Setting-up the PM 1236-T Lathe

[Larry42]

I bought the PM1440HD 3 years ago. At about 2700# with the cast iron base I leveled it with a machinist level in both directions and both ends using the supplied mounts. When I turn using the face plate or doing odd shapes in the 4 jaw, I don't run fast enough to have any issues with vibration. My machine came with touch up paint. Service from PM was good. I've had a few issues with the machine but nothing major. Most annoying is the attachment of the cross slide to the taper attachment. I think I could fix that but haven't tried yet. The collet chuck I bought with the machine is very good. The 3 jaw chuck is OK but I've never used a high quality one. The noise level of the machine is quite low, probably due to all that cast iron.

 

[Titanium Knurler]

Larry42, I just looked at the PM1440HD on PM’s website. What a beast! You don’t have to anchor it to earth, it is earth! I love the heavy duty cast iron stand. What a ice machine. Thanks

 

[Titanium Knurler]

III. Coolant/Guard System



I ordered the PM coolant system accessory for the 1236-T thinking it would be a nice thing to have in case I needed it. Having never used one before it seemed a bit messy and probably uneccesary. I was wrong. Since I most often work with stainless, and more recently titanium, I tend to use it most of the time. It is a very nice thing to have and I would certainly suggest it to someone that is considering it. I did, of course, make some changes in the stock system from PM and I thought I would pass them along.

The kit from PM is composed of a tank, circulating pump, metal flexible hose, galvanized pipe with a valve and flexible plastic hose to direct the coolant onto the workpiece:



I replaced everything beyond the metal flexible hose with a combination irrigation and guard system that also attaches to the carriage, so it, like the stock coolant system from PM, follows the carriage. When I researched this, it seemed like most guards that I saw were stationary and many could not be lifted up out of the way if you wanted. I do not like looking through plexiglass, especially plexiglass coated with coolant, if I don’t have to, so it is nice to be able to lift it out of the way if you want.

I decided on a system made by Repar, an Italian company. I found an amazing deal from Grainger industrial supply. Unfortunately, the item from Grainger does not have the combination support tube and irrigation system. They sell only the guard and were unwilling to order from Repar. So I had to go to a Canadian company that is the sole North American distributor for Repar parts to order the irrigation tube(www.ferndalesafety.com) or KevinSlater(kevin@ferdalesafety.com, (514) 326-1243, ext.1224). The part had to be ordered and it took several weeks to get it from Italy. I honestly think they had to make one. This is a photo of the Repar TC-1 that I used:



This project took quite a while but I think you will find it a very useful addition to your lathe. I will walk you through it quickly. I will not burden the presentation
with part numbers but if anyone is interested I am pretty sure I can track them down.

The first thing I did was to make a shelf to hold the coolant tank behind the lathe. I did this for a couple of reasons. The first was to get the tank off the floor and on to the mobile base so they moved together. The second reason was to make the stand more rigid since it was to be on casters. Here is a kit view of the shelves I made from stainless angle:



The black material that you see is adhesive backed oil resistant Buna closed cell foam. It was added to reduce vibration of the tank:

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Holes were drilled for the shelf about four inches from the bottom edge of the stand pedestals. This put the mounting bolts below the internal pedestal shelves. The shelf was then bolted in place. The oval holes in the shelf brackets allow for squaring-up and securing of the stand in the squared position:

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Next was to modify the tank. I took the original site gauge off and plugged the holes because I wasn’t going to use it and I could not get it to stop leaking. I used stainless o-ring bolts and oil resistant rubber washers. I did not want a leak behind the lathe that I could not easily access:

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Next, I drilled a hole in the base for a drain with a barbed hose fitting. The hose that attaches to the barb fitting will go to the front panel gauge.

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I attached an oil resistant seal to the edge of the tank, again to reduce vibration:

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I then secured the tank with the L-brackets on the shelf that use carriage bolts and wings nuts so they can be tightened by hand:

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I temporarily attached the oil resistant hose to the barbed fitting and attached it to the front panel site gauge. I then held the gauge with a ring stand and began to fill the tank with water. I marked the “empty level”, “full level” and “caution level”( where the coolant oil drops below the impeller on the circulating pump). I then milled out a mark at the above levels and painted them red and yellow(caution level). I also marked the front panel for drilling holes for the gauge:

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I then drilled the holes on the panel and installed the gauge:

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One of the things I liked about this site gauge is that it has a drain screw at the bottom. I figured that I could change the coolant without moving the lathe. Just drain it from the front and add coolant from the chip tray. I will show this on the next post since I just reached my limit on the photos that can be attached.

