CovMac Lathes

yes Woody, test run..................but, I have been through my collection of starters, and found that I do not have one with overloads in the right current range, 5.6A, and they are all so old that getting new coils and overloads is virtually impossible, so I will be getting a new one, and have decided to complete the rest of the three phase wiring in the workshop, thus only having to make one trip to the electrical factors for all the bits and pieces. I did get the first coat of white on, which was a bit fraught because I realised that it is a bad idea to suspend parts for painting, then try to roller them! Obvious really DOH! anyway, I got them done, and I will assemble them, and maybe fit them to the machine before the second coat goes on. all in all, not a very productive day, but I did get a good tidy up done as well!

Hello Phil,

Seeing those bits of belt guard hanging up rather brings home, to me at least, the size of these Covmac lathes. I have only dabbled at the edges fixing things etc for Chris Mills

One job of his was on the tailstock barrel, a hefty piece about 18 inches long and yah thick into which he had jammed a 3 MT drill sleeve, then tried to knock it out with a 6 inch length of 3/4 inch precision ground bar that had also jammed in the bore of the barrel having beaten it down as far as he was able. The postal charges in sending it to me would make you weep!

I got an article in MEW out of that job and had a proper stroke of luck too in tackling it.

Good luck with the trial run, I imagine it will be interesting.

Best wishes Woody

Phil,

Many congratulations all round here!

But, you have covered up one of your CovMac's most beautiful components, its clutch drum?!

Did you ever look inside clutch drum?

Very nice to see you on verge of making chips

Mine is still sadly in bits, as my engineering world is presently shelved, in lieu of becoming a house builder

Best,

Chris

Hello Chris,

Nice to hear from you again; I thought you might be into the house construction phase by now but clearly not.

Is there an end to the bureaucracy in sight yet?

Best wishes to you both

Woody

PS I agree with Phil by the way, rotating bodies, however pretty to look at, need guarding and he is making a nice looking job of it

Hi Chris, good to hear from you again! No I never did take the clutch cover off, but you never know what might happen when I get it goinhg, it may become necassary. Haven't got any specifically Covmac work done today, apart from wiring three phase sockets. I have got all the armoured cables run, and started connecting up. I will go to the electrical wholesalers on Monday for the rest of the kit I need, including the Covmac starter.

Hi Chaps, its been a while...........

However, I am uploading some pictures of my 17" Covmac working....yes actually working! The material is 300mm x 300mm bright steel. Technically this doesnt fit in the lathe over the saddle so I had to do some lathe jiggery pokery to actually machine it. You may be able to see the clearance achieved over the saddle with the finished outside diameter. The lighter on the tool post is for comparison and the last picture is self explanatory, I hope.

Of course all the photos have posted last first and first last......The smaller piece of material is 150mm in diameter.

For those interested I do have a short video of the action but i dont think i can post on here.

Regards

John

Not the kind of machine to fit in your 6x4 garden shed !

This looks like a machine made for SERIOUS work !

Would love to see it running when you get it set up.

Hi John,

Where do we find your clip of your covmac lathe in action?

George

HI John, welcome back! that is truly awesome swarf collection, I note that your Covmac is the same colour as mine, was it reconditioned by I L Berridge as well? Does it have a war finish build plate on it? I have been sidetracked by my Grafton drill rebuild, but that is almost complete, and I expect to have my Covmac running next week! (said that about two weeks ago!), also, my daughter asks, and I would also like to know what it is that you are making?

Phil

Just looked through your album. I see yours is a Tullis built machine!

Hello John,

Yes indeed, good to hear from you again. And what a lot of swarf ! A respectable surface finish though, one big advantage of a heavy machine, it holds to the cut because of the sheer mass of the saddle/cross slide combination.

For Larry's benefit, these Covmac lathes were made for serious work, they weigh about 1.5 tonnes and use big tools to shift all that metal Certainly not a garden shed job!

Regards Brian

I made two of these from 300mm material and they took 3 days each. The third was made from 150mm material and took about 6 hours!! The 300mm material weighed approx 166 Kg each and the swarf weighs about 120Kg.

They are to hold up a balcony on a house. A 50mm round bar goes in the hole and the spigot on the opposite end of the cone goes inside a 10" pipe so when complete it looks like the balcony is supported on nothing! Architects for you.

BTW my lathe celebrates its 75th birthday on 25th October.........

Here's the smaller one

That is not the kind of machine I would like to have a disagreement with !

Well, we are a step nearer , I am planning switch on for tomorrow. Needless to say, as usual, there have been interuptions! I struggled looking for somwhere on the machine to mount the starter, and in the end, gave up, the starter is going on the wall, which is good as they generally dont last too well when mounted on machines, due to vibration. I found an antique Estop in my collection, and have fitted that to the machine just below the clutch bar on the headstock. Yesterday I moved the machine back to the wall, and I will finish the wiring tomorrow. Finally got the belt guard fitted in a position where there is clearance for the belts, and still room to fit the transfer gear cover. Also made a splashback which will help to keep the walls clean! More pics tomorrow, and maybe even some video of it running, if I can get my head around the technology.....................

Nice to see these big old lathes being looked after and used

Neil

Looking forward to seeing it run again now Phil, you've made a nice job of it too.

Woody

Phil,

Lovely job!

Have you not got the plinth's door?

Best

Chris

Yes Chris, I have the plinth door, need to make a replacement hinge block, but have all the bits!

There is many a slip betwixt cup and lip!! What was I saying about interuptions? I am now back in Driffield, having been to the workshop, and come back after a call announcing a delivery at 10-30, and another between 11-30 and 1!! Damn, but I will get back today, Determined!

Edited By Phil Whitley on 13/09/2019 10:34:22