Craftsman 101 Lathe Thread Dial Indicator - Stiff

[Pat of TN]

Hello gentlemen.

I'm growing tired of treating every thread like a metric thread, having to manually crank the spindle in reverse on my little 6x18 to cut any thread... you see - the thread dial indicator is fairly stiff. Even after the standard soaking in WD-40, it's not really usable. Typically, the leadscrew just bends out and away from it if the lathe is powered while the TDI is engaged with the screw. The gear on the TDI can be turned fairly freely, but I'd say it would have to be almost free-spinning to not warp the tiny 1/2" leadscrew.

Was wondering if there's a way to disassemble the TDI, possibly to polish down any grime or burrs on the inside, or to grease, etc.. I can't see anything obvious, no screws or such. Or perhaps I'm missing something else!

Thanks.

 

[louosten]

I had the same problem with the TDI on my Atlas 10F. Try soaking it in kerosene for a couple of days. Mine spun freely afterwards. Good Luck!
Lou O.

 

[great white]

My 10F had the same issue. The leadscrew would just push it out of the way.

Tried soaking it and pulled lots of brass filings (from a PO) out of it where the wheel runs by the inner shield and then it ran, but was still very stiff.

I finally shouldered the thread indicator gear in a small wood block and gave the shaft in the center of it a VERY light tap with a ball peen.

Now it runs smooth as butta.....



Use this advice with caution and at your own risk though. There's no way of knowing if my PO had done something to the TDI that caused it to lock up or not. Your resolution to your problem may not be the same as mine....

 

[francist]

I've taken a couple apart for my 618 -- pretty easy. The brass toothed wheel that engages the lead screw is just a press fit on to the steel shaft. Take the TDI off the apron, invert it and support the brass gear on the sides in vise jaws or something, and tap the shaft out from the bottom with a pin punch. It might have gotten pressed on too tightly by a previous owner and could be causing it to bind against the casting of the TDI.

Bear in mind that when you reinstall the brass gear to the shaft after cleaning, your index marks/ points where the lead screw engages freely may be a little different than they were before because you've changed the relationship of the brass toothed gear to index marks on the face of the dial (unless you get really lucky and it goes back on in exactly the same orientation).

-frank

 

[Pat of TN]

Soaking it in kerosene seemed to work, it runs great now! Thanks, folks.

 

[Round in circles]

Keep it clean & lubed with WD 40 once a month .
I had to put the actual gear wrapped in thick cardboard in the lathe 3 jaw chuck & ran it at low speed ..... spraying it whilst holding the body , after about 10 seconds of this and gently trying to slide it up and down the small movement of the shaft it started pumping out all manner of crud ,. it's as free as a bird now