# Craftsman 109 lathe almost running



## ericc (Apr 6, 2014)

Quite some time ago, I bought a Craftsman 109 lathe at a storage unit sale.  It was in kind of sad shape, but I have been slowly and steadily working on it to get it in running shape.  One of the problems with it was a loose front spindle bearing.  The Liberal Arts Garage gave me a suggestion to slightly tighten the nut behind the bearing.  This worked just great!  It is now within spec.  I also bought a magnetic base and dial test indicator and some 1/4" aluminum rods to test it out.

The next sticking point was that there was no back gear lock.  This must have gotten lost, along with all of the change gears that were not attached to the machine.  Somewhere on the Internet, I read that a 5/16" cube with a 8-32 threaded hole would work for this.  This is not correct!  This will not fit.  Also, there is a hand drawing on the Yahoo group that says 1/4"  This will work.  I did not make the integral cube-screw, since the late is not working yet, but the block is just fine.  It was hard to install, but it is now in.  I also got some bar and chain oil for the bearings.  They are nice and smooth now.

There was no motor, so I made a motor base out of old particle board laminated together on a giant homemade hinge bent out of flat stock and 3/4" old water pipe and fittings.  A large die grinder was used to open up one of the junk tee fittings in order to get the cut off pipe to slide in.  The ends of the tees were welded to plates and screwed to the bench.

I was so excited to turn the thing on and watch the spindle turn.  So excited, in fact, that even though I do not have a tool holder yet, I tried to carve a ball on the end of the aluminum rod with a broken wood chisel that I found on the road.  Wow!  It worked!  Chips flying off and a nice smooth finish!  This thing really has potential.  I have made a lot of ball ends with hammer and anvil, but small aluminum ones for RC car axles are really challenging, and you have to repeatedly anneal the aluminum.  It looks like this new tool will have a place in the shop as soon as I can clear out some room for a real bench.

The lead screw gear issue has not been fixed yet.  That along with the tool holder are next on the list.  I am making a tangential tool holder along the lines of FarFar's design, but I got the angles wrong, and need some more time at the forge to clean it up.  Will be done soon!  Thanks all here for the help.


----------



## itsme_Bernie (Apr 6, 2014)

Pics pics pics pics!  

Must see pics!


Bernie


----------



## kd8wdave (Apr 7, 2014)

Good for you! I had a similar issue with my little 109. I can offer some help with what I have done with my unit.
Here is a pic of mine on the bench. I cleaned it up,and have made some improvements,  and I use it to turn aluminum and plastic(PVC) mostly. I consider it my learning tool. I have bought a few gears on ebay and they were marginal at best. The most important gears IMHO are the spindle gear(attached to the spindle), the 20 and 24 tooth gears on the direction gear assembly and the 32/16 stud gear. These have to be in good condition, because if they are worn so much that the OD's don't mate up with their neighbors, you will have contact issues while trying to run the lead-screw. I have made a new spindle gear and other gears and have extended the range of the machine. Also look carefully at the banjo. When I got my unit, that part was 'cracked'. These are cast iron pieces and quite honestly I think was a pretty poor design. I figured out how to fix the banjo adjustment so you don't have to crank the screw so hard the banjo breaks. After I broke one myself, I felt this was in need of a decent solution.
I put a different motor on mine as well. I screwed up and didn't get the motor properly lined up once and did a good job of shredding the V-belt, but not to worry, because a new 'link-belt' is ready when it breaks. Have used them before on other gear, and I think they work better! 
If I keep the unit awhile longer, I may try to change the compound thread and put a dial indicator on it. I think this can be done and would be a good 'learning project'. 
I am pretty pleased with the unit and still use it occasionally, as its sometimes easier to setup than my bigger chinese lathe. I may sell mine, but for now its a neat tool for my grandkids to play with when they visit me. 



ericc said:


> ...
> 
> I was so excited to turn the thing on and watch the spindle turn.  So excited, in fact, that even though I do not have a tool holder yet, I tried to carve a ball on the end of the aluminum rod with a broken wood chisel that I found on the road.  Wow!  It worked!  Chips flying off and a nice smooth finish!  This thing really has potential.  I have made a lot of ball ends with hammer and anvil, but small aluminum ones for RC car axles are really challenging, and you have to repeatedly anneal the aluminum.  It looks like this new tool will have a place in the shop as soon as I can clear out some room for a real bench.
> 
> The lead screw gear issue has not been fixed yet.  That along with the tool holder are next on the list.  I am making a tangential tool holder along the lines of FarFar's design, but I got the angles wrong, and need some more time at the forge to clean it up.  Will be done soon!  Thanks all here for the help.


----------



## ericc (Apr 8, 2014)

Hi Bernie.  Pics are here.  There is a picture of the homemade motor mount and hinge.  There is also a close up view of my fabricated tool holder.  It has a broken drill bit in it, but I believe that I have ground the cutting angles correctly.


----------



## tkingmo (Apr 8, 2014)

I hinged my motor mount on my 109 too. I changed it; you wont like it. It will vibrate and move the whole lathe. A solid mount is much better.


----------



## ericc (Apr 8, 2014)

Hi.  This is just temporary until I get a countershaft made up.  Note that there aren't too many speeds available here.


----------

