[How-To] Central Machinery 9x20 Lathe

[Vin81]

wish me luck. Thanks for the info.

 

[wachuko]

No rush... take your time.

If you are getting a lot of metal particles/dust everywhere from machining the cast iron, use the brush recommendation. I was so glad when someone in the forum recommended that. In my case, there was a lot of material that I needed to remove. In your case, it should not be that bad... but just in case you need it.

 

[Aaron_W]

That doesn’t look right. Are you sure you didn’t purchase a wood lathe chuck?

Regardless of the brand all of these 9x20 lathes seem to come with the same funky 4 jaw chuck. It is pretty much a face plate with weird bolt on jaws.

 

[Aaron_W]

So this happened today. I was searching local Craig’s list and found an ad for sale. It was a G4000, brand new still in packing. It’s 20 years old and never used. I picked it up, now I have 2.

So I picked it up for $350, brought it home and started taking the paper off the factory dried out grease. It was a bit involved, but it’s sparkling new under that old grease and fragile paper.

My plan now is to make the repairs to the original one and sell it, and install the up grades to this one and start using it.

What a week. Here are the pics.

You got quite a deal there. I have an early 90s Enco 9x20 I got a few years ago for $300, but it was missing the change gears, as well as most of the accessories other than the 3 jaw chuck.

 

[matthewsx]

Regardless of the brand all of these 9x20 lathes seem to come with the same funky 4 jaw chuck. It is pretty much a face plate with weird bolt on jaws.

Okay, still doesn't look right to me. Long as it works though I guess it'll be fine once he gets it setup correctly.

John

 

[Vin81]

Is this normal runout and play?

 

[Vin81]

Okay, still doesn't look right to me. Long as it works though I guess it'll be fine once he gets it setup correctly.

John

I’m going to store the chuck that came with lathe away, and install a 4 jaw independent from shars.

 

[durableoreo]

I have one of those red lathes. I think it was about 400 $ when I purchased it 4 years ago. Make some parts first, then look into all the usual fitting issues. The worst for me was the strips that hold the carriage to the ways. Otherwise, a solid tool post is a good upgrade. I struggled with chatter until I finished scraping the cross slide ways and corrected the angle on the dovetail. It is not a beginner project but it may eventually be a stepping stone in your machinist journey. Also, guarding is helpful. ROBRENZ has a video about that on YT. Having 2 lathes will alleviate many machine-rebuilding anxieties.

 

[wrmiller]

Great find on the G4000. That thing was on my 'short list' for a time. You can use one lathe to make parts for the other if needed. Again, nice 'barn find'.

 

[Vin81]

I started installing a speed gauge tonight. Waiting for the 9v battery clip and bracket to come in tomorrow. I will also install an on/off switch. Hoping the 9v will last a while or I’ll have to figure something else out. Might be a pain to keep swapping out batteries.

Next project… turn the plate for the 4 jaw independent chuck, and get it Installed. What speed should I be at to turn that steel? I seen a few videos, I can’t say I’m not a bit nervous. any suggestions?