welcome to the couch beside me. after my back surgery, riding is out until at least May per my DR.

I had the surgery today. It's a new kind of pain. A plate and five new screws. I also tore the deltoid ligament when I went down, so that got fixed, too.

I'm still kind of doped up and the many naps since I got home have been wonderful.

Is Mrs. Cheesy doing well enough to look after you ,or has Buster been promoted to chief cook and bottle washer ? You guys have been through the wringer lately

Speedy recovery to you, cheesy, take it slow and take your meds....it makes the pain a lot more tolerable.

Don't be this guy!
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/5662/6KjCPV.jpg

Sorry, Cheesy. Get better.

Yes, much to her chagrin.

She can't do any heavy lifting, so we enlist our daughter or SIL to get a bag of Buster chow or fill the water softener with salt.

Her growing up in a military family has been showing the last few days when it comes to my meds. Jeez, it's like she has a built in stop watch. If I'm to take something every 6 hours, it's every 6 hours. Not 5:59, not 6:01. Never mind that the doc says I have a 30 minute window either way. This is from the woman that has a problem being on time.:hehe:

Buster has been the goodest boy and a PITA. Sometimes in the same hour. I can't get upstairs, so I sleep on the living room couch. He'll lay on the floor next to the couch until I fall asleep, then he goes to one of his beds.
He stuck his nose in my face at one this morning to let him out. I did, no problem. I let him back in, then he runs upstairs and wakes up Crabby, so she'll let him out. He did it again at five. Crabby yells at me.:shrug:

We Shall Muddle Through is our family motto.

Whoa! A three hour nap in the EZ chair after lunch with no chemical aids. I've missed those. Doing a solder repair on Mrs. C's laptop must have really sapped me.

I had Mrs.C run me over to the roller rink tonight so I could thank the guys that got my broken a$$ off the rink floor and rendered some first aid. She made them cookies.

After we got there I learned that Jonny had quit the previous week but the floor guards, Justin and Mike were there. So, they got all the cookies. Justin asked how bad it was and he cringed when I told him. I said I wouldn't be back skating until school was back in session come August or September. I also said when they called for 18 and above races, I'd be at the concession stand. Justin said, "Damn right you will.":hehe:

It was a gorgeous day in NE Illannoy. I got outside and went up and down the street on the knee scooter then ventured into the garage. I proceeded to get the lathe bolted to the bench. I will admit that what should have taken 15 minutes, maybe a half hour, with two good legs took me well over an hour to do. It did wear me out. Too many days on my butt the past 3 weeks and too many hours on the scooter today.

I ordered some .002 shim stock so I can set the bearing clearance on the head stock this week. Then get the new belts on, followed by whatever else is needed so I can start making chips. One tidbit I learned about the lathe, from 1932 thru 1935, the Atlas/Craftsman 9" lathe used babbit bearings on the head stock main shaft. From 1936 on, the main shaft ran on needle bearings. Mine runs on babbit, so pre 1936.

Man, being one legged sucks when trying to get stuff done. Now I know where the old saw 'busier than a legged man at an a$$ kicking contest' comes from.:D

I was able to get the babbit bearings in the head stock shimmed. I don't feel any end play or side to side play but I haven't put a dial indicator on it yet, either. I also got the new belts on. It wore me out.

There's an old Willis Brothers song called "I Need Forty Acres To Turn This Rig Around". That's my scooter in the garage. About 2 hours is all my knee on the scooter can take.

Mrs.C got a bit snippy with me when I came in about the overhead door in her garage not closing. I suggested she brush the cobwebs off the sensors and make sure they are aligned. She comes in with the churlish, "It's still not working.":grr:

So I returned the :grr: with my own :grr: and said "I would go out to look after lunch." Followed by, :grr: "Why are you yelling at me?":hehe:

I hobble out to her garage and hit the button. Yep, the door drops about 6" and goes back up, followed by the flashy light. I hobble to the west side sensor. It's clean and square. I looked over at the east side sensor and said,"Oh!"

I hobbled over to the east side sensor and tapped a couple times with my crutch then told Mrs.C to hit the button. Down came the door.:clap: She asked how and I told her the sensors were out of line. "But I looked?" :shrug:

She's been very quiet this afternoon. I probably should mount a rear view mirror on my scooter.

