Da 90 Year Old Lathe

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by Bruces

Is Mrs. Cheesy doing well enough to look after you ,or has Buster been promoted to chief cook and bottle washer ? You guys have been through the wringer lately

Yes, much to her chagrin.

She can't do any heavy lifting, so we enlist our daughter or SIL to get a bag of Buster chow or fill the water softener with salt.

Her growing up in a military family has been showing the last few days when it comes to my meds. Jeez, it's like she has a built in stop watch. If I'm to take something every 6 hours, it's every 6 hours. Not 5:59, not 6:01. Never mind that the doc says I have a 30 minute window either way. This is from the woman that has a problem being on time.

Buster has been the goodest boy and a PITA. Sometimes in the same hour. I can't get upstairs, so I sleep on the living room couch. He'll lay on the floor next to the couch until I fall asleep, then he goes to one of his beds.
He stuck his nose in my face at one this morning to let him out. I did, no problem. I let him back in, then he runs upstairs and wakes up Crabby, so she'll let him out. He did it again at five. Crabby yells at me.

We Shall Muddle Through is our family motto.

[cheesy]

Whoa! A three hour nap in the EZ chair after lunch with no chemical aids. I've missed those. Doing a solder repair on Mrs. C's laptop must have really sapped me.

[cheesy]

I had Mrs.C run me over to the roller rink tonight so I could thank the guys that got my broken a$$ off the rink floor and rendered some first aid. She made them cookies.

After we got there I learned that Jonny had quit the previous week but the floor guards, Justin and Mike were there. So, they got all the cookies. Justin asked how bad it was and he cringed when I told him. I said I wouldn't be back skating until school was back in session come August or September. I also said when they called for 18 and above races, I'd be at the concession stand. Justin said, "Damn right you will."

[cheesy]

It was a gorgeous day in NE Illannoy. I got outside and went up and down the street on the knee scooter then ventured into the garage. I proceeded to get the lathe bolted to the bench. I will admit that what should have taken 15 minutes, maybe a half hour, with two good legs took me well over an hour to do. It did wear me out. Too many days on my butt the past 3 weeks and too many hours on the scooter today.

I ordered some .002 shim stock so I can set the bearing clearance on the head stock this week. Then get the new belts on, followed by whatever else is needed so I can start making chips. One tidbit I learned about the lathe, from 1932 thru 1935, the Atlas/Craftsman 9" lathe used babbit bearings on the head stock main shaft. From 1936 on, the main shaft ran on needle bearings. Mine runs on babbit, so pre 1936.

[cheesy]

Man, being one legged sucks when trying to get stuff done. Now I know where the old saw 'busier than a legged man at an a$$ kicking contest' comes from.

I was able to get the babbit bearings in the head stock shimmed. I don't feel any end play or side to side play but I haven't put a dial indicator on it yet, either. I also got the new belts on. It wore me out.

There's an old Willis Brothers song called "I Need Forty Acres To Turn This Rig Around". That's my scooter in the garage. About 2 hours is all my knee on the scooter can take.

Mrs.C got a bit snippy with me when I came in about the overhead door in her garage not closing. I suggested she brush the cobwebs off the sensors and make sure they are aligned. She comes in with the churlish, "It's still not working."

So I returned the with my own and said "I would go out to look after lunch." Followed by, "Why are you yelling at me?"

I hobble out to her garage and hit the button. Yep, the door drops about 6" and goes back up, followed by the flashy light. I hobble to the west side sensor. It's clean and square. I looked over at the east side sensor and said,"Oh!"

I hobbled over to the east side sensor and tapped a couple times with my crutch then told Mrs.C to hit the button. Down came the door. She asked how and I told her the sensors were out of line. "But I looked?"

She's been very quiet this afternoon. I probably should mount a rear view mirror on my scooter.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by cheesy

Man, being one legged sucks when trying to get stuff done. Now I know where the old saw 'busier than a legged man at an a$$ kicking contest' comes from.

I was able to get the babbit bearings in the head stock shimmed. I don't feel any end play or side to side play but I haven't put a dial indicator on it yet, either. I also got the new belts on. It wore me out.

There's an old Willis Brothers song called "I Need Forty Acres To Turn This Rig Around". That's my scooter in the garage. About 2 hours is all my knee on the scooter can take.

Mrs.C got a bit snippy with me when I came in about the overhead door in her garage not closing. I suggested she brush the cobwebs off the sensors and make sure they are aligned. She comes in with the churlish, "It's still not working."

So I returned the with my own and said "I would go out to look after lunch." Followed by, "Why are you yelling at me?"

