1st metal lathe questions, recommendations, advice please.

[blackrodd]

If I've done this right, £12.10/- in 1969, equates to £193.84p
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bill ... -1900.html

Rodders

PS, Scrolling down the page, there's some interesting price comparisonsat the bottom, Bread petrol etc.

 

[dickm]

If I've done this right, £12.10/- in 1969, equates to £193.84p
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bill ... -1900.html

Rodders

PS, Scrolling down the page, there's some interesting price comparisonsat the bottom, Bread petrol etc.

Interesting. I usually guesstimate that prices from then need multiplied by something between 10 & 20 to get modern prices, which is what your suggesting. At the time I was certainly cross to miss it!

 

[Togalosh]

Hiya Rhyolith,
That looks very smart in British racing green ..& very good photography too.

I see that you have a different belt & pulley set-up. Mine has 1 belt with an adjustable pulley in-between machine & motor to adjust the belt tension. Are your pulleys on the plummer block the same size as on the machine ? (that question most likely shows up my engineering ineptitude). How do you adjust the belt tension ? What size is that big pulley ?.. I don't know what the rotating speeds I need to work it out (& don't have enough fingers & toes to work it out even if I knew).

Also the copper tube on the lead screw ? Is that for protection against something? Are there any other modifications ?

You say you are looking forward to setting it up - does that mean you haven't used it yet ? If you have did you like it ?

Togs

 

[Doris]

Also the copper tube on the lead screw ? Is that for protection against something? Are there any other modifications ?

It protects the lead screw against falling swarf.

Your lathe Togalosh has an interesting colour scheme never seen one that colour before....at least its not vomit green.

 

[DTR]

Hiya Rhyolith,
That looks very smart in British racing green ..& very good photography too.

I see that you have a different belt & pulley set-up. Mine has 1 belt with an adjustable pulley in-between machine & motor to adjust the belt tension. Are your pulleys on the plummer block the same size as on the machine ? (that question most likely shows up my engineering ineptitude). How do you adjust the belt tension ? What size is that big pulley ?.. I don't know what the rotating speeds I need to work it out (& don't have enough fingers & toes to work it out even if I knew).

Also the copper tube on the lead screw ? Is that for protection against something? Are there any other modifications ?

Togs

The speeds are worked out with simple ratios. The motor runs (in theory) at 1440 rpm. The motor pulley is 2" diameter, driving the large 8" pulley. This gives an 8:2 ratio, therefore the large pulley (and the countershaft it connects to) runs at 360 rpm.

The stepped pulleys on the countershaft and lathe spindle give three different ratios... 1:2, 1:1 and 2:1. With the countershaft running at 360 rpm, the the three lathe spindle speeds will be 720 rpm, 360 rpm and 180 rpm.

The lathe also has a backgear that can be switched in, giving a further 6:1 ratio. That's another three spindle speeds of 120 rpm, 60 rpm and 30 rpm.

I hope some of that waffle makes sense....

Edit: can't remember if the motor speed is 1440 or 1420, but the principle is the same

 

[Rhyolith]

Thanks for answering DTR Because I have no idea on most of that as of yet.

Its had a photo shoot, but nothing else with me so far as I did not have time to set it up before going to Wales (where I am now). I will have a lot of time in the the summer to play around with it, and am looking forward to that First thing I would like to try is thread cutting.

 

[Togalosh]

Also the copper tube on the lead screw ? Is that for protection against something? Are there any other modifications ?

It protects the lead screw against falling swarf.

Your lathe Togalosh has an interesting colour scheme never seen one that colour before....at least its not vomit green.

Does your "interesting" mean the same as my "naff" by any chance ? Now I see the BRG version I am not so taken with mine but I like it nevertheless.

Swarf - of course. Thanks

 

[Togalosh]

Hiya Rhyolith,
That looks very smart in British racing green ..& very good photography too.

I see that you have a different belt & pulley set-up. Mine has 1 belt with an adjustable pulley in-between machine & motor to adjust the belt tension. Are your pulleys on the plummer block the same size as on the machine ? (that question most likely shows up my engineering ineptitude). How do you adjust the belt tension ? What size is that big pulley ?.. I don't know what the rotating speeds I need to work it out (& don't have enough fingers & toes to work it out even if I knew).

Also the copper tube on the lead screw ? Is that for protection against something? Are there any other modifications ?

Togs

The speeds are worked out with simple ratios. The motor runs (in theory) at 1440 rpm. The motor pulley is 2" diameter, driving the large 8" pulley. This gives an 8:2 ratio, therefore the large pulley (and the countershaft it connects to) runs at 360 rpm.

The stepped pulleys on the countershaft and lathe spindle give three different ratios... 1:2, 1:1 and 2:1. With the countershaft running at 360 rpm, the the three lathe spindle speeds will be 720 rpm, 360 rpm and 180 rpm.

The lathe also has a backgear that can be switched in, giving a further 6:1 ratio. That's another three spindle speeds of 120 rpm, 60 rpm and 30 rpm.

I hope some of that waffle makes sense....

