In article ,
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2007-12-28, Mike Henry wrote:

"Joseph Gwinn" wrote in message
...
I now have possession of the lathe. It came with a 5C collet nose and
Royal lever closer, plus something like 140 collets, mostly Hardinge.
Also got the 3-jaw, 4-jaw, and dog-driver chucks, three driving dogs,
and the steady rest. No slotted faceplate or follow rest.

Great!

Seller also threw in a collection of side-milling cutters that I can use
in the Millrite.

Toolpost is funky, a wrench-activated sort-of aloris, but no pistons or
wedges. Also got lots of bits and holders, plus some knurlers.

Hmm ... is it perhaps the Dickenson style common in the UK with
Myford lathes? The toolpost has two vertical male V-ways, which match
female ones in the holders. The toolpost wrench a bent shank socket
wrench rotates a cam which draws in a T-stud which engages a T-slot in
the holders between the female Vees. There are two sets of V-ways and
T-studs -- one for turning and one for boring/facing. Each holder has a
long knurled thumbnut to raise or lower the holder, and an Allen-head
cap screw to lock the thumbnut to the proper height.

Not quite as convenient as a wedge style Aloris or clone, but
pretty close to as rigid and better than the piston style. I've got one
on my Emco-Maier Compact-5/CNC (a significantly smaller lathe).

This sounds like it could be what I have. The body is marked "RAPID
I.S.A" in an ellipse, plus "TIPO-M" in a rectangle. Where would one
find information on these holders? I guess that RAPID is one maker,
probably British.

The mounting of this toolpost onto the lathe compound rest is homebrew
and strange and ad-hoc, and seems floppy. This deserves a bit of
reengineering.


Lots of spooge and dirt. Threads in particular need to be cleaned, to
allow free motion.

Spritz them with WD-40 to soften the old lubes so you can undo
things and wipe them clean -- then put on good lubes (E.G. Vactra No. 2
waylube) in place -- though be prepared to wipe it off before mounting
the chucks or plates.

Been doing that, but been using acetone to get that last bit of spooge
off. Actually, a mix of acetone and WD-40 is quite effective.

I don't think the welders ever oiled the lathe. Nor did they use it
much. When I pumped Vactra #2 into all the oil fittings, vast amounts
of dirty oil flowed out at first, and it became easier to move whatever
had thus been oiled. The dirt seems to be accumulated ferrous wear
products, not grit.

The ways are flame hardened and look good, so the wear products probably
come from the cast iron saddle sliding on the bed ways.


The dog driver plate had some bits of aluminum stuck
to the L-00 taper, from tightening the plate down without first cleaning
the mating surfaces.

Ouch.

All the chucks need a cleaning, but the dog driver seems to be the only
one used.


Motor is 3-phase 220/208-volt 2 HP, and appears to be original.

Great!

By the way, to remove a chuck, which way does one rotate the big ring
that grabs the thread on the L-00 taper? It's hard to turn in either
direction, probably from spooge and chips in the threads, and I'm
reluctant to press on without knowing the correct direction.

Rotate the ring clockwise (when looking at the spindle nose) to loosen the
chuck.

This agrees with my experience -- though you could have told by
looking at the threads on one of the chucks or plates which was not
currently mounted.

I thought of that, but never having had the collet nose apart, was
afraid to be too strong with it.


Again -- spritz in WD-40 to loosen up the spooge before removing
it. And put a board across the ways to take the weight of the chuck
without dinging the ways when it comes loose. It is not as sudden as a
threaded chuck, but these are heavy enough to be a surprise the first
time or two. :-) Ideally -- take a 2x6 or 2x8 and make matching
V-grooves in the bottom so it won't slide off. To make mounting a chuck
easier -- secure another to the top surface and sand or otherwise cut an
arc in it to match the chuck at the right height. You'll need to make
one for each diameter of chuck of course.

I have yet to mount the chucks, but this is nonetheless good advice,
especially the wooden purpose-built holding fixture for mounting and
dismounting chucks.

Joe Gwinn