I hobble out to her garage and hit the button. Yep, the door drops about 6" and goes back up, followed by the flashy light. I hobble to the west side sensor. It's clean and square. I looked over at the east side sensor and said,"Oh!"

I hobbled over to the east side sensor and tapped a couple times with my crutch then told Mrs.C to hit the button. Down came the door. She asked how and I told her the sensors were out of line. "But I looked?"

She's been very quiet this afternoon. I probably should mount a rear view mirror on my scooter.

Oh boy, I know all about that. I was laid up for 6 months when my back went out. As soon as i was able to kind of do for myself, i told my wife she needs to go out and get a job so i could rest. lol

[cheesy]

It’s been a month since got both the lathe and the boogered ankle.

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by cheesy

It’s been a month since got both the lathe and the boogered ankle.

There was supposed to be more to that post but Mrs.C rushed me out of the house to do errands.

Anyway, I did figure out the overly complicated 'Compound Drive' today. It's basically a dual range transmission with three speeds in each range. Low range is 47, 80, and 130 rpm. High range is 220, 370, and 600 rpm. I'm going to make a sign for the wall stating such.

Right now, however, the speeds are currently zero. The Chicago Die Cast drive pulley on the motor split in half. Scared the crap outta me, too. I don't know if the belt was too tight, the pulleys were out of line, or there was a flaw in the casting. I'll head to Ace tomorrow with my $5 off coupon and get a new one. I do know that when the outside flange of the pulley parted company, the lathe ran quiet and stopped shaking. Before all that happened, though, I did manage to check end play and run out on the main shaft with my cheap a$$ dial indicator. Run out was .008mm and less than .005mm for end play. Not too shabby.

The 4 jaw chuck is giving me flashbacks of Freshman Machine Shop fifty plus years ago. That's gonna take some practice.

[cheesy]

The broken pulley.


The first page of the patent. A good view of the 'Compound Drive'.

[cheesy]

I made chips today.


The tool I used was worn and the speed was too slow so the finish isn't great. I just eyeballed the steps. It also showed me that there are a couple minor issues with the compound.

[cheesy]

Whee. The cast is off. I'm stuck in the boot again for the next four weeks, but not for 24 hours a day. I can have it off for sleeping, showering, if I'm just sitting on my butt in my EZ chair. I can't put weight on it for the four weeks, so that's a poop. On the plus side, though, after my four weeks are done, my physical therapist lives across the street.

[cheesy]

Running a lathe is starting to come back to me. Not quickly, but it is coming back. I did a small bit of turning yesterday along with using a countersinking drill. This was after inspecting the counter shaft. Looks like I'll be making an updated version of one of those. The running surface for the drive side needle bearing is shot. I do have a part number for the shaft, but I don't think Sears and Roebuck, nor Atlas, will have a replacement in stock. So, dismantle the counter shaft, take measurements, reassemble, make the new shaft, take the old shaft back apart, reassemble the new shaft. Slow baked piece of cake.

[cheesy]

Mrs.C and I went to McMaster-Carr yesterday and picked up the steel for the new counter-shaft. I also said tahellwithit and grabbed the phosphor bronze rod for the Ural valve guides, too.

I was out in the garage today taking measurements while Mrs.C was walking Buster and The Demon of Darkness. I finished up after they got back and decided to sit on the front porch and soak up the sun for a bit.

Mrs.C came out with her phone in hand, saying that she'd just finished talking with her Oncologist. He gave her her score that determines whether or not she's a candidate for radiation instead of chemo. A score of 26 or above means chemo. Her's was 13. She has a pre-therapy appointment on Thursday and starts to glow the following week. Phew!

[cheesy]

While digging in a drawer in the garage this morning(thank you, Buster, for waking me up at 4am)I came across a very old Starrett dial indicator kit that I forgot I had. I bought it at a flea market for ten bucks when my oldest was in middle school. She'll be 45 in May. This was an entire kit in a fitted wood box.

The crystal has yellowed, warped, and popped out of the dial and that's why I never used it. For grins, I set it up on the lathe along with my digital indicator and they were damn close to each other. So, I decided to see if I could find a crystal for the Starrett and put it back to work. eBay, $10.95.

Also for grins, I did an online search for the counter shaft. No luck, as expected. But I did find felt shaft seals. The lack of seals explains why I have grease blobs on the wall, glasses, shirt, Honda, ceiling.

Everything should be here by Tuesday.

[Bruces]

I have a late 90’s Starret that has problems ,I was looking to replace it but learned something today and will look for a new crystal first .Thanks Cheesy !