"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2012-02-13, Michael A. Terrell ? wrote:
?
? I see some gears for sale on Ebay, and some he
??http://www.blueridgemachinery.com/ca..._catalog.html?

I love that "POR" (Price On Request) marking on lots of them. :-)


No kidding. I walk out of a store when I see things with no prices.


? He said that his dad was a machinist, and that he's been moving machine
? tools for 30 years. He didn't use the word Rigging, so that makes me
? think he just drove the truck from site to site.

:-)

Well ... you don't *need* rigging when moving a 6" or even a 12"
Atlas lathe. :-)


He claimed that he had moved machinery for 30 years.


? How hard would it be to modify it to use a stepper or servo drive?

Not at all difficult for use while *turning*.

However, for threading, it gets a lot trickier. You need a way
to send the speed and angular position of the spindle to control the
feed. Yes, it can be done, but you are good way towards a CNC machine
by then, so you might as well go the whole way. :-)


Add an encoder on the spindle to read the actual speed and use that
to set the timing, then the processor generates the drive in sync for
whatever ratio you need. Not as ridgid as gears, but will let you do
small jobs OK.


? The last lathe I used was a worn out navy surplus lathe in high
? school. Both of which are long gone.

So -- you should be able to deal with this one as well.
Certainly not be seriously disappointed, anyway. :-)


Since most parts will be small, I should be able to get by with
almost any old lathe. the only other lathe that was availible in the
area was over 16 feet long, and wouldn't fit in my shop even though all
it would have cost was hauling it across town.


? I doubt that the new high school even has a metal shop, but they
? spent millions on the football field.

Sigh!


Indeed. I took Metal Shop, Wood Shop and Drafting in Jr high school,
then two years of Electronics and another year of wood shop in high
school. The Electronics classes were held in the metal shop and taught
by the same teacher so we had access to all the tools, if our classwork
was done and for an hour after school every day. It's the same shop
that I used for a classroom to teach a night adult education course on
small appliance repair, while I was still in high school.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2012-02-13, Michael A. Terrell ? wrote:
?
? Jim Wilkins wrote:
??
?? "David Billington" ? wrote in message
?? ...
?? ? Michael A. Terrell wrote:
??
?? ?? How hard would it be to modify it to use a stepper or servo drive?
?? ?
?? ?? The last lathe I used was a worn out navy surplus lathe in high
?? ?? school.
??
?? Why?
??
?? The power longitudinal and cross feeds, if it has them, should still be good
?? enough to rough-turn stock close enough. If it's worn you may have to
?? manually finish diameters to measured size in short sections anyway.

The 6" Atlas won't have power feeds -- either axis (unless you
count using the leadscrew and half nuts). I'm not sure whether any of
the 12" or 10" Atlas machines ever had it or not.

Some South Bend lathes had it, some did not. My 12x24" Clausing
has both.

? I was just curious. I like to build things and it was just an idea
? for a project, someday.

Sounds good. If you get it as a project, you should be fine.
(You may have to have the bed re-ground, depending on how worn it
happens to be.)


That is yet to be determined.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote:


Add an encoder on the spindle to read the actual speed and use that
to set the timing, then the processor generates the drive in sync for
whatever ratio you need. Not as ridgid as gears, but will let you do
small jobs OK.

Well for threading
You also need to be able to sync not just to spindle speed, but to
spindle position, unless you are going to cut that thread in a single
pass. Thus you also need an index pulse.
jk

jk wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" ? wrote:

?
? Add an encoder on the spindle to read the actual speed and use that
?to set the timing, then the processor generates the drive in sync for
?whatever ratio you need. Not as ridgid as gears, but will let you do
?small jobs OK.
?
Well for threading
You also need to be able to sync not just to spindle speed, but to
spindle position, unless you are going to cut that thread in a single
pass. Thus you also need an index pulse.


