Thanks to the folks at Lost Creek Machine I was able to afford an Aloris CXA Toolpost with various holders. Also snagged Jacobs 16n drill chuck with MT3 shank!
T-Nut is a little oversized for my compound! This will allow me to make for a nice fit.
Closer to making chips. New belts and VFD have arrived too. Need to continue cleaning and change oil in headstock but won't be long now.
read moreIn preparation of getting a new fangled VFD to power the Monarch I removed the no longer safe/necessary three phase circuit breaker and previously gutted mag switch. I will probably reuse the drum switch to control the VFD. More on VFD install soon.
Took a break from cleaning today and spent some time contemplating leveling feet. There are 8 Leveling feet and 8 "lagging" holes on the Monarch CK from what I can gather from the manuals and as witnessed on my machine. Basically 8 Holes are threaded for the leveling screws and the other 8 are unthreaded for lagging to the floor as suggested in the manual.
After closer inspection of my lathe two of the leveling holes have broken off bolts in them. Both of which have no good purchase - one not at all and the other just a useless fragment of remaining bolt.
I have done my fair share of removing rusty screws from engine blocks using various methods but have never removed anything this substantial and or anything this seemingly "STUCK" before. These bolts are easily 5/8" and the fact that they sheared off tells me they are really really stuck.
Option 1: Go the nuclear route and weld a nut onto them and see if I cant get them out. Penetrating oil does seem to absorb into these so maybe that is a good sign they might come free. I would really like to use these original leveling holes if I can.
Option 2: Go less nuclear and drill/ez-out method with much heat. As mentioned the fact that they sheared off in the first place leads me to believe this wont end well.
Option 3: Forget about them and just use the other holes with adjustable leveling feet. I like this less as I feel they put the leveling feet in the original spots for a reason and that they are the best place for them (maybe overthinking this).
Update 1: went with Option 2 to start sans the heat (did not have time to remove skid cross member). Well well, started drilling the one that was flush and if the damn thing didn't start moving! I will take that win. Second one, well not so much fun yet. Drilled out 3/8" hole and used 1/2" ez out with not a budge. Heat comes tomorrow.
One last soak in Penetrating Oil over night and again at lunch time - soak overnight did nothing, don't expect latest soak to help much either. Torch time tonight.
Torch work did not cut it....could not get bolt hot enough. Went down the continue drilling route and re-tapped it. It worked better than expected and in short time have the hole finished an tapped.
Doing a bit of a cleanup on the CK. I am trying to avoid a teardown and rebuild but will know more as I get into the cleanup. For now, so far, all looks good and not planning on any major teardown.
Turns out I need to pull off the clutch and sheave to get the belt guard off for better cleanup - I am going to pass on the procedure for now and work around it. End gear train most troublesome to clean/get at but will be tackled soon.
read moreA week has past since we confirmed the purchase of the lathe. Have not slept much since. Dreaming of all the ways this could go wrong. Actually went pretty smooth. Forklift on sellers end made quick work of getting it on my buddies trailer. Said "buddy" is partially to blame for making this happen;). Extremely grateful to Brian for generous resource and time!
Sitting on pallets on the car carrier trailer. I have pallet jack so my initial thought were to muscle it off with that and some other implements but then the reality of 3600lbs came into play.
During the week I set plan B into action. Built a skid under the lathe as I removed the pallets. Lots of blocks, 4x4s, prybars and a Johnson bar and I managed to get the skid installed for what proved to be a uneventful slide off the trailer.
Further inspection, clean-up and wiring coming soon.
read moreThe recent Foley Belt Sander/Grinder went so well I could not help myself. Eyed this one from the roadside at local residence close to home. Been exposed to the weather for almost too long. Plugged her in and she fired right up and in classic Baldor form took 10 minutes to stop spinning after turning off. Was not going to re-paint but now I am in deep so what the heck. Came apart relatively easily (nice to work on quality products). Missing side covers - may have to make some or deal without.
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read moreCreated adjustable sub-plate for tool posts I picked up recently at the Cabin Fever Expo. May need some additional modifications but has adequate travel to situate the form tools that I want to play with. Simple plate with slots to allow adjustment over the work piece. Don't need much travel as the form tools will stay as close to the spindle as possible.
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Tricky part of the second operation lathe is getting front and back tool post in sync. Also, depending on some of the tools I use in the turret it require sthe cross slide to be pushed up pretty close to the spindle. Hence they typically come with factory installed risers and corresponding tool post.
read moreBrown and Sharpe 210-120 Knurling Swing Tool. Nice addition for the Rivett 918s. Takes 5/8"OD - 1/4ID - 1/4" Width Knurling Wheels. Came with the "fine" diamond (male or female tbd). More wheels to come and and a bit more studying. Great document for anyone playing with knurling Reed Machinery - Knurls and Knurling has been a great help.
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The swing tool is interesting. The swing allows the placement of the knurl on the part to be flexible. Single wheel limits patterns formed by multiple wheels but diamond patterns available so not a worry. Initial test shown above - not too shabby. Need to work on the push bar that contacts the swing arm, just pushed it with the cross feed plate for now.
read moreSome stuff for the consignment area at this years Cabin Fever Expo. Meat Slicer, Lantern Style Tool Post, Industrial Box, Kennedy Chest (a little rough), Static Phase Converter with Plugs and a Bag-o-Books.
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