Model Engine Maker

Supporting => My Workshop => Topic started by: AVTUR on March 26, 2021, 12:32:58 PM

Title: New lathe
Post by: AVTUR on March 26, 2021, 12:32:58 PM
Back in October I mentioned I had ordered a new Cowells lathe. During the last two months, avoiding the cold weather, I have been busy finding and making a home for it.

The lathe with most of the ordered accessories arrived three weeks ago, before the bench was finished. It is now installed and has been used. However it still needs some self made items, such as a mandrel handle and dial gauge holder, to be really useful. These will take a back seat as I restart work on the Hick Crank Overhead engine.

 :) :wine1:

AVTUR

Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: Vixen on March 26, 2021, 12:48:31 PM
 :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp:

Always was a pretty little lathe
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: Jo on March 26, 2021, 01:09:31 PM
 8)

How long before you decide to take off the rattley white cover  :thinking:

Jo

Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: Bear on March 26, 2021, 03:09:28 PM
Very nice. Congratulations.
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: Twizseven on March 26, 2021, 03:14:20 PM
Nice machine. I made a mandrel handle for mine and also fitted it with DRO using Touch-DRO software.

Good to see you are still around Jo.  I must admit I have not removed my plastic cover.  I will be in the bad books if I start to spray oil on the walls and flooring (and my clothing) within my office.

Colin
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: AVTUR on March 26, 2021, 06:17:01 PM
I am going to try to keep the cover fitted. It is a bit rattley.

The mandrel handle will be a miniture version of the design in Ian Bradley's "Myford Series 7 Manual". I made one for my old Myford twenty years ago. I intend to fit a DRO and have had a look at what others have done,

AVTUR
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: steamer on March 26, 2021, 07:45:42 PM
Nice looking lathe Avtar!    I've always liked the Cowells....and Bill tells me it was worth it....so you can take that to the bank!
 :cheers:
Dave
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: Twizseven on March 26, 2021, 10:13:37 PM
AVTUR,

I have a post on here re the DRO's I fitted, https://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php/topic,5583.msg106950.html#msg106950

For some reason the pictures have vanished but the majority of them can be seen on the Model engineer site in my album 'Twizseven's Bits & Bobs'

Colin
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: Chipswitheverything on March 27, 2021, 10:33:38 PM
Hope that you get much enjoyment from your Cowell, I do like the look of my similar even if it has had rather ocassional use over a lot of years.  Accessory making  wise, a little swing clear boring tool holder is a useful thing to add to the toolkit, saves having to wind the carriage back many tedious turns to gauge an item to the bore.  Dave
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: AVTUR on March 29, 2021, 11:09:27 AM
Thanks for the comments. I like the little boring tool holder. Colin, I may have been in contact with you about the DRO. I will have some questions when I can get an understanding of everything and seeing what is out there. I think a member of the Bristol club has used Yuri's DRO system so I will also have a chat with him.

I have started on the mandrel handle.

AVTUR

Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: Jo on March 29, 2021, 11:48:29 AM
Is there a hole in the white cover to fit your mandrel handle in?

I seem to recall having to keep lifting up the cover to fit the handle was another of the nails in its coffin.


Forgot to ask: What is the serial number of your lathe? (wondering how many Colin is making per year..)

Jo

P.S. I still have the immaculate white cover for refitting if I ever thought of selling Little C  :o  :paranoia:
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: Jasonb on March 29, 2021, 01:52:21 PM
Machine DRO are doing some much smaller read heads for the magnetic scales since Colin fitted his, similar size to what EMSi used to do which should be ideal for the smaller lathes. If ever I feel the need for  DRO on the Warco that's what I'll be hiding inside the cross slide.
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: AVTUR on March 30, 2021, 11:57:41 AM
The cover does not have a hole for a mandrel. That is not a reason for removing it, though.

The number of my lathe is 3793. When I ordered it on August bank holiday Colin warned me that I would have to wait until February. I said I was happy to do so and asked whether the wait was due to COVID. Colin replied saying that this was the busiest they had been for 16 years.

I will have a look at Machine DRO's website. Yuri's system initially strikes me as complex (I don't know what Blu-tooth is, not quite true).

AVTUR
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: AVTUR on April 05, 2021, 01:07:21 PM
I may be wandering away from the title "My Workshop" and I really do not want to start another blog. I would prefer to write the occasional piece.