It does need indexed but I was thinking of absolute position
encoding, which would take care of both.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

On 2012-02-14, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

jk wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" ? wrote:

?
? Add an encoder on the spindle to read the actual speed and use that
?to set the timing, then the processor generates the drive in sync for
?whatever ratio you need. Not as ridgid as gears, but will let you do
?small jobs OK.
?
Well for threading
You also need to be able to sync not just to spindle speed, but to
spindle position, unless you are going to cut that thread in a single
pass. Thus you also need an index pulse.


It does need indexed but I was thinking of absolute position
encoding, which would take care of both.

Most encoders don't have absolute position encoding. That
requires multiple tracks to generate binary (or more likely, gray code,
which is designed so only one bit changes at a time, so it is harder to
miss something).

Most rotary encoders on spindles have only two tracks -- one has
only one hole, to show the index point, and the other has as many holes
as needed for the resolution. If you are counting pulses, reset to zero
every time the index passes. Yes, I have some encoders which give
binary data, but they are a bit fragile to use on a machine tool, and in
particular, they depend on a single long filament lamp to illuminate all
the tracks and sensors. Those lamps are made of unobtanium, so if you
design and build a tool using one, and the lamp dies, you have to re-do
the design. (Yes, you probably could do it using LEDs instead of a
lamp, but still getting that narrow line of illumination will be tricky,
especially inside the small housing provided.

Better to have the two track encoder (index and count), and set
up a quadrature detector, so you can count the counter up or down
depending on which direction the spindle moves in at the moment.

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2012-02-14, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

jk wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" ? wrote:

?
? Add an encoder on the spindle to read the actual speed and use that
?to set the timing, then the processor generates the drive in sync for
?whatever ratio you need. Not as ridgid as gears, but will let you do
?small jobs OK.
?
Well for threading
You also need to be able to sync not just to spindle speed, but to
spindle position, unless you are going to cut that thread in a single
pass. Thus you also need an index pulse.


It does need indexed but I was thinking of absolute position
encoding, which would take care of both.

Most encoders don't have absolute position encoding. That
requires multiple tracks to generate binary (or more likely, gray code,
which is designed so only one bit changes at a time, so it is harder to
miss something).

Most rotary encoders on spindles have only two tracks -- one has
only one hole, to show the index point, and the other has as many holes
as needed for the resolution. If you are counting pulses, reset to zero
every time the index passes. Yes, I have some encoders which give
binary data, but they are a bit fragile to use on a machine tool, and in
particular, they depend on a single long filament lamp to illuminate all
the tracks and sensors. Those lamps are made of unobtanium, so if you
design and build a tool using one, and the lamp dies, you have to re-do
the design. (Yes, you probably could do it using LEDs instead of a
lamp, but still getting that narrow line of illumination will be tricky,
especially inside the small housing provided.

Better to have the two track encoder (index and count), and set
up a quadrature detector, so you can count the counter up or down
depending on which direction the spindle moves in at the moment.


AVAGO makes a lot of solid state sensors. I think they are the old
semiconductor division of HP.
http://www.newark.com/jsp/search/browse.jsp?N=502+2203+202064&Ntk=brand&Ntt=AVAGO&N tx=

i had a pile of salvaged encoders from motors industrial high speed
printers ant mainframe tape drives, but I'd have to look for them. Some
used a lamp, while others were LED. Some end up on the surplus marked,
as well. I would pick one that I had extras of, if I use either used,
or surplus.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

On Feb 14, 9:48*pm, "DoN. Nichols" wrote:
On 2012-02-14, Michael A. Terrell wrote:







jk wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" ? wrote:

?
? * Add an encoder on the spindle to read the actual speed and use that
?to set the timing, then the processor generates the drive in sync for
?whatever ratio you need. *Not as ridgid as gears, but will let you do
?small jobs OK.
?
Well for threading
You also need to be able to sync not just to spindle speed, but to
spindle position, unless you are going to cut that thread in a single
pass. *Thus you also need an index pulse.

* *It does need indexed but I was thinking of absolute position
encoding, which would take care of both.

* * * * Most encoders don't have absolute position encoding. *That
requires multiple tracks to generate binary (or more likely, gray code,
which is designed so only one bit changes at a time, so it is harder to
miss something).

