My First Lathe, But It Needs Some Work, Where To Start?

Congratulations on the new lathe. My condolences to your wife on your new hobby. :) You should have many hours of satisfaction making and fixing things, beginning with your new lathe. On those busted gear teeth... whenever I've had metals that I wasn't comfortable brazing or welding I've had good luck with this method. I make a dovetail undercut in the gear where the teeth were lost and slide a block of replacement teeth into the dovetail. First, make both a positive and negative profile template of the "good" teeth. Next, file out the old teeth and continue into the gear about 2/3 the tooth depth. I usually start the undercut of the dovetail with a fine hacksaw and clean up with a small file after. Next I make block to fit the hole and then cut the teeth using hacksaw and file. That's where the profile gauges come in handy. The pressure angle of the gearing hold the block into the gear in use and as long as the block is a snug fit I've never had one come apart. I little prick punching to help hold it couldn't hurt though.

Also, when I get a new piece of equipment that needs much work I just tear it down and repair/restore anything needing attention. Do it once and be done with it. Just my method.

I tried uploading a sketch but am having difficulty uploading jpg's to an album :(. I'll edit this post if that changes.
 
Matthew Nelson said:
So I took the plunge and bought a lathe. It's my first "real" tool. I got a Craftsman 101 (same as an Atlas 618 from what I've been reading). It wasn't too hard of a decision since it was almost free. The guy also gave me a nice Craftsman bench grinder and two tool boxes full of misc. stuff (most of which I'm not sure what they are).

It sat unused for a while, plus it needs some work. I'm looking for some advice on the best order of operations to get this little champ working well again. Once I got it home and put back together, I turned it on for a quick test run. There are a few issues right off the bat that I know need to be addressed: 1- The back-feed gears have a bunch of broken or missing teeth (um... but I don't know what the back-feed is used for... ). 2- The Eccentric Handle has a too much play, and doesn't stay in place (not sure if that's the right name, but it's the small lever that engages the back-feed gears). 3- The handles for the cross slide and compound are broken. 4- The auto-feed lever doesn't engage the auto-feed. 5- The belts are totally frayed and kinda scare me. 6- The oil in the wells on either side of the spindle has solidified. 7- It's missing the threading dial, but I ordered one from eBay yesterday. 8- There's quite a bit of play (backlash?) in every handle.

These are the known problems. Do I need to disassemble the whole thing (keep in mind I've never done anything that complicated in my life), or can I just fix the problems? I don't have a pressing need to use the lathe yet, so if the best options take a while, I'm OK with that. Plus, my wife says I need to control my impulse to build something right away (since I have no idea what I'm doing). She's usually right.

Also, do I dive into a quick change tool post now or wait? Can I get a DRO for this little guy, or is that just overkill for a hobbyist?

I can post as many pictures as needed/ requested. Thanks in advance, and I'm looking forward to the new hobby.

-Matt
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I had the same lathe for about a year or two and sold it about four years ago. They will make a good hobby lathe but do have some limitations being as small as they are.

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My motor was mounted und the roll-a-round stand which worked out pretty well. Did you get the change gears with it?

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LX Kid said:
My motor was mounted und the roll-a-round stand which worked out pretty well. Did you get the change gears with it?
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If the "Change Gears" are the set of additional gears on a spool (that look like they've never been used), then yes. I did.
 
Congratulations on your new toy! I bought one about 6 years ago and never regretted it for a moment! I have made some people on e-bay wealthy buying parts and tooling to go with it. Mine had no extra parts (and missing many needed parts as well, just like yours) with it and I am still making parts for it and my 15"x 96" Sheldon lathe. The lathe is a fascinating piece of machinery. It has been said that the lathe is the only machine that can build itself. Mine is currently set up doing milling with attachments Built on the lathe.

As far as DRO goes, I never have seen enough need for it to justify the cost. You might later on as you build and get more experience. You have gotten some GREAT advice from some very knowledgeable people here. I think you will do well on this adventure. And you never stop learning new things about machine work!

RETIRED SPARKY
 
OK, so I've started taking the compound apart for cleaning and re-lubing (is that a word?). One of the pieces has a hole that I can't figure out it's purpose (I think this is the "Compound Graduated Collar" but I'm not sure). The hole was full of grease, and I'm pretty sure that't it. Did something get lost, or is this just a hole? Thanks.

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Does it go through & bigger on the other side? If so I'd guess spring & plunger to help it track with the handle when the set screw isn't locked. If not it would be on the wrong side for that & I'd have no idea.
 
kingmt01 said:
Does it go through & bigger on the other side? If so I'd guess spring & plunger to help it track with the handle when the set screw isn't locked. If not it would be on the wrong side for that & I'd have no idea.
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Nope, it doesn't go all the way through. I'd guess maybe half way. I haven't found any corresponding hole that it might line-up with, nor have I been able to find any picture online that shows the same thing.
 
Might still be a detent hole that takes a barring to hold it away from the compound. Someone with one should be along that actually knows instead of guessing.
 
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