Model Engine Maker
Supporting => My Workshop => Topic started by: Ratchap on August 22, 2018, 09:58:29 PM
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Greetings from West London, I was suggested i start to show what i was doing / planning/ dreaming of with my freebie mini lathe. it is going to be used for making parts for my 7mm to the foot model railways
I understand it is a Norfolk lathe of 1960's era I was given it 7 years ago and only just have managed to get a motor fitted apart from the motor what you see in the picture is what i was given
an independent 4 jaw chuck , 2 dead centers a back plate a couple of HSS tools and the Allen keys.
since getting the motor and fixing every thing down i have started on a list of needs and wants
needs.To replce the motor pulley with one the same size as the lathes to enable simple speed changing
a 3 jaw chuck or collet holder to mount on the back plate
alive centre
a drill chuck for the tail stock
some form of calibration for the cross slide and compound slide
means of screw cutting ( i am thinking a stepper drive and arduino
wants
some form of split lead screw mechanism as its a lot of work to wind the tool post all the way from head to tail
improve the hand wheels
a cover for the pulleys on the lathe
a milling vice for the cross slide
I hope that these projects may be of interest
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Nice looking little lathe Nigel. Is the spindle nose threaded and if so what size? I like the robyst handles on the tailstock and toolpost as well.
Bill
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the spindle nose IS threaded and i am told its 1/2 inch UNF i have a set of unf thread gauges on order from Amazon (( other suppliers are out there)
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It may not be of help in the UK but the 2.5" Sherline 3jaw Chuck is available with 1/2-20 threads if that is what the spindle nose turns out to be. https://www.sherline.com/product-category/chucks-collets/scroll-chucks/
Bill
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cheers Bill only trouble is the price !! I have ordered a ER32 chuck to mount on the back-plate which will do most of what i want in conjunction with the 4 jaw chuck als ordered a nice little tailstock from amazon should be here ( at work) this afternoon will add some pictures and a little write up of the plans for it later
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the live center has arrived and nice piece of work it is, the holder will be replaced as it does not line up height wize so somple bit of bllock cutting and drilling should sort it out
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well i got some 14mm nuts and 1/2 unf nuts
the /2 inch one will not even start the 14mm one goes on 1 or 2 turns any ideas ?
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Don’t forget that there are also 1/2 unc. 1/2 UNF is 1/2 by 20 TPI . 1/2 UNC is 1/2 by 13 TPI. You might try that.
Tony
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Nice little lathe!
I suggest you include a layshaft to reduce the drive speeds as I assume the spindle bearings are plain bushes and will not appreciate the sort of high speeds the current set up could provide.
I have a Flexispeed lathe that is very similar and find it a joy to use for those small jobs!
John
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cheers Tony i will order a selection of nuts lol
john the 1st job i am going to do is to make another 3 step pulley the same size as on the lathe fit this to a Layshaft I have got a length of SS rod and some Pillow bearings on order will just need to source the drive pulley and build a framework.
I have a chunk of ally centered in the 4 jaw chuck ready to face off center pop and turn to size starting on wed
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Just catching up on this thread, when my eyeballs tripped over the statement
it is going to be used for making parts for my 7mm to the foot model railways
Never seen that scale before, or actually even one that mixes mm's and feet (started to type 'foot's' :Lol: ). Is that a common scale in the UK?
Nice looking old lathe, looking forward to seeing parts from it!
:cheers:
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A wee trap with threads, 1/2" UNC 13 TPI, !/2" BSW 12 TPI. There is more than the standard meric coarse too.
Ian S C
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Hi Ratchap, I measured my Flexispeed spindle thread and it is 1/2 x 16TPI presumably BSF. I think your Norfolk will be the same.
John
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Just catching up on this thread, when my eyeballs tripped over the statement
it is going to be used for making parts for my 7mm to the foot model railways
Never seen that scale before, or actually even one that mixes mm's and feet (started to type 'foot's' :Lol: ). Is that a common scale in the UK?