Edit: can't remember if the motor speed is 1440 or 1420, but the principle is the same

No waffle & perfect sense.. so the countershaft pulleys are the same.

(Well, I say perfect sense.. how the hell does 1:2 & 2:1 give different speeds if the pulleys are the same just on opposite sides?.. I will await the book or google it.)

edit: derr.. I just worked it out - I should think more before asking.

 

[Togalosh]

That is jumping in at the deep end isn't it ? ..or have you got lathe experience ?

Please post more photo's of the pulley set up when you get it set up. Talking of setting it up; the seller of mine told me an easy way to test for twist when bolting it down (place a round bar in the chuck & set a dial indicator on it, if the needle moves it's twisting)..& bolt it through a metal tray to catch the oil & swarf.

I was surprised that something so solid would twist. (sorry if I am teach granny..)

 

[DTR]

Talking of setting it up; the seller of mine told me an easy way to test for twist when bolting it down (place a round bar in the chuck & set a dial indicator on it, if the needle moves it's twisting)..& bolt it through a metal tray to catch the oil & swarf.

I was surprised that something so solid would twist. (sorry if I am teach granny..)

+1, this is a very wise way of setting up. It's described in detail in The Amateur's Lathe. When the needle starts deflecting, you stick shims under the foot until you can tighten down without any deflection. It is surprising how much a lathe can twist. This is why the ML4 and many similar lathes from that era have a single large foot; it minimises (but doesn't eliminate) the amount of twist that can be caused by bolting down. The effect is even more pronounced in lathes with seperate feet at each end.

Another way to check for twist is to use a precision spirit level at various points along the bed, the same principle as using winding sticks.

 

[Harbo]

I'd try making something simple to practice cutting etc before starting on thread cutting

Rod

 

[Rhyolith]

DTR ran me through the basics of thread cutting, and to be honest it did not seem that complicated. I may slice up some metal first just to get the feel for it, but as it several mouths away I have not really thought through the details yet.

Here is a slight better angle on the belts for you Togalosh, other than not actually being screwed down its more or less as DTR had it (I think!).
Myford ML4 by Rhyolith, on Flickr

 

[woodpig]

The first job on my MW Lathe was to make a new smaller drive pulley as the lowest speed was a little high for thread cutting. Second job was to thread cut a filling adaptor for my air rifle. The first attempt didn't work as the change wheel chart on the Lathe was wrong! The second attempt using the chart in the manual worked fine though. I rarely cut threads with a single point tool though and only external ones.

 

[dickm]

When you get the drive set up, one worthwhile adaptation is to hinge the intermediate drive carrier and fit an over centre strut to tension it. This in effect gives you a clutch.

 

[Togalosh]

DTR ran me through the basics of thread cutting, and to be honest it did not seem that complicated. I may slice up some metal first just to get the feel for it, but as it several mouths away I have not really thought through the details yet.

Here is a slight better angle on the belts for you Togalosh, other than not actually being screwed down its more or less as DTR had it (I think!).
Myford ML4 by Rhyolith, on Flickr

Ah !.. I get it now (I am so slow sometimes.. ).. you don't have to re-tension the belt when changing between pulleys as the belt radius (if that is the term to use) doesn't change. Mine has a cone pulley on the motor shaft & a tensioning pulley (jockey wheel ??) in between. I will have to measure the cone to work out the speeds. The seller did say his Dad had it set up as yours is albeit high up as in the document on lathes.co.uk.

So much leaning to do..so little time & grey matter to do it with.

 

[Rhyolith]

When you get the drive set up, one worthwhile adaptation is to hinge the intermediate drive carrier and fit an over centre strut to tension it. This in effect gives you a clutch.

I think that has already been done on mine if I understand correctly. The entire motor assembly is on a hinge of shorts.

 

[blackrodd]

When you get the drive set up, one worthwhile adaptation is to hinge the intermediate drive carrier and fit an over
I think that has already been done on mine if I understand correctly. The entire motor assembly is on a hinge of shorts. :shock: :shock:

 

[Rhyolith]

When you get the drive set up, one worthwhile adaptation is to hinge the intermediate drive carrier and fit an over
I think that has already been done on mine if I understand correctly. The entire motor assembly is on a hinge of shorts. :shock: :shock:

Its DTR's set up, not mine. Though it seems pretty solid to me (as in safe).

 

[DTR]

The hinging motor setup on Rhyolith's ML4 is for moving and tensioning the belt only. If I've understood dickm's post correctly, you're describing something similar to the ML7's tensioning arrangement? The chap I bought my ML7 from demonstrated using the tensioning lever that way, but there was still enough drag on the belt to pull the spindle around slowly. It looked rather risky to me, I certainly wouldn't want to stick my fingers anywhere near it

 

[Rhyolith]

.....It looked rather risky to me, I certainly wouldn't want to stick my fingers anywhere near it

Yes, I can see how there could be (and probably have been!) some pretty nasty accidents with these belts. Particulary scary when looking at some of the bigger belt driven machines :shock: