[How-To] Modified Colchester lathe headstock "clutch housing" - fixing headstock oil leak on Colchester Chipmaster/Harrison 10-AA

[FliesLikeABrick]

Looks clean! good luck and I look forward to hearing how it went / with which seals

 

[paul s]

Should this gap be there? I'm guessing this is an oil leak waiting to happen:

Edit: I see the screws for the cover will pull this up tight to the headstock casting; it must have created a gap after I removed the cover and actuated the clutch. Nonetheless, I'm guessing this will need to be removed for resealing?

 

[FliesLikeABrick]

Should this gap be there? I'm guessing this is an oil leak waiting to happen:
View attachment 460358
Edit: I see the screws for the cover will pull this up tight to the headstock casting; it must have created a gap after I removed the cover and actuated the clutch. Nonetheless, I'm guessing this will need to be removed for resealing?

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. I believe what you are showing is the cover off of the brake housing, and the brake liner/sleeve that moves ? Yes that moves (when the screws are out) when you actuate the clutch/brake on one direction or the other. I don't think you can practically remove it, I believe there's a fork or something that goes through the back of it. I think what I did was moved the clutch/brake lever whichever way pushed that sleeve out the furthest, then used some solvent (brake parts cleaner) and rags to clean the surface for RTV.

How's the seal replacement going, did you end up tracking down a promising replacement?

 

[paul s]

Yes, that's the brake housing, and it's already been removed - I removed the clutch shaft and fork, have new orings for the shaft.

I ordered the two seals from 123bearings.com, they haven't arrived yet, coming from France I believe.

I've got the headstock cleaned out, and the gearbox as well. I used mineral spirits in a Sureshot sprayer, some isopropyl, and some Oil Eater for the stained painted surfaces. I've cleaned all the fasteners and run a tap in all the threaded holes to clean out the muck. The paint still looks crappy, but the lathe will start it's new life with me nice and clean.

 

[FliesLikeABrick]

Yes, that's the brake housing, and it's already been removed - I removed the clutch shaft and fork, have new orings for the shaft.

I ordered the two seals from 123bearings.com, they haven't arrived yet, coming from France I believe.

I've got the headstock cleaned out, and the gearbox as well. I used mineral spirits in a Sureshot sprayer, some isopropyl, and some Oil Eater for the stained painted surfaces. I've cleaned all the fasteners and run a tap in all the threaded holes to clean out the muck. The paint still looks crappy, but the lathe will start it's new life with me nice and clean.

Cool thanks for the update. I eagerly await how your seal repair turns out and if you find one that works it'll be valuable info in the thread

 

[paul s]

Any hints on getting the gearbox cover back on? Apparently, there are two different PN's for the bronze shifting pads and I can't figure out which is which. And to compound things, see I can't see inside the box while replacing the cover, it has to be done by feel. One of the bronze pads appears to have a taper.

 

[FliesLikeABrick]

Any hints on getting the gearbox cover back on? Apparently, there are two different PN's for the bronze shifting pads and I can't figure out which is which. And to compound things, see I can't see inside the box while replacing the cover, it has to be done by feel. One of the bronze pads appears to have a taper.

Ah sorry no, I didn't have mine fully opened up for this repair. The only thing I can think of is to make sure you have the handles timed with the current state of the internals so the pads drop in

 

[paul s]

Got it back together - this time I used Hylomar Blue to seal it, as my last attempt ended in having to scrape off skinned over RTV. I am noticing that I sometimes have difficulty in fully engaging the leadscrew direction lever to the right. If I engage the lever to the left and don't move any of the end gears, it will easily engage fully to the right. If I engage the lever to the left and move the end gears, I have difficulty engaging the lever to the right, unless I reach down and manually move the leadscrew clutch. Is this normal behavior?

By the way - tracking says my seals for the clutch should arrive tomorrow.

 

[FliesLikeABrick]

I am noticing that I sometimes have difficulty in fully engaging the leadscrew direction lever to the right. If I engage the lever to the left and don't move any of the end gears, it will easily engage fully to the right. If I engage the lever to the left and move the end gears, I have difficulty engaging the lever to the right, unless I reach down and manually move the leadscrew clutch. Is this normal behavior?

If you turn the spindle by hand while moving the shift lever, does it help? It is common to need to turn an input or output part of the gearbox when shifting any of the parts, because they don't have beveled teeth and aren't a running gearbox with synchros. So they need help getting into mesh

 

[paul s]

If you turn the spindle by hand while moving the shift lever, does it help? It is common to need to turn an input or output part of the gearbox when shifting any of the parts, because they don't have beveled teeth and aren't a running gearbox with synchros. So they need help getting into mesh

I don't have the belts on yet and don't have the leadscrew installed, but if turn the leadscrew clutch slightly, the gears will drop into mesh.