King TD-45AA lathe apron modifications

[ilya]

In the end I decided to make the reservoir from 24 gauge copper sheet. The material was on the smaller side, so I could only orient the layout diagonally. The layout lines were very visible on bare copper, so I wasted time covering the copper with layout blue.

After watching a few soldering and sheetmetal videos on YouTube, bending the box into shape and soldering it was pretty straightforward, the box was even oil-tight.

However, it would not fit into the rectangular space in the apron that I had envisioned :-(. Thankfully I got two sheets of copper, so I'm all set for attempt #2. Debating whether to make a rectangular pipe and solder the bottom or to repeat the same layout, just 1/8" narrower.

 

[ilya]

Attempt #2 was a complete success. The box fit neatly into the corner and generally looks a lot tidier than the first one I made. I took the time to wipe off excess flux paste and it really paid off with minimal solder runoff.

There was a convenient 1/4" hole via which one of the half nut guide plates is mounted. I threaded it all the way through and transfer punched a mark on the brass reservoir. Now it sits well supported on an apron casting "shelf" and is retained by a short bolt.

Overall, I'm quite surprised, having never soldered anything besides electrical wires, how few iterations it took to make a decent looking box.

 

[ilya]

Next item on the list is to route copper pipes with wicks inside to the various points on the apron where additional lubrication is needed. Eyeballing the space inside the apron, it seems like 1/4" OD copper pipes would be about the biggest that would fit. Does that sound about right?

I experimented a little with pipe cleaners as oil wicks, but that didn't work. Got a length of cotton wicking material to try next. I'm wondering about the effect on the oil flow rate of enclosing a wick in a copper tube, and if the direction and curvature of the copper tube matters.

 

[DavidR8]

Top notch work!

 

[ilya]

Finally a bit of progress to report. We got a 3D printer on Black Friday and it seriously delayed the lathe project. When I finally got back to it, I ordered some 13/64" copper tubing and started to learn how to bend it. After a few collapsed test bends, I decided to follow the YouTube advice and filled the pipe with salt before trying to bend it. What a difference!



I pulled a few strands of cotton wick through the pipe and filled the oil reservoir with some Motorex synthetic left over from my motorcycling days. It's tinted red which is very helpful in judging the wicking action progress. The oil moved through the first 1/4" of the wick almost instantly. I took the second photo after about 2 hours. The oil has made it into the pipe, but not a drop from the other end.

 

[matthewsx]

I have the same lathe more or less. Samson/Tida5 AA.

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out. Mine is pretty much just squirt some oil in there and let it drip out. Not sure it needs anything better but really don’t know.

John