I didn't think it even got down to 0F, figured 15 or 20 was as low as it
got there.

All one ups aside, working on cold equipment is a real pain. (in the
feet, the fingers, the back, and the will power to keep going back out
to the garage)

wayne mak wrote:
Well when its at 0 F thats cold enough to make things stick. I have NO
desire to subject myself to any colder than it gets here.
"RoyJ" wrote in message
ink.net...

Phtttt!!! It doesn't get COLD in your neck of the woods! Cool maybe.

Cold is when 30 weight oil congels and turns white. (About -20F) Cold is
when mild steel shatters rather than breaking (Around -40F) Cold is when
you can drive a semi truck across the temproary highway on 3' ice on the
lake (just don't follow another truck or the wave action will set up on
the lake underneath)

wayne mak wrote:


Just bringing it up to normal temp might fix the stuck parts. I bought a
Botsford lathe once real nice copy of a SB. It was cold has hell and
nothing moved, it had been sitting for years. I brought it in my shop let
it worm up for a day and it moved ok them a good cleaning and some fresh
oil it was fine. Some of that old oil will get real thick in the cold,
and it sure has been a cold december. I am dreading picking up 2 Sheldon
lathes next week, things just seem to break much faster in the cold.
"Brian Lawson" wrote in message
...


Hey William,

Well, first off, get it in out of the cold. There is a good chance
that the casting has shrunk slightly and is therefore tight. When
cold, everything is tougher to work on, and has greater risk of
breaking if you force anything.

When you do move it into a warmer place, blow some dry heat over it,
and keep it under constant air circulation for at least a day until it
warms up to room temperature so it won't rust from the condensation
formed when coming in from the cold. Be ready for that before
bringing it in.

As to "#3", I think would remove the barrel lock/clamp from the
tail-stock body and fill it with very light oil to soak for a while
and get as much in as you can. Then after it is all warmed up and
oil filled, I'd be tempted to put a clamp from the nose of the
tail-stock barrel to the center of the handwheel and try to bring the
barrel back into the thread. Make EVERY effort NOT to push/pull on
that live center though, even if you have to make some sort of clamp
arrangement to push only on the quill. And do what-ever it takes to
be sure you are pulling "straight back" and no chance of pulling
off-center on the quill to prevent it galling and possibly cracking
the bore/casting.

Take care.

Good Luck. It's not a bad looking machine at all!!

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 22:34:52 GMT, "William Wixon"
wrote:



Hi,
i have a few questions if anyone out there would mind taking the time to
answer. (question number 3. below is most important) i finally acquired
a
lathe (been wishing i had one since metal shop in high school, '74/'77)

1. wondering if there might possibly be somewhere on the web where i
could download a owner/operator manual.

2. if any of you guys know what kind of lathe it is (wondering if it
was
specifically designed/manufactured for cutting screw threads, based on
the
cryptic numbers on the bronze tag in picture "lathe7") all i can find on
it
as to an indication to who manufactured it and/or a "brand" name are the
bronze tag on the headstock, says "The Seneca Falls Mfg. Co. Makers
Seneca
Falls, N.Y." (same words cast into the legs) and in the casting on the
bed
"Star" (and there's some patent numbers and dates). you can just barely
see
the word "Star" in pic "lathe2".

it was kinda rusted tight, i sprayed it all over with WD-40 and
worked
the various levers and handles. the tailstock ram handle was so tight i
could hardly turn it. i kept spraying it and working it. i figured if
i
turned it far enough the ram would come off the screw and out of the
tailstock. it finally came off the end of the screw but then i couldn't
get
it out and couldn't get it threaded back on either! i'm afraid to
damage it
by forcing it, so...

3. my main, most important question, wondering if anyone knows how to
either get it out/off completely or get it screwed back on to the turn
screw
handle (photo "lathe4") there's a blind hole on the underside of the
decorative turning on the end of the tailstock (photo "lathe5"), i'm
wondering if maybe that's a hole for a spanner wrench to turn off that
end
(like a threaded nut). i can't tell if that decorative turning is a
removable threaded "nut" or if it's an integral part of the casting.

(i tried to get the ram back on the thread by first, tapping gently
the
tip of the live dead center (with a chunk of lead) while turning the
handle,
that didn't work, then i put a long pipe clamp on it (forcing the live
dead
center (and ram) back in towards the crank turn handle) and tightened it
while turning the handle and that didn't work either.)

4. it has three flat belt step pulleys. i'd like to see if i can
improve upon the system the previous owner put together to transmit
power to
the lathe. the motor unit hangs off the back of the lathe and is so
heavy
it almost wants to tip the lathe over backwards. i'm hoping i could
maybe
put together a simpler, much lighter motor mount/step pulley
arrangement,
*and* hang a newer more powerful motor on it, and maybe have the whole
shebang directly over the headstock instead of hanging off the back.
i'm
wondering, what are the most common "speeds" (at the chuck) for those
three
step pulleys. i'm hoping from there i could calculate the size the "v"
belt
pulleys i'll need from the motor to the step pulleys (large aluminum
pulley
in picture "lathe6") to end up with the correct speeds at the chuck.

5. too many questions all at once? if you're still with me, how
about
one more? the chart of numbers on the bronze tag, is that for cutting
screw
threads? the lathe came with several gears, i'm wondering if that chart
tells which gear to use to get how ever many threads per inch, but, the
gears don't have any corresponding numbers from the chart, they have a
code
number cast in them and a number saying how many teeth are on the gear
but
as far as i can tell no number that matches up to any numbers on the
chart.

the guys i got the lathe from said, kind of under their breath, that
this
lathe is next-to-worthless, wondering if anyone here could confirm that
assessment.

http://www.frontiernet.net/~wwixon/lathe1.jpg
http://www.frontiernet.net/~wwixon/lathe2.jpg
http://www.frontiernet.net/~wwixon/lathe3.jpg
http://www.frontiernet.net/~wwixon/lathe4.jpg
http://www.frontiernet.net/~wwixon/lathe5.jpg
http://www.frontiernet.net/~wwixon/lathe6.jpg
http://www.frontiernet.net/~wwixon/lathe7.jpg