7x14 to 7x16 Rebuild

[RaisedByWolves]

Talking about the feed motor for the leadscrew.

No room at the front under/below the (custom) control panel and I will not mount the motor sticking out the side of the change-gear cover as that would mean the lathe not fitting in the space I have for it.

I literally have the width of the lathe (outer end face of change-gear cover to tailstock end of bed) plus 4" which is more like 3-1/4" when I have it moved forwards and bolted down. Heck, the space is that tight, I can not even get the tailstock off when the lathe is bolted down.

I’m thinking of possibly mounting mine under the tailstock inside the bed and having a shaft come out the rh side with a set of clogged pullies.

Pretty much just to keep the side cover form factor the same.

 

[GrifterGuru]

I’m thinking of possibly mounting mine under the tailstock inside the bed and having a shaft come out the rh side with a set of clogged pullies.

Pretty much just to keep the side cover form factor the same.

I thought about that, but the motor size would not allow it (it is wider than the bed web), there is more chance of swarf getting onto it, it would block access to the underside of the ways (I have to slip my steady rest clamp up from the underside) and generally be a pain.

At least on the rear-side of the bed it can be covered with a protective shroud, requires only a couple of small M5 bolt holes for the mount and belt cover and mounted low enough, will still allow for a DRO scale to be mounted should I want to fit one.

Apart from that, I still need to slice/dice/weld the Backsplash / splash-panel / splashguard to create a deeper one with a "trap door" that opens for easier swarf removeal/cleaning and use of something else I have in mind.

Also going to lay a thin plate in over the webs in the centre of the bed so that swarf only drops out at the headstock end.

Yes, lots of little jobs to tick off before the rebuild is done.

 

[dabear3428]

I thought about that, but the motor size would not allow it (it is wider than the bed web), there is more chance of swarf getting onto it, it would block access to the underside of the ways (I have to slip my steady rest clamp up from the underside) and generally be a pain.

At least on the rear-side of the bed it can be covered with a protective shroud, requires only a couple of small M5 bolt holes for the mount and belt cover and mounted low enough, will still allow for a DRO scale to be mounted should I want to fit one.

Apart from that, I still need to slice/dice/weld the Backsplash / splash-panel / splashguard to create a deeper one with a "trap door" that opens for easier swarf removeal/cleaning and use of something else I have in mind.

Also going to lay a thin plate in over the webs in the centre of the bed so that swarf only drops out at the headstock end.

Yes, lots of little jobs to tick off before the rebuild is done.

I have to ask, at this point would it have been better to custom build a lathe from scratch?

 

[GrifterGuru]

I have to ask, at this point would it have been better to custom build a lathe from scratch?

To be fair, this rebuild is literally just that. A custom build, using a mix of stock, aftermarket and custom parts. It did, however, simply start as a straight "rebuild" losing the junk, replacing it with much better stock parts. It soon morphed into what it is now after experiencing frustrations and finding things I would have done better myself if I had designed & built the lathe myself.

By cherry-picking the best of stock parts, adding a custom motor/controller option, modifying the backsplash, doing the extra-extended travel mod + new feedscrew and carrier boss, bearing fitted top-slide feedscrew, custom control panel and adding a plate to cover the webs.

The rest is simple improvement or adding what should have been there from the beginning like a split leadscrew and leadscrew bearings.

 

[dabear3428]

To be fair, this rebuild is literally just that. A custom build, using a mix of stock, aftermarket and custom parts. It did, however, simply start as a straight "rebuild" losing the junk, replacing it with much better stock parts. It soon morphed into what it is now after experiencing frustrations and finding things I would have done better myself if I had designed & built the lathe myself.

By cherry-picking the best of stock parts, adding a custom motor/controller option, modifying the backsplash, doing the extra-extended travel mod + new feedscrew and carrier boss, bearing fitted top-slide feedscrew, custom control panel and adding a plate to cover the webs.

The rest is simple improvement or adding what should have been there from the beginning like a split leadscrew and leadscrew bearings.

lol like i said "I had to ask", your trials and tribulations are entertaining at least,

 

[RaisedByWolves]

I thought about that, but the motor size would not allow it (it is wider than the bed web), there is more chance of swarf getting onto it, it would block access to the underside of the ways (I have to slip my steady rest clamp up from the underside) and generally be a pain.

At least on the rear-side of the bed it can be covered with a protective shroud, requires only a couple of small M5 bolt holes for the mount and belt cover and mounted low enough, will still allow for a DRO scale to be mounted should I want to fit one.

