Thread: safe lifting points of hafco 960b lathe

Hi,
No thats a Rabone Chesterman, starret have one the same as well.
Rolleys dads method is good, but start with leveling first, these lathes are usually pretty good with head stock alignment from the factory. If you undo the head stock bolts be prepared to spend many hours of test cutting and adjusting to get it right.

Shimming under the lathe feet is fine and will do the job just as well. Before I made the adjustable feet I used shims, then after moving it I decided to make the feet.

You will need to centre the tail stock.
For a quick test you can put a centre in both the head stock and tail stock then bring them together with a 150mm rule in between horizontally. Look down over the rule and it should be square to the lathe ways. If it's not, loosen the tail stock lock then undo the allen head grub screw and adjust it until it sits square.

There is a more precision way called the 2 collar test. It is basically a bar 25mm dia+ between the tail stock and into the chuck. The middle of the bar is machined off to leave a collar on each end. To test the tail stock you machine one collar, then without moving the cross slide move it along and machine the other collar. Measure the 2 and if there the same you have it setup right, if not adjust the tail stock and take another cut.
One way to help with finely adjusting the tail stock doing this test, is to put an indicator onto the backside of the job near the tail stock, that way you know how much your adjusting it.

You can make one of these test bars up and keep it as a lathe tool for setting up for precision work. I only have one but some people have a few different length ones just encase the lathe has inaccuracies.
If you google lathe 2 collar test you will get a lot of hits.


Dave

Spent some time today leveling the lathe.
Took over an hour to center the spirit level, had unscrewed it previously for another use.

the lathes level is very close,
Was fun & games trying to get it level, have not bolted it down yet, so will probably need to do further leveling.
Dave, when you state under the feet, do you mean the cabinet to floor, or shimming the beds feet on the pan.
Hope its not the pan, as i wouldn't want to lift the lathe again, as well as cleaning up the sealant.

You can level it either way but under the feet will be fine. I leveled my lathe that way after fitting the adjustable feet to it. Before the feet I leveled it under the lathes feet.

To set up these type of levels you need something pretty level to start with. If the bubble touches one end it will give a false reading, it needs to be around the centre to get it calibrated.

Dave

HI,
I have not got around to finishing it but here are some Pictures of My Coolant Pump that I have been Making. The Pump as stated previously is from a Kerosene Parts Washer. The Plastic Basin I bought from GO-LO. The S/S Strainer is part of a Potato Masher. The Smaller Strainer that has come unattatched from the Pump is for use on a Boat for a Live Tank. The Lid is Made from 3mm Aluminium Sheet.

looking good, If u need to place a partition, purchase the same plastic container, use a solder iron to cut out a panel- then solder it in as a partition, works well.

tested the pump on the lathe, it definitely needed the return feed line, had the tool bit positioned hose turned to max, the flow was way to quick, started to fill the tray and finally the pump ran dry, was only playing with it, used the hose to wash down the swarf.
Unfortunately it had leaked into the cabinet, couldn't believe it, had applied sealant all around the bolt holes on the tray before bolting the lathe onto it.

Spent over an hour wiping the coolant off all the bare metal areas, and oiled her up.
coolant kept coming out from under the carriage when moving it.
Do i need to get this coolant off the all the bare metal surfaces ?
Will this coolant sitting under the carriage cause rust, or the coolant itself sitting on the bed tracks, without wiping it off first before oiling ?
thinking of trying the oil based coolant, as i had moved the carriage forth and back numerous times before the coolant stopped coming out from under it.