Da 90 Year Old Lathe

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by Bruces

I have a late 90’s Starret that has problems ,I was looking to replace it but learned something today and will look for a new crystal first .Thanks Cheesy !

It's just a watch crystal. Most of what you need is the OD and thickness. Those are in metric. Mine was 36x0.8 but I had some wiggle room for the thickness and went with 1mm. Then the other choices are flat or domed and acrylic or glass.

I only know this because I have been watching a lot of mechanical watch repair videos in my boredom.

[Bruces]

My scale is a real rusty mess ,It sat unused in the plastic case since 2000 when I sold my shop ,I wanted to use it last summer and when I opened it I saw it was now junk .Lots of my tools were put into pretty shitty storage .Anyways ,I found the crystal and a few new scales ,so I will figure out which works for me ,and I guess I should price out a new one to make sure it’s worth repairing it .

[cheesy]

Here's the kit.



Best I can figure out is that it's an early Starrett 196 back plunger kit. Which is still available from Starrett. Apparently, the granddaddy of dial indicators.

[Bruces]

Mine is at my buddies ,I have a magnetic base in its kit but nothing else .

[bogieboy]

This thread inspired me to get the old lathe at the shop back up and running.... i think ours is even older than yours Mr fromagé... leather belt let go mid last year, and when it did, i flung all but 1 of the belt crimps into the oblivion.... the leather belt was never that great anyways, so i converted it to an automotive serpentine.... but.... i didnt feel like disassembling the head stock or the drive pulley stack on the motor, so i sliced it up to the correct dimensions, threaded it all thru, and stitched it together with a pair of zip ties... i was never able to use the high rpm "gear" without massive slippage or minimal cutting depth, now, i can stall the motor if i want to...LOL

Also... i needed to make a part today, attempted to take apart a pair of garden shears for sharpening, old fiskars (back when they made full metal tang handles) and it snapped the pivot bolt instead of unthreading... so, had to make a new pivot bolt, essentially a grade 5 5/16" carriage bolt, with no square shoulder.... tried filing, nope.... tried the bench grinder, nope again, our grinder wheels need dressed/replaced... so i had to fix the lathe....LOL

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by bogieboy

This thread inspired me to get the old lathe at the shop back up and running.... i think ours is even older than yours Mr fromagé... leather belt let go mid last year, and when it did, i flung all but 1 of the belt crimps into the oblivion.... the leather belt was never that great anyways, so i converted it to an automotive serpentine.... but.... i didnt feel like disassembling the head stock or the drive pulley stack on the motor, so i sliced it up to the correct dimensions, threaded it all thru, and stitched it together with a pair of zip ties... i was never able to use the high rpm "gear" without massive slippage or minimal cutting depth, now, i can stall the motor if i want to...LOL

Also... i needed to make a part today, attempted to take apart a pair of garden shears for sharpening, old fiskars (back when they made full metal tang handles) and it snapped the pivot bolt instead of unthreading... so, had to make a new pivot bolt, essentially a grade 5 5/16" carriage bolt, with no square shoulder.... tried filing, nope.... tried the bench grinder, nope again, our grinder wheels need dressed/replaced... so i had to fix the lathe....LOL

This is what you need, Bogie.
https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop...saAmm-EALw_wcB

A milestone last night. I made it up the stairs last night and slept in a real bed for the first time since February 8th. Not my bed, though, as Mrs.C said she couldn't promise not to kick my ankle during her night terrors. As I can't defend myself against her night terrors, I opted for the guest bedroom.

This morning, I asked Mrs.C what she had against our guests because that mattress is more uncomfortable than any hotel mattress I've ever slept on and I should know. Still, it was nice to be able to roll over and spread out.

[bogieboy]

Originally Posted by cheesy

This is what you need, Bogie.
https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop...saAmm-EALw_wcB

A milestone last night. I made it up the stairs last night and slept in a real bed for the first time since February 8th. Not my bed, though, as Mrs.C said she couldn't promise not to kick my ankle during her night terrors. As I can't defend myself against her night terrors, I opted for the guest bedroom.

This morning, I asked Mrs.C what she had against our guests because that mattress is more uncomfortable than any hotel mattress I've ever slept on and I should know. Still, it was nice to be able to roll over and spread out.

I looked at that as an option, but all the references are to v belt replacement, not flat belt... hence why i stitched up the serpentine belt...

[cheesy]

I got the new crystal installed in the Starrett dial indicator. Looks pretty good.


I also started turning the new counter shaft for the 90 year old lathe...on the 90 year old lathe. With the condition of the entire counter shaft and its accouterments, this is going to be quite a job with some mods made on the run.

