Recycling lathe castings

I have a couple of top/cross-slide castings from a Chinese lathe (not sure what model) - are they likely to be any good for chopping up and using as raw material?

Are you implying they are just loose bits rather than going together as a whole? The iron must be reasonably machineable to have got that far. But even if it is only a part with the dovetail already made it could be more use to make the other half than to cut it up.
Plenty of uses for a lonely top slide in other machines like a grinder.

Even the basis for a vertical slide.

I haven't looked at them for a while, but I'm pretty sure one or both are the dovetailed parts but from different machines (I think!). I'll dig them out tomorrow and take a look. I don't need them as parts for other machines which is why I thought I could cut them up when required, cast iron is soooo expensive these days.

Seems a shame to chop them up; another use would be for a lever operated slotting attachment for internal keyways etc.

I'm actually looking for one to do that job myself.

All The Best

Bill

If you find two let me know.

I did actually lash something up using my Myford top slide, by removing the lead screw and end plate.

The latter being replaced with a bit of angle iron and a linkage to a lever , whichpivoted on a piece of round bar bolted to one of the Tee slots on the cross slide.

I then used this to make splined shafts for the Ducati brake linkage out of Stainless bar when i was restoring it.

Indexing was done by a gear train off the headstock spindle.

Also used a similar arrangement for cutting a keyway in a pulley.

Here are the two bits but I'm not sure if the rusty fellow is actually a machine part - someone has filed a little bit off a corner, I'm guessing to see whether it's cast iron or steel. The one with the bit of brass attached is for a Clarke machine, it was sent to me in error when I ordered a mini-lathe part and they told me to keep it to avoid the cost of return post!

You could turn the left one into a nice machine vice.

Hi,

Got this small dovetaily thingy in one of my crates, might do for someone? PM if of interest.

Martin

That would be nice but I don't have the equipment to make a mating part - can't see me milling that in the vertical slide