10F Apron/Saddle Installation Suggestions Needed

[rfdes]

I would appreciate some input in regards to reinstalling the saddle/apron combination back onto the bed.
The saddle and apron were removed for cleaning and restoration and now I'm close to reinstalling
the assembly. What I am curious about is whether it makes sense to install the saddle first, getting it tweaked
etc. Then installing the apron. What would be the easiest and proper way to do this? Although I took the entire
assembly off as a whole unit, it seems like it would be much easier to install the saddle first, by itself. What kind
of trouble, if any, am I looking at?

Thanks
Jim

 

[pdentrem]

You are ow the right path. Mind that you can only tweak to a point without the apron but that is the nature of the beast. Depending on the wear on the ways you will have to compromise on the shims so that you can use the full lenght of the bed. I used Belleville washers on the bolts that hold the bearing plates 10F-54. This way there was a bit of tension still applied while the carriage was close to the head where the sloop was the worst.
Pierre

 

[Mondo]

I remove the carriage/apron assy for cleaning and inspection periodically. I put it back on the same way, as a complete assembly.

My procedure (assumes I am not making any adjustments to the multi-layer carriage shims that are used to compensate for wear between top of ways and bottom of carriage surfaces) :

• Remove tooling from tailstock then loosen tailstock clamp and slide tailstock off the end of the bed.
• Remove tool post then remove compound by backing off compound clamp screws and lift compound off cross slide.
• Loosen cross-slide gib screws and winding cross slide crank clockwise until screw runs out of thread and sliding cross slide off carriage
• Remove leadscrew adjusting nuts and remove leadscrew bearing.
• Open split nuts by raising lever and slide leadscrew out of drive bearing and out of carriage.
• Loosen carriage gib screws then wind traverse handwheel clockwise until it runs off the rack, then slide carriage off the bed.

Once on the bench I can remove the apron from the carriage and service the mechanisms as required.

Putting it all back together in the reverse order I make certain the carriage gib screws are in place and aligned with the depressions in the carriage gib, but loose enough for me to slide the carriage back onto the bed until the handwheel traverse gear engages the rack, then I can crank the carriage fully onto the lathe by turning the handwheel counter clockwise. The rest is easy-peasy.

Make certain when adujsting the carriage gib screws that the carriage does not twist on the verticle axis but are not so tight that the carriage cannot traverse the length of the useful travel.

Once you have the carriage completely on the bed you will need to re-adjust the carriage gibs so that the cross-slide ways are perfect 90° to the spindle axis. I use a large drive plate of known good perpendicularity to the spindle axis and put a dial indicator on the top of the tool post and indicate on the drive plate then wind the cross-slide crank to check the indicator across the width of the drive plate. Adjust the carriage gibs as required so there is no change in indication accross the width of the plate. You may need to make minute adjustments in the cross-slide gibs so that it slides smoothly front-to-back to make this carriage adjustment. If you do not make this adjustment to the carriage gib you may not be able to make a nice "square" face-off cut and turning to shoulders will not be square to the axis and nothing else will be reliable.

- Spiral_Chips