 

[mikey]

Very nicely done, TK! Love the detail.

I joked about the Kool Aid but nailed the coolant level indicator - even a monkey can guess right sometimes!

 

[Titanium Knurler]

Very nicely done, TK! Love the detail.

I joked about the Kool Aid but nailed the coolant level indicator - even a monkey can guess right sometimes!

 

[Titanium Knurler]

Very nicely done, TK! Love the detail.

I joked about the Kool Aid but nailed the coolant level indicator - even a monkey can guess right sometimes!

Thanks Mikey. I really liked the Koop Aid idea!

 

[Titanium Knurler]

Here are the last couple of photos. I will finish this up tomorrow.

 

[Titanium Knurler]

Coolant and Guard System, cont’d

Next I will move on to what attaches to the lathe: the Repar TC-1 coolant and guard system and also the making and installing of some splash guards.

The Repar TC-1 coolant and guard system is nice because the vertical post that holds the hinged guard also acts as a conduit for the coolant.

The first thing I did was to enlarge the holes on the new bracket to accept larger M8x1.25 screws, then I disassembled the system and painted it with some of the extra touch-up paint I had mixed earlier. The original color is a safety yellow that you see in the brochure. I removed the stock PM irrigation tube then drilled and tapped the carriage to accept the new bracket.

A couple before and after shots to show you where I am head:

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Pre, post enlarged holes, painting:

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Drilling and tapping carriage for the new bracket. I wanted to make sur it did not interfere with the four holes to the right which are for the PM taper attachment. Take your time with this:

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Now I can attach the tube and connect it to the hose. There is an incredible mix of hose fittings here that took a while to sort out. Not even the manufacturer or the distributor could tell me what they are so I ordered a pipe three ID kit from Parker and figured them out. The fittings are stainless and are from McMaster-Carr. Again, if you need part numbers let me know:

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In the second photo above I want to mention that the Repar guard came with a flimsy nylon screw on the bracket to tighten down the tube. I imagine they want to protect the tube but they just do not hold the tube at the correct height and allowed the tube to rotate, so I added a 1” collar with set screws and replaced the nylon screw with an M8x1.25 socket head cap screw.

I then added the guard to the tube. The attachment point for the guard also had a flimsy nylon screw that I replaced with a stainless knob so that I can remove the guard without tools:

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I then made some splash guards; one for the front and one for the back to help contain the coolant. I made them out of 14 gauge stainless. I first cut them to size, sanded them to give a matte finish. I did not want them acting like a mirror and giving me unwanted reflections. The back guard I bent to 90 degrees and attached to the Repar guard. The front splash guard attaches to the carriage. Some shots of the back splash guard:

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Now for the front splash guard. Again 14 gauge stainless, sanded, then placed in a pinch roller to bend. I inserted it into the pinch roller only in one direction so that a flat area was preserved. I used this flat area to attach it to the carriage. I drilled and tapped a couple holes on the carriage to hold it in place. Again, take your time here. You might notice that the upper edge of the splash guard is outside the guard; this is so the dripping coolant fluid will fall onto the splash guard and run into the chip tray and return to the pump.

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I used Hangsterfer’s CC 22 cutting oil. I decided on this after a conversation with the people at Hangsterfer’s. According to them it is a good all around cutting oil and coolant that works well with stainless, aluminum and titanium. I did not want to go with a water based coolant because of corrosion issues and apparently it can develop a bad odor. I just couldn’t see spraying my new lathe with water I would rather coat it with oil every time I use it. Would like to hear what others think about this.

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I am going to post this and finish up a little later with the electrical hook-up(easy) and maybe one or two loose ends.

 

[Titanium Knurler]

Coolant and Guard System, finale

The electrical hookup for the coolant system is straight forward and the PM instructions are pretty good. Coming from the electrical box on the motor are two cables. One is pre-wired with the switch that goes to a knock-out on the control panel, the other cable has three pre-terminated wires labeled “R” and “S” that have ring terminals and a ground wire that has a fork terminal. They attach at the electrical box behind the headstock. I just ran the cable through an existing cable grip on one of the knockouts.

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The existing plastic cable clamps were not able to accommodate the extra cables so I added larger metal ones.

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Well, that about does it for the Coolant and Guard System.

 

[Titanium Knurler]

...except for this image that I forgot to include from the PM Manual: