Building My New Lathe from Parts

[Dabbler]

The 'Move is on' thread is -almost- done, and it is time to begin reassembly of the machines that were completely disassembled to move them. The first, and most important to get back together is a 15 X 60" LeBlond Lathe, 7.5 HP 3PH. It had to be completely stripped to get through the back door and basement window.

When Bert first installed it 40 years ago, he didn't know that the adjuster feet were supposed to have shoes. the leveling part is hollow, in order to put one of 3 types of feet in it. LeBlond is no longer a company, so I made my own feet: The threaded parts with a hex on them are the leveling feet, and the skinny shank ones are the the parts I made The right 2 are assembled.



At some point the feet inserts will sit on steel pucks, but for now they are installed in the bases and the bases are lined up:



After a day of shuffling things in my shop to accommodate the engine hoist, I managed to get the lathe bed on the stands. Nothing is bolted down yet as all the holes have to be lined up.



There's a mountain of work to do before the next steps. Every machined surface needs another cleaning, and the holes in the lathe bed have to be lined up with the bases, and everything precision leveled. Only then can the headstock be lifted into place.

 

[John Conroy]

It's good that you have a lathe to make parts for your new lathe!
Looking forward to seeing the new one up and running.

 

[Janger]

Look at all that room John!

 

[CalgaryPT]

Look at all that room John!

Yeah...good observation.

Something fishy is going on here.

With all these new machines...did he expropriate the neighbour's land?

 

[Tom O]

My Son and I have been going through the basement reclaiming land/rooms he now has a room of his own for his English wheel and later a planish hammer, yesterday we wrangled his toolbox downstairs it's one of those 6 foot ones.

 

[Dabbler]

Look at all that room John!

With all these new machines...did he expropriate the neighbour's land?

Yes, more room than ever. Lots of cleaning, lots of disposal. Even more organizing. sorting. It's been a bit of work. I am trying to make all the machines usable without moving anything. We'll see how attainable that is.

-- John N has bee a big help.

So today with John's help the bed is properly bolted down to both bases, and a preliminary level has been done. It hasn't been leveled with the accurate level yet, as there is a lot of cleaning to be done. Tail stock is on the bed. So lots of progress....

 

[PeterT]

Looking good, John. Man that is a big boy lathe. Going to be great once its spinning. Every day a little bit!

 

[Dabbler]

Yesterday was a big day. Apart from the stuff at Bert's house, I cleaned and made ready the chip tray (175 lbs, BTW). I placed the chip tray and the carriage using the engine hoist. Every surface had to be stoned and checked for debris before placing.

Things are going well - this is all the easy stuff, then comes headstock, rewiring and hooking up the hydraulic gear shift.



I may have to make a wheeled carriage for the chip tray. My back is getting a little old to empty it without additional support!

 

[CalgaryPT]

You know your lathe ain't no girly machine when the chip tray alone is 175 lbs.

 

[Dabbler]

After a time of to address mini disasters, I did work on the lathe a bit over the past weeks.

o The feet are installed and the lathe leveled.
o The backsplash is installed (not for the faint of heart -> more than 80 pounds, 7 feet long and no room behind to work on it)
o The gasket was made for the QCGB:

For those not into making their own gaskets, here's how I do it: (my regrets to those who do)

I first tape paper to the surface needing a gasket. I rub pencil to see the outlines and holes:



Then I cut out the gasket using an Xacto knife and leather punches.



Today John N came over and made it possible to mount the QCGB and apron. it took a while - it is very awkward, and too heavy for people to lift. Then I mounted one of the 3 power boxes on the front of the lathe. A big step forward!

 

[Dabbler]

OK, so I couldn't find my camera yesterday, but here's a picture of the lift of the QCGB, and of the nearly complete lathe front. Now for the drive train and the electrics.

 

[Chicken lights]

After a time of to address mini disasters, I did work on the lathe a bit over the past weeks.

o The feet are installed and the lathe leveled.
o The backsplash is installed (not for the faint of heart -> more than 80 pounds, 7 feet long and no room behind to work on it)
o The gasket was made for the QCGB:

For those not into making their own gaskets, here's how I do it: (my regrets to those who do)

I first tape paper to the surface needing a gasket. I rub pencil to see the outlines and holes:

View attachment 9896

Then I cut out the gasket using an Xacto knife and leather punches.

View attachment 9897

Today John N came over and made it possible to mount the QCGB and apron. it took a while - it is very awkward, and too heavy for people to lift. Then I mounted one of the 3 power boxes on the front of the lathe. A big step forward!

Why not just use silicone or similar liquid gasket material?

Just curious, cutting gaskets is tedious

 

[Dabbler]

Just curious, cutting gaskets is tedious

Total time invested in making the gasket: < 5 minutes.

Why not just use silicone or similar liquid gasket material?

