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Setting-up the PM 1236-T Lathe
- Thread starter Titanium Knurler
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2018
- Messages
- 314
Mikey, she sounds beautiful. You will have to send a photo sometime. By the way, I ordered a spare cross slide leadscrew and nut for my lathe and will adjust to zero backlash as you recommended. No such adjustment available for my compound though.
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2018
- Messages
- 314
Mikey, I just calculated that the force of the carriage stop pin on the saddle body is almost exactly 750 lb/ sq. in. the way I have the clutch adjusted. Quite a lot, I think. I may put a plate there to spread out the force a bit.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2012
- Messages
- 9,422
I don't have a good shot of it right now. Here is what it looks like:
Glad you bought a spare cross slide lead screw and nut. That takes the most wear because it is being constantly adjusted when we run the lathe and it sustains all the radial cutting forces when we cut. Minimizing backlash reduces the slamming of the flanks of threads for both the screw and nut, thereby prolonging their lives while also reducing chatter potential and improving finishes.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2012
- Messages
- 9,422
Or you can just drill and install a hardened pin. I have another one installed on the rear of the cross slide to prevent damage from the tailstock slamming into it when I'm not thinking. This was also Emco, not me.
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2018
- Messages
- 653
Does Hangsterfer’s Sell through a distributor or did you have to buy direct?
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2018
- Messages
- 314
Firstgear, I have had the CC 22 for six to nine months. I don’t believe you need to change it like a water based system which was part of the appeal for me. I phoned Hangsterfer’s and talked with one of their engineers. I told him that I often work on titanium, stainless and aluminum and he recommended CC22. I have been happy with the choice and I like that I am spraying my machine with oil, instead of water, every time I use it.
I purchased it from Golden West. Here is their link:
Hope that helps
I purchased it from Golden West. Here is their link:
Hope that helps
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2018
- Messages
- 314
V. Adjustments
A. Aligning the Lathe
B. Checking Specs
B. Aligning the Lathe- Even though I am waiting for supplies to complete this section I thought I would push forward on what will probably be the last section of this thread on setting-up the PM1236-T. I appologize up front to those with more experience than myself for the basic nature of this section but I wanted it to be useful to everyone, regardless of their lathe experience. I believe aligning the lathe correctly is one of the the most important adjustments one can make as far as getting accurate and reproducible results, so I thought I would present each step, give my results for my PM1236-T and invite discussion from everyone, including the more experienced operators; maybe it is time to tune-up the old girl?
What gives with the railroad track photo? Well, this is the image I would like you to keep in mind as you align your lathe. This is the view you would see if you were sitting on the Headstock of a well aligned lathe, legs straddling the spindle: straight, untwisted and perfectly parallel Ways that seem to extend to the horizon.
Of the several sources I consulted on aligning a lathe it was surprising to me that there was some disagreement on the order of the steps. For example, even though the PM Manual section on aligning the lathe is well written it presents aligning the Headstock and Spindle Centers before aligning the Headstock with the Ways. This approach does not make sense to me and I will tell you why in a bit. I think in the case of aligning a lathe the order of operations can make a difference in the outcome.
As far as alignment is concerned, the lathe has three parts: the Ways, the Headstock and the Tailstock. One must first untwists the Ways, then align the Headstock with the untwisted Ways, then align the Headstock with the Tailstock. Then, they are all in alignment with one another. Here are the four basic steps I will go through:
1. Leveling the Lathe and Stand
2. Untwisting the Ways
3. Aligning the Headstock with the Ways
4. Aligning the Headstock with the Tailstock
For some of the steps there are multiple ways to accomplish them. For example, for aligning the Headstock with the Ways there are cutting and non-cutting techniques and for aligning the Headstock with the Tailstock there are four ways that I was able to find. You experienced guys may know of more. I will present all that I am aware of and you can decide what suits you best.
Step 1. Leveling the Lathe and Stand- this section is probably not what you are expecting. It seems that often when I hear one say “leveling a lathe” they are really talking about Step 2, which is Untwisting the Ways. Here, I am just talking about making the lathe and stand reasonabley level so that in the next step one can use a precision machine level, or the best one you can get your hands on, to untwist the Ways. As I am sure most, if not all of you, are aware a lathe does not need to be level to cut true; one makes the lathe level so that one can use of a leveling device as a tool for untwisting the Ways(and, perhaps more importantly, so your favorite beverage does not slide off the Headstock)
In this step, all you want to accomplish is to use whatever leveling mechanism you have on your stand(bolts and pucks as is stock for the PM 1236-T) to level the lathe from left-to-right(longitudinally) and from front-to-back(transversely) so that when you place the level on the Ways or Carriage it reads in the central part of the scale.
