craftsman lathe 109

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by BigSki

The one we have at our 'Maker Space' has the dial rings, I couldn't imagined that some of the machines wouldn't have dials. I learned something new today

This is what mine looks like. I guess the marks could be used as some sort of reference, but I wouldn't count much on accuracy. They seem to be more for decoration since there is no way to use them where the handle and ball are mounted.

[warriorsimi]

I bought the lathe but won't be able to even touch it till may.thank you guys for all the info on dro's.

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by C*H*U*D

This is what mine looks like. I guess the marks could be used as some sort of reference, but I wouldn't count much on accuracy. They seem to be more for decoration since there is no way to use them where the handle and ball are mounted.

While I never doubted you, I'm surprised at how different those handles look compared to the one that I use. Ill click a pic the next time I'm at the shop.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by JohnRobHolmes

Ive found the cheap calipers can be surprisingly accurate and precise to the 0.001".

Years ago I bought a set from Snap On for $80. A couple days later I saw the same thing at Harbor Freight (minus the brand name decal) for $20.

I've been buying them off of ebay for $10-$15 dollars and they're perfectly adequate for most things. I have noticed that the fit/finish isn't always nice, but a little disassembly and cleanup with a scotchbrite and some lube does wonders for them.

[Crawling Calvin]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

Years ago I bought a set from Snap On for $80. A couple days later I saw the same thing at Harbor Freight (minus the brand name decal) for $20.

I've been buying them off of ebay for $10-$15 dollars and they're perfectly adequate for most things. I have noticed that the fit/finish isn't always nice, but a little disassembly and cleanup with a scotchbrite and some lube does wonders for them.

other tip is keep crap *OFF* the sliding part. Things like grease and oil seem to make those calipers read wonky in a second they sure aren't as nice as IP67's

[HANgOVER Airbrush RC]

Originally Posted by Crawling Calvin

Like any older lathe you got to be careful but it should treat you well if you treat it properly. If your good with machinery I recommend tearing it down and then re-building it so you can clean things off and double check nothing is totally screwed up.

That said for a simple z-dro (long axis) this is what we do at the school I am at. Note were using dirt cheap calipers and it isn't ideal but... it works There is a large magnet underneath the caliper "body" and 2-4 neodynium magnets attached to the carriage.

The mags don't interfere with the very-nears? (calipers)

neat trick.

[Crawling Calvin]

Originally Posted by HANgOVER Airbrush RC

The mags don't interfere with the very-nears? (calipers)

neat trick.

not from what I have seen. Only side-effect i that it will magnetize them and that means they turn into a porcupine pretty fast but other than that I haven't seen any issues. Sure a dial indicator with a clamp is nice but for the ultimate in ease I don't think it gets much simpler than that mind you the calipers are HF cheapos

[HANgOVER Airbrush RC]

Originally Posted by Crawling Calvin

not from what I have seen. Only side-effect i that it will magnetize them and that means they turn into a porcupine pretty fast but other than that I haven't seen any issues. Sure a dial indicator with a clamp is nice but for the ultimate in ease I don't think it gets much simpler than that mind you the calipers are HF cheapos

...add that I've never seen a 6" dial indicator....
I'm sure they exist, but outside my budget...

[C*H*U*D]

I was finally able to get some space cleaned up downstairs to bring this in from the garage. I want to clean it up a bit and start using it. I don't expect much from this little guy, but it has sentimental value so I'd like for it to be working:

[clod booster]

I'm jealous, I'd love to have a little bench top lathe in my shop to turn parts on, then again I dont know what all I would use it for haha.

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by clod booster

I'm jealous, I'd love to have a little bench top lathe in my shop to turn parts on, then again I dont know what all I would use it for haha.

Once you get something, you find all kinds of uses

I don't know if someone took this apart before or not, but there's a lot of paint and crap that needs to be cleaned up.

[C*H*U*D]

I lapped the surfaces on a piece of glass with some wet sandpaper. I wasn't trying to get things super smooth...I just wanted paint free flat surfaces.

I also wanted to make sure the top slide base was parallel to cross slide so I chucked it up on the lathe. I faced a piece of square stock in the 4 jaw and held the base tight with a live center in the tail stock. I was taking very light passes so I figured this would work and it did:






I used a triangular file to clean out the way areas as well. I didn't want to remove much material, just clean them out and file down any burrs that were left behind. You can see a pretty large void left behind in the casting. It slides much smoother now.

[Crawling Calvin]

Looks good to me I would not worry much about the void in the casting, if anything stick some grease in there and call it good its always cool seeing people restoring old machines... even if their not super useful the historical and sentimental value makes it worth it!

[C*H*U*D]

I've been slowly putting her back together and finally was able to plop this on. I've had it for awhile, but never used it. I'm not use to a QC post being so small