Wadkin lathe restoration

[sawtooth-9]

Showing spanner applied to motor shaft lock nut and the new flange at the end of the flat belt pulley, to replace the broken section

 

[sawtooth-9]

Motor assembly, freshly painted

 

[thick_mike]

Great stuff, thanks for posting.

 

[wallace]

Looking good, I like the spanner. The grease I use is a lithium bearing grease from my local bearing guy. I got my lathe finished and shipped off just in time for little bit of keyhole surgery in my shoulder. I cant start another machine for a couple of months

 

[sawtooth-9]

Hi Wallace. It just so happens that I pack grease for a major oil company in Australia (Castrol ) and have about 200 tons of grease on the floor. However, nothing we pack is really suitable !
Most greases today are a lithium soap and are not an EP grade ( extreme pressure ) also, they are only rated to about 1500 rpm. The most common E P additive is molybdenum disulphide and result in a black grease, but again not really rated to around 3000 rpm
There is a grease made by Castrol called " Long time PD2 but it is a specialized grease imported to Aus. And comes at a very step price.
So still looking for a grease that will do a good job

 

[sawtooth-9]

Have seen an RS, almost identical to mine, on the web and this was identified as having a manufacturing date of 1964. So mine could be about the same gar, rather than Pre 1956.
Based on the name plate, pictured above, can anyone help to identify manuf. Date ?
Am now ready to transport headstock and bed home, having made a couple of pallets so I can move in and out of the workshop for stripping and painting.
Whole process delayed a little because of a couple of weeks of torrential rain !!

 

[wallace]

Your type of machine tag has the year it was made on it, the first two numbers of the test number are 45 so it was made in 1945. This method of dating only applies to the cast tags.

 

[sawtooth-9]

While waiting for the rain to stop bucketing down, I decided to complete my research into the best spindle grease.
Further research into Castrol Longtime PD2 grease led me to believe that it is really nothing special and is wY overpriced.
I have finally settled on a Calcium Sulphonate Complex with NLGI 2 and a base oil viscosity of 9.6 cs @ 100 deg C
The calcium sulphonate complex provides much superior EP properties than Lithium based greases and the low base oil viscosity will cater for the high end of spindle rpm
Not always easy to make a grease selection, but as all the bearings are new, I like to give them their best shot !

 

[sawtooth-9]

Finally the first predictable dry day since Easter. We have had torrents of rain, up to 5 inches in a day !
So it was time to move the heavy bits from the factory, to home. These parts were too heavy to just dump on a trailer, because we have a VERY steep drive way, so opted to hire a utility.
Packed the stripped headstock and bed onto a pallet and secured to the pallet with metal strapping. Had to pack the tray of the "ute" with bits of pallets to prevent any movement during the 40 mile journey home, because it was not possible to get more than one strap to hold the load down.
Also had to lay the headstock on it's side because I have insufficient head height for the lift if the head was vertical. We are lucky that our house is built on massive steel beams, and one is conveniently located just before the garage door.
All the lathe components are now home and further fun can now commence !

 

[sawtooth-9]

Hope the following pics are of some interest.

 

[sawtooth-9]

Have had a few delays with this project, including building a tree house for the grand kids !
Will be posting again soon.

 

[NickWelford]

WIP for the treehouse?

 

[sawtooth-9]

Hi Nick
Sometimes in life you have to make some tough decisions. Grandchildren grow up so quickly and you only get a short window.
A Wadkin lasts much longer and has the patience to wait until other priorities are sorted.

 

[wallace]

I think Nick meant did you do a Work In Progress WIP on the treehouse. Pictures and method of construction :lol:

 

[NickWelford]

Indeed.

 

[sawtooth-9]

Wow, I did not expect this !
If you are interested, I will post pics etc over the next week or so.
The tree was only big enough to hang a bird cage, so I sank posts and built a platform to construct the house.
The children are 6, 4 and 2 and are so excited to see their dream being built.
It's an incredible learning experience for them, and we are documenting the progress as a book.

 

[sawtooth-9]

Yet another short delay with the Wadkin restoration.
I have just purchased a Harrison L6 metal lathe and have to make room to fit this in the workshop and transport it home.
The combination of the Wadkin and Harrison will enable us to build the products we intend to have for sale.

 

[sawtooth-9]

Will soon finish the tree house, just fitting the shingle roof and then clad.
Will post a few pics showing construction etc.
Have finished the sanding and filling of the Wadkin headstock and will be doing the bed ready to spray shortly.
Whilst all this is going on, am making some space in the workshop to bring the Harrison metal lathe home.

 

[sawtooth-9]

Still working on the tree house, just finished the shingle roof and about to start the cladding in Cyprus pine log.
Am preparing Wadkin bed for spray painting, but have to wait for a little warmer weather. It does get VERY cold in Sydney in winter !
Will post a few pics of tree house stages soon

 

[sawtooth-9]

Have finally finished the tree house. It took a little longer than expected as this was a great opportunity to introduce the kids to working with wood.
The tree house was built on a platform on four posts to the ground, as the tree was too small to support the structure.
The roof was done with cedar shingles and the walls clad with cyprus pine log.
The three grand children are in the tree hose whenever they can, and it is very special to them because they helped to build it.
A few pics below.
Now that the weather is starting to warm, I will soon be able to start spray painting the Wadkin !