New to me lathe, got some questions...

[C-Bag]

Looks like a good start. Lots of fun ahead.

Pics are an absolute necessity, some of us don't read that well. Close up full frontal preferred.
Get used to leaving the cars outside, you're going to need the room for machines.

That and I don't know the names of stuff! So it's way less confusing to just post a pic if you can.

We are lucky that this site knows this and unlike so many sites you can post pics of high def. It also helps preserve knowledge.

We all share of love of old and odd stuff and live by the motto "the friendly machinist forum".

 

[MrWhoopee]

I attached a photo of the chuck, from what I understand the collet is stuck in the "ram" (if that's the right word) and the hand wheel key is missing which it may pop out once the key is replaced to add more force to pop out the collet. I am also assuming the brass rod is missing. I have some aluminum stock I can make a temporary one till I get some brass to turn down.

So far this has been the best forum site I've ever used! Everyone chimed in quickly and has been incredibly helpful and insightful! Thank you all!

The tailstock spindle looks smaller than I would have thought. Looks like a Morse taper #2 (MT2). The shaft that the chuck is attached to is an arbor, looks like it might be MT1 with and adaptor sleeve from MT1 to MT2. The chuck looks like it came from an old electric drill, so there may be some less than standard way that it has been mounted in the spindle.

 

[Jmsvickers]

Would there be any benefits to one size taper than another? I imagine a larger one is beneficial in that it has more material so less flex and takes more heat in the dead center style. It also looks to be a fair bit of work to retrofit. So as long as I can get a live center and a larger chuck I think I will be ok for my plans and picture of what I'll do with this machine.

I do not have a live center yet but I do have a few dead centers with the tooling that came with it. I also got a center rest, some faceplates, dogs, and tool holders. Not sure what everything is yet and I do t have any pictures on my phone of them to share but ill get some tonight and upload them.

 

[C-Bag]

I'm by no means an expert, but I try to keep adapters to a minimum when it comes to tapers. Just less room for accumulated error which can lead to problems like being stuck or not seating and spinning when you don't want them to.

It will be interesting to see what you find. My experience with Old Arn is the older it is, the more hands it's passed through the more repairs and mods you'll find. I equate it to a forensic excavation. Most times I'm left with "what were they thinking?" Was it just a patch, but they never got back to fix it right? I've found all kinds of crazy stuff that makes me wonder if it was lack of expertise or just "get er done"? Very rarely have I found something that was what I'd call an expert mod or repair.

 

[MrWhoopee]

Would there be any benefits to one size taper than another? I imagine a larger one is beneficial in that it has more material so less flex and takes more heat in the dead center style.

A larger taper has more holding power (resistance to rotation) and strength. My lathe has an MT2 tailstock, the largest drills available with that taper are about 3/4 in. A large drill on a small taper would be prone to spinning, shearing off the tang or shearing the shank.

 

[markba633csi]

"Quill" is the word I think you were wondering about. The main tailstock shaft that moves in and out with the handwheel. Like a drill press.
That's a miniscule chuck for that size machine- obviously a kluge by a cave dweller

You could do anything you want with the drive system, perhaps even mount it behind. You might could even jettison the extra gearing if you go to a VFD variable speed motor arrangement in the future
-Mark

 

[Jmsvickers]

My brother in law is much more familiar with machining tools and was also talking about the VFD route. I know the motor is rated for 1.5hp and thought about getting a variable speed motor but have read they are not suitable for these kinds of tasks.

Either way short term goal is the tailstock and the belt slippage issue. After that either the auto feed, I should probably also check the bearings sooner rather than later.

 

[Jmsvickers]

So I made a key for the tailstock hand crank and the chuck popped right out! I only made the key out of copper as I had a close enough piece of scrap, I don't think it would need to be very strong but I may swap it out for a proper steel one later.

Now that's one thing down! Next will be the drive belt pully. I am having a hard time setting up the 4 jaw chuck to run true and am thinking a 3 jaw would make it a bit easier on me. Do all chucks have a universal bolt pattern for the hub? What should I know about them and does anyone have any recommendations for a particular brand?

 

[matthewsx]

So I made a key for the tailstock hand crank and the chuck popped right out! I only made the key out of copper as I had a close enough piece of scrap, I don't think it would need to be very strong but I may swap it out for a proper steel one later.

Now that's one thing down! Next will be the drive belt pully. I am having a hard time setting up the 4 jaw chuck to run true and am thinking a 3 jaw would make it a bit easier on me. Do all chucks have a universal bolt pattern for the hub? What should I know about them and does anyone have any recommendations for a particular brand?

Glad to hear the tailstock works as it should....

As for chucks, they are so far from universal it's not even funny. If you have a 4 jaw I would highly recommend getting familiar with it and using it for everything you can right now. Sure it's frustrating at first but once you get the hang of it you'll be glad you put the time in. Didn't think you could make something square on a lathe? 4 Jaw to the rescue.

What's your spindle, I would suspect it's threaded so you need to figure out diameter and thread pitch. You don't want to take the back plate off the chuck you have, you'll get a new one or buy a chuck with the right threads. There's plenty kicking around on eBay for short money and older ones are usually better than new imports.

John

 

[Jmsvickers]

Glad to hear the tailstock works as it should....

As for chucks, they are so far from universal it's not even funny. If you have a 4 jaw I would highly recommend getting familiar with it and using it for everything you can right now. Sure it's frustrating at first but once you get the hang of it you'll be glad you put the time in. Didn't think you could make something square on a lathe? 4 Jaw to the rescue.

What's your spindle, I would suspect it's threaded so you need to figure out diameter and thread pitch. You don't want to take the back plate off the chuck you have, you'll get a new one or buy a chuck with the right threads. There's plenty kicking around on eBay for short money and older ones are usually better than new imports.

John

Thanks! I suppose my difficulty in the 4 jaw is just a lack of familiarity. I have never had any training with metal working formal or informal and I'm buying books to read when I can to try and figure it all out. This place has been more helpful than the books though!

Care to share any tips on centering with the 4 jaw? It seems I can get it close but when I try to true it up with a gauge I can never get it acceptable and I just keep shifting it around.