Bigger Lathe

Lambton,

Worked on, not with, as in maintenance of the same. Aprons that are sealed at the bottom but not the top so any decent flood cooling fills the apron up over a period of time and then turns to water, then rusty water then those nice little needle bearing that run direct on the hardened gear shaft that they are so proud of, rust away and pit.

End result is you are faced with a bill for parts in excess of £1,800 [ no typo ] to repair the apron.

John,

Thanks for the examination.

Worked on, not with, as in maintenance of the same. Aprons that are sealed at the bottom but not the top so any decent flood cooling fills the apron up over a period of time and then turns to water, then rusty water then those nice little needle bearing that run direct on the hardened gear shaft that they are so proud of, rust away and pit.

Sounds a bit like the original Wankels with the oil drain plug in the wrong place

Some dude sorted the issue by drilling tapping and plugging the lowest point in the sump so it could be drained properly

edit:

stick a teeny magnet onto the new plug and that gathers any stray bits of metal

Edited By Ady1 on 03/02/2014 10:56:48

I first learned to turn on a Colchester Student and my old Myford S7 felt really flimsy by comparison when I first got it. So I'd really like a big, heavy lathe - but the key word there is "heavy".

I purchased a McMaster hacksaw recently (that needs a lot of TLC) and even unbolting & dissembling all the parts off it that I could, I still nearly 'did' my back getting just the base out of the car boot and into the wheelbarrow for its trip to the 'Shed'. The same guy selling it had a nice, floor standing mill but I'm clearly well past the stage where I want the hassle of moving very large lumps of iron across someone's lawns and down gravel paths (etc.) and I'm frankly too tight to pay someone else to do it for me.

I used to build 3.5" N/G engines but decided on weight (and cost grounds) to go to a smaller gauge, so I don't really need very large machinery for that - although they would be useful for restoration work on my collection of vintage machinery (e.g. keeping the scrap metal I proudly call my "Workshop" running)

So I am more than a little jealous of those who have these larger machines but unfortunately the word "downsizing" seems to be getting used more frequently in my household these days and I have to (try to) be realistic I'm afraid.

IanT