11" 1957-2 Refurb

[Dmp2275]

I may get blasted for this but after finishing the lathe, i had to tool up since i didnt have much. Im a young guy with student loans, a mortgage, and a pending wedding so i didnt have the money to waste on expensive high end tooling. Ill spend on the important stuff like drills, cutting tools, inserts, etc, but the tooling holders, collets, etc. all came from Shars. It only cost a few hundred to completely tool up for most work and Shars includes accuracy guarantees on this stuff so i know what im getting.. if it doesnt spec out i send it back. I have to say, ive been extremely impressed with the carbide tool holders and the XL AXA QCTP holders as well (using 5/8" shanks). The collets are 5c and i modified my production closer to be used as a standard hand operated closer.

 

[Dmp2275]

And finally, here it is in action..
This is Heat Treated 4140.
Turning down to 1" diameter to use as table pins for a press im building.
-18.5" of total cut length
-CCMT carbide insert
-1238rpm (max speed)
-.005" feed rate
-roughly 500sfpm (gathered from feedback from other users turning 4140HT on practical machinist).
-around .020" DOC (.040" off total diameter)

The first photo is a video so click to see the cutting process

 

[autonoz]

Great job on the rebuild. How does the spindle break work on the Logan?

 

[Dmp2275]

To be frank, it sucks. It's basically just a little piece of leather that rubs the spindle. This lathe spins down quick enough that I don't think it provides much/any benefit. If I can figure out a way to keep the chuck in place for quick stops, I'd much rather go to a VFD with a braking resistor. On the Bridgeport, I can stop and have the spindle come to a stop in fractions of a second. It's marvelous for rigid power tapping and would be nice for threading too.

 

[Steve Shannon]

Snip...
I dont have any other friends with milling machines that im willing to ask for help, so i went and did the next most logical thing.. i bought a bridgeport.
Snip..,

Words cannot express the hero worship I'm feeling...

 

[MBfrontier]

Hey, Dmp2275.

Nice job on your machine restorations. Very nice finish on your 4140 pins.

What kind of paint did you use?

I have a 1957 Logan 11 X 36. I replaced all the jack shaft and spindle bearings and I see you replaced some bearings as well. My strategy was to deal with any of the major components that needed attention and then disassemble and refinish what is left. Mine came with a 3 phase motor that needed new bearings as well. In addition, I decided to go with a VFD to run the three phase motor and wired the on/off forward reverse switch wired directly to the VFD. I added a potentiometer for variable speed which is wired directly to the VFD as well. The lathe came with the same collet closer set up you have for yours and 60 5C collets but I haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet.

Here's where the progress is on mine:

 

[Dmp2275]

MBfrontier,
I used an alkyd enamel from TSC (tractor supply). It's basically farm implement paint. Colors were IH white (basically a light almond) and MF grey. I've had really good luck with alkyd enamels if they're done right. They take a long time to cure and really do best with a primer (but they're usable without). I really like the grey as its dark with a lot of green in it and looks "vintage". I just finished my 20 ton press and did it in the same grey.




I must say, I'm a little jealous of your Logan! It has everything that I'm missing: 55" bed, the cabinet I prefer, and a VFD! I also like that belt tensioning mechanism on the drive unit better. Mine seems a little hokey.

 

[MBfrontier]

Nice looking 20 ton press. I have one I bought from HF. It's one of those items that I hardly use but, when needed, nothing else will do.

I like your chip pan where it has a lower middle section. Looks like it will make it easier for chip removal. I see some 1957's with a chip pan like yours and others that are flat with a built in steel cup in the rear to accommodate liquid coolant like mine. I don't know if that is a generational design or some type of option where you could pick which chip pan came with the lathe.

My collet closer came mounted on my machine. I'm a rookie hobbyist so I won't be involved in repetitive machining operations so, like you, I took it off to be able to frequently open the cover. Here's a picture of my collet closer and collets that came with this machine:

You mentioned in a previous post "The collets are 5c and i modified my production closer to be used as a standard hand operated closer." I am very interested in how you modified your collet closer to operate the closing by hand instead of using the lever. Any info you could post in this thread would be appreciated.

My next assembly to address is the QCGB. It runs fine without any issues although I won't know if any of the Oilite bearings are worn until I get it apart.

Good luck on using your machines.

 

[Dmp2275]

I do a lot of automotive work so the press gets used a fair amount. I had a little HF 12 ton and i became tired of pumping the jack handle in short order so i built this 20 ton with an air/hydraulic jack. I disassembled the jack and mounted a pressure gauge and put draw tubes in it so it can be used upside down. Sure is nice just hitting a button!

Before i get to the collet closer, id recommend disassembling your gearbox asap. mine seemed "fine" when i first checked it out but almost every bushing was worn through and the 5/8" shaft that the levers ride on was severely worn. Just a side note, McMaster Carr has every bushing and the 5/8" keyed shaft i needed. total cost was like $25. I did upgrade to the iron based Oilite bushings as they seemed to be rated for higher loads.

Collet closer mods:
1) remove the set screws and pull the old bearing blocks off the draw tube. They may be a light press fit.


2) take a bunch of measurements and figure out where your new handle will sit on the draw tube. There are steps where the bearings mount so if the handle will sit over these, youll need to turn them down to match the diameter of the rest of the tube. Just a note on this, the center hole in my buck 4-jaw wasn't large enough to pass the draw tube back through the spindle so i ended up using a 3 jaw set-tru chuck. I centered it as close as i could but it still a thou or two offcenter where i turned the steps down. Not noticeable during use..



3) Make a handle for the draw tube. I used a chunk of 3" aluminum. Part stickout is pretty far on this but didn't have any issues. I bored the center hole first for a snug fit on the draw tube. Then i wacked the end off on my bandsaw (that i also restored). Back to the lathe, created a step on the end of the handle that fits into the taper on the back of the spindle.





4) Drilled 2 holes in the handle (one on either side) and thread 5/16-18. These are for set screws to hold the handle in place. To prevent the handle from going anywhere, i marked the holes on the draw tube and milled flats that the set screws fit into on the draw tube. I left the tube long at first until i could try it out, then i knocked like 4" off the end. I left around 1.5" of drawtube sticking past the handle as i plan to make a spyder to hold long objects out the backside (thinking rifle barrel)

 

[Dmp2275]

Here's a project i started with collets:

Draw tube cut down:

-6al-4v titanium, turning to 1.125" to fit largest collet.




Where it sits now:
On its way to being a wedding ring..