Lead Screw cover/infringements Chinese Lathe

Hello from Australia , I have recently purchased a Chinese lathe, with a 50 mm bore, "Steel Master" 1440B "

I am not sure of the UK/US or EU equivalent, ?

I have 2 concerns, being,

I got around to fitting the face plate to the lathe, dial indicator on the face plate, there is a run-out of .2mm! (8 thou) I tried multiple times relocating the plate, ensured it was tightened equal, ect,

and the lead screw protector cover inhibits direct access to the front of the face plate The saddle is stops about 50 short, It is impossible to to turn anything on the plate, as I cannot get the lathe tool close enough? wondering if other members have had tie problem, and is there a solution, I suppose take off the leadscrew cover??

Thanks Gary

It's quite usual to skim your faceplate the first time it is used, some people even do it each time for critical jobs.

Removing the leadscrew cover is also quite common if you want to get closer to the headstock. Rotating your toolpost about 30degrees anti-clockwise will also let you get closer to thin work as it will move the point of the tool closer to the faceplate..

Can you not wind the topslide further across to the left ?

First I would clock the main spindle face and register to ensure all is well, assuming it is then make sure there are no defects on the mating part of the faceplate then as Jason says skim the faceplate. I would also mark the orientation of the FP so you can always mount it in the same location on the machine spindle. I do this for all my chucks etc .

Leadscrew cover, just poor design and easy fix is remove it but maybe consider a telescopic replacement if it will fit ?

John

Jason B & Roy are spot on

Tony

It would be wise, before you skim the faceplate, just to confirm that the spindle nose itself is OK.

Take the faceplate off and run your indicator over the camlock spindle (face, external and internal tapers).

Once you are sure that is correct, then move on. Are you aware that with a camlock spindle, it is important to poke the same pin into the same hole every time for every item you attach to that spindle? If there is not a line scribed on the spindle for this purpose, it is good to add one.

Hi,

When i got my Warco lathe with a similar D1 5 mount some clown probably during the final assembly whacked in a reference mark on the side of the spindle with a chisel ,this had raised a burr on the face of the flange which needed stoning off , similar markings were also present on the chuck mountings and faceplate etc . Worth checking for.

Some of these lathes have a short movement on the topslide ,the acme screw on mine was left with a long plain portion that reduced the travel ,if so it is a fairly simple matter to remove it and re-cut some extra thread to move the topslide further forward.

John

Having mounted my Faceplate, the first thing that I did was to lightly skim it to clean up all over. In that way, any run out should be eliminated.

Howard

Use a righthand boring bar to both skim and edge the faceplate.

Edited By Dave Halford on 27/06/2021 11:16:23

Not fit for purpose! - Send it back. Presumably you spent good money on it?

Martin

Hi Roy, no that is as far as it goes,

Check the spindle nose, and if that's OK then a skim across the faceplate is acceptable as said above.

The access issue is because most of these lathes were designed before it became normal to add leadscrew protectors of this kind. It's pretty much par for the course for any lathe with telescoping protectors regardless of design/origin.

The alternative is a shield that limits the lathe to a single half-nut, which some people don't like.

Clamps will usually stop you getting that close to the faceplate, unless you attach work by screws into the back of it.

In that case you can use a left-handed tool set along the length of the bed to reach the work.

Neil

Thanks Jason I figured that would be the answer, but I will go over the face plate and spindle nose just to make sure I have not missed anything,

The lead screw cover looks difficult to remove?

The covers can me a bit lively when you take them off as they are like a coiled spring, I'll leave it to someone who has done it to elaborate as my lathe was built just before they started fitting them to the model.

Further to what Neil says the biggest market for a lot of these machine sis the US and they don't require a cover to be fitted, just look through the likes of Grizzly and you won't see them. Just fitted for markets that require them.

Anyhow, i was keen to make some chip with my first kit model,

Not being able to use the face plate done me a favour, !

So ended up just using the 3 jaw chuck

I purchased a PM Research, # 1, I decided to machine the flywheel, I was going to bolt some high density plastic to the face Plate, the 3 jaw chuck option was way faster

I am not sure if this is the right way about going about this process,?? but it worked, allowed me to turn, face, drill and ream most of the edges in one set-up, I had no chatter with excellent finishes, all concentric, all I have to do now is just remove from the jig and face the other boss and side,

I clocked up the inside of the flywheel, got it within .2 mm, appears to run nice,

Thanks gary