Newbie with old machines and projects

[Janderso]

Hello,
I joined this forum because it looks much friendlier than that other site with all the experts.
I have a 77 tear old South Bend 13" single gear box and a 1970 Bridgeport milling machine. Both are in pretty good shape for my needs.
I am working on an old Marvel 612 Horizontal band saw. The pic is of the lead screw for the vise. As you can see it needs to be replaced. I found some threaded left hand 3/4 10 TPI rod that I'll make work The nut will need to be made. I am fairly confident I can do it. I need to buy a left hand tap for the screw threads.
The saw was really rough when I bought it. I removed all the krud and took it down to inspect and clean. The cast iron frame and components are in great shape. I replaced the blade guide bearings, the gear box has 80 wt gear oil and is in pristine condition. The last thing to do is this clamping device.
Wish me luck, I may need some help along the way.

 

[chips&more]

Hi and welcome to the HM. No need to buy a tap. Just make the nut on your lathe. I did a similar just the other day. Made a left hand Acme nut/threads on my lathe. To install it. I bored the old bad threads out and installed the threads I just made with Loctite...Dave

All my Loctite is years old (and still works). At the time, the high strength stuff was green in color. That is what I used. You would play hell trying to get the things apart. I feel very confident the threads I had made will not pull out. I could have pinned it, but did not see the need.

 

[Janderso]

Hi and welcome to the HM. No need to buy a tap. Just make the nut on your lathe. I did a similar just the other day. Made a left hand Acme nut/threads on my lathe. To install it. I bored the old bad threads out and installed the threads I just made with Loctite...Dave

All my Loctite is years old (and still works). At the time, the high strength stuff was green in color. That is what I used. You would play hell trying to get the things apart. I feel very confident the threads I had made will not pull out. I could have pinned it, but did not see the need.

Mr. Chips,
I'm afraid I will need some clarification. Loctite? I'm not confident I can cut threads internally yet. The current set-up is 3/4 10 tpi. YThe reason for lh threads is when you clamp the vice to hold your work in the saw you would need to turn the crank counter clock wise to tighten.
The nut is bolted to the sliding vise piece.

 

[markba633csi]

Janderso: I see what happened- the previous owner stripped the acme threads out and then welded a conventional nut on with a piece
of all-thread in place of the acme rod. Seems like making a new nut is the way to go. Roton.com has acme rod at reasonable prices.
Your South Bend would certainly be capable of cutting the internal thread- Why not try it? You'll learn a valuable skill and worst case you can always
buy a tap, but acme taps are costly, and you want acme for a bandsaw vise, not conventional threads.
Loctite is a liquid threadlocker compound, a very handy material. Most of us wouldn't be without it. I use the 242 the most. Also get some Dykem if you don't have any.
Mark

 

[Silverbullet]

Hi WELCOME TO THE SITE, your questions will be answered here. No wrong questions either. You may be able to machine your own acme nut with a little guidance . Plus it's a learning experience. Good luck be SAFE in all you do. Glasses no loose clothing , tie up long hair .

 

[cg285]

tie up long hair .

just cut it all off

 

[Uglydog]

I'm not confident I can cut threads internally yet.

If your scrap bin is gonna look like mine you are gonna have alot more precision scrap than you have viable parts.
It's part of the learning curve. It's ok to make mistakes as long as you can afford the price.
If this is a hobby. Then you can shut down the machine when it goes bad and come back to it in several hours/days.
Safe learning becomes the only and final criteria.

Daryl
MN

 

[dulltool17]

I'm not confident I can cut threads internally yet

The man who makes the fewest mistakes makes the least progress. Read, experiment, ask questions here....repeat.

 

[ELHEAD]

I'm not confident I can cut threads internally yet.
"You have nothing to fear,but.........." Everybody knows the rest. You will learn from your mistakes.
My grandma used to say " Can't never could and probably never will." She believed in the can do theory.
What's to lose.
Dave

 

[Janderso]

I bought a 12” piece of 2x2 cold rolled stock yesterday. I’ll figure out a way to clamp it to my old Marvel to cut it to length. I don’t have a drill press yet so I’ll use the Bridgeport. I tell you what, the set of R8 collets and the R8 chuck is going to come in handy. I do need some more clamping options, I only have the Bridgeport vise but it should do the trick. I’ll tram first then check alignment. I have a 4 jaw chuck for the lathe.
I bought a 3ft piece of 3/4 10 tpi. left hand ready rod from Tacoma Screw. Decent price.
This saw is designed for commercial use, once I rig the vise and screw I’ll have a winner. Do I still need a vertical band saw? Hmmmmm.
Stay tuned for pics. I added 2 of the old cast iron Marvel-not pretty but very functional. Added a new valve to control the down feed-smooth as glass. Large work table. The original owner had a cooling system with a template for production. This saw is a tough heavy machine. I'll have less than $500 in it and it will out live me.