Here is the stock PM puck and bolt system and your endpoint of the first step:
Use either a precision ground block with a notch to span the V-way or place the level directly on the carriage. Surprisingly, the result was exactly the same:
With the way I have my 1236-T set up leveling is an easy matter: I just adjust the leveling feet while I watch the spirit levels on the bottom of the baseplate to get me in the ballpark, then I place the precision level on the Ways or Carriage and fine tune with the leveling feet then lock down with the caster lock nut.
Either way, that is all there is to the first step, now you are now ready for the next step, Untwisting the Ways.
Step 2. Untwisting the Ways(AKA “Leveling”)- this obviously is not what you want to see when you are looking down the Ways from your Headstock. I put this picture in because I want to make a point that I will discuss with my next post(probably tomorrow) on untwisting the Ways.
A. Aligning the Lathe
B. Checking Specs
B. Aligning the Lathe- Even though I am waiting for supplies to complete this section I thought I would push forward on what will probably be the last section of this thread on setting-up the PM1236-T. I appologize up front to those with more experience than myself for the basic nature of this section but I wanted it to be useful to everyone, regardless of their lathe experience. I believe aligning the lathe correctly is one of the the most important adjustments one can make as far as getting accurate and reproducible results, so I thought I would present each step, give my results for my PM1236-T and invite discussion from everyone, including the more experienced operators; maybe it is time to tune-up the old girl?
What gives with the railroad track photo? Well, this is the image I would like you to keep in mind as you align your lathe. This is the view you would see if you were sitting on the Headstock of a well aligned lathe, legs straddling the spindle: straight, untwisted and perfectly parallel Ways that seem to extend to the horizon.
Of the several sources I consulted on aligning a lathe it was surprising to me that there was some disagreement on the order of the steps. For example, even though the PM Manual section on aligning the lathe is well written it presents aligning the Headstock and Spindle Centers before aligning the Headstock with the Ways. This approach does not make sense to me and I will tell you why in a bit. I think in the case of aligning a lathe the order of operations can make a difference in the outcome.
As far as alignment is concerned, the lathe has three parts: the Ways, the Headstock and the Tailstock. One must first untwists the Ways, then align the Headstock with the untwisted Ways, then align the Headstock with the Tailstock. Then, they are all in alignment with one another. Here are the four basic steps I will go through:
1. Leveling the Lathe and Stand
2. Untwisting the Ways
3. Aligning the Headstock with the Ways
4. Aligning the Headstock with the Tailstock
For some of the steps there are multiple ways to accomplish them. For example, for aligning the Headstock with the Ways there are cutting and non-cutting techniques and for aligning the Headstock with the Tailstock there are four ways that I was able to find. You experienced guys may know of more. I will present all that I am aware of and you can decide what suits you best.
Step 1. Leveling the Lathe and Stand- this section is probably not what you are expecting. It seems that often when I hear one say “leveling a lathe” they are really talking about Step 2, which is Untwisting the Ways. Here, I am just talking about making the lathe and stand reasonabley level so that in the next step one can use a precision machine level, or the best one you can get your hands on, to untwist the Ways. As I am sure most, if not all of you, are aware a lathe does not need to be level to cut true; one makes the lathe level so that one can use of a leveling device as a tool for untwisting the Ways(and, perhaps more importantly, so your favorite beverage does not slide off the Headstock)
In this step, all you want to accomplish is to use whatever leveling mechanism you have on your stand(bolts and pucks as is stock for the PM 1236-T) to level the lathe from left-to-right(longitudinally) and from front-to-back(transversely) so that when you place the level on the Ways or Carriage it reads in the central part of the scale.
Here is the stock PM puck and bolt system and your endpoint of the first step:
Use either a precision ground block with a notch to span the V-way or place the level directly on the carriage. Surprisingly, the result was exactly the same:
With the way I have my 1236-T set up leveling is an easy matter: I just adjust the leveling feet while I watch the spirit levels on the bottom of the baseplate to get me in the ballpark, then I place the precision level on the Ways or Carriage and fine tune with the leveling feet then lock down with the caster lock nut.
Either way, that is all there is to the first step, now you are now ready for the next step, Untwisting the Ways.
Step 2. Untwisting the Ways(AKA “Leveling”)- this obviously is not what you want to see when you are looking down the Ways from your Headstock. I put this picture in because I want to make a point that I will discuss with my next post(probably tomorrow) on untwisting the Ways.
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2018
- Messages
- 314
Post #170 was deleted because a drawing and photo did not appear in the post. I thought it made the post confusing so I re-posted it with the drawing and photo in post #171. Sorry for the confusion. TK
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