What have I done? Lathes mills etc

Well Time Warp?
I actually picked all this up last February, yep covid being ill, yardie yardie yar. Well you've all been there.
I am a bit worried as the Clarke mill drill C500 has had the wiring cut out of the mill. I didnt know that until I got it home.There appears to be wooden spacers in the drive (belt pulleys) Various bits & pieces of it are broken! Maybe because it weighs a whopping 168kg! but! I picked up face plates 4 jaw chucks tools a couple or three bags plus shit that I don't even know what it is! Did I mention that I don't know how to fly one? I've downloaded the parts book operating manual etc. That's how I know how heavy it is. Well I always wanted a knob that touched the floor & I have to say any dreams I had of picking this up of the floor were it's been since I slid it down a ramp from the back of the van were quickly dispelled.
Lots to work just to see what I have, what's missing & what the home made parts are all about! This is the first clean, I say this as it came from the home of a woodworker & sawdust loves grease.

Might cost you more to fix it than what its worth, I just sold my mill/drill the other week, 350kg spent $80 for a 500kg chain block to lift it off the stand and put it on my large fridge trolley to get it down to the drive way and lucky had a steel frame to use the CB to lift it on the back of the new owners ute (pick up to you yanks lol) was all working and the new owner very happy and he paid a extra $500 for the tooling so all up made $300 profit from the machine and tooling from what I paid for it, and I have a chain block to boot.
I have a similar size lathe it does me for my needs and once mastered they are good for machining things for our bikes and if i need a to use a milling machine or bigger lathe I have friends who I can use theirs, man I miss working in a maintenance fitters shop, learned a lot and had access to some big machines. This is my lathe and the old mill/drill I just sold as wasn't using it much and took to much room.

Ashley

Woodworker use is good, my Elliot Pillar drill was used for wood and this meant light use and wood sawdust may get everywhere but causes no wear.

Not mine but close



just needed a new brass gear change fork and back to full running.

Well gentle clean up & grease up the mill head & attach it. Photocopied parts list & manual. All wiring has been removed from the mill. But at least I will be able over the next few weeks to try & work out why?
Nice few bits & pieces lol no idea what they are for.

With the mill head on.

You’re gonna be proper dangerous now Chris !

Spacers lol

Yeah, but REALLY posh ones !!

Nice one Chris, a bit of advice, if you really haven't flown them before, never wear wool whilst using them. I haven't a clue why I think you would wear wool.

I believe underpants is good.
Also boots in case you drop something on your toes
Keep anything that may vet dragged in in your underpants

Nice buy Chris, have a good time figuring it out.
Seems Ashman has the same lathe as me. Though I've fitted a quick change toolpost to it and digital readouts. Main drawback is that it can't make 26tpi threads.
Also fitted DROs to a similar mill. Makes life easier.

Mike40M said:

Nice buy Chris, have a good time figuring it out.
Seems Ashman has the same lathe as me. Though I've fitted a quick change toolpost to it and digital readouts. Main drawback is that it can't make 26tpi threads.
Also fitted DROs to a similar mill. Makes life easier.

Click to expand...

They are a metric lathe but changing the gearing to imperial can be done but I have all the taps and dies for that, mine has a quick change tool post so much easier and once adjusted all tools are centred, if I ever buy another milling machine it will have auto feeds and a rotaing head, but then I can use my mate's milling machines.
Chris looks like you have everything there for your lathe, chucks, tool post, some tooling, gears etc etc, sort the wiring out and do some studing and if you can do a Tec course in fitting and turning can highly recommend it, learn to use a metal lathe and milling machine safely and how to use the tools and one very important thing pay attention and never leave the chuck key in the chuck or never leave the machine while in auto feed, working at a Tec college in the maintenance fitters shop I seen a lot of accident from students not paying attention and so many shear pins we replaced from students talking to each other while in auto feed, auto feed and chucks don't go together and head injuries from chuck keys left in the chuck and the machine turned on and wear safety glasses at all times.

