# Found a spring near my headstock; cant figure out where it came from.



## twooldvolvos (Aug 5, 2021)

*I found a spring near my headstock this morning and can't figure out where it came from.

This is a picture of the spring.




This is a picture of my lathe.  It is a South Bend 10K built around 1974.




And this is about where I found it behind the headstock on the lathe table top.




I have recently been doing light small work in my 3 jaw and 4 jaw chucks, holding the tools in my Aloris QCTP.  I have taken a good look around the lathe head stock and have examined both my chucks for any obviously missing springs but so far I haven't a clue where this spring belongs.  I also took a good look at the head stock cover interlocking system but came up empty.  Everything seems to still be working and I hear no strange noises yet.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.
*


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## RJSakowski (Aug 5, 2021)

With me, its losing springs.  Perhaps you have an opening to a wormhole near your lathe and one of the springs I lost came through.


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## Aukai (Aug 5, 2021)

Looks a little heavy for a detent spring.


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## Skierdude (Aug 5, 2021)

Many years ago a friend was completely overhauling his motor bike. When it was all reassembled he had one large bolt remaining. Drove him nuts trying to figure out what he had missed. Turned out his father had added a bolt to his pile of parts. 
Any pranksters in your household?


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## RandyWilson (Aug 5, 2021)

That's a common mean prank on new transmission builders. Toss a few checkballs, and maybe a spring or two, into the parts washing basket.


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## Firstram (Aug 5, 2021)

Skierdude said:


> Many years ago a friend was completely overhauling his motor bike. When it was all reassembled he had one large bolt remaining. Drove him nuts trying to figure out what he had missed. Turned out his father had added a bolt to his pile of parts.
> Any pranksters in your household?


I stopped by to post the exact same thing, I love doing that!


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## FOMOGO (Aug 5, 2021)

Looks to be from the Doppler engagement lever tensioning spring, from the hyper drive override assembly. Probably some Wookie with a sense of humor. Mike


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## mmcmdl (Aug 5, 2021)

I think that's the spring I lost a few years back . I'll forward shipping expenses if you return it . TIA .  As far as dropping extra parts at the jobsite with newer mechanics , I swear I'm innocent . Almost .  Nice looking SB ! Coincidence or not , my lost spring was for my SB that I sold .



			https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/lathe-nla-south-bend-heavy-10-rkr-400-selling-for-parts-sold.76393/


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## SLK001 (Aug 6, 2021)

What makes you think that it is from your lathe?  Just close proximity? 

Also, are you sure that your lathe is from 1974?  By 1974, SB was not using the start clutch anymore and was using exclusively the level clutch.


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## twooldvolvos (Aug 6, 2021)

SLK001 said:


> What makes you think that it is from your lathe?  Just close proximity?
> 
> Also, are you sure that your lathe is from 1974?  By 1974, SB was not using the start clutch anymore and was using exclusively the level clutch.



Yes, close proximity.  Plus I don't recall  seeing a spring of that size any where else in my shop. 

My serial number is 31625 KKR.  I found a database  of South Bend  laths on line.  Below is the part of the database I used to make my assumption.  Looks like I misspoke by a year.  According to this data my lath is about 1973.



*1000K*​​​​*10*​​​*10K*​​​​​*31053K*​*1973*​​​*10*​​​*10K*​​​​​*31100K*​​​​*10*​​​*10K*​​​​​*31200K*​​​​*10*​​​*10K*​​​​​*31250KAR*​*1973*​​*notes*​*10*​*4.5*​*R*​*10K V-belt*​*CL770-R 16spd*​*V-HMD*​*FFA*​*QCG*​*31300K*​​​​*10*​​​*10K*​​​​​*31400K*​​​​*10*​​​*10K*​​​​​*31500K*​​​​*10*​​​*10K*​​​​​*31527KAR*​*1973*​​​*10*​*3.5*​*Z*​*10K*​*CL670-Z 12 spd*​*HMD*​*FFA*​*QCG*​*31600K*​*1973*​​​*10*​​​*10K*​​​​​*31700K*​*1973*​​​*10*​​​*10K*​​​​​*31709KAX**11/27/1973*​*1973*​*card*​​​*10*​*4.5*​*R*​*10K gap bed*​*CL770-RG 16spd*​*V-HMD*​*FFA*​*QCG*​*31783K*​​​​​​​​​​​​*31800K*​​​​*10*​​​*10K*​​​​​


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## projectnut (Aug 6, 2021)

I think it's the one missing from the ratchet mechanism on my 6" Starrett micrometer.  I was disassembling it last week to replace the pin.  The spring was stuck in the bore so I started wiggling it with a dental tool.  Suddenly it shot out.  I looked for hours but couldn't find it.  In the end I went to a local used equipment dealer and bought a junker for parts.

