# help please



## 1917modelt (Oct 22, 2017)

i just purchased a 101 craftsman 6"machine lathe
i have the countershaft and the motor hooked up
and everything runs good, manually .....
as soon as i try to engage the carriage for auto feed, the unit locks up, and the motor wont turn.
seems that something is locked up
even when i flip the left side lever to engage the carriage feed it locks up
what am i doing wrong ?


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## David S (Oct 22, 2017)

One thing to check is the thread dial.  If it is engaged to the lead screw and seized it will lock things up.  Back it away for the lead screw by loosing the square head bolt.

David


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## 1917modelt (Oct 22, 2017)

iam baffled, that gear is free and no where near the carriage lead screw


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## T Bredehoft (Oct 22, 2017)

with the lathe turned off and the right/left feed toggle in neutral, can you turn the gear on the end of the feed screw?  Perhaps there's a gear jammed.


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## 1917modelt (Oct 22, 2017)

T Bredehoft said:


> with the lathe turned off and the right/left feed toggle in neutral, can you turn the gear on the end of the feed screw?  Perhaps there's a gear jammed.


Tom
the lathe turns fine in the manual operation


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## 1917modelt (Oct 22, 2017)

maybe if i send you a photo of my gear setup, you might be able to see the problem ?


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## 1917modelt (Oct 22, 2017)

1917modelt said:


> Tom
> the lathe turns fine in the manual operation




turned on the spindal turns and so does the chuck


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## T Bredehoft (Oct 22, 2017)

1917modelt said:


> as soon as i try to engage the carriage for auto feed, the unit locks up



Is this true when the motor is turned off? and you turn the chuck by hand with the feed engaged?


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## wa5cab (Oct 23, 2017)

The FWD-OFF-REV control on the left end of the headstock is called the Tumbler.  The cast bracket that the change gears on the left end are mounted on is called either the Change Gear Bracket or the Banjo.  I'm assuming that the motor runs and the spindle turns when the tumbler is in the center ODD position, but that if you put it in either FWD or REV the motor stalls.

Loosen the pinch bolt and drop the banjo down as though you were going to change the gear setup.  Engage FWD and then REV with the tumbler and confirm that the motor runs.  Put on surgical gloves (the gears should have a lot of grease on them).  If the motor didn't run in the previous step, one of the two tumbler gears is locked up.  Fix it. 

If the motor did run, rock or rattle each gear on the banjo back and forth until you find one that won't move.  Fix it.


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## dlane (Oct 23, 2017)

1 : send  pic s of what's wrong, and lathe


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## RJSakowski (Oct 23, 2017)

It is possible to set up gears so that two gears on one shaft are engaged with two gears on another shaft.  Simply, if the sum of the gear teeth on one shaft is the same as the sum  on another shaft.  For example, a 64 and a 32  on one shaft engage with a 40 and 56 on another shaft woould lock the gear train. If the sums are close to each other, there still could be enough tooth engagement to lock the gear train.  Normal threading and power feed setups are calcu;ated not to let this happen but the PO may have been playing around with the gears.


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## wa5cab (Oct 24, 2017)

Yes, that's a possibility.  And a better outcome than to find one of the gears or the lead screw seized up


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