Got My First Lathe... Logan 1875 - With Restoration.

[Mr Mike]

Mike you are doing a great job, not only with the restoration of your lathe, but the documentation of it in this thread. Not everyone takes the large amounts of time to take pictures, load them to the site and then describe everything. We are all very grateful of your efforts and appreciative of your unselfishness to being willing to help us all learn and enjoy your fun. Thank you!

Thanks for the kind words Randy. I'm glade I found this forum I wasn't complaining, There are so many nice folks here sharing their knowledge with everyone. I highly doubt anyone will learn anything new from this thread but the documentation is still important with tons of photos that can be used in the future by others trying to Id and locate missing parts from their Logan 1875, I don't mind contributing and helping where I can.

The world would be a better place if it operated like this forum, Kick out the all the haters and everyone share info freely.

Thanks Mike.

 

[Mr Mike]

Ok so while I'm waiting for paint to cure for the next week or so, its time to play mad scientist starting with the Tailstock, Yup Electrolytic rust removal. I don't do videos often but I may do one on electrolytic rust removal because while there are many videos out there on the subject, there lacking details that would be useful. I'm am by no means a wiz on the subject, but I have electronic tools that can shed some light on what is going on and how to control it.

I believe I have the science down pretty good, Its gotten to the point with all the testing.. lots and lots of testing that I can tell when the parts are done without having to pull the part to visibly check it, Now I'm working on the what If's - Like what if all the rust has been removed and something comes up and you forget and leave the part cooking on High or Low current for an extended period. that kinda stuff.

The problem is videos take allot of time, energy, and expertise to be of good quality, along with a good setup which I don't have. Not to mention I don't have that camera friendly look or audio voice, I actually began making a video once on how to convert an upright golden tee video game cabinet into the much more popular pedestal type but never finished the video because I didn't want to be seen in it so I created it all graphically and It just takes me to long.

The video below took over 8+ hrs, To create a mere 48 second video - I literally tried my best to make a cool video that would be fun to watch.. I re-created the terminator effect as part of the intro, After the intro it was going to be lots of photos with a voice-over explaining the whole conversion process... I started putting the photos in order ( I had Hundreds of photos ) and editing scenes together and when playing back the video checking for errors in the sections, I realized I don't have a good video sounding voice either, so I gave up. I may or may not be willing.. we'll see.

On the plus side Ive been a busy beaver working on the tail stock.. I tore it down and am currently removing rust, the fun way. I'll post Pic's when I have the electrolysis done. I also need to order the 2 part rubber to make the motor mount bushings and order the Leg levelers for the cabinets.

After the tail stock I'll start on the scary part.. The spindle head & bearings, The scary part is if I mess a gear or something important up - I'm going to cry my eyes out because I don't have the skill to make a part and or it will be really hard to replace. So ya I'm gonna be real careful like and may need advice. Thanks for looking - Mike.

Sneek Peak..
Its possible to remove the rust and leave the intact paint using electrolysis if needed. This tail-stock Handle was in the electrolysis bath for 4 Hrs, The water was already clear of rust an hour earlier but I didn't think to pull the handle out, it was cooking off additional paint while I was creating this post..

I was thinking of polishing it and spraying a clear coat over the original paint and keeping this handle as the only original part for the nostalgia. Ill pay more attention to the compound slide handle and run it in the tank alone, This handle is going back in to remove the rest of the paint. I have some other cool stuff to show that we will get to later.

 

[Mr Mike]

All the rust and paint have been removed from the Tailstock handle, time to polish it up before painting the center.



Caution.. Do not buff or polish any metal that requires dimensional accuracy..!
Polishing metal is just like sanding wood, you are removing surface material.

If your interested.. here is what I used to polish up this tailstock handle.

Everything pictured above is from Harbor Freight.
Central Machinery bench buffer - Item# 61557 - it worked great. $45.00
Three buffing compounds - Black , Gray and Green. $4.99 ea.

If you never polished metal before - the right way to do it is sand the part with 320 grit sand paper to remove tiny nicks and smooth out the surface then use 400 grit paper to remove the 320 grit scratches and so on.. continuing on with then next highest grit through to 600, If you really want a mirror finish then use 800, 1000, 1200 and you will have an amazing mirror finish when your done.

After the metal is all sanded you then polish the part starting with the black polishing compound - like sand paper but having finer abrasives.. some of the abrasive compounds are better suited to different metals - the ones pictured above are for steel. just think of the black as being a fine abrasive, the gray a super fine and the green an ultra fine..

There are lots of videos on you tube - watch a few then grab your stuff, something to practice on like a spoon from the kitchen drawer and polish it.
you'll be a pro in no time, The bottom side of spoons are a good start because they usually have very fine scratches that will just polish out without sanding.

A pretty good video to watch about polishing procedures is from Eastwood, goes into detail about it.

Have fun.. Mike.

Electrolysis using a glass tank - Which I do not recommend, If it breaks.. Ouch


De-Rusting tailstock handle. Note there are fewer bubbles in painted areas.
The tank is running just strait tap water, No washing soda, @ 8 Amps.


