Da 90 Year Old Lathe

[cheesy]

So the little POS is back together. Finally. I threw in the towel yesterday and decided 'good enough' was less brain damage than 'perfection'. It runs a hell of a lot quieter and doesn't vibrate any more. Which were my goals.

I checked out the speeds in each range with a laser tach that was one of my retirement tools. Lowest speed is 20rpm. Highest is 930. I'll call it good for now.

I spent yesterday exploiting my newfound freedom. I was outside from 9:30 in the morning until 5:30. I was able to move the Ural, the ATV, and the mower out of the garage with varying degrees of difficulty. The major one is that my trickle charger is being aimed towards the trash. Fully charged batteries, my ass. The Ural fired up on its starters' last gasp. It's laugh worthy to watch me get up on it. My boot barely fits between the left cylinder and the gear shift. And I have to use my heel to downshift.

The mower struggled, started, then needed a jump when I stopped to gas it up. There is no step on the mower to aid in getting my butt in the seat. Also comical to see.

The ATV may need a new battery. I have no clue as to how old it is but I ended up using its pull start. I might add that pulling on that rope is like pull starting a small diesel. There is a tad bit o' compression there. Getting up on this thing is like trying to get up on a horse without a saddle. Mrs.C was splitting a gut.

Despite all that, I did get the lawn mowed. I also managed to get the above rearranged in the garage in the order of importance with my current affliction. I also had my best night sleep in the last two months.

[cheesy]

Physical therapy starts today. Finally. Had a hard time catching up with my neighbor but I finally did, she couldn't fit me into her schedule. My daughters' friend offered to do PT for me but didn't know that we'd moved to the far southern part of the county. We're out of her territory now. So, NW Health, here I am. At least I only have to travel 10 miles each way. Mrs. C has 35.

Mrs.C's radiation treatments started on Monday. I went with her the first two days, just in case. She had no side effects and told me to stay home and do something useful before my turn today.

I can also hobble about for a short distance without a crutch now AND made it down the stairs this morning without sliding down on my butt like a toddler.

As far as the lathe goes, we're bonding. The current project made a lot of chips but seems destined for the experience pile.

[cheesy]

Bleah! 8 weeks of PT coming up. I was told that I am as flexible as two old cement.

Again.

[cheesy]

The project that made a lot of chips took three attempts to get right.

Sometime in the lathes' past, the left end of the countershaft was modified to adapt a new driven pulley. In order to make it work, the grease seals and retainers were tossed. I figured that out the first time I lubed the new countershaft and not only got gobs of grease on the wall behind the lathe, got the same gobs of grease on my shirt and on my face. I was able to find repo's of the thick felt seals but no retainers. I figured I might be able to make something out of a couple of engine freeze plugs.

It looked good on paper. First problem was NAPA. The new hired help was useless in even looking up 1 5/8" od plugs without a make/model/year. Auto Zone had them on the shelf. Second was that the back of the plugs were concave, which made them too thick. That screwed with the belt alignment. Facing the backs flat helped, but not enough. So, the first two attempts went into the 'Experience Pile'. This is why I always buy extras.

Plan B. I started by facing off the concave portion on the back of the plug until I took off enough to get a hole. I bored the hole to .750 to fit over the shaft. I then dug in the small box of cutting tools that came with the lathe and found something I could use as a cut-off tool. I basically separated the ring from the back of the freeze plug. The back of the freeze plug and felt seal went between the right side of the bearing housing and the Hi-Low selector. The other felt seal fit in the ring and that was placed between the drive pulley and left side of the bearing housing.

It must have worked, no more grease goblins flying at me or making a mess of the wall.

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Pics of the seal retainers. My hands were too greasy to mess with the phone when I finished.



The bolt on the pulley keeps the ring in place.

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Woo Hoo. According to the PT guy, Jared, I'm coming along faster than expected for an old fart my age. I can probably ditch the hated boot by the end of this week or early next week.

I felt froggy and climbed up on the Ural this afternoon. Fired it up, and rode up and down the street to see if I could shift. I can, if I'm not in a hurry. I'm not planning on hitting the road yet, just baby steps.

My next session is Wednesday. Maybe I can pedal a bike up and down the driveway then.

[TominMO]

Hey, no soft-core porn allowed here! This is a family-friendly site!

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by TominMO

Hey, no soft-core porn allowed here! This is a family-friendly site!

Is it the scarred knees or the 'Cool Ass Grandpa' sk8tr boy socks?

[TominMO]

Originally Posted by cheesy

Is it the scarred knees or the 'Cool Ass Grandpa' sk8tr boy socks?

Definitely the hairy white old man legs. (pot, meet kettle)