* * * * Most rotary encoders on spindles have only two tracks -- one has
only one hole, to show the index point, and the other has as many holes
as needed for the resolution. *If you are counting pulses, reset to zero
every time the index passes. *Yes, I have some encoders which give
binary data, but they are a bit fragile to use on a machine tool, and in
particular, they depend on a single long filament lamp to illuminate all
the tracks and sensors. *Those lamps are made of unobtanium, so if you
design and build a tool using one, and the lamp dies, you have to re-do
the design. *(Yes, you probably could do it using LEDs instead of a
lamp, but still getting that narrow line of illumination will be tricky,
especially inside the small housing provided.

* * * * Better to have the two track encoder (index and count), and set
up a quadrature detector, so you can count the counter up or down
depending on which direction the spindle moves in at the moment.

* * * * Good Luck,
* * * * * * * * DoN.

--
An edge-lit strip of plexiglas would give you that "ribbon of light",
long as you want. Could use incandescent or LED for the light(s).

Stan

On 2012-02-16, Stanley Schaefer wrote:
On Feb 14, 9:48*pm, "DoN. Nichols" wrote:

[ ... ]

* * * * Most encoders don't have absolute position encoding. *That
requires multiple tracks to generate binary (or more likely, gray code,
which is designed so only one bit changes at a time, so it is harder to
miss something).

* * * * Most rotary encoders on spindles have only two tracks -- one has
only one hole, to show the index point, and the other has as many holes
as needed for the resolution. *If you are counting pulses, reset to zero
every time the index passes. *Yes, I have some encoders which give
binary data, but they are a bit fragile to use on a machine tool, and in
particular, they depend on a single long filament lamp to illuminate all
the tracks and sensors. *Those lamps are made of unobtanium, so if you
design and build a tool using one, and the lamp dies, you have to re-do
the design. *(Yes, you probably could do it using LEDs instead of a
lamp, but still getting that narrow line of illumination will be tricky,
especially inside the small housing provided.

* * * * Better to have the two track encoder (index and count), and set
up a quadrature detector, so you can count the counter up or down
depending on which direction the spindle moves in at the moment.

* * * * Good Luck,
* * * * * * * * DoN.

--
An edge-lit strip of plexiglas would give you that "ribbon of light",
long as you want. Could use incandescent or LED for the light(s).

With LED giving the longer life. The question being how much
LED illumination would be needed to get the intensity the sensors want.
The long filament lamps were run at a lower voltage so their life is
longer. So probably an IR LED would work quite well there.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On 2/11/2012 11:41 AM, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?


A lot may depend on how the gears got damaged. Did it fall off a truck
going 60 mph?

If simple cause and effect, my $50 would be smoking coming out of the
wallet!

Paul

Paul Drahn wrote:

On 2/11/2012 11:41 AM, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?


A lot may depend on how the gears got damaged. Did it fall off a truck
going 60 mph?

If simple cause and effect, my $50 would be smoking coming out of the
wallet!


I was too sick this week toget back to him. He said he may want to
buy a rebuilt 225 slant six that's sitting in my garage. If he does,
it'll pay for the lathe and the gears, plus some basic tooling.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?


He finally told me it is supposed to be 10" * 36".


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner
said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?

He finally told me it is supposed to be 10" * 36".

What lathe do you have now?

jsw

Jim Wilkins wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner
said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?

He finally told me it is supposed to be 10" * 36".

What lathe do you have now?


None.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

On 2012-04-24, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?


He finally told me it is supposed to be 10" * 36".

O.K. I think that one could be obtained with a quick-change
gearbox for threading, or the basket-of-gears change gears approach. I
prefer the former, because it makes it more likely that speeds will be
changed as appropriate for turning instead of leaving it at the last
thread pitch setting used because of the mess and pain of building the
right gear train for each application.

Which gears are damaged is important. It is easy to replace the
change gears on the basket-of-gears type, somewhat more difficult on
the quick change, and quite expensive to fix if it happens to be the
bull gear and back gear.

