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Seneca Falls 9" Lathe
- Thread starter C Gruby
- Start date
Something to think about , my cousin had a Polaris UTV that he wanted all tricked out & he made a deal with a shop that they would do the work & he would be their grunt , cleaning up , stocking parts , deliveries & such in trade till their time was paid off . Seems like a nice option , if ya can find a shop willing to do the work . I couldn't find it on youtube but I could have sworn I watched a video of a guy replacing the plain bearings on his lathe .
This one's interesting where this guys PO had put in new bearings that were gas & diesel rod bearings , there must have been some real good detective work finding the proper size .
.
animal12
This one's interesting where this guys PO had put in new bearings that were gas & diesel rod bearings , there must have been some real good detective work finding the proper size .
animal12
Hit send too fast , like mentioned above working with HSS would probably be to your advantage . These old plain bering lathes weren't built for the hi speeds that carbide likes . If ya need theres several good videos on sharpening HSS on youtube. mrpete22 has a couple . He's a retired high school shop teacher . His videos are real good , along with Joe Pie
https://www.youtube.com/@joepie221/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=0 . I'll keep looking for that video I mentioned .
animal12
animal12
SO still cant find the one I been lookin for , but this guy took his spindle apart & found that someone up the line had cleaned out & poured a babbit bearing in his headstock . I think that may be a pretty good option . Unfortunately he has no footage of this process being done . From what i've read pouring babbit is not super complicated if ya have all the proper part of the process . Find out if there a Ford Model T or A club in yer area or other vintage cars from that era . They would know who can do babbit in yer area .
I'm still looking but I'm wondering if the guy pulled it of closed his channel .
animal12
animal12
Definitely would do the work, just need to find a place who is willing to let me work for the labour they provide haha.
I just tried using some HSS tooling and it cuts very well. It just leaves a rough surface finish.
I’m chasing a smooth finish. Not sure if I should bite the bullet and get some round pointed bits.
Those videos are amazing, thanks heaps Animal12.
I just tried using some HSS tooling and it cuts very well. It just leaves a rough surface finish.
I’m chasing a smooth finish. Not sure if I should bite the bullet and get some round pointed bits.
Those videos are amazing, thanks heaps Animal12.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2019
- Messages
- 7,298
Everyone chases smooth surface finishes when they start off. Keep at it and make notes about what works. I suspect you'll be just fine with the machine as-is once you get HSS tool grinding and feeds/speeds down.
John
Couldn't sleep last nite so I spent some time with mr google , here's a couple of things I found that may or may not be of some interest . I'n not sure how much of a mirror finish a guy can get with teh spindle clearances Fred has , but before carbide it was all HSS & they got fantastic finish's back then . Me not all the time , before I learned to grind HSS to a matter h=of having one to cut I bought a set of tool holders & HSS inserts from AR Warner & those work most excellent .
from what I saw the babbit material isn't all that expensive
Here's a couple tube on babbit . I might tend to think that the Vintage Machinery tube might the one to really pay attention to
there's more here
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=installing+babbit+lathe+spindle+bearings+
This guy found some interesting things about his head stock & spindle
these folks do the whole shebang , but the pic's on their website look expensive .
https://www.austcomp.com.au/services/babbitt-bearing-refurbishment
animal12
from what I saw the babbit material isn't all that expensive
Here's a couple tube on babbit . I might tend to think that the Vintage Machinery tube might the one to really pay attention to
there's more here
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=installing+babbit+lathe+spindle+bearings+
This guy found some interesting things about his head stock & spindle
these folks do the whole shebang , but the pic's on their website look expensive .
https://www.austcomp.com.au/services/babbitt-bearing-refurbishment
animal12
Hey
I went to two machine shops after I spoke to everyone here. They quoted me $150 AUD an hour for their services. When I asked for a quote they said anywhere from $1000-1500+ depending how long it takes. They also said babit is not commonly used nowadays which I guess added to complexity and cost.
I am using it as it is now which is very fun. The only issue I am finding is trying to part using the parting tool and when using a radius tip. When I try to part, because there is excessive play in the spindle, it chatters a lot and catches causing the bit to snap.
I have been using the tail stock with a live centre which has eliminated heaps of play giving better results. However there are times where using a live centre is not viable which adds to frustration.
So far been making upgrades for it, such as the quick change tool post lever to allow easy rotation of the tool post and die holder to get better threading.
I only wish I had the gearing which would have come with it. I have been looking around and because it was a 14 pressure angle gear from what I understand it is also hard to come by at a cheaper cost.
Hey animal12,
I went to two machine shops after I spoke to everyone here. They quoted me $150 AUD an hour for their services. When I asked for a quote they said anywhere from $1000-1500+ depending how long it takes. They also said babit is not commonly used nowadays which I guess added to complexity and cost.
I am using it as it is now which is very fun. The only issue I am finding is trying to part using the parting tool and when using a radius tip. When I try to part, because there is excessive play in the spindle, it chatters a lot and catches causing the bit to snap.
I have been using the tail stock with a live centre which has eliminated heaps of play giving better results. However there are times where using a live centre is not viable which adds to frustration.
So far been making upgrades for it, such as the quick change tool post lever to allow easy rotation of the tool post and die holder to get better threading.
I only wish I had the gearing which would have come with it. I have been looking around and because it was a 14 pressure angle gear from what I understand it is also hard to come by at a cheaper cost.
