Member postings for Tom Grace

Having made a bit more progress on this project, I’m now in the process of replacing the quick action tailstock with the original hand wheel. I stripped the tailstock, cleaned it and reassembled it all - then found I don’t have the tailstock thrust plate.

In the midst of a lockdown, I’m considering making a temporary measure out of some 3mm aluminium plate I’ve found (that used to belong to a coffee machine). But I was wondering if someone could tell me what the original was made of.

Thanks

Thanks everybody for the comments. I’ll have a look through your scans Swarf. Very much appreciate those - I don’t imagine they exist anywhere other than the bottom drawer of someone’s workbench!

As far as workshop psychology goes - I sit firmly in the organised chaos camp. You never know when you’ll need a broken screwdriver, a 6” long piece of pvc or three odd sized bolts - so they should always be stored at the back of your workbench close to hand!

So after a few months of odd evening and weekends, I’ve got this machine back into working order I think! Lots of degreasing, re-oiling and scraping at clods of dry grease!

I’ve collected a couple of queries as I’m been doing this - so here they are.

The cover for the drive belt from the motor doesn’t fit due to the clutch. I’m assuming this means the clutch was an aftermarket add on?

Cover for the lead screw drive train - normal that you can set this up so the cover doesn’t fit?

I had a great encounter with a local hydraulic shop during the process trying to get hold of some oil (couldn’t find small amounts available anywhere!). When I asked them for half a litre, they told me I could have it for free but only if I took the entire container. I’ve now got 25litres of oil sitting in my shed!

I’m further south than you Hopper - a Kiwi down here. But I did live in Blackwater and Emerald for a few years chasing coal out of the ground.

Based on the huge amount of advice (thank you all for that) - my plan of attack is just to get some oil through the system as many have suggested. First task - clean up the sight feed lubricators as the oil had turned to sludge throughout them and I couldn’t see through the reservoir.

The first one has come apart easily enough down to a point. Now I’m calling for advice before forcing it! Do the reservoir base, bush and standpipe come apart? Should I strip them, or just flush it with diesel to clear the sight glass?

Thanks

Thanks again for the advice. @Hopper - thanks for the identification list. Would have taken me hours going through the manuals to identify parts. But the clutch is one you e identified that I can’t - care to point it out?

Cheers

Thanks Pat. Beautiful looking machine! I’ve sent you a PM separately - would be great to see the original documents. Understanding what is genuine vs what the old boy collected is interesting in itself!

Thanks very much everyone for the advice. My inclination was to strip it as a project - lots of sage wisdom here has convinced me to take the subtle approach!

Afternoon all

I recently inherited my grandfathers lathe that has been sitting in storage for the last 25 years. It’s pretty gunked up and has accumulated some rust, sawdust, dust and grime.

In short - its a restoration project! Something to keep me busy for the next few years worth of weekends 😉

The manual I can find online for ml7’s is dated recently (1997) but obviously older. Based on the serial - K2276 - this machine was early; 1946-1948 era.

So my question is (apart from where to start!) - what would this have looked like when it came out of the box? Is the 1997 manual appropriate?
I’m guessing bearing are likely going to need replacing, and the bed looks like it has some surface rust that may require it to be refaced. I’ve also got some questions about cutting metric threads that I haven’t had a chance to chase - so if anyone has some good references to look up, I’d appreciate the links.

Thanks for your help

Tom