New To Me Compact 8 Cleanup Thread

[The Fishing Hobby]

I have looked at the drawing and figured that it worked something like that but I don't see how the bolt doesn't spin in the tailstock housing as you tighten the lever from the top which would keep it from tightening up. I don't see anything in the housing that would keep the bolt from turning as you try to tighten the lever/handle.

 

[plunger]

It is a great little machine! I'm really glad a bought it. Major pain to take every single piece and clean everything up because it was in such a filthy state but it was worth it in the end. You were also right about the book. It has the specs for each screw. I didn't have to be super careful with everything and could clean big batches at a time because the book had everything laid out perfectly. It was no trouble at all figuring out what went where.

The only thing left to do is figure out the tailstock ram clamp situation. I don't have the screw and one half of the aluminum clamping setup. It has the handle and half of the clamp. I don't understand what keeps the screw from turning inside the housing. Once I sort that out, I will be completely finished.

I have looked at the drawing and figured that it worked something like that but I don't see how the bolt doesn't spin in the tailstock housing as you tighten the lever from the top which would keep it from tightening up. I don't see anything in the housing that would keep the bolt from turning as you try to tighten the lever/handle.

I think it naturally keys to the hole by the mere fact that the cotter is cut at 30 degrees and the flat part prevents it from turning.

 

[mikey]

Found the measurements for the cotter half: 0.588" OD X 0.868" long, hole to fit your bolt. Angle at the nose is 30 degrees.

I don't recall anything locking the bolt in place. I did make a Delrin washer to go between the upper cotter and the lever to reduce friction. It locks solidly with 1/8 turn after contact.

 

[The Fishing Hobby]

I just picked up an m6 bolt x 50mm like the parts manual calls for and I will make the bottom half later this weekend. I had the top cotter and the locking lever. After that, the whole project will be complete!
Everything runs great. The only thing I noticed is it is pretty loud at 1700rpms. Not loud like something is wrong with anything, just louder than all the other speeds. I'll have to get the change gear set at some point. The gears it came with cover the 2 feed speeds and that is it. The way the gears are changed is very simple and easy to do. Not as convenient as a quick change box, but pretty quick to adjust and change gears on. Very well designed lathe.

Does anyone have information on fitting a backgear setup to one of these? That is really the only other thing I can think of that would be nice to have.

 

[mikey]

No info on the backgear thing but I know others have set up a reverse tumbler to enable LH turning. You should look into it.

 

[The Fishing Hobby]

Yes the reverse tumbler is what I meant, my mistake!

 

[The Fishing Hobby]

Mikey, I thought about your Delrin washer and I had some 1" Acetal rod, so I decided to make the top cotter out of that instead of aluminum. I had to play around with the cotter/quill contact angle to keep the cotter from getting wedged into the quill and being unable to come lose...got that worked out and then the bolt spins while trying to tighten the lever
For the life of me, I can't figure out what would keep it from turning in there when you tighten down the lever and mine did. I did notice that there are different part numbers for the top and bottom cotter halves, maybe one has a hex shaped recess to trap the bolt head??? Problem solved with just a drop of super glue where the bolt head contacts the aluminum cotter on the bottom side. I can always break that bond in the future if I need to for some reason. Bolt doesn't spin and the quill locks down just fine. I'm happy with it

 

[mikey]

You might be right. I cannot remember if there is a recess under the lower cotter. I would need to look at my friend's piece, which I will do the next time I'm there. Main thing is that it works. I'm not sure if plastic will hold the ram solidly but time will tell.

 

[The Fishing Hobby]

You might be right, but I have aluminum rod if I need to use it later. It is working great right now, but it may wear quickly. I know that the aluminum on the other cotter half is a very soft alloy of some sort. If it doesn't work no out long term, no big loss.

 

[The Fishing Hobby]

Now I'm 100% done. Took almost 2 weeks!!! I'm extremely happy with how well this machine runs.
Awesome experience. I learned a lot and have a knowledge about this particular machine that I wouldn't have gained to this extent without going through this process.
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement and advise along the way, it really helped me out!