# Hello. New member, new clausing project



## 2jz4me (Aug 16, 2021)

Just wanted to say hello to everyone and say how much I have enjoyed reading threads even before I was a member.

My newest project, I picked up this clausing 6955 turret lathe for 500 bucks. I'm going to do a full restoration on it, including vfd conversion. As you can see from the pictures, it has the apron but the carriage is gone and also has no steady rest. Any help in finding one of those would be greatly appreciated.

Please, enjoy some pictures and feel free to critique the pics or anything that catches your eye. I hope my introduction thread wasn't too over the top. Lol.

P.S. Please don't judge me on my garage, it's currently a disaster.


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## ericc (Aug 16, 2021)

Nice lathe.  Is it complete, or are there a few missing parts?


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## 2jz4me (Aug 16, 2021)

ericc said:


> Nice lathe.  Is it complete, or are there a few missing parts?


Thanks! The lathe is complete minus the carriage. Any missing knobs or covers were removed getting it off the truck and into my garage.


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## markba633csi (Aug 16, 2021)

You might be in for a wait to find a carriage- you may have to buy another lathe and make one good one out of the two
Alternately, you could part this one out and probably recover most of the cost
-Mark


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## 2jz4me (Aug 16, 2021)

markba633csi said:


> You might be in for a wait to find a carriage- you may have to buy another lathe and make one good one out of the two
> Alternately, you could part this one out and probably recover most of the cost
> -Mark


Yeah, I know they aren't "easy" to come by but I do see them on ebay. My only concern with an ebay purchased is unseen wear on such an item. Even with pics at every angle, you could easily miss wear on the ways etc... It may be my only choice. I may just have to go that route.


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## Janderso (Aug 16, 2021)

Considering you have a production turret tail stock, how is the wear?
It looks like lots of work.
I like the idea of parting it out and finding one that is complete.
Maybe if I were a few decades younger with more energy I could see the potential.
My 2 cents.


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## 2jz4me (Aug 16, 2021)

Janderso said:


> Considering you have a production turret tail stock, how is the wear?
> It looks like lots of work.
> I like the idea of parting it out and finding one that is complete.
> Maybe if I were a few decades younger with more energy I could see the potential.
> My 2 cents.


The wear from what I can tell in its current condition is very little. The ways look very good, minus the surface rust. There is no grooving whatsoever, the top surface of the ways looks very good with nice edges, even through the rust. The turret is very smooth. Has very nice, definitive detent and lock mechanisms. Obviously, I don't know how well the reeves drive works but the green sleeve coating is in shockingly good condition. It looks MUCH better than the coating on my 6913. To be honest, I didn't plan on restoring the lathe when I bought it. When I saw the ad, it had the turret, a collet closer and that 8 inch 3 jaw chuck and I thought i would just take those off and sell the rest for parts. After getting it home, I would hate to do that to a lathe that is perfectly usable. You think its too much trouble sourcing a carriage and compound?


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## markba633csi (Aug 16, 2021)

Sounds like you are already familiar with older Clausings, and you already have options figured out.  One way or another I think you'll at least break even and maybe better than that- it is a nice lathe and worth saving
-M


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## Janderso (Aug 16, 2021)

2jz4me said:


> The wear from what I can tell in its current condition is very little. The ways look very good, minus the surface rust. There is no grooving whatsoever, the top surface of the ways looks very good with nice edges, even through the rust. The turret is very smooth. Has very nice, definitive detent and lock mechanisms. Obviously, I don't know how well the reeves drive works but the green sleeve coating is in shockingly good condition. It looks MUCH better than the coating on my 6913. To be honest, I didn't plan on restoring the lathe when I bought it. When I saw the ad, it had the turret, a collet closer and that 8 inch 3 jaw chuck and I thought i would just take those off and sell the rest for parts. After getting it home, I would hate to do that to a lathe that is perfectly usable. You think its too much trouble sourcing a carriage and compound?


Very good news!!
I know surface rust can look overwhelming and it can also hide important clues.
Those of us who have found a lost passion in this hobby of machine tool reconditioning have learned volumes along the way.
I'm just trying to share some insight I have picked up during my journey.


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## matthewsx (Aug 17, 2021)

Hello and welcome.

Some of us get most of our pleasure in the hobby from bringing old tools back to life. Bonus, when you fix up a tool you can use it to fix the next one


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## 2jz4me (Aug 17, 2021)

Well, I guess this is my first "update." You guys can tell me what you think of the bed condition. This is about 4 songs on iheart80's worth of wd40, razor blade and scotch brute pad, which also brings me to my next question, how does everyone feel about evaporust on bed ways, chucks and the like? I have seen just a smidgen of different opinions. Should I use it or just keep on with wd40, scraping and scrubbing? More updates to come...


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## eeler1 (Aug 18, 2021)

Don’t know about the rust, pitting shouldn’t affect anything if you stone it gently to take out any high spots.  My take; if it’s truly been used for production, with the turret, then the ways are probably in really good shape.  Turret sits still and doesn’t wear the ways.  Bushings, bearings, gears, shafts, etc might be worn out though.  Besides, aren’t the ways hardened?


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## matthewsx (Aug 18, 2021)

It looks like you're doing fine with the process you have, I'd just keep on and not spend the money on evaporust. I have a couple of chucks I've dunked in that stuff but they still need more attention, probably electrolysis.

You may not be able to do everything with the turret but there are many things you can do while you wait for the right deal to come along on a carriage. It looks like your lathe has good bones so why not see what work it'll put out without investing a ton of money now. get it going with what you have and have some fun....

John


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## 2jz4me (Aug 19, 2021)

Well, got a little more done today. Removed the turret, the apron and continued on with the bed cleaning. Also, I took of the badges. Anybody have a source for the metal name plates?

Also, does anyone know if a 5900 series carriage will fit a 6900 series lathe? As far as I know, the beds are the same. Am I wrong about that? Any info on that would be appreciated.


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