But the price sounds good -- assuming that the ways are not
badly worn, even if the Bull gear and back gear are damaged. If it is
basket-of-gears, you hope that most of the change gears are still around
and included. You may have to haunt eBay to find some replacements.

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
...

Jim Wilkins wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The
owner
said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me
more
information next week. Comments?

He finally told me it is supposed to be 10" * 36".

What lathe do you have now?

None.

Then it will be a great advance for you if it works at all.

jsw

I won't sell it or trade - but I have an Atlas lathe book.

I can help on some stuff if you get it.

Martin


On 4/26/2012 8:26 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
"Michael A. wrote in message
...

Jim Wilkins wrote:

"Michael A. wrote in message
m...

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The
owner
said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me
more
information next week. Comments?

He finally told me it is supposed to be 10" * 36".

What lathe do you have now?

None.

Then it will be a great advance for you if it works at all.

jsw

Jim Wilkins wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
...

Jim Wilkins wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The
owner
said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me
more
information next week. Comments?

He finally told me it is supposed to be 10" * 36".

What lathe do you have now?

None.

Then it will be a great advance for you if it works at all.


Yes, A lot better than trying to do things with hand tools, or in a
drill press.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

Martin Eastburn wrote:

I won't sell it or trade - but I have an Atlas lathe book.

I can help on some stuff if you get it.


Thanks.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

On Saturday, February 11, 2012 1:41:10 PM UTC-6, Michael Terrell wrote:
I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said

that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more

information next week. Comments?


Sounds like your basic TH42. PDF docs are all over the place for those. I have everything ever published for an Atlas in PDF format. Just drop me an email and I'll load you up.

Rex wrote:

On Saturday, February 11, 2012 1:41:10 PM UTC-6, Michael Terrell wrote:
I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said

that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more

information next week. Comments?

Sounds like your basic TH42. PDF docs are all over the place for those. I have everything ever published for an Atlas in PDF format. Just drop me an email and I'll load you up.


Thanks. I got some on Ebay, but I'm still waiting to pick up the
lathe. I'll let you know what it is when I finally get it. Your PDFs may
be cleaner than what I bought.

The owner has it stashed behind a workbench, and it will be a half
day's work for him to get it out. Just my luck that he's got too much
business at the moment.

On Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:37:47 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Rex wrote:

On Saturday, February 11, 2012 1:41:10 PM UTC-6, Michael Terrell wrote:
I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said

that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more

information next week. Comments?

Sounds like your basic TH42. PDF docs are all over the place for those. I have everything ever published for an Atlas in PDF format. Just drop me an email and I'll load you up.


Thanks. I got some on Ebay, but I'm still waiting to pick up the
lathe. I'll let you know what it is when I finally get it. Your PDFs may
be cleaner than what I bought.

The owner has it stashed behind a workbench, and it will be a half
day's work for him to get it out. Just my luck that he's got too much
business at the moment.


Im sure those of us that like you a lot..can provide some tooling and
whatnot G

Gunner

One bleeding-heart type asked me in a recent interview if I did not
agree that "violence begets violence." I told him that it is my
earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure
- and in some cases I have - that any man who offers violence to his
fellow citizen begets a whole lot more in return than he can enjoy.

- Jeff Cooper

Gunner wrote:

On Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:37:47 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Rex wrote:

On Saturday, February 11, 2012 1:41:10 PM UTC-6, Michael Terrell wrote:
I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said

that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more

information next week. Comments?

Sounds like your basic TH42. PDF docs are all over the place for those. I have everything ever published for an Atlas in PDF format. Just drop me an email and I'll load you up.


Thanks. I got some on Ebay, but I'm still waiting to pick up the
lathe. I'll let you know what it is when I finally get it. Your PDFs may
be cleaner than what I bought.

The owner has it stashed behind a workbench, and it will be a half
day's work for him to get it out. Just my luck that he's got too much
business at the moment.

Im sure those of us that like you a lot..can provide some tooling and
whatnot G


Thanks.

On Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:42:09 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Gunner wrote:

On Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:37:47 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Rex wrote:

On Saturday, February 11, 2012 1:41:10 PM UTC-6, Michael Terrell wrote:
I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said

that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more

information next week. Comments?

Sounds like your basic TH42. PDF docs are all over the place for those. I have everything ever published for an Atlas in PDF format. Just drop me an email and I'll load you up.


Thanks. I got some on Ebay, but I'm still waiting to pick up the
lathe. I'll let you know what it is when I finally get it. Your PDFs may
be cleaner than what I bought.

The owner has it stashed behind a workbench, and it will be a half
day's work for him to get it out. Just my luck that he's got too much
business at the moment.

Im sure those of us that like you a lot..can provide some tooling and
whatnot G


Thanks.


Let us know what it is, maybe a picture or two..and we can put you
right in business. IVe got a bunch of MT1 stuff that will probably
work..and a bunch of #2MT as well. And LOTS of HSS cutters. Got a
grinder I hope?

Gunner

--
The essential differences between liberals and conservtives
is that liberals could not exist without conservtives to defend
their freedom and support them economicaly.

Conservatives on the other hand, can exist and
live quite well without liberals."

Gunner wrote:

On Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:42:09 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Gunner wrote:

On Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:37:47 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Rex wrote:

On Saturday, February 11, 2012 1:41:10 PM UTC-6, Michael Terrell wrote:
I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said

that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more

information next week. Comments?

Sounds like your basic TH42. PDF docs are all over the place for those. I have everything ever published for an Atlas in PDF format. Just drop me an email and I'll load you up.


Thanks. I got some on Ebay, but I'm still waiting to pick up the
lathe. I'll let you know what it is when I finally get it. Your PDFs may
be cleaner than what I bought.

The owner has it stashed behind a workbench, and it will be a half
day's work for him to get it out. Just my luck that he's got too much
business at the moment.

Im sure those of us that like you a lot..can provide some tooling and
whatnot G


Thanks.

Let us know what it is, maybe a picture or two..and we can put you
right in business. IVe got a bunch of MT1 stuff that will probably
work..and a bunch of #2MT as well. And LOTS of HSS cutters. Got a
grinder I hope?


Or three? Two that I've never plugged in, and the old workhorse
made with the motor form a '50s Kenmore dryer. Then there are a couple
angle grinders and at least one die grinder lost somewhere in the shop.

On Tue, 28 Aug 2012 21:17:29 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Gunner wrote:

On Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:42:09 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Gunner wrote:

On Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:37:47 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Rex wrote:

On Saturday, February 11, 2012 1:41:10 PM UTC-6, Michael Terrell wrote:
I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said

that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more

information next week. Comments?

Sounds like your basic TH42. PDF docs are all over the place for those. I have everything ever published for an Atlas in PDF format. Just drop me an email and I'll load you up.


Thanks. I got some on Ebay, but I'm still waiting to pick up the
lathe. I'll let you know what it is when I finally get it. Your PDFs may
be cleaner than what I bought.

The owner has it stashed behind a workbench, and it will be a half
day's work for him to get it out. Just my luck that he's got too much
business at the moment.

Im sure those of us that like you a lot..can provide some tooling and
whatnot G


Thanks.

Let us know what it is, maybe a picture or two..and we can put you
right in business. IVe got a bunch of MT1 stuff that will probably
work..and a bunch of #2MT as well. And LOTS of HSS cutters. Got a
grinder I hope?


Or three? Two that I've never plugged in, and the old workhorse
made with the motor form a '50s Kenmore dryer. Then there are a couple
angle grinders and at least one die grinder lost somewhere in the shop.


Cool . Im sure I can find you a nice new 6" white wheel or 2 for doing
tooling bits G. It might have an 1.25 hole in the center..but..first
job for the lathe!!!

Gunner

--
The essential differences between liberals and conservtives
is that liberals could not exist without conservtives to defend
their freedom and support them economicaly.

Conservatives on the other hand, can exist and
live quite well without liberals."