Rust and paint removed over night, then scrubbed with an ultra fine Scotch Bright pad.


All polished up to a semi gloss finish like the rest of the machine. About 30 Minutes work.


Taped off and ready for paint, I used electrical tape for flexibility.


I sprayed both sides with one coat each of primer, paint and matt clear coat 15 min apart.


After removing the tape I used acetone to clean the paint from the polished areas, looks pretty snazzy..!


It looks much better with the paint dry - before and after shot... I need to find a coating to protect the polished surface
from future rust... Anyone have some tried and true options..?

 

[Mr Mike]

Lots of rust removal is going on with the tailstock and components getting them ready for paint.

I started on the two large tailstock parts but found I was not able to get the Amps up even with washing soda because my anodes were inadequate. So I built some new ones for the small tank I am using to add more surface area, The new anodes work like a charm.

Even with a whole cup of washing soda the amps maxed out at 2.04.


Even thou the parts were cooking over night there was still some paint left scattered about.



I welded up two new anode sides


I put the Large tailstock parts back into the tank to remove the rest of the paint & rust.


Without any washing soda I was able to get the amps up.. Note the AC only clamp shows about
half of the actual amps being drawn by the tank.


Everything is moving along nicely..! most all the tailstock parts are done..


I left the clamping plate as I found it with accumulated caked on oils and dirt to see what effect
it will have with the electrolysis.


I'll be plenty busy this weekend tearing stuff apart getting lots of parts ready for electrolysis...

 

[HRgx]

Mr Mike, your work, patience, perseverance and attention to detail continues to amaze me. I can't wait to see the finish product, but don't rush it as too am patient.

 

[Mr Mike]

Mr Mike, your work, patience, perseverance and attention to detail continues to amaze me. I can't wait to see the finish product, but don't rush it as too am patient.

Hi HRgx...
Your gonna have to stop with the compliments... your making me blush.

Here is a sneak peek to wet your whistle, I'm thinking about replace some of the original
cabinet and bed support fasteners with stainless steel ones.

 

[Mr Mike]

The Tailstock and parts are all cleaned bagged and put away..
If you look closely at the tailstock bed clamp you'll notice its filthy covered in grim, electrolysis
ate right through it but didn't have enough time to eat all the paint off.

I just have to say thanks to everyone that suggested electrolytic rust removal when I started
this project, Its been a life saver..

Most everything here but the Quill could have been cleaned with a wire wheel or EvapOrust
but the tank was ready after removing the upper and lower tailstock, and electrolysis removes
everything down to clean metal, Less work for me.


After pulling the upper and lower tailstock and components from the tank I used Scotch Bright
to shine everything and get it ready for paint.


Everything came out excellent.


I need to see if these 1/4" ball oilers are available before I attempt to extract them.


Next on my cleaning list, Is the Headstock... 20 bucks says I put it back together, and then I
realize its missing the belts.. That would be so like me to do that.


Till next time...

 

[Nogoingback]

Hi HRgx...
Your gonna have to stop with the compliments... your making me blush.

Here is a sneak peek to wet your whistle, I'm thinking about replace some of the original
cabinet and bed support fasteners with stainless steel ones.
View attachment 247230





View attachment 247231

If I didn't know better I would swear you were painting a car rather than a machine tool. When you're finished will you be willing to slather it in chips and oil? Looks great!

 

[Mr Mike]

If I didn't know better I would swear you were painting a car rather than a machine tool. When you're finished will you be willing to slather it in chips and oil? Looks great!

Hello Nogoingback..

I will absolutely be making chips on it.. of what I have no Idea.

 

[Mr Mike]

Working on the headstock today I ran into a major snafu... The rear take up nut would not come off no matter what I tried. Well the last trick worked..!

After soaking the rear take-up nut 2 times for a half hour, being very cautious and not apply too much pressure to the locked backgears I could not get the nut to loosen, I then tried an approch I saw in a 7"X10" lathe spindle removal video I saw on YouTube.


Using an All thread bar that I tightened to the best of my ability I still could not get the take-up nut to budge.


Using a Dremel tool with a cut off wheel I sliced the nut and used a screwdriver pry and spread apart the nut, which then came right off.


Unfortunately I gouged the top of a thread and nicked another with the Dremel tool, The damage is minor but no less painful.
Once the nut was removed I noticed that the spindle rotated much more freely because the bearing were no longer binding up.


Again I used the spindle nut removal trick to take off the front take-up nut.. It was tight but no issue loosening it.


The gear puller made fast work of removing this gear.


I carefully removed the thin metal covers using a small pry bar wedged between the bearing and bearing covers with no damage.


Using a press to remove the rear bearing.


All components were removed from the headstock.


My lathe must be a younger one, none of the gears were missing their teeth..





The headstock is undergoing electrolysis using only tap water... And a low amperage.


What a minor nightmare it was tearing down this headstock, Well the rear take-up nut anyways.. the rest of the headstock came apart as expected.
Everything looks good so far,