Lathe restoration

**Paul39** · 25th April 2011, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by Randir

Joe and Mick,
At some stage I'll make a nut with a handle so that I have a bit of leverage without using seperate tools.

Any idea how I would take that faceplate off? I can't see any grub screws like on the handle, and it doesn't seem to just tug off (although I haven't been too forceful with that).Brendan

If there is a nuts and bolts place near, the next time you have the tailstock apart take it there and buy two hex nuts that screw on to the threaded part. Then you can use a wrench on one and have a handle welded on the other.

As best as I can see the faceplate is threaded on. Liberally squirt your favorite penetrating oil on both sides, let set overnight, squirt more on both sides. It would be expensive to machine the faceplate and spindle in one piece. It could be a press fit and then welded. The most logical is screwed on, and when turning the vibration and twisting tightens it.

See if there are flats or a hex on the spindle behind the face plate. If so use a wrench instead of the rope trick below.

Look for the grub screw or screws holding the pulley on the headstock shaft and tighten them as much as you can.

Drill three holes that correspond to the three spears sticking out of the faceplate towards the end of a piece of 50mm X 75mm timber about 500mm long. A hunk off the bottom of a free shipping pallet is perfect. Put the timber on the faceplate and run the tailstock up tight and lock it.

Position the timber at about the 10 o'clock position, looking from the tailstock end. Put the V-belt on the slowest position - big pulley on spindle, small pulley on motor. Get some cotton clothes line or rope of about that size and tie the V-belt together close to the big pulley, 5 - 7 tight turns, and wind it between the pulley and the headstock to immobilize the headstock spindle.

Mark the intersection of the spindle and faceplate and anything else that is between the bearing and faceplate. Get a hunk of timber or stout limb 50mm round or square about 600 mm long. Give the timber attached to the faceplate a very fast whack with your club. You want a shock, like a karate chop.

See if anything has moved. With luck the first whack will loosen it. If not, again. Don't be shy, fast and hard. Check the marks to see if anything has moved.

If no movement, more penetrating oil, heat the face plate with a hair dryer on high or a heat gun, with a 4 -6 oz. hammer tap, tap, tap, lightly on the face plate close to the middle, more oil.

With a hot face plate, oil running all over the place, give it three more whacks.

If it is not loose by now, resign yourself to use the lathe as is.

After it has come loose or not, check the grub screws on the pulleys on the spindle and motor.

If the plate comes off, run it on and off several times with lots of lubricating oil, then wipe off. Run the lathe slowly and shine the flat on the shaft that goes against the face plate with 400 or 600 sandpaper. Lay the faceplate face down and using a block of wood and 400 - 600 sandpaper shine the flat that goes against the spindle.

Those two flats are what keep the face plate from wobbling, so we do not want ot take off metal, just the rust. Keep everything lightly oiled and clean internal threads and mating faces before assembly.. A bottle brush dedicated to the lathe gets the chips out of the female threads.

I found The Craftsman Woodturner by Peter Child, 1971, reprinted 73, 74, 76, 77. He shows and tell how to do bowls and spindles with the minimum of equipment. Printed in London by G. Bell and Sons.

You might find it in the library or in a used book store.

I have been turning about 5 years and read a few things that I tried. I got better turnings faster.

He says one should be able to make a 3 X 12 inch bowl in one hour with one fixing on a face plate. I was given a bone dry maple log today. I split it down the middle and cut the corners off.

I mounted it to a faceplate, did the bottom, cut a spigot, remounted in the chuck, cut the rim and hollowed, using nothing but a 1/2 inch bowl gouge and a cut off tool. One and a half hours to ready to sand. MUCH faster than usual.

**joe greiner** · 25th April 2011, 07:56 PM

Unless the knurled nut has historic or sentimental value, you could just grind two flats to fit an open-end wrench; or 6 flats for complete hex, although 2 should be sufficient. With the nut held by vise-grips (for positioning), rest your hand-held Dremel on top of the tailstock body, for both flats.

