I spent the weekend pulling the lathe down to just the headstock and the bed. I did discover a few discouraging things in the aprons though:
 |
| Hmm, I think I figured out why the power feed wasn't working.... |
|
I am still puzzled how I missed that little fact during my initial inspection... I guess I was happy that the chuck only had 0.003" of run out and that the bed seemed in pretty good shape.
There is also some wear and tear on the inside of the apron, but nothing fatal. I am currently trying to find replacement parts or better yet, a replacement apron assembly. I have a lead on one at
Plaza Machinery, but I an still awaiting confirmation.
 |
| Back of the apron, covered in tha loveley fuzz. |
 |
| Closeup of fuzz... I REALLY don't like this stuff. |
It looks like the carriage was moved back and forth a lot at it's previous job. I think the pinion has about 50% original tooth left.
 |
| 30 year old oil.... not exactly aging like a good wine now.... |
 |
| Parts sorted in bins by source assembly. |
I have been putting the parts in cardboard bins labeled by source assembly. This should make it a lot easier to put the right parts back on re-assembly.
 |
| The next challenge..... look, more fuzz !! |
After I get the motor and idler shaft assembly out of the base, I am going to get the base sand blasted and possibly powder coated. I am still on the fence with poweder coat vs paint on the base. It seems other people have had fairly good results on sheetmetal but more of a mixed bag on castings.
 |
| Naked Head stock. Note the nice, original grey paint left on the base... |
Originally, I didn't plan on repainting the machine, but now that I have a better idea of the ugly green the last owner used compared to the original gray, I am feeling compelled to get some gray enamel to repaint the castings. I will need to go see the folks at my local paint store to see what the lovely state of CA will still let me use...
 |
| Side view of cabinet, bed and headstock. |
 |
| Saddle, Apron Casting and QC Box |
 |
| Apron and Gear train parts waiting to be degreased. |
 |
| Headstock pulley and some QC gear box parts |
 |
| Evidence of previous "incident" with chuck |
After cleaning off the compound, I found this brazed repair. Looks like one of the previous owners got a little too close to the chuck....
 |
| QC gearbox - now the orange indicator is visible again .. |
And here is the QC gearbox with the front face cleaned off a bit. Originally the bright orange bar looked more like a dark brown/rusty part. At some point, I might consider some kind of LED backlight to make it even easier to read.
