12-21-2014, 10:19 AM
(12-14-2014, 05:24 PM)EdK Wrote: Hey Arvid,
How's the lathe setup going? Made any chips with it yet? We want pictures.
Ed
Ed,
I don't want to hold you in suspense ... there are no pictures ... yet.
The journey begins ...
I have two precision levels. One is an 8 inch that is .0005 over 10 inches and the other is a 10 inch that is .0002 over 10 inches. The 8 inch fits nicely on the cross feed and the 10 inch, with the help of a couple of 1-2-3 block, fits nicely on the ways.
Over the long Thanksgiving weekend I began the process. I calibrated the levels with the help of three screw jacks, a small granite surface plate and painters tape. With Bev's help I leveled the lathe and then let it sit overnight.The next morning we fine tuned the leveling and let it set some more. We finally did the final tune ... the ways being level within a mark or two [not all that critical but nice to know] and the carriage being level at both ends of the travel [critical as it implies bed twist] within a couple of marks ... and called it done.
I felt I was now ready to create a test bar. I chucked a 14 inch piece of CRS with an two inches sticking out of the 3-jaw turned it down so it was smooth. I then flipped it end-for-end, center drilled it and then extended the bar so the newly turned end was in the 3-jaw and a live center in the tail stock was in in the center drilled dimple. Turned the entire length to clean it up and then turned a recessed portion and inch from each end. I then removed the live center and took a very light cut on each of the one inch dumbbell pieces and measured the diameter. The ends are about 10 inches from one another and were within .00065 so I took another very light cut to verify and this time got a .00045 difference.
I declared this "good enough for what I want to do" and moved on to the next task.
I had replaced the V-belts with Link-Belts but had not been able to adjust the tension by moving the motor. It was 'working' but not like I wanted it. The issue was the position of two of the motor mount bolts and no way to easily get to them. "No problem, just build a tool" seemed like a good idea at the time.
I stopped by the pawn shop on the way home from work and dug thru their "loose sockets, wrenches and other stuff" box that is marked "Make an offer". I found several 12 point sockets of the appropriate size, and assortment of 3/8 and 1/2 inch extensions and some other stuff and for $5 was on my way. Some amount of fiddling, noodling and pondering later I was all set to build a "goes around" ... a tool that would go around the motor and allow me to get at the bolts. For those of you old enough to remember what a Chevrolet small block distributor hold down bolt wrench looks like ... it 'goes around' the distributor body and gets at the hold down bolt that is under the distributor body ... that is what I was going to make.
Having come up with a plan of action I began drilling this and grinding that and was to the point of welding it back together when ...
The wheels begin to wobble ...
I went out to the garage and turned on the TIG welder and ... nothing. No display, no fans, no cooler pump ... nothing. This can't be good. Put the goes-around on hold and begin diagnosing the TIG machine. Plasma cutter turns on ... check. MIG turns on ... check. Take cover off the TIG machine and measure voltages at the switch and the main board ... check. Unplug and re-plug all of the Molex connectors on the multiple PC boards inside the machine in case one of them might be corroded ... check. Still nothing.
Very annoying to say the least but I'll just go in, get on the Miller board and ask for advice ...
And the wheels come off ...
I go into my office and find my 'domestic' PC has rebooted itself and can not get past the BIOS POST screen. Great!! [Actually a !@#$%^& but this is a family forum]. Tried rebooting is and it refuses to boot. To be clear, this is not the only PC I have [I develop software for a living so I usually have several of my own and a clients laptop running at the same time] but it is what I call my 'domestic' machine with all of the non-development software on it ... like the camera support, email, picture management, etc. ... everything no related to software development. [The other machines are dedicated to development and the required tools sets. In an effort to prevent infections the development machines only see as much of the internet as is required for development while the domestic machine is free to roam where ever I want.]
Argh!! Put the TIG machine on hold and try to figure this mess out. Some amount of debugging later I determine that hard drive was intact but the mother board was not happy. The heck with it. It's at least 5 years old so it becomes a "What does Micro Center have to offer?" question. I found an "open box i5 Windows 7 Pro 8GB 1TB" machine for a little over $500 and brought it home. I'm now in the process of transferring and re-installing all the software to the new machine. Would have rather spent the money at Enco but ...
In the mean time I did stop by Toll Gas [my Local Welding Supplier] and talked to my sales person about the TIG. I got some guidance from him on what else to check ... though at this point it is to determine which of the very expensive boards inside the machine I will need to replace ... but at least it seems like progress.
Than I can return to the goes-around and then back to the lathe, which is what this forum is all about. Sorry for the detour,
Arvid