Apart from that, I still need to slice/dice/weld the Backsplash / splash-panel / splashguard to create a deeper one with a "trap door" that opens for easier swarf removeal/cleaning and use of something else I have in mind.

Also going to lay a thin plate in over the webs in the centre of the bed so that swarf only drops out at the headstock end.

Yes, lots of little jobs to tick off before the rebuild is done.

LOL, search function is borked now....


Not sure if it was you who commented on the lentgths of the oiling upgrade Im doing, but your backsplash idea sure sound like something I would do.

I have a 3" gap behind the bench where my machines will be and I thought of either a sloped chute or a motorized conveyor to let me blow the chips back behind the bench and occasionally clean them out in a batch.

 

[GrifterGuru]

lol like i said "I had to ask", your trials and tribulations are entertaining at least,

Its all fair comment and as the truism goes "you never know unless you ask".

Besides, I kinda jumped down the rabbit hole rather than slipped into it after I started with a "straight" rebuild having realised this was the oportunity to build it my way (frank Sinatra anyone? .

I know what I want from this lathe platform and rebuilding to my own spec was the only real way to get that and yes, I am aware, painfully aware, of the limitations but that does not mean I do not know how to get the best out of it.

The SC3 I am currently using in the meantime has also thrown up some indications of what needs to be done and what I would like to do. One of the big issues was rearwards cross-slide travel toward the operator (or the lack thereof) another was fitting bearings to the leadscrew pillow blocks.

The rearwards travel was a simple case of milling the saddle out. The pillow blocks? still puzzling over the best bearing type to use (needle or race)

I also found that a two speed headstock would work better to give more torque at lower spindle speed when combined with a more powerful motor, hence going with a brushless 1100W motor which is 120% more powerful than the SC3's brushless motor at a scrawny 500W.

It will be done when it is done. There is no hurry at the moment.

 

[dabear3428]

Its all fair comment and as the truism goes "you never know unless you ask".

Besides, I kinda jumped down the rabbit hole rather than slipped into it after I started with a "straight" rebuild having realised this was the oportunity to build it my way (frank Sinatra anyone? .

I know what I want from this lathe platform and rebuilding to my own spec was the only real way to get that and yes, I am aware, painfully aware, of the limitations but that does not mean I do not know how to get the best out of it.

The SC3 I am currently using in the meantime has also thrown up some indications of what needs to be done and what I would like to do. One of the big issues was rearwards cross-slide travel toward the operator (or the lack thereof) another was fitting bearings to the leadscrew pillow blocks.

The rearwards travel was a simple case of milling the saddle out. The pillow blocks? still puzzling over the best bearing type to use (needle or race)

I also found that a two speed headstock would work better to give more torque at lower spindle speed when combined with a more powerful motor, hence going with a brushless 1100W motor which is 120% more powerful than the SC3's brushless motor at a scrawny 500W.

It will be done when it is done. There is no hurry at the moment.

I was under the impression that the main limitation of a 7X10/12/14/16 was the bed and lack of rigidity?

 

[GrifterGuru]

LOL, search function is borked now....


Not sure if it was you who commented on the lentgths of the oiling upgrade Im doing, but your backsplash idea sure sound like something I would do.

I have a 3" gap behind the bench where my machines will be and I thought of either a sloped chute or a motorized conveyor to let me blow the chips back behind the bench and occasionally clean them out in a batch.

@RaisedByWolves

I am literally extending the backsplah backwards enough to allow "easy removal" of the cross slide without removing the feedscrew or carrier boss. (hassle, bearings etc).

The "trap door" in the bottom of the backsplash below the rear of the ways will drop into/onto a high angle slope (45 degrees or more) of sheet steel that slopes straight into the chip tray. It will be hinged from below and have a perimeter layer of neoprene to stop "dribbles" of cutting oil. Also planning on a Q/R system for the trap door, something like a quarter turn fastener.

I was under the impression that the main limitation of a 7X10/12/14/16 was the bed and lack of rigidity?

@dabear3428

There are more limitations in the pee-poor engineering than just the rigidity issue.. The lack of bearings in the leadscrew, the lack of rearwards cross slide travel, the lack of bearings to the cross or top slide feedscrews, the junk spindle bearings.

The lack of rigidity can be countered to a small extent with certain methods, but it will always be "noodle like" no matter what is done.

 

[GrifterGuru]

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