Thread: Engage/disengage feed levers while feed rod is rotating al960b

Hi Ben,
Yes engauge and disanguage as you please.
Just make sure you dont run out of travel on the crossfeed if you are feeding towards you........

Being dog clutches* they wont engauge just anywhere, you'll either have to hold a little pressure on the lever until the gears turn enough to line up or wind the carraige/cross slide slowly backwards until they enguage-. If it hits dog on dog you can press as hard as you like it wont enguage.

Stuart

*I'm pretty sure the 960 uses dogs

I'm glad that was the answer Stuart........i could have been in trouble if it was NO DONT DO IT!

Assuming you are talking about normal power feeds to the apron and cross-slide (longitudinal and transverse feeds) yes you can engage and disengage under power; that's what they're for! You have to set the feed rate and spindle speed gearing while the machine is stationary, the same as for thread cutting.

Without intending to be rude; would I be correct in thinking that you are a newcomer to turning? If so, may I suggest you do at least a basic lathe course at your local TAFE or see if your local Men's Shed has that facility. Metalworking lathes have astounding capabilities once you know and understand the basics; they can also bite in spectacularly loud, expensive and sometimes painful manner if you get it wrong.

Hi

On the South bend 9 family clones , you wind the clutch control knob, in / out to engage/disengage the power feed. As a total novice, I was using the cross/traverse selection lever to engage the feed, which Ive since discovered is not the correct method'. 'Mike

Thanks guys,
That's the answer I was expecting but was not sure as every lathe is a little different and the manual that came with the lathe is not a shocker but is a close second.

Cliff, that's not a rude statement at all. I'm a huge fan of tafe and formal education. I'm not new to metal work or machinery at all, I'm new to this lathe. I had a beautiful old Monarch lathe that was well over 100yrs old up until a few yes back. Had that one for years. Im no expert at it either. A round trip for me to the nearest tafe is 2.5hrs plus. I have contacted them regarding classes and their only taking apprenticeship students at the moment due to demand.
The local men's sheds are all carpenters so no luck there. I have to great neighbors with machine shops, books, the net and all you guys as a last resort!
I do appreciate all the help guys. Bloody tops all of ya!

Chief I'm clearly dyslexic though!

Hi Ben,

You may already know this but I'll post it anyway. You can start/stop your feeds whenever you want but don't stop the work piece from rotating whilst you have a feed going (unless its a emergency). If you do this when using carbide tooling you generally stuff the tip.

Cheers Ben.

Thanks bwal 74, I did not know that. My last lathe was strictly hss due to the speed! I like hss but will start playing with indexable bits soon. Will keep that info in mind!