I have now started on the self made accessories:
   1.    Wooden bridge to protect the lathe bed when changing chucks etc. Although small this is a MUST for any lathe and should be made before the lathe is first powered up.
   2.    Tool height setting gauge. I saw this in John Wilding's "How to Make an English Regulator Clock" and made one for the Myford. The top is for setting from the bed while the step is for the cross slide. Very simple but very useful.
   3.    Mandle handle. A must for all the work not done under power such as thread cutting with a tap or die and small diameter reaming. A nice little job, turning the wooden handle was a real pleasure (sometimes I had a ribbon of swarf).
   4.    Arbor for die holder. Years ago I bought a nice Arrand die holder for the Myford and had hoped to use it on the Cowells. The small arbor I bought with the lathe only needed 0,15mm taken off the diameter to take the holder. The holder is a bit large and will not pass over the cross slide. However the slide can be parked between the die holder and tailstock.

I attach a couple of photographs of the tooling. The second includes the die holder.

AVTUR

Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: Admiral_dk on April 05, 2021, 09:17:46 PM
I think I have identified some of your latest tools for the new lathe ....

1)  Simple and I probably should do something similar - though I have never dropped one of my chucks, it's probably only a question about when ....

2) I can't identify and therefor not see how it's used either .... - could you point it out, please.

3) hmm - I haven't done anything on the lather without power - but ....

4) have only done single point threading so far ....
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: AVTUR on April 06, 2021, 12:45:51 PM
Admiral

In addition to using a bridge I put a bar in the bore of the spindle so that the chuck sets on to it when being fitted or removed. The Cowell had its bar (diameter 1/4", length 7") faced to length yesterday.

I attach a photograph of the height setting gauge in use. The tool is at the "correct" height and the gauge needs a bit of fine tuning.

A lathe is a marvellous tool for just holding things.

I like single point thread cutting but having no thread chasers finishing is usually done with a die. I have single point thread cut internal threads in brass, all over 3/4" in diameter. My Myford is only any good for imperial threads (I have a set set of metric change wheels but have not had such an important job to sacrifice time to fitting and removing them) so dies are used for metric and BA threads.

AVTUR
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: Admiral_dk on April 06, 2021, 01:29:18 PM
Elegant way to show that the simple tools are often the best / easiest to use - thank you for the picture  :cheers:

Per
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: Jim on April 15, 2021, 12:34:45 AM
What a great little lathe that is.
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: AVTUR on April 15, 2021, 04:10:00 PM
First, the lathe has got a new accessory - a cover. I believe that machine tools should be protected from the outside world. Covers keep them snug and warm (perhaps) in their own little oily environment. The Myford lathe has had Myford plastic covers which go brittle after a few years. The milling machine has a garden furniture cover which has shed its plastic lining after years of use. I tried finding a similar garden furniture cover for the Cowells on the internet without success but became aware that there are firms  making bespoke machine covers. I eventually used a company in east London that quoted a month’s delivery time. It arrived within two weeks, was not expensive and appears to be far more substantial than a garden furniture cover (made from thick PVC).

I have now made good use of the lathe. It is rather sweet to use. So far I have only used the self centring three jaw chuck which appears to run true (a real surprise since they never run true for me). The cross slide is permanently engaged with the leadscrew which is interesting. The leadscrew pitch is 1mm and the four dials are large and very clearly marked. The graticules are marked at 0,02mm intervals. The handles are even larger and there is no backlash. The leadscrew can be disconnected from the power by a cross slide operated clutch. This works very consistently.

Having started to use the lathe I am now questioning the need for a DRO. Because everything is so clear and simple the DRO requirement has moved from “must have”, through “need” and “want” to “could be of use”. This suits me because I was getting very confused and mixed-up looking at DRO websites.

AVTUR
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: iRon on April 15, 2021, 06:57:57 PM
The dials certainly look very clear and easy to read.

Ron
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: iRon on April 15, 2021, 07:08:56 PM
The cover looks very smart and substantial. Please may I ask where you obtained it?

Ron
Title: Re: New lathe
Post by: AVTUR on April 16, 2021, 12:10:12 PM
The cover looks very smart and substantial. Please may I ask where you obtained it?

Ron

Ron

I have sent you a PM.

AVTUR
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