I knew it went quite a distance, but all the way to New York is pretty astounding.  Just put it in a "special place" in case you need it in the future.


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## RJSakowski (Aug 6, 2021)

Over the years I have lost dozens of springs.  They have a life of their own and have the ability to find inconceivable hiding places.  Whether it be gremlins that seize on the opportunity,  or pack rats, or whatever, I usually give up and just buy or make a replacement.  

Some time in the distant future, they or their offspring will show up, at which point, I grab them and shove them in the spring box and close the lid where they are candidates for replacement for future escapades.

Seriously, if the lathe is working, hang the spring on your pegboard.  At some time the origin will reveal itself.


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## Eddyde (Aug 6, 2021)

That looks like it may be a ball detent spring from a 4 position tool holder?


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## john.oliver35 (Aug 6, 2021)

Friction spring from the cross-feed graduated dial?


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## Doug Gray (Aug 6, 2021)

Feed rod clutch would be my first thought on my machine.
maybe you have a feed rod clutch?


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## twooldvolvos (Aug 6, 2021)

john.oliver35 said:


> Friction spring from the cross-feed graduated dial?


Hmmmmmm.  As a matter of fact I did pull the dial of my cross slide.  So there is a spring in there?  Could you tell me the purpose of the spring?  The reason I took it apart was because the dial seizes up when the handle is turned in.  This makes it hard to zero out the dial after I touch off.  I'll take a look.  I end up having to back off the handle so I can get the dial to turn.  Thanks.


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## john.oliver35 (Aug 6, 2021)

twooldvolvos said:


> Hmmmmmm.  As a matter of fact I did pull the dial of my cross slide.  So there is a spring in there?  Could you tell me the purpose of the spring?  The reason I took it apart was because the dial seizes up when the handle is turned in.  This makes it hard to zero out the dial after I touch off.  I'll take a look.  I end up having to back off the handle so I can get the dial to turn.  Thanks.


On my Boxford (a SB Clone) there are two springs in the dial with set screws installed to hold them in.  The springs press against the lead screw shaft of the cross feed and provide friction that holds the dial in place as the crank is turned.  One can tighten the set screws to adjust the amount o friction on the dial.  

Adjusting these won't help with the dial being 'tight' in one direction and 'loose' in the other.  This is related to the backlash of the lead screw and I think is adjusted by another shoulder inside the cross-feed assembly.  Mine does the same thing but I have been procrastinating on taking it apart!


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## twooldvolvos (Aug 6, 2021)

john.oliver35 said:


> On my Boxford (a SB Clone) there are two springs in the dial with set screws installed to hold them in.  The springs press against the lead screw shaft of the cross feed and provide friction that holds the dial in place as the crank is turned.  One can tighten the set screws to adjust the amount o friction on the dial.
> 
> Adjusting these won't help with the dial being 'tight' in one direction and 'loose' in the other.  This is related to the backlash of the lead screw and I think is adjusted by another shoulder inside the cross-feed assembly.  Mine does the same thing but I have been procrastinating on taking it apart!


Thanks for the guidance.  I took a look at my cross slide to see if anything was obvious.  I didn't see anything obvious since the only part I took off was the handle and the dial.  However, it might be possible for the spring to have dropped out of the bottom somehow.  I'll need to look into it a bit more.


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## john.oliver35 (Aug 6, 2021)

The spring is under this set screw on the dial on my Boxford VSL:


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## SLK001 (Aug 6, 2021)

twooldvolvos said:


> Hmmmmmm.  As a matter of fact I did pull the dial of my cross slide.  So there is a spring in there?  Could you tell me the purpose of the spring?  The reason I took it apart was because the dial seizes up when the handle is turned in.  This makes it hard to zero out the dial after I touch off.  I'll take a look.  I end up having to back off the handle so I can get the dial to turn.  Thanks.



