Need clamping plate for Busy Bee B-244 tailstock

[toysareforboys]

Got a great deal on this mini lathe from the original owner. He only used it for woodworking so it hadn't seen any hard use and was maintained flawlessly.

Anyway, I broke the clamping plate in half (that goes under the tailstock). The bolt that was in it wasn't the original (i.e. it was a regular bolt, not a T bolt) and it slipped through the slot in the clamping plate (which spread it and split it in half).

I contacted Busy Bee (their main headquarters is only a 15 minute drive from me) but they said parts for this lathe were discontinued 15 years ago

I looked at some of their current mini lathes and non of the tailstocks/clamping plates seemed similar and the distance between the rails was different (the gap between my rails is 45mm).

Any suggestions on how to obtain a replacement? This lathe is the only piece of real equipment I have (no mill) so I don't think it'd be possible for me to recreate one. I asked a local shop about creating me a replacement but they didn't seem too excited.

Let me know please and thanks.

-Jamie M.

 

[WCraig]

Welcome to Hobby-Machinist!

Can you post a picture of the broken part? Does it have to be a precise size to maintain tailstock alignment? If not, it may be possible to hacksaw and file a decent replacement out of a piece of steel. Or perhaps a local member can help you out. (I don't have a mill either.)

BTW, what model is that lathe? It appears to be branded "Busy Bee" rather than Craftex. I think they introduced the Craftex label in the early 1980's so that makes the lathe 35+ years old.

Craig

 

[RJSakowski]

When I broke the clamping plate on my Atlas/Craftsman 6x18, I made one from steel before I had a mill. It isn't a difficult project if you simplify the design. I used drill press, hack saw and files and cut the recess for a square head bolt with a cold chisel.

I have been using that clamping plate for more than forty years now and haven't had a reason to improve on my original design.

 

[cbellanca]

The original was probably cast Iron. Make one out of steel.

 

[toysareforboys]

Can you post a picture of the broken part? Does it have to be a precise size to maintain tailstock alignment? BTW, what model is that lathe?

I gave the part to a shop to re-create and they lost it It doesn't need to be super precise because the tailstock is aligned by the top rails, not the clamping plate, but the bolt hole/slot has to be precise to line up with the off-set hole in the tailstock. The model number of the lathe is B-244, dated 7 month of 1986:

When I broke the clamping plate on my Atlas/Craftsman 6x18, I made one from steel before I had a mill. It isn't a difficult project if you simplify the design. I used drill press, hack saw and files and cut the recess for a square head bolt with a cold chisel.

I have been using that clamping plate for more than forty years now and haven't had a reason to improve on my original design.

Damn, nice!!! I might just give it a go, thanks.

The original was probably cast Iron. Make one out of steel.

Yep, it was, pretty brittle.

Thanks for all the encouragement guys, I might just give it a go making one.

-Jamie M.

 

[hman]

Your lathe looks a whole lot like the Grizzly G4000 (9x19"). https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-9-x-19-Bench-Lathe/G4000
You might be able to get the replacement part from them. Their support people are pretty good on the phone. Here's a link to their customer support page. Note they even have numbers for international customers. https://www.grizzly.com/contact

 

[John O]

If you need milling, I am 15 min east of Busybee

 

[pdentrem]

This is the same as Jet BD920N and others, still made today.
Pierre

 

[toysareforboys]

If you need milling, I am 15 min east of Busybee

Oh baby, that could be super useful! What milling machine do you have? I found an amazing deal on an ancient one, pretty much free to a good home, just had to provide a forklift/transportation, but it was designed to run on 600 volts (three phase), didn't know how I could make that work at my house

Another user on this forum sent me a PM and he has a brand new clamping plate for it, part# is P2445011, I just gotta pay postage, nice!! I'll give that a go and if I break it again I'll get a better one made

I'll post up a pic when I get it.

Thanks again everyone.

-Jamie M.

 

[toysareforboys]

This is the same as Jet BD920N and others, still made today.
Pierre

Wow, neat! The clamping plate looks identical to my stock one (#24, Jet CLAMPING PLATE BD-920N 8015).

I don't think the bolt they show is the same one that came with my lathe originally because in the box of parts that came with my lathe it came with a "T bolt" that fit perfectly into the clamping plate/tailstock but the threads were all stripped out, and it had been replaced with just a regular bolt (like in the diagram). I imagine the T bolt spreads the force better so the clamping plate doesn't spread/crack as easily.

-Jamie M.