Ditto Paul's suggestion about the headstock. The spindle and faceplate are most likely different materials, and one-piece construction is hard to believe.

Cheers,
Joe

**Paul39** · 26th April 2011, 10:06 AM

Good thought by Joe above. Lacking a Dremel tool, a "poor man's mill", a file with teeth only on top and bottom, smooth on the side.

Do one side, turn that to the bottom, get two sticks or two 150mm rulers. Give a few strokes to the top to make a flat, put ruler on top and bottom to check for parallel, adjust angle, continue until it fits wrench.

**artme** · 26th April 2011, 10:27 AM

Paul and Joe = You have both been so helpful to our new friend you ar getting GREENIES from me!

Randir= the lathe I had On loan that was similar to yours had a hex nut as a lock nut on the tailstock, so that simply required a spanner.

As for the Faceplate it should srew off.. Just lock the head stck spindle shaft well after following Paul's instructions. Off the lathe will be much easier to use for spindle work.

Nice mushroom BTW.

**Randir** · 26th April 2011, 12:40 PM

Paul, Joe, I'm with artme. You've both been extremely helpful, and I have given you both reputation +'s. Unfortunately it only lets me give one each for the whole thread, not for each helpful post

I have a massive report due on friday so I don't know that I'll have time to get to it before next weekend. I'll walk through your advice as soon as I have a chance. There is a pair of flats on the headstock spindle that I should be able to grab with a wrench, avoiding your 'rope trick'.

Is an ordinary nut how tailstocks are usually locked? I'm having trouble putting it together in my head as to why it should work at all. If I have a nut which turns freely on a thread, then why does holding the nut still stop the thread from turning through it? My only thought is that when you jam the nut against something it twists it slightly, putting a pressure on the thread in some wrong direction.

Brendan

**Paul39** · 26th April 2011, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by Randir

Is an ordinary nut how tailstocks are usually locked? I'm having trouble putting it together in my head as to why it should work at all. If I have a nut which turns freely on a thread, then why does holding the nut still stop the thread from turning through it? My only thought is that when you jam the nut against something it twists it slightly, putting a pressure on the thread in some wrong direction.Brendan

On the better lathes there is a hole drilled along side the barrel of the tailstock, the tail shaft screw runs inside the barrel. A round shaft with a half round cut out fits down the hole, the barrel fitting through the cut out. When a screw on the top of the round shaft with the cut out is tightened, it binds the barrel.

I think your problem with the loosening of the tailshaft screw can be solved by putting a flat washer between the nut and the body of the tailstock. It probably does not matter on which side of the tailstock the washer and nut go.

I have removed screws from table legs that had a wood screw into the leg with a machine screw thread on the other end. I would put two nuts with a washer between and turn the inner nut with a wrench. The screw would come right out. If I did the same without the washer, both nuts would just come off.

By tightening a nut on a threaded shaft on the tailstock it puts side loading on the threads and causes friction. As the threads are oiled and the area of the thread surface small, there is not much friction. Add the vibration and the rotation of the turning towards backing out the tailstock screw, you have loosening.

Using a left hand screw would eliminate the unscrewing. Left hand screws cost more than off the shelf threaded rod.

**joe greiner** · 26th April 2011, 01:25 PM

Yep. That's exactly how jam nuts work. The thread inside the tailstock pushes in one direction, and the jam nut pushes the other way. Many similar applications: double nut (on threaded rod), stacked grub screws (in the same threaded hole), etc.

Beat me to it, Paul.

Cheers,
Joe

**Randir** · 27th April 2011, 02:19 PM

Ok. It seems a bit unreliable, is all. I'll try putting a washer in, although I'm not quite sure why it would help. Easy enough to test, anyway.

I don't know that I want to try and remove the bearing and put it onto a reverse threaded rod if I can avoid it. Although now that I think about it it might not be too hard... I'll consider that if the washer trick doesn't work.

Thanks again
Brendan

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