Adjusting lathe md65

Hi, I justpurchased an old hobbymat md65.

first of all it was full of debry, old grease etc and the chissle support did not move with the spindle so i took it apart to clean and oil.

now it is working again but i have some questions about it.

the tailstock and the chissle support came with a halfround piece of plastic which was inserted on top of the flat part of the round support bed. It is logic to me but not on any partsdrawing i found. Do i need them?

the chissle support can move a lot around the support bed,until it ends at the flatbar. I adjusted the alan screws according to the manual but it gives me two possibilities:

the support is very hard to move with the handwheel (almost impossible)

or

the support moves around the support bed

what on earth do i do wrong or is there maybe a part missing that prevents the support moving around the support bed.

I'm sorry I cannot help, but an answer to your post brings it to the top and hopefully it will be seen by somebody who can help.

If you type "Hobbymat" into the Search This Site box at the top right of the page there are over 40 threads about Two of these are about adjustment to the "Saddle" or the "Carriage" which may answer your problem.

**LINK**

**LINK**

Brian

I have a Hobbymat MD65, not used it for years though! Without getting the lathe out of the shed I seem to remember there are locking screws to hold the carriage in place. Hobbymat used a weird locking system where the screw is tightened up to slacken the carriage and undone to tighten up the carriage.

If I get chance I'll dig out the Hobbymat and have a look

Ian

Hi Hans, you do need the half-round plastic pieces in both the carriage and the tailstock, they prevent them from turning on the flat topped lathe bed. They are not separate spare parts and should be physically retained in place. Take a look at the top link in Brian G's post and it should give you a good idea of what you need.

Regards Nick.

For adjusting both the saddle and the tailstock fit there are bolts that screw in from the back. One is a 'forcing screw' and pushes the joint apart and the other(s) pull it closed. You have to adjust these together in small increments. You cannot do one up tight and then correct its effect by using a big wrench on the other. It is difficult and fiddly to get smooth.

Hello

thanks for the very fast reply but the problem is not solved yet. It is difficult to explain exactely what is the matter but i will try.

the support bar is a flattened round bar and on top on the flat bar is a plastic flattened round bar.

this makes the support bar round on the location of the support.

the hole in the support is round and can be tightened with the three screws.

but the support rotates around the support bar with the plastic about 10 degr. Left and right (looking from the back)

i should think the plastic has to be attaced to the support to prevent the rotation but i have no clou how.

when i tighten the support with the screws, it does not rotate anymore, but also it is impossible to move it.

should the plastic be connected to the support an how

or is there another way.

thanks for the help

Hi Hans, not quite sure what you are trying to say, but a plastic half round part should be fitted inside both the tailstock and the carriage, the full length of the bore. The photo below shows the tailstock, looking though the bore of the tailstock, showing the position of the plastic part. The tailstock is in the upside down position in this photo.

Below is the one in the carriage, in position. It is these that stop them rotating on the bed.

Hope this helps, but if not, a photo may help us to understand your problem.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 20/07/2019 12:25:11

Hello

all solved thans to this forum

i used the two pieces of plastic and drilled two holes in the support through the plastic.

then inserted 2 steel expandable pins in the support intomthe plastic.

also used some two component glue

this all prevented the rotation of the support around the bed

thanks

Hi Hans, I see, the same problem that Barry had. Pleased you've got it sorted.

Regards Nick.

Hi to all, I am new here, and this is my first posting.

Story is,...I just got a second hand Hobbymat MD65 in pretty new conditions, actually never use it, and why I know that ?, just because is covered with the original factory protection greese and the yellow paint has no scratches at all in any place.

Problem I have is very similar as Hans Mol had, but in my case the tailstock does not move even the fixing bolts are totally loose. I know the greese can be very dry between the half round plastic bar and the flatten steel round guide bar because it was "sleeping" for several years.

I was trying to release it by using WD40 and push it in both directions, but it is extremely stucked, and I have no idea how to let it soft as it must be, and also prevent transversal rotation as it happen to Hans.

I do not understand this system design. Firstly, it is very logic that the plastic part must be fixed to the tailstock bore to prevent tailstock rotation, and at the same time the tailstock must slide smoothly against the steel guide bar. It is a big surprise to me that Hans must install pins to prevent his rotation problem.

Even a micro tailstock rotation will let its center off the right working longitudinal axis, and so the lathe will be just a piece of metal, which is very dissapointed being the lathe a German made tool.

Any suggestion to smooth up the tailstock it will be very appreciated. Many thanks.

Hi Mario

There are two socket screws in the rear of the tailstock base - the one at the front (nearest the headstock) is a CLAMP screw. The one to nearest the centre of the base is a FORCING screw which presses against the side of the base, to open the gap and allow the tailstock to slide.

To free the tailstock, loosen the front clamp screw, and gently tighten the forcing screw until the tailstock is free - no more than one quarter of a turn, as there is danger of cracking the casting. As you say, it may be stuck to the bed with old grease.

To adjust the tailstock for use, slacken the back forcing screw, and gently tighten the front clamping screw until the tailstock is only just, but still firmly held. Then gradually tighten the back forcing screw until the tailstock can move. It may take some attempts to balance the forces correctly to achieve smooth movement with a new lathe, as the parts will need to bed in.

The carriage is adjusted in the same way - here, the FORCING screw is in the centre, and the CLAMP screws are at either side.

The plastic parts should already be fitted in your lathe, they are retained there by pins fitted during manufacture. I think Hans had to replace his because someone had removed them, it is not a modification that needs to be done.

These are very accurate lathes if adjusted correctly, as you have a brand new lathe it will be worth trying find a manual so that you can get the best results from it, and look online for further information.

kind regards D

Working on microscopes [which are notoriously troubled by hardened grease]:

I have found ‘PlusGas Formula A’ dismantling fluid to be much more effective than WD40

MichaelG.

It's also like this on my MD65. The carriage is counterbored for the heads of the two clamp (locking) screws, but not for the forcing screw in the middle.

The manual (page 21) has this wrong. In the manual, there is a counterbore for the middle screw, but not for the two other screws. And, the middle screw is marked as locking screw (#5 on the picture), while the two outer ones are marked as forcing screws (#6 on the picture).

Hi Gene, my Hobbymatt carriage and tailstock are exactly as shown on page 21 and the adjustment of them both are just as stated in the text.

I guess there must be two versions of this arrangement.

Regards Nick.

...I'm not sure when they revised the design..

..Nick, I notice a few other differences from the model you have, the switches obviously, but perhaps of more interest, the dog-clutch lever mechanism..

...Legend plate states Saupe & Sohn Gmbh, 1990... ..more pics in my album..

Edited By DiogenesII on 09/07/2021 17:31:51

Hi DiogenesII, I bought mine second hand in Nov 2003, and it was in a state of disrepair. Both the switches were slide switches, but the on off one was busted, so I fitted one of those self contained NVR start / stop switches and made a new plate from ally and swapped their positions as I preferred them that way. All that was with the dog clutch arrangement, is in the photos and the tensioning arrangement of the belts was altered by a previous owner and the belt guard was also missing. The only clue of how old it is, is a little plate on the back of the headstock, which is shown below.

Regards Nick.

P.S. I bought my user manual separately from one of the well known traders at one of the ME exhibitions.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 09/07/2021 18:50:06

Mine is from 1987. They also upped the nominal voltage by then! And the serial numbers became more verbose.

Dog clutch lever looks the same as in DiogenesII's picture.

..it's not as straightforward as it seems?