Record CL lathe - Small improvements

[bobajobob]

Here are some modifications I made to my CL3 to make it a more likeable companion. There are a lot of these out there so someone might benefit. Apologies if they seem old hat.

1. Make and fit an oil retaining collar for the brass bearing.
2. Replace the pressed steel shaft spanner with a forged one. I got an off-set 25mm gas bottle spanner for £2.
3. Make a centre steady . The CLs have long spindle capacity.
4. Fit a handle to the tailstock wheel.
5. Make and fit a hand-wheel to the end of the main spindle.
6. If you still use the old style banjo (better but awkward to adjust) - I moved the lever to the top with an optimally
oriented nut below the bars.
7. Why bother with the belt cover screw?

More images on (newest) http://s77.photobucket.com/user/Leew_Fr ... t=9&page=1

 

[timber]

Here are some modifications I made to my CL3 to make it a more likeable companion. There are a lot of these out there so someone might benefit. Apologies if they seem old hat.

1. Make and fit an oil retaining collar for the brass bearing.
2. Replace the pressed steel shaft spanner with a forged one. I got an off-set 25mm gas bottle spanner for £2.
3. Make a centre steady . The CLs have long spindle capacity.
4. Fit a handle to the tailstock wheel.
5. Make and fit a hand-wheel to the end of the main spindle.
6. If you still use the old style banjo (better but awkward to adjust) - I moved the lever to the top with an optimally
oriented nut below the bars.
7. Why bother with the belt cover screw?

More images on (newest) http://s77.photobucket.com/user/Leew_Fr ... t=9&page=1

Very well done that man
I do like to see modifications done that the makers of machines should have done in the first instance
Regards
Timber

 

[nev]

1. Make and fit an oil retaining collar for the brass bearing.

More details please

 

[Phil Pascoe]

What are people doing with their oil? We've eight CLs at the club and I've never noticed more than a smear of oil anywhere, certainly nothing to worry about covering. It tends to run inside rather than outside, and is only noticeable when changing speed (which is rare on the VS ones). My old ML8 used to look like an explosion in a refinery by comparison.

 

[woodpig]

Some good ideas there, well done.

 

[Tortion-Stephen]

Some lovely ideas, nicely executed!

Cheers

Stephen

 

[bobajobob]

Phil.
My lathe is c.1978. I check the bearing adjustment regularly. I never run it with any perceivable play. It has always leaked oil after lubrication which flies off the rear of the chuck without the sleeve. The bearing needs oil every few hours if it is to run really freely. I've heard a number of people complain about leakage which prompted me to post this.
The old record runs beautifully if given a little TLC.

Nev.
The retainer is a turned piece of Acetal plastic, which press fits onto the bearing projection. Nylon or even a dense wood would suffice. It's simply tapered back internally to form a channel. I made it on a metal working lathe but it could be done with a wood lathe. It works perfectly and just needs cleaning occasionally. Check clearance on any spindle attachments. I've had no problems with 4 different chucks. (Nb. Tell Phil if you need it!)

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I doubt ours are more than 10 - 15 years old, some newer - maybe the bearing housing design changed? I don't know. I've never noticed oil on the back of a chuck, and I'm one of those who regularly takes chucks off as I don't like using Morse tapered pronged drives in chucks. Ours do about 10 hours a week, get oiled regularly and don't knock out bearings so presumably are treated OK.

 

[selectortone]

Thank you for No 4 - Fit a handle to the tailstock wheel. I've been meaning to do that for ages.

This afternoon I ordered a handle from Axminster (this one) and have drilled and tapped a hole in my wheel in anticipation.

 

[selectortone]

... and here it is. Thanks again for the nudge Bobajobob. It works a treat. Much less laborious than rotating the wheel by hand. Using a jacobs chuck and forstner bits will be much easier to control now.

If anyone else is thinking of doing this, drilling and tapping the wheel is very easy, it's cast iron and quite soft. it's easy to dismantle from the tailstock - two allen bolts accessed through a hole in the wheel. For an M10 bolt I used a 9mm drill bit in my pillar drill on a slow speed and it went through very easily. Then ten minutes gentle progress with a pair of M10 taps and it was done.

With the Haydock Converters variable speed upgrade, a cam-lock banjo and now this handle I'm slowly dragging my old CL-1 into the 21st Century. Or the end of the 20th anyway...

 

[DTR]

Great mods, bobajobob. Strangely enough, I've just made a tailstock handle for SWMBO's Coronet (same lathe, different colour). I'll have to show her your mods