9x20 Lathe Longitudinal lever jams while cutting

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KeithJ2014

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Hello,

I have a Hare and Forbes AL-51G lathe with is very similar to the 9x20 lathe. A while ago I dismantled my saddle and apron in order to fit a DRO. I gave all parts a good clean and then assembled it.

All seems to work well, but I have a problem in that the longitudinal feed lever is hard to disengage while taking a cut. The deeper the cut, the harder to disengage. The lever engages very easy. I have again dismantled that apron and had another good look over every thing and and gave it a good going over with lubrication, however the problem is still there.

This lathe is only a couple of years old and I have had it since new, but seldom used. Sadly I can't recall trying the longitudinal feed lever disengagement before I dismantled it :-(

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Keith
 
Last edited:
You may have to shim the apron and cross slide to have it engage easier. When I put the DRO on my 9X20 I shimmed it ,006 and it worked fine.

"Billy G"
 
If you are referring to the half-nut (aka split-nut) lever, you may not have enough lubrication on the mechanism;
a liberal application of light grease on all the moving parts may help.
 
Every lathe that I have ever used had an interlock between the feed and 1/2 nut levers that make it impossible to engage both at the same time.
These mechanisms have caused such problems in the past, some adjustment may be required.
 
Here's another possibility: My frind bought a brand new LeBlond 15 X 60 lathe some years ago. Despite it being/reputed to be very high quality, the half-nut feed lever ran in a machined dovetail that was very rough... There was also no proper lubrication on that slide. After disassembly and scraping it to flat, and adding an oil hole (capped with a set screw) it now runs like butter.

Not necessarily your problem, but I'm sure there is another lathe out there that could use the same treatment! :wink:
 
I find that on my AL50 to easily disengage the longitudinal feed lever particularly when doing heavy cuts it helps to apply some pressure to the crank thus releasing pressure on the longitudinal feed mechanism then the lever disengages very easily.
 
All, I would like to thank you very much for your kind and informative replies.

Actually the only issue I have is with the longitudinal feed lever and actually not the 1/2 nuts. I feel the top slide and carriage are correctly shimmed, and there is virtually no play. All components of the lathe are very well lubricated.

The comment Savarin offers is exactly what I have to do to make it easier to disengage the longitudinal feed lever while the lathe is taking a cut.

Any other thoughts or comments will be gratefully received.

Thank you, Keith
 
KeithJ2014 said:
Hello,

I have a Hare and Forbes AL-51G lathe with is very similar to the 9x20 lathe. A while ago I dismantled my saddle and apron in order to fit a DRO. I gave all parts a good clean and then assembled it.

All seems to work well, but I have a problem in that the longitudinal feed lever is hard to disengage while taking a cut. The deeper the cut, the harder to disengage. The lever engages very easy. I have again dismantled that apron and had another good look over every thing and and gave it a good going over with lubrication, however the problem is still there.

This lathe is only a couple of years old and I have had it since new, but seldom used. Sadly I can't recall trying the longitudinal feed lever disengagement before I dismantled it :-(

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Keith
Click to expand...
Have a similar problem. I tried to stop the carrage before it ran into the hard carriage stop. Couldn't disengage in time. Hit the stop, and the worm gear binds up.
 
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