Boxford BUD restore

Hello all, I have acquired a Boxford BUD, it has been badly smoke damaged and has some rust. I have stripped the cabinet and give it a nice coat of black paint along with an orange lip. I know it is not original and some may take offence to this but I think it looks a little better than the 1960s colour. My question is, stripping the head stock. I would like to strip the whole head stock and clean and check it. Is this a wise thing to do or am I asking for more issues? Is there anything I should look out for. Thanks in advance for any help given.

I am now to this forum so please, if this is in the wrong section, please let me know where it should be and I will move it.

Regards

Hello Martin,

Welcome to the forum. I won't complain, my lathe is bright yellow!

If you use the google search on the home page, you should be able to find a couple of threads about Boxford headstocks.

Neil

I would chuck a long bar maybe a foot or 18 inches. Set up a DTI on the lathe bed and position it so you can grip the bar and push it fore and aft. Then reposition the DTI to measure vertically and push the bar up and down. You can also reposition the DTI on the end of the bar and push and pull along the lathe axis. This should measure the end float

If the DTI only registers a thou or two, then you know the bearings are good. The problem comes if the measured play is a good bit greater than this. I think each one of us would have their own ideas on the allowable amount of play, before the headstock and bearings needed attention!

Andrew.

The paint on Boxfords is normally is normally good quality and adheres well so fully stripping is a lot of effort for little gain. It is thick so chips are visible but if that is a problem for you look at car painting advice (except use good paint) for filling and sanding.
Often cast iron has minor defects and a rough surface which manufacturers sort out with thick filler. Stripping can reveal this and make a whole load more work to get it back to smooth.

Two answers to two different questions!

Are you talking about stripping off the paint, or a mechanical stripdown?

Neil

I would be inclined to remove the spindle to clean out any old, hardened, grease from the bearings, check the gearing for damage (missing teeth from locking the spindle with the back gear to remove a stuck chuck are common), then re-grease and reset the bearing pre-load. The mid-60s CUD I inherited from my father had grease in the bearings, nipples & drillings that was the consistency of candle wax & took quite a bit of shifting. There is also a good chance that the back gear shaft will have been greased rather than oiled at some point, so that would also benefit from a good clean out & correct re-lube. Same goes for the saddle - anything with an oil nipple could well have been (incorrectly) greased.

Colour ? Your choice, but lighter colours make for a lighter workshop & something really "off the wall" could have an adverse effect on future resale value.

Good luck in your endeavours,

Nigel B

After fire damage, I would be looking at the accuracy of the bed / headstock first to make sure the project was worthwhile. Then, asses the state of the existing paint i.e.: can it be rubbed down and painted on top, or remove the whole lot and start again. At the end of the day, do you want to USE your lathe, or sit around looking at how smart it looks. Over the last 30 years my second hand AUD has been used and abused and it will see me out. The value at the end of the day for a 60 year old lathe is much the same whatever colour or state the paint is in.
BobH

After fire damage, I would be looking at the accuracy of the bed / headstock first to make sure the project was worthwhile. Then, asses the state of the existing paint i.e.: can it be rubbed down and painted on top, or remove the whole lot and start again. At the end of the day, do you want to USE your lathe, or sit around looking at how smart it looks. Over the last 30 years my second hand AUD has been used and abused and it will see me out. The value at the end of the day for a 60 year old lathe is much the same whatever colour or state the paint is in.
BobH

I have a1966 Boxford. I stripped it down, an found the headstock had a couple of pounds of grease.Each week the previous owner gave it two shots with the gun. The mandrel runs on substantial taper roller bearings that should be pre loaded it is done by a cord wrapped on the rim of the faceplate with weight of about one pound.. I'll check in the book and if I'me miles off with that weight I'll come back later. I love my m/c it's burns wick green, except for the tailstock I ran out of paint. but that was about 30 years ago . Best wishes keep turning!

Hello all, thank you for the responses, I did reply but is seems it has not been posted. Neil, not sure on the bright yellow, that my be a little much for me. Lol. I did find lathes.co.uk, was very informative but did not really answer my questions. I wanted to strip down the whole unit to check the mechanicals and also give it a lick of paint while it's all in bits.

Thank you Andrew. That will be one to do when the unit is cleaned and back together I think, I have put a bar in the chuck and checked for movement and end float but the unit is solid.

Thank you bazyle, my main concern is the smoke damage and the colour, I am not a fan of 70s colours. Lol. I am not after a super shine finish. I have spent many years in the automotive restore industry so a little bit of filler and paint is not an issue.

Thank you Nigel, you are correct, I have a lathe full of wax, lol. I think someone went at it with the grease. I want to strip the unit and remove all that old stuff, that was one of my main plans. Get the unit running smooth again. In relation to resale, I have no plans to, I paid less than 200 for the whole unit so does not stand me at much. I aim to use it, learn and make my life easier. Lol

Thank you speed builder. It was not subject to a lot of heat. It is mainly smoke damage due to the contents of the workshop it was in, more surface rust than anything. I did check the bed and it was level and everything moves. It's not a short piece, just a quick wire brush on the grinder and throw some paint I have in the cupboard over it. It was more to clean it up and protect it and keep my workshop smartish. Lol

Thank you for your responses, it seems that it is worth stripping down and I guess I am not opening a can of worms. Remove years of built up ear wax and surface rust. Any more advice would be appreciated.

Can i also ask, how do I get pictures from photo bucket to here? Or is there something else I can use?

Here are some pictures of its current state. The bed came up well with some 600s and a rubbing block.

Now I am on it.

There are lots of threads on the forum about Boxfords on various aspects. Somewhere on the web is a detailed rebuild of a Hercus apron which you may find helpful.