Oh boy, I know all about that. I was laid up for 6 months when my back went out. As soon as i was able to kind of do for myself, i told my wife she needs to go out and get a job so i could rest. lol

It’s been a month since got both the lathe and the boogered ankle.

There was supposed to be more to that post but Mrs.C rushed me out of the house to do errands. :shrug:

Anyway, I did figure out the overly complicated 'Compound Drive' today. It's basically a dual range transmission with three speeds in each range. Low range is 47, 80, and 130 rpm. High range is 220, 370, and 600 rpm. I'm going to make a sign for the wall stating such.

Right now, however, the speeds are currently zero. The Chicago Die Cast drive pulley on the motor split in half.:wtf: Scared the crap outta me, too. I don't know if the belt was too tight, the pulleys were out of line, or there was a flaw in the casting. I'll head to Ace tomorrow with my $5 off coupon and get a new one. I do know that when the outside flange of the pulley parted company, the lathe ran quiet and stopped shaking. Before all that happened, though, I did manage to check end play and run out on the main shaft with my cheap a$$ dial indicator. Run out was .008mm and less than .005mm for end play. Not too shabby.

The 4 jaw chuck is giving me flashbacks of Freshman Machine Shop fifty plus years ago. That's gonna take some practice.

The broken pulley.
https://i.imgur.com/J84Y4Qyl.jpg

The first page of the patent. A good view of the 'Compound Drive'.
https://i.imgur.com/o2dMzIJl.jpg

I made chips today.
https://i.imgur.com/xrm8RmTl.jpg

The tool I used was worn and the speed was too slow so the finish isn't great. I just eyeballed the steps. It also showed me that there are a couple minor issues with the compound.

Whee. The cast is off. I'm stuck in the boot again for the next four weeks, but not for 24 hours a day. I can have it off for sleeping, showering, if I'm just sitting on my butt in my EZ chair. I can't put weight on it for the four weeks, so that's a poop. On the plus side, though, after my four weeks are done, my physical therapist lives across the street.

Running a lathe is starting to come back to me. Not quickly, but it is coming back. I did a small bit of turning yesterday along with using a countersinking drill. This was after inspecting the counter shaft. Looks like I'll be making an updated version of one of those. The running surface for the drive side needle bearing is shot. I do have a part number for the shaft, but I don't think Sears and Roebuck, nor Atlas, will have a replacement in stock. So, dismantle the counter shaft, take measurements, reassemble, make the new shaft, take the old shaft back apart, reassemble the new shaft. Slow baked piece of cake.

Mrs.C and I went to McMaster-Carr yesterday and picked up the steel for the new counter-shaft. I also said tahellwithit and grabbed the phosphor bronze rod for the Ural valve guides, too.

I was out in the garage today taking measurements while Mrs.C was walking Buster and The Demon of Darkness. I finished up after they got back and decided to sit on the front porch and soak up the sun for a bit.

Mrs.C came out with her phone in hand, saying that she'd just finished talking with her Oncologist. He gave her her score that determines whether or not she's a candidate for radiation instead of chemo. A score of 26 or above means chemo. Her's was 13. She has a pre-therapy appointment on Thursday and starts to glow the following week. Phew!

While digging in a drawer in the garage this morning(thank you, Buster, for waking me up at 4am)I came across a very old Starrett dial indicator kit that I forgot I had. I bought it at a flea market for ten bucks when my oldest was in middle school. She'll be 45 in May. This was an entire kit in a fitted wood box.

The crystal has yellowed, warped, and popped out of the dial and that's why I never used it. For grins, I set it up on the lathe along with my digital indicator and they were damn close to each other. So, I decided to see if I could find a crystal for the Starrett and put it back to work. eBay, $10.95.

Also for grins, I did an online search for the counter shaft. No luck, as expected. But I did find felt shaft seals. The lack of seals explains why I have grease blobs on the wall, glasses, shirt, Honda, ceiling.:D

Everything should be here by Tuesday.

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.

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 .

Here's the kit.
https://i.imgur.com/3s0aKXKl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/3U2VOldl.jpg

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.

