Adventures in metalwork and machine restoration!

[TFrench]

Busy couple of days isolating myself
Hardinge 2nd coat done, masking off - very happy with the finish. I'm still in two minds whether to paint the body of the lathe, or just leave it at the cabinet and chip tray. Mainly because I despise paint prep and there's a lot of chips to fill! Hoping to get the gasket cut and the carriage gearbox buttoned back up tomorrow.
2nd coat

Finished off the splashback - added a shelf for stuff thats rarely used, like the toolpost grinder and hangers for all the chuck keys, file and other bits and bobs that need to be in easy reach.
Splashback finished

Today I've been sorting the milling machines out - it looked like a bombsite. I got the smaller deckel lifted up onto levelling feet and the power cabinets for both machines moved, then the tooling cabinet for them placed in between. Whole area looks much better now, and more importantly its started to make room for where the Hardinge will eventually go... its like machinery tetris! A toe jack, big levers and rollers - you can do a lot on your own!
Tidy shop!

 

[MusicMan]

That's a great shop coming along very well!

 

[wallace]

I wish I had a bid on that Hardinge turret lathe that sold recently, it went for £33O :shock:

 

[TFrench]

I think you'd run up against the limitations of a turret lathe very quickly mate... theres a reason they go cheap! No gearbox, no tailstock and not a proper toolpost. Great for making lots of the same thing once you set it up but not for one offs.

 

[TFrench]

Making steady progress. Carriage reassembled and all the bits that need painting on it are done:
Carriage reassembled

With the base looking so good I decided I had to go for it and do a proper job of things. I absolutely hate paint prep!
Paint prep

 

[AES]

Yup, me too "TF" (hate paint prep that is)! But as we both know, therein lies the nice finish we both (I guess) admire with great satisfaction afterwards.

It's going to be great (and I bet your lead screws look a bit different to my little tidler).

Looking good, keep up the good work. =D>

 

[TFrench]

Nice little repair job this week for a friend (essential as it's agriculture!) It's part of a PTO driven rotorvator. The dust seals had long gone, allowing it to grind itself to bits. First 2 pics show the wear, compared to the new bearing :shock:
wear 1
wear 2

Built up with the mig:
welded up
(When he told me it was a worn shaft, I was hoping for a chance to play with my metal spraying kit. Bit beyond that though!)

In the big lathe then to skim the weld off:
Turning

And the finished article, circlip groove at the top and a spacer piece to get the bearing sitting back in the right place:
Finished

Typically, I won something on ebay after the job was finished that will make the next one much easier - a weld positioner that spins the piece slowly while you weld, saving messing around juggling red hot parts :lol:
Weld positioner

 

[MusicMan]

Nice repair. I love repairs and repairing!

 

[AES]

Nice job. =D>

 

[TFrench]

Thanks guys! Making steady progress on the hardinge too. In fact it's getting very close to being done.

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[AES]

Aren't you glad you painted the lathe as well as the cabinet now???

Looks really good =D>

 

[MusicMan]

What a beautiful beast! Nice job!

 

[TFrench]

Definitely glad I did it, but certainly didn't enjoy it! As of today I'm pretty much finished with the painting. Got a few ancillary parts to do still, but nothing major. Today I welded up a small frame and zapped it to the main splashback panel, painted it all and clad it in stainless. Had some offcuts lying around and thought it would cheer it up a bit! The extension piece will be similar to the one on the harrison and hold the tailstock tools and multifix toolholders. You can just see in this one that I've replaced the flexible conduit for the coolant pump and lamp.
splashback1
splashback2

And the money shot:
Painting done

Still got a fair bit to do, but at least I'm not getting covered in crud every time I go near it now!

 

[TFrench]

Applied voltage today :twisted:

It only bloody works!

 

[Bm101]

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Applied voltage today :twisted:

It only bloody works!

Beautiful. =D>

 

[AES]

Yup! =D> =D>

 

[kevinlightfoot]

Lovely job ,what's your next project I follow with great interest?

 

[TFrench]

Next big project is a shaper. I sold the blue one from earlier in this thread when I got the hardinge so I'd have room to keep it. Next thing I spotted one on eBay that had the very rare power downfeed option and I was the only one daft enough to bid. It looked rough, and it's missing the table and vice. Cost peanuts though, even with getting it shipped down from Edinburgh. I've already found a box table that should be the right one so it's already moving forward.

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[Phil Pascoe]

You're try to outwallace Wallace, aren't you? Tell the truth.

 

[TFrench]

I've got nothing on Wallace!

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