Metal Lathe Update

We tore it down and cleaned up the gunk. Assessed the bearings – they look ok. But one gear is without one tool, but still operable.  We’ll see about replacing it sooner than later – but probably too late.  The problem finding the original gears. We’ll likely need to have one 3d metal printed.

The tool chuck is not original. The machine is all standard thread bolts, but the chuck is most certainly metric. Not a problem except that the centering boss was a mismatch – that is until we lathed it down to match. Now the chuck sits flat on its mounting plate, but still has about .012″ of wobble on the outside perimeter of the chuck body. The plate itself exhibits .003″ of wobble on the face. This feels like chasing our tails, but is necessary.

Soon…