[Magician16]

Cheesy: Maybe the Missus is trying to keep guests to a short stay.

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by Magician16

Cheesy: Maybe the Missus is trying to keep guests to a short stay.

We rarely have any guests with Mrs.C being the introvert type, so maybe they've already been warned. That mattress may just be an acquired taste because I have zonked out early the last few nights and haven't needed any daytime naps recently.

I finished the lathe portion of the counter shaft project yesterday. I never used a four jaw chuck before but I've started getting the hang of centering it. Actually, it's pretty easy. It's always been a self centering three jaw chuck, a collet, or a faceplate and dog in my previous experience.

One booboo I did was to break a center drill off in the end of the shaft. Crappity crap. I thought about using a carbide Dremel burr to get it out but I had nothing with a flat nose. Then the voice of my high school shop teacher, 'There I was Franz' shouted at me, "Idiots, always cut your piece of stock a bit too long in case you fcuk up." (you could get away with that in the 70s) I remembered that bit and cut my stock too long. So I just faced off enough material to get the broken piece out. I still remember him shouting, "Do not lay a fcuking thing on the ways of the lathe. I will kick your ass out of this class if you do." Every time I go to put a tool down on the lathe, I stop and put the tool under the lathe.

[Magician16]

I find that 4 jaws are much more precise.

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by Magician16

I find that 4 jaws are much more precise.

I am learning that. I still want to get a 3 jaw along with a face plate and dogs.

I almost finished the counter shaft this afternoon. I was this () close.
The original plan was to use grease zerks on each end of the shaft instead of grease cups. I bored grease passages for each bearing and threaded each end for 1/4-28. After giving the old shaft a serious cleaning, I found more grease passages towards the center of the old shaft and they were plugged solid. Explains the worn bits.

The only drill I had long enough to reach was a 17/64 which meant no 1/4-28 and I'd have to go with M8x1. Which was okay as I have a whack of M8x1 zerks. I just made the depth. Digging through my taps, I have M6x1, M7x1, M9x1, and M10x1. No M8x1.

So I wrapped up in the garage and ordered a pair of HS M8x1 taps from Amazon for tomorrow.

[GypsyR]

I wish I had gone to that shop class, sounds great.
I had a carpentry shop teacher that was pretty decent though. Chain smoked Marlboros even though officially smoking was only allowed in the teacher's lounge. The other teachers and principal apparently were a bit afraid of him. Highlight of the class when was a young fella was making his first ever cut with a radial arm saw. Safety glasses on, he stuck his face down close to make sure he could see what was going on. Made the cut and got a shower of sawdust. In his hair and all, some went up his nose and gave him a sneezing fit. Teacher proclaimed, "Hell, you're alright breathing a little sawdust never hurt nobody." And immediately went into a huge coughing fit. The kind where everyone took a step back, in case a piece of lung came up. The irony was lost on no one but him, smirks all around.

[cheesy]

GR-I couldn't get enough of shop classes, though I learned enough in Wood Shop to be dangerous. I could have a guide on either side of a circular saw and I'd still manage to make the cut wavy and crooked. And have a vertical angle in there, too.

I had John 'There I Was' Franz, for metal shop for three years. If you paid attention as a Freshman, you could pass the semester exam easily. And every exam thereafter, because the exam never changed. I still remember the first question, 'Who Am I?' There were three acceptable answers; Mr. Franz, There I Was Franz, and God. Although a consummate bullshitter, he was a hell of a disciplinarian and did not tolerate fcukwits in his classes. A few were physically thrown out of his class.

Auto Shop, while not a waste of time, would have gone better with an instructor with less of an attitude problem. The first thing out of his mouth on the first day of class was, "I don't care how much you think you know about cars or engines, you don't know shit." Hmm. Rural high school full of farm kids. He had a very rough time with us.

[cheesy]

About 95% finished with this. I located one countersink...poorly. And forgot one completely, even though I laid it out and center punched it. Getting old is not for wimps. it is back together just for grins. It will come back apart shortly. I finished degreasing everything that rides on the shaft and found that the bearings are good as are the outer races. The high speed drive pulley, though, needs some love. I need to open the bore to 7/8" and press in a 3/4" ID bushing to take out the slop. Maybe Friday.

In ankle news, it's all good. Per the bone doc, the fibula has healed perfectly. I can now start to put weight on it again. So, I've been spending some time using both feet with the crutches. Doing that, I've managed to get myself into, and out of, the pickup with no help. Same with the Jeep, but I'm not quite ready for the clutch. That's a bit hurty.

Per the doc, with PT, I should be out of the freakin' boot and in a matching pair of shoes in another 4 or 5 weeks.