No springs in the dials on a SB.  There is just a brass shoe to provide the shaft gripping function.  You have to back off because there is too much pressure on the dial.  If your dial doesn't spin freely when loose, then there may be a burr or debris on the shaft.


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## Grendel (Aug 8, 2021)

could it be a spring off the adjuster on the quick change toolholders


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## twooldvolvos (Aug 8, 2021)

twooldvolvos said:


> *I found a spring near my headstock this morning and can't figure out where it came from.
> 
> This is a picture of the spring.
> 
> ...



Thanks to everyone for their replies.  So far I have come up empty.  However on the bright side, my lathe is still working and I had a chance to disassemble and reassemble my compound.  And my compound dial is not as sticky as it was.  The spring will remain labeled in a bag in my lathe drawer for now.


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## Louis Manfredi (Oct 25, 2021)

Spring to set drag on engaging/disengaging back gear? Does your back gear feel too easy to shift?


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## twooldvolvos (Oct 25, 2021)

Louis Manfredi said:


> Spring to set drag on engaging/disengaging back gear? Does your back gear feel too easy to shift?


I'll check.  I haven't used back gears much yet.  About the only time I have was just to experiment or to hold the spindle while changing chucks.  Thanks for the suggestion.


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## Louis Manfredi (Oct 25, 2021)

Spring seems about the right size, and you found it in about the right spot.  There's a set screw and lock nut that's supposed to hold it in against a little brass nubbin that drags against the eccentric collar thing.  But you didn't mention finding these too...

*By the by*- I think I heard its bad form to use the back gears as a lock for pulling chucks off. Better to use a strap wrench on the cone pulley. Risk of busting a tooth on the back gears if the chuck is really stuck. (The Heavy 10 I've been bringing back to life came to me missing a tooth on its bull gear, seems to run fine no-load without the tooth, but we'll see what happens when I finish the rebuild and actually put the gear train under load. Might have happened when the previous owner changed a chuck, but maybe some other accident caused it.)


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## SLK001 (Oct 25, 2021)

It looks like the spring might be as Louis surmised.  Here's a picture of your headstock assembly drawing - look at part #14:


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## twooldvolvos (Oct 30, 2021)

SLK001 said:


> It looks like the spring might be as Louis surmised.  Here's a picture of your headstock assembly drawing - look at part #14:
> 
> View attachment 383155


Thanks for the diagram!  Just checked and my bold and spring are still there.


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## twooldvolvos (Oct 30, 2021)

Louis Manfredi said:


> Spring seems about the right size, and you found it in about the right spot.  There's a set screw and lock nut that's supposed to hold it in against a little brass nubbin that drags against the eccentric collar thing.  But you didn't mention finding these too...
> 
> *By the by*- I think I heard its bad form to use the back gears as a lock for pulling chucks off. Better to use a strap wrench on the cone pulley. Risk of busting a tooth on the back gears if the chuck is really stuck. (The Heavy 10 I've been bringing back to life came to me missing a tooth on its bull gear, seems to run fine no-load without the tooth, but we'll see what happens when I finish the rebuild and actually put the gear train under load. Might have happened when the previous owner changed a chuck, but maybe some other accident caused it.)


Checked and it seems my set screw is still in place.  As for using the back gears to lick the spindle while unscrewing the chuck, I hear what you are saying.  And having had a stuck chuck I can also see how a frustrated owner will resort to almost anything.  Even Mr. Pete has admitted to using back gears to help remove a chuck.  On a couple of occasions I have put it is back gears and used a strap wrench on my chuck.  Thant usually works but I would be sick if I broke a tooth doing this.  I see on ebay that someone is 3D printing a plastic part that wedges in near the gears somewhere to safely hold the shaft.


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## evan-e-cent (Nov 30, 2021)

I think I know what it might be. A detent spring from the back gear lever. My Boxford A had a tendency to jump out of back gear. When I took the head apart I found that there was a grub screw (set Screw) with a spring like that, and a ball bearing. The screw had fallen out. Lost the spring and ball but replaced them with bits in boxes.  Now it works well. See if the side lever for back gear seems to click into place at the end of travel. Hope that helps!


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