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

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.

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...

I got the new crystal installed in the Starrett dial indicator. Looks pretty good.
https://i.imgur.com/iiZlHMnl.jpg

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.
https://i.imgur.com/fO4435wl.jpg

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.":D Every time I go to put a tool down on the lathe, I stop and put the tool under the lathe.

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. :wtf:

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

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.

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.

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.

So the little POS is back together. Finally. I threw in the towel yesterday and decided 'good enough' was less brain damage than 'perfection'. It runs a hell of a lot quieter and doesn't vibrate any more. Which were my goals.

I checked out the speeds in each range with a laser tach that was one of my retirement tools.:lol: Lowest speed is 20rpm. Highest is 930. I'll call it good for now.

I spent yesterday exploiting my newfound freedom. I was outside from 9:30 in the morning until 5:30. I was able to move the Ural, the ATV, and the mower out of the garage with varying degrees of difficulty. The major one is that my trickle charger is being aimed towards the trash. Fully charged batteries, my ass. The Ural fired up on its starters' last gasp. It's laugh worthy to watch me get up on it. My boot barely fits between the left cylinder and the gear shift. And I have to use my heel to downshift.

The mower struggled, started, then needed a jump when I stopped to gas it up. There is no step on the mower to aid in getting my butt in the seat. Also comical to see.

The ATV may need a new battery. I have no clue as to how old it is but I ended up using its pull start. I might add that pulling on that rope is like pull starting a small diesel. There is a tad bit o' compression there. Getting up on this thing is like trying to get up on a horse without a saddle. Mrs.C was splitting a gut.

Despite all that, I did get the lawn mowed. I also managed to get the above rearranged in the garage in the order of importance with my current affliction. I also had my best night sleep in the last two months.:tup:

Physical therapy starts today. Finally. Had a hard time catching up with my neighbor but I finally did, she couldn't fit me into her schedule. My daughters' friend offered to do PT for me but didn't know that we'd moved to the far southern part of the county. We're out of her territory now. So, NW Health, here I am. At least I only have to travel 10 miles each way. Mrs. C has 35.

Mrs.C's radiation treatments started on Monday. I went with her the first two days, just in case. She had no side effects and told me to stay home and do something useful before my turn today.

I can also hobble about for a short distance without a crutch now AND made it down the stairs this morning without sliding down on my butt like a toddler.

As far as the lathe goes, we're bonding. The current project made a lot of chips but seems destined for the experience pile.

Bleah! 8 weeks of PT coming up. I was told that I am as flexible as two old cement.

Again.
https://i.imgur.com/QVdrK3Ml.jpg

The project that made a lot of chips took three attempts to get right.

Sometime in the lathes' past, the left end of the countershaft was modified to adapt a new driven pulley. In order to make it work, the grease seals and retainers were tossed. I figured that out the first time I lubed the new countershaft and not only got gobs of grease on the wall behind the lathe, got the same gobs of grease on my shirt and on my face. I was able to find repo's of the thick felt seals but no retainers. I figured I might be able to make something out of a couple of engine freeze plugs.

It looked good on paper. First problem was NAPA. The new hired help was useless in even looking up 1 5/8" od plugs without a make/model/year. Auto Zone had them on the shelf. Second was that the back of the plugs were concave, which made them too thick. That screwed with the belt alignment. Facing the backs flat helped, but not enough. So, the first two attempts went into the 'Experience Pile'. This is why I always buy extras.

Plan B. I started by facing off the concave portion on the back of the plug until I took off enough to get a hole. I bored the hole to .750 to fit over the shaft. I then dug in the small box of cutting tools that came with the lathe and found something I could use as a cut-off tool. I basically separated the ring from the back of the freeze plug. The back of the freeze plug and felt seal went between the right side of the bearing housing and the Hi-Low selector. The other felt seal fit in the ring and that was placed between the drive pulley and left side of the bearing housing.

It must have worked, no more grease goblins flying at me or making a mess of the wall.

Pics of the seal retainers. My hands were too greasy to mess with the phone when I finished.
https://i.imgur.com/whGJU1el.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/DfM9eGGl.jpg

The bolt on the pulley keeps the ring in place.