Silicone gasket material - for me - always fails. So far I' somewhere around 10 or 12 failures in a row. In fact this QCGB had orange silicone on it and it leaked, slowly, for 40 years. I'm happy to eat crow if this doesn't work, but I'm sure it will.

- A cardboard or EPDM gasket has never failed me in 40 years.I treat a cardboard one in a cookie sheet with warmed grease. It seems to seat better and prevents oil leaks. Cardboard ones take a minute longer.

In this case I needed the gasket to compress down to less than .010 so I ran down to Norwesco and bought a few dollars of .060 EPDM. Works like a charm, and easily compresses to less than .010

 

[Chicken lights]

Total time invested in making the gasket: < 5 minutes.



Silicone gasket material - for me - always fails. So far I' somewhere around 10 or 12 failures in a row. In fact this QCGB had orange silicone on it and it leaked, slowly, for 40 years. I'm happy to eat crow if this doesn't work, but I'm sure it will.

- A cardboard or EPDM gasket has never failed me in 40 years.I treat a cardboard one in a cookie sheet with warmed grease. It seems to seat better and prevents oil leaks. Cardboard ones take a minute longer.

In this case I needed the gasket to compress down to less than .010 so I ran down to Norwesco and bought a few dollars of .060 EPDM. Works like a charm, and easily compresses to less than .010

I was just asking to learn

That stuff is a bit spendy but works slick, very good stuff

Most times, if we were using a paper gasket we’d use some type of silicone on both sides of it to help seal.

Not very often would we just use a dry paper gasket

But then again we’d use silicone or Loctite on seals, too, to help lock them in place

Very interesting how other industries do things

 

[Dabbler]

I never thought of treating a paper/cardboard gasket with silicone. I should try it! I'm always open to trying new things!

Thanks @Chicken lights

 

[Brent H]

There are a lot of gasket materials out there we use the following:

for water and oil: blend of aramid fiber and Buna-N rubber sheet. Material has a rubbery paper feel (Gaskets come in various colours - typical teal)

For water: Paper fiber/SBR rubber blend the SBR is a styrene-butadiene rubber that has good abrasion resistance and water resistance

For water tank hatches: EPDM rubber

For exhaust: graphite with stainless steel layers (if it is high pressure and just graphite if it is not)

We have also used Chart paper with a soaking of oil or a thin layer of RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) silicon : we get the charts from old maps no longer used

we also use just the RTV or loctite 515 as required.

Some pumps and engine flanges require a certain thickness of gasket for end clearance on pump volutes or for spacing - like the turbo chargers need 1 mm thick gaskets or you cannot fit the pipes together and the governor drive requires a 0.25 mm gasket for proper tooth clearance.

If you are face to facing a part that requires a liquid gasket it is best to ensure there is no residual gasket material as things will not seal properly and clean the faces with acetone to remove any grease. if the faces are machined properly and you seal it properly it will be tough to get apart.

One mistake is to use a liquid (RTV etc) gasket and not allow it to fully cure before adding your liquid to the mix.

Rubber/Cork gaskets also work well for certain applications.......

I need a life.....LOL

 

[YYCHM]

Hey John,

How's the re-assembly coming along? You up and running yet?

Craig

 

[Dabbler]

How's the re-assembly coming along? You up and running yet?

...no where near. Time off for cleaning up Bert's yard and basement. Building retaining wall/fence, Other top priorities... Now helping Rick fix his industrial building, which is an emergency...

maybe in a couple of weeks I'll restart....

 

[Dabbler]

I know it's been a long time since the last update.....

TLDR: Not running yet, but getting much closer

The headstock gearing for the QCGB proved to be a challenge, but it is now accomplished. All the rest of the mechanicals have been installed, bit by bit over the past 3 months. All that is left to do mechanically is the carriage guides that hold the carriage down onto the ways.

now for the next stuff: Hydraulics and electrical.

The electrical box normally mounts on the backside of the lathe, but that would put it against the wall, and I'd have to make 24" of room for the door to open, so I'm mounting it on a cart so it will be against the headstock housing, but movable.

The hydraulics is another kettle of fish, as the flow has to move in the correct direction, and new filter has to be purchased and installed, etc. Not actually trivial, as other people's experiences have shown.

This rebuild has proven to be the biggest project I've ever done. (wipes brow, and rolls up sleeves again)

 

[Brent H]

@Dabbler:

The electrical box normally mounts on the backside of the lathe, but that would put it against the wall, and I'd have to make 24" of room for the door to open, so I'm mounting it on a cart so it will be against the headstock housing, but movable.

For our Clausing at work we had the same issue. We separated the electrical box and mounted it up on the bulkhead above the headstock. It required a junction box to meet up with all the connections but it is reachable and if required you can open it without problems. If your lathe is going to be “portable” this may not work for you ....