buying advice for Smithy 1220XL 3 in 1

[Grasshopper]

Awaiting one little C clip before I can re-assemble this Power feed gear box. In the meantime I wondered which grease is preferred for use on the steel gears? Lithium. axle grease???

 

[higgite]

From the Smithy website:
https://smithy.com/product-support/maintenanceGrease Points
"In addition to oiling your machine, some Smithy's are equipped with grease fittings and you should plan to grease these points at least once a month. In our shop we use, a general automotive and industrial multi-purpose grease from Valvoline.
You should also coat the gear train gears with a light layer of Multi-Purpose Moly Grease. If you have a Granite machine or CZ-239, keep the quick change gear box lubricated with Moly & Graphite Chain and Cable Lube. The wand allows you to access the gears easily and chain lube tends to be "stickier" and better penetrating."

Hope it helps.

Tom

 

[markba633csi]

Those were some munched gears, hopefully not too expensive to replace
Was that a case of previous owner abuse?
Mark

 

[Grasshopper]

From the Smithy website:
https://smithy.com/product-support/maintenanceGrease Points
"In addition to oiling your machine, some Smithy's are equipped with grease fittings and you should plan to grease these points at least once a month. In our shop we use, a general automotive and industrial multi-purpose grease from Valvoline.
You should also coat the gear train gears with a light layer of Multi-Purpose Moly Grease. If you have a Granite machine or CZ-239, keep the quick change gear box lubricated with Moly & Graphite Chain and Cable Lube. The wand allows you to access the gears easily and chain lube tends to be "stickier" and better penetrating."

Hope it helps.

Tom

Thanks Tom. Just want to do this once and that means correctly. Or should I say hopefully?

 

[Grasshopper]

Those were some munched gears, hopefully not too expensive to replace
Was that a case of previous owner abuse?
Mark

It was the PO. The parts are surprisingly inexpensive! A few mins ago I noticed a rough spot on the "1/2 nut" lever when rotating the lever. I'd better open that up to see what else is worn or damaged. Shipping cost would be cheaper if I could look ahead.

 

[higgite]

Shipping cost would be cheaper if I could look ahead.

Patience, Grasshopper.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Tom

 

[markba633csi]

Good deal, I have heard that Smithy is pretty good about providing parts and information- the machine may have some weaknesses but having a good company behind it helps to offset that

 

[Grasshopper]

I finally have a working lathe/mill. It would have been done 2 weeks ago but as usual I discovered that I needed "one more part". The gear that transfers power into the "Power Drive" selector box is located in the Gear & Pulley cabinet. When I pushed the spline gear adapter onto the gear shaft it split into. I wondered why until I noticed the elongated hole on one side. This all goes back to why I had to rebuild this gear box in the first place. The rotational direction lever shouldn't be moved while the lathe is turning. The gears are square cut and non-synchronized, of course. They cannot mesh without being forced to while running. This in turn bevels these 2 gears which I showed in another pic. That impact is transferred to the gear shaft> then thru the cotter pin>then thru the splined gear adapter. One pic shows the elongated hole and a fracture where it was also coming apart. That cotter pin was hammered against this part so many times that it eventually elongated the hole. The cotter pin is independent of the gear so it was obviously designed to be the fuse between ignorance and machine. The replacement part is twice as long so I cut it in half drilled it out. This was the first time I was able to use my machine as I needed to match drill the new adapter. What a pleasure. Took my time with measurements, used the DRO to center the hole and a #31 bit. Time to learn how to operate the lathe and mill now. I'll start another thread for stupid questions. LOL

 

[markba633csi]

That looks like a decent vise you have there- better than some of the swivelly adjustable things I have seen, is that a Smithy accessory?
Mark

 

[WCraig]

Good stuff!

Craig
(Is it just me or does it look like it should have fresh, hot coffee waiting for you anytime you walk up to the machine? )