Nice looking old lathe, looking forward to seeing parts from it!
:cheers:
7mm to the foot is also known as 0 scale, 4mm to the foot is 00 scale, 3.5mm is HO scale (mostly used in Mainland Europe) , 3mm is TT scale, 2mm to the foot is N gauge, 1mm is Z gauge
there is an pure imperial scale of 3/16 to the foot called S scale wikipedia has articles on all these.
a lot of modelers swap scale and gauge there are also a range of variations which use 1 gauges track and another scale
confused ? im not surprised
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Hi Ratchap, I measured my Flexispeed spindle thread and it is 1/2 x 16TPI presumably BSF. I think your Norfolk will be the same.
John
Cheers John i will try my thread gauge when i get home plus I have ordered some nuts in that size
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after a long time the old girl starts to make chips . The first thing i had planned was the extra 3 step pulley, troubles i i find the graduations on the hand wheels are ................ crap !! so 4 aly blanks ordered cut to length will be collected tomorrowthen its the issue of calibrating lol
i am really enjoying the path I have chosen to tread
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My dial graduations aren’t very accurate either. I use a dial indicator and set stops at the correct dimensions. It takes a little setup but it’s way more accurate then my dials
Tony
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Tony that sounds like a plan i will prob use the graduations as gudence
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Surprising that the handwheels are that far off. Could it be backlash? Sloppiness in the ways? Interested to find out what the issue is.
Bill
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I would check. I was using the graduations on my tailstock...I haven't verified...but I could swear they off.
There's the graduation on the handwheel...and the markings on the ram.
If I moved the handwheel by 0.1mm...I could swear the ram moved by 1.0mm.
I haven't looked into it (whether the ram actually moved 1mm). (Could be me.) But it's worthwhile to verify.
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Surprising that the handwheels are that far off. Could it be backlash? Sloppiness in the ways? Interested to find out what the issue is.
Bill
there is a bit of slop plus some backlash one thing i need to do is to adjust the gibs in the saddle plus tighten up the locking ring on the lead screw
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I would check. I was using the graduations on my tailstock...I haven't verified...but I could swear they off.
There's the graduation on the handwheel...and the markings on the ram.
If I moved the handwheel by 0.1mm...I could swear the ram moved by 1.0mm.
I haven't looked into it (whether the ram actually moved 1mm). (Could be me.) But it's worthwhile to verify.
My hand wheels are the old fashioned plastic type with poorly engraved / scratched graduations and the only figures are 0 1/2 1 1 1/2 if i remember from looking last night it seems every time i try to do something i need to do some thing else first , should i buy a new lathe and forget the old one ,,,,,,, noooo this is part of the fun
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And after stripping and cleaning the 4 jaw chuck plus some tweaking with the tool height the beginnings of a new lead screw control. I must admit its very satisfing watching the swarf come of nice and cleanly
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:ThumbsUp: Congrats!
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what started out well has now been put on hold untill i can sharpen up / get some more lathe tools plus i need to sort out the lay shaft and a better way of tensioning the motor pulley belts
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Definitely bring the old lathe back to life, you will be happy in the end. Then get a new one too if you wish. As Jo says, you can't have too many lathes :Lol: maybe even think about making some metal handwheels.
Bill
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Definitely bring the old lathe back to life, you will be happy in the end. Then get a new one too if you wish. As Jo says, you can't have too many lathes :Lol: maybe even think about making some metal handwheels.
Bill
Bill this is what I am Making but the lathe tools i have are not the best ( new ones on order) plus my drive belt is slipping ( new one on order)
" note to self, before assuming the belt is slipping ensure you have the drive pulley locking screw tight so the ******* pulley does not slip"
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had a fun hour this afternoon playing tool sharpener. ended up with a bag of lathe tools bits and i did not manage to let one go pinnnnnggggggggggggg or burn my pinkies.
i am looking forward to trying them when i get home tomorrow