Ashley

Fantastic Chris, I think you are the first person in 23 years of posting machined parts hoping someone would buy a lathe or mill to do so.

My first lathe was one similar in 2000, 19 mm spindle bore but it had the larger swing.
One of the first things made on it was a clear clutch cover for one on my TL1000S's with no external fasteners for the window.

Wow
I will definitely polish the spacers I make before I post some photos. Lol

Spacers by the dozen.

For radial calipers to the Netherlands.



1 mm thick brake rotor spacers for Ohlins forks on a TL1000 to Sweden.



My point being you could make near anything within its swing capacity on that lathe.



When I got my first motorcycle in 1976 (RM125S model) I had never ridden a conventional motorcycle so read the book that came with it that told you where the clutch lever was etc and rode it.
When I got a small Rong Fu mill/drill in 1985 ($900 and near new) all I knew was the green button turned the motor on and turning the handles moved the table, I worked my way from that point and not sure now why I bought it or even how I found out about them (something beyond a familiar dress press)

The small lathe was little different, the chuck rotated (be careful, have regimented rules) the compound and carriage moved so went from there.

These are those machines in early 2020 when I sold them for $1000 the pair, they had been sitting in those spots since October 2007.
The mill table had heavy grease under the wood table cover so it would not rust.
Any picture in this thread was made on those.



Once the dust was cleaned off and wiped down they looked all but 80% new, they went to a young dude in his early 20's.
The only limitation is imagination followed by lack of real tooling.

Time Warp said:

When I got a small Rong Fu mill/drill in 1985 ($900 and near new) all I knew was the green button turned the motor on and turning the handles moved the table, I worked my way from that point and not sure now why I bought it or even how I found out about them (something beyond a familiar dress press)

The small lathe was little different, the chuck rotated (be careful, have regimented rules) the compound and carriage moved so went from there.

Once the dust was cleaned off and wiped down they looked all but 80% new, they went to a young dude in his early 20's.
The only limitation is imagination followed by lack of real tooling.

Click to expand...

Kind of the way I went too. As a kid just out of school I had a job in a small machine shop that jobbed out to Boeing, then I got in at Boeing. Jobs lasted just long enough to give me an idea of what's possible. The war in Viet Nam ended and the army no longer needed CH47's so all the local shops had their choice of much more experienced guys than me. Fast forward 40 years and I finally had the $$ and room for a small lathe and Bridgeport. The learning has been fun, and I was lucky enough to find a guy whose grand parents ran a small shop out of their garage. When they passed he wanted the shop cleaned out so I got lots of tooling and measuring equipment for not a lot of cash. My biggest regret is that I never paid much attention to algebra and geometry in school, seems like every operation involves some form of it. If only the teachers had explained a use for it other than just passing the exam.

Thanks for your reply guys. Looking forward to learning. Previous owners son said the mill head had been dismantled (wiring cut out) by the previous owner. Pulley wheels were made in wood because they were easier to make on his wood lathe? They seem to cost about £30 each. Cant figure out why that matched pair were removed? Mill has one latch lever broken & one of the rulers for the homemade cnc broken off. The lathe runs. Greased where required. Looking up the part numbers next to see what supply & prices are like.

Don't use grease, oil only a light oil for the beds and cross slides, when not using my lathe I do a oil/kero mixture for the beds and all, when working in the maintenance shop at the TEC college we had proper lathe bed oil and the proper gear oil for the gearbox and saddles, never use grease and if it has nipples for lube get a oil pump gun or a oil can that can push the nipples down to get the oil into where its needed, they aren't grease nipples.

Thanks Ashley
Greased the spindle only. So will sort that!
Bed needs the fine surface rust removing I will try the oil/paraffin mix on this. No little oil wells like the Myford & no obvious oil nipples. I will find the maintenance book & download it.

Make a spacer / bush or something, the world is waiting.

This one went to Colorado (in 2006 apparently)
The lightening holes were 3 mm. (iirc)