Author Topic: Brian builds a Corliss  (Read 21296 times)

Offline crueby

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #30 on: February 23, 2022, 02:30:25 PM »
Could also/instead add grooves for rope-drive to the rest of the factory that it would have driven.

Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #31 on: February 23, 2022, 09:45:05 PM »
Today I made my machines pay for themselves. Started this morning at 9:30 and just finished up at 4:45. I'm very pleased with things so far.

Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #32 on: February 24, 2022, 06:52:27 PM »
Today was flywheel day. The man where I buy my material must have had a short end of tubing he wanted to get rid of. I asked for it to be 1 3/4" long, but when I got to looking at it a bit closer, he gave me a piece 2 1/2" long.--and the finished dimension is 1 1/2" long.
Seven inches diameter seems to be the largest piece I can hold with my reverse chuck jaws, and even that was a very close thing. All three jaws were engaged, but not by very darned much. I proceeded to machine 1/2" off both ends, and then turned the inner diameter steps as required. On the last pass I let the magic smoke out of the switch, and it looks like my lathe gets another truck ride to Toronto. Damn, Damn, Damn!!!

Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #33 on: February 24, 2022, 07:56:38 PM »
On the last pass, smoke began coming out around the on/off switch and the motor cut in and out and I hit the e-stop button immediately. Let it cool off for an hour, hit the start button and it started right up, ran for 10 seconds, then died. Took the cover plate off, looked down inside, and was confronted by an amazing array of wires and one or two which had the ends burned off. I can wire a house, I can wire a car, but I have neither the test equipment nor the technical knowledge to start messing about in the electrical guts of my lathe. The last time I took it to Toronto, I made some fairly specialized hoisting equipment to help me lift and maneuver the lathe. I kept that equipment together for the "next time"  I needed it. This gives me something to do tomorrow.

Offline crueby

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #34 on: February 24, 2022, 08:01:25 PM »
Yuck, what a pain!  Was the last trip to the lathe shop for the same problem?

Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #35 on: February 24, 2022, 08:27:36 PM »
No---Smack my head. Last trip was because door safety switch had vibrated out of adjustment and lathe wouldn't run. Took a trip to Toronto and five minutes to fix it!!! I had forgotten that there even was a door safety switch.

Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #36 on: February 25, 2022, 02:08:39 PM »
I have a number of pieces to machine that don't require a lathe to finish them. There is no sense loading my lathe onto my truck today (which is a fairly major enterprise) because  the place in Toronto that will fix it will be closed over the weekend.

Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #37 on: February 25, 2022, 08:57:08 PM »
Okay. Not a bad day.--Worked 6 hours, made five parts. Not horribly difficult parts, but a lot of set up and a lot of manual milling. I still have two or three days work before I need the lathe, so it's working out all right.

Offline crueby

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #38 on: February 25, 2022, 11:11:46 PM »
Wow, you are moving right along on the parts!!   :popcorn: :popcorn:

Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #39 on: February 26, 2022, 07:38:43 PM »
Today's topic is "How one old man moves his lathe". You can see some new timber in the picture. One vertical 2 x 6 behind the lathe, one vertical 2 x 6 in front of the mill, and two 2 x 4 r's bolted to them parallel to the floor. A pair of bed angles bolted to the top of the 2 x 4s and a rolling dolly made up from some old bearings and scrap plate. A threaded rod passes down thru the moveable dolly and connects to a plate setting below the lathe bed. The lathe is unbolted from the cabinets that support it and as the nut on the top of the threaded rod is tightened, the lathe gets lifted vertically about 2".


Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #40 on: February 26, 2022, 07:47:40 PM »
After the lathe is lifted 2", the wheeled cart is pushed in beside the lathe and with much groaning and grunting the moveable dolly is pulled over about 18" and the lathe comes with it and is lowered onto the wheeled cart. Then the top nut on the threaded rod is loosened and the lathe sets down onto the cart. Lathe is clamped with c-clamps to the cart, and pushed out the door into my office. It will set in my office until Monday, then be loaded into my pickup truck with my engine hoist and carried away to Toronto.


Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #41 on: February 26, 2022, 07:56:59 PM »
And to all of you who suggested that I fix the problem myself----Do you really think I would go thru this if there was a remote chance that I might be able to fix the electrics on my lathe? In one of my previous lives I tried to fix something like this that I didn't really understand---and it didn't work---and finally when I took it to the people who really did know what they were doing, I was told that my "fixing things" burned out various components and was going to cost twice as much to replace all the crap that my "fix" caused. Old I am--Stupid I'm not!!!

Offline Bearcar1

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #42 on: February 26, 2022, 08:18:51 PM »
I like your small homemade gantry system Brian, its pretty slick. I will steal this idea and put it to good effect in my shop.  :cheers:

Oh, and you are correct in NOT attempting to repair electrical problems if one does not truly understand. I have often asked people that have done so "So how do house fires start anyway?"  But it is true of any task that is a cludge from the operator.

BC1
Jim
« Last Edit: February 26, 2022, 08:24:02 PM by Bearcar1 »

Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #43 on: February 26, 2022, 09:31:33 PM »
Bearcar--I post on three different forums. People on two forums are agreeing that yes, if you don't know what you are doing with lathe wiring, then take it to people who do. People at Home Shop Machinist are giving me all kinds of grief because I didn't try to fix it myself. Ya can't please them all!!!

Offline crueby

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Re: Brian builds a Corliss
« Reply #44 on: February 26, 2022, 10:00:12 PM »
Probably the same people there who suggest all sorts of very dangerous things for testing boilers the wrong way.


I agree with you, stick to what you know when it comes to electronics. One thing to swap out a plug in assembly, another to dismantle components. You sometimes can spot a melted component, but there could be three others bad that made it go, or got taken out by it.

 

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