Craftsman 101.28990 12" Metal Lathe - Refurb

I have the set screw for the spindle pulley out and can move the pulley a little to the right - maybe an 1/16“, but that’s it. The pulley and spindle gear are locked together. I’ve been spraying penetrating oil form a few dats now. tomorrow I’ll see if I can loosen the lock pin somehow, perhaps it’s not all the way out. Thanks - jim
 
Not sure but I'm thinking maybe the spindle pulley is frozen - it's not the bull gear. And the back gear assembly is not frozen. I'm going to continue to use penetrating oil around the pulley and in the pulley oil hole, then put the motor belts on and with the back gears disengaged, turn it on. Maybe that will help free up the pulley. Thoughts? Thanks.
 
The pulley on my lathe moves about 1/16" back and forth on the spindle. It doesn't matter if the lock pin is in or out. So it doesn't appear that the pulley is frozen. I am thinking more and more that the problem is the lock pin. I would focus on freeing up the lock pin. Time to start lightly tapping on the lock pin and trying to twist it. With the pin all the way in on my lathe it is .400 from the pin boss on the bull gear to the end of the pin. With the pin all the way out it is .725. Have you tried heating the lock pin with a heat gun/hair dryer. That may melt the gunk that is keeping the lock pin from moving.

Before running the lathe measure how far the pin is sticking out. If the pin is most of the way out and only barely into the pulley you might damage the pin and or the pulley by running the lathe.
 
Hello Mickri, thanks for the advice. I'll measure the lock pin. I also have a heat gun and will try it on the lock pin then some tapping and twisting. Thanks again.
 
SUCCESS! More penetrant and a good pull on the pin did nothing. I then used my heat gun and after a few minutes was able to turn the pin ever so slightly. More heat and penetrant and I was able to pull the in out - came out a good quarter inch. With the pin out the pulley and bull gear spin independently and I was able to engage or disengage the back gear. I was able to locate both pin holes in the pulley and will mark. I'm continuing to use penetrant on the pin and can sometime pull it in and out with my fingers - success! Thank you folks for your help - I appreciate it.
 
I didn’t have time today but now that things are freed up, I was planning on hooking up the belts and running the lathe with and with out the back gears engaged. The QV and lead screw are off. I used a lot of penetrant so plan to oil every thing real good for a few minutes, oil again, run again. Should I grease the teeth of all the gears first and if so with what? Assume I should run it at low speed at first. Seem reasonable? Any advise? Thanks
 
You definitely want to grease and lubricate everything before running the lathe. Robert will chime in with the proper grease to use. I use whatever I have handy. The preferred modern oil is AW-68 weight hydraulic oil. Hard to find in quantities smaller than 5 gallons. I use AW-46 hydraulic oil which is still within the spec range. Bought a gallon at O'Reilys for under $20. Lifetime supply.
 
I had an opportunity to run the lathe after a good oiling and greasing - ran great in direct drive and back gears. The lathe came with a 6" 3 jaw Craftsman chuck which I removed. It's in great shape but tight so I want to disassemble it to clean it however I can't seem to get it apart. Tried soaking it in kerosene and also tried a lot of penetrating oil with no luck. Any ideas or tricks on taking this apart? There's nothing to even tap on to seperate. Thanks for your help.
 
It takes some beating with a plastic hammer.
 
Post a picture of the chuck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top