realize this thread is a little old but do you know if the variable speed belt you mentioned is the same as a 6913 Clausing? I want to get a spare of each of these belts. The 051-047 is the same as what I see in my manual but I cant find a manual for the 5904 you bought. My manual shows 051-038 as the variable belt is what I need. Is that the same as the variable belt number you posted? Any help is appreciated.



Sorry for taking so long to reply... although, three months isn’t quite as long as three years. 

According to my manual, the variable speed belt part number is 051-036. So it may not be the same for the 6913.


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## Dhector (Sep 16, 2017)

djb25 said:


> Sorry for taking so long to reply... although, three months isn’t quite as long as three years.
> 
> According to my manual, the variable speed belt part number is 051-036. So it may not be the same for the 6913.



No problem on time. Thanks for the the reply too. I appreciate it.


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