Sheldon Lathe TLC

[walterwoj]

I just purchased a Sheldon EXL-56-P (EXL-24124) that I believe is in very good condition. Well oiled and all the major functions function. That doesn't mean it's perfect so I have a few things I would like to improve on.

1.) First up is the dials on the top-slide and cross-slide. From what I can find, they are supposed to rotate so you can set the 0 on them. Neither one turns. The cross slide had a VERY long screw in it (socket head cap screw, not a knurled one like show in the diagrams) but after removal still wont turn.

I tried to remove the dial but It doesn't want to come after I removed the handle from the end. Any thoughts/tips for removing the dial without damage? I don't know If i can get any kind of puller on it and I don't think the cross slide screw will come off with out removing the dial so getting it off the machine to work on seems unlikely.

2.) Loose gearing? - I'm not sure if it is normal but the gears seems to have some rotational play between them, they are tight on the shafts they rotate on. It seems fairly consistent throughout the lathe and I don't believe it is causing any issues I just wasn't sure if the gears mesh kind of loosely on them or not. Any thoughts?

2b.) Related to the loose gearing: the reversing gears on the head stock make a fair amount more noise in one direction than the other. Again it's not binding or causing issues it's just noticeably louder in one direction than the other.

3.) Is it possible to get aftermarket dials that can be installed on the Apron Hand Wheel and Tail-stock Hand Wheel? It would be a nice upgrade....

 

[benmychree]

A dial on the carriage handwheel would likely not work, most lathes use a diametral pitch rack gear on the bed, they do not translate to inches or fractions thereof. to be able to use dials, a machine needs circular pitch rack, that does translate inches. You could use a dial on the tailstock.
As to the gearing issues, wear is something you have to deal with, not much can be done about it other than replacement. The end gearing is adjustable for depth of mesh, sometimes there is too much clearance or not enough which can increase noise, there should be .020" between the top of the teeth and the bottom of the tooth spaces. So far as the dial on the crossfeed is concerned, the use of the allen screw probably raised a burr on the shaft, making it difficult to remove, I'd remove the crossfeed screw and try pressing it out, hopefully without causing galling of the shaft.

 

[wa5cab]

So far as the dial on the cross feed is concerned, the use of the allen screw probably raised a burr on the shaft, making it difficult to remove, I'd remove the cross feed screw and try pressing it out, hopefully without causing galling of the shaft.

No, at least not if the EXL is made the same way as the XL. The micrometer collar screw has a brass pig between it and the collar bushing. Probably the collar is stuck to the bushing, which can't turn on the cross feed screw because the two screws securing the crank to the end of the crossfeed screw are tight. Try removing the crank. If the shoulder bushing is not stuck to the cross feed screw, it will come off of the crossfeed screw with the dial and you can then remove the dial screw, press the bushing out of the dial, press the brass pig on through the tapped hole. Then you clean up the parts and put them all back together.

You should probably crank the cross slide off of the cross feed screw before starting this.

 

[rjs44032]

Ok what wa5cab said. Also, depending on the age of the lathe, it could have pin spanner hole on the dial drum. These are typically reverse threaded. Do not try to remove these parts without an appropriate spanner or you will ruin the spanner hole. I made one for my EXL by drilling and tapping a small piece of angle Iron at the appropriate TDC. Used a 10-32 SHCS and turned to appropriate size for the hole. Worked like a champ.

I'm at work now so can't get at it for specs. Let me know if you need them. Hope this helps.

Edit: it is normal to have some play in the gearing. The back-gears in the head-stock are significantly noisy when there is no load on them. You will notice a significant difference when you are single point threading. There is an adjustment for the back-gears by adjusting the position of the engagement handle. Just be sure that the clearances are correct, if you do decide to adjust them. However, perfectly adjusted they will still be noisy without a load. My EXL has a VFD so I rarely use the back-gears unless I have to single-point threads. And on pulleys 1 or 2 the noise is not bad.

Change gears at the end of the lathe can also be adjusted for proper clearances.

Finally, I have developed an alternate strategy for Metric gearing setup on Single Drop Lever Sheldons. If you have one of those let me know and I'll forward the info.

Best Regards,
Bob

 

[wa5cab]

The old standard for adjusting change gear lash (even lathes with QCGB;s usually have a few change gears between the spindle and the GB) was to cut a strip of the old standard brown wrapping or butcher paper. You pull the strip through the to-be-meshed gears, push the loose gear into mesh with the one that's already mounted tightly, tighten the loose gear, and then turn the gear train slowly to eject the paper. These days I use 24# printer/copier paper which I stock by the case for other usage.

 

[wa5cab]

BTW, what swing or swings do the EXL's have?

 

[rjs44032]

BTW, what swing or swings do the EXL's have?

I use newspaper to set them up. Supposedly the 16DP backlash should be 0.003 according to Boston Gear. And newspaper is how I was taught to do it. Your method is similar. 12 DP back-gears should have 0.004 backlash. But on my EXL I was unable to adjust them in that far. My understanding is that that distance can vary though. Hence my recommendation to check the backlash if you are going to adjust them. Your method would be good.

EXL lathes have about 10 3/8" swing over the bed-ways, an 'E' Drive, and large spindle bore. They are similar in configuration to the South Bend Heavy 10s.


Best Regards
Bob

 

[wa5cab]

OK Thanks. So they are the same swing as the XL. We do have a good PDF of the military TM on the SL. Wonder whether any of the parts interchange?

What is an "E" drive?

 

[rjs44032]

This is my E-Drive. It hangs under the headstock and has 4 speeds. So with back gear that gives 8 speeds total. Newer E-Drives have double pulleys on the motor side giving 8 speeds - thus 16 with back gear.

I'm happy with mine as I use a VFD for variable speeds with the pulley system for the sweet spot. The 1 HP 3ph motor is plenty when used with the pulley system.

 

[walterwoj]

wa5cab: According to the manual and other research you are right about the 'pig' . I have taken the crank off but the micrometer dial did not show any signs of loosening, even with blaster applied. There are some minor signs that someone has pried on the dial in the past but considering it's still stuck it looks like they failed... so I wan't to succeed (stubborn, I know) without damage...

wa5cab and rjs44032: I have the newer E drive with a double pulley. Mine has a 3/4 HP 220V motor. The last owner couldn't figure out how to wire the reversing switch, so he had it set up for 110v with 'Reverse' being on and 'Forward' not connected. The machine really gets moving on the higher speeds but seems to lack power at those speeds. I know the gearing trades power for speed but I was turning PVC pipe at ~800 rpm and I couldn't take a very deep cut.... I'm thinking of putting a bigger motor on.

I'll look into tightening the gear lash sometime. I like to keep everything at peak condition when I can.

rjs44032: On the metric threading... I have a 2 tumbler gearbox... I'm sort-of looking for the gear set for metric... just in case... but not looking too hard at this point.

Also I have the manual for my lather if anyone is looking for it... be glad to share.