The Lathe Lever Quiz
#7
I started a reply a couple of hours ago but we had visitors turn up and they have just left, so I'll just copy and paste what I drafted before the others chimed in:

Looks like a nice lathe. I can offer some basics using my limited experience coupled with some deduction. Actually most of the controls on your lathe have diagrams illustrating their function right near the lever.
You need to understand the function of the 3 long shafts that run parallel with the lathe bed. The top one, with the thread, is the feedscrew which drives the carriage along the bed at a set ratio with the spindle RPM for when you want to cut a thread. The plain shaft directly below it is used to drive the power feed system when you are not cutting threads. The bottom one operates the switch that turns the motor on and off, including forward and reverse. G1 and G2 both operate the switch, they do the same thing, just so you have one close by if you are standing near the apron or at the headstock. You can see the label right above G2 that tells you that Up switches the spindle on anticlockwise and Down for clockwise. Because of the dogleg in the slot for G2 it looks like G1 can only be used for stopping, not starting.

One lever will select whether drive is transmitted to the leadscrew (top shaft) or the drive shaft (second shaft). Both can't operate at the same time. (if your lever F selects forward / reverse power feed and screwcutting, i.e. left-hand or right-hand threading, then I'd say lever C probably does this).

When the main power feed shaft is running, it can either power the crossfeed (for facing) or the longitudinal feed. The picture near lever 1 shows a facing tool going across the workpiece, the picture near lever 2 shows a turning tool moving along the workpiece. So that settles levers 1 and 2.

When the threaded leadscrew is spinning, a split nut is clamped onto it to drive the carriage along the bed. The picture near lever H shows these half-nuts either engaged or disengaged with the leadscrew. The reason that you can't move lever H is that the mechanim won't let you engage the half-nuts while either of the other feed levers (1 and 2) are engaged.

Your lathe has a comprehensive screw-cutting gearbox; lever D selects metric or imperial threading. Wish my lathe had that. The handwheel E selects the thread pitch, as per the threading chart.

Lever A is high range / low range, see the big chart behind it for the range of spindle speeds when used in combination with the levers B.


Okay hope that is some help, certainly not as much help as John dropping by for a lesson.
Lathe (n); a machine tool used in the production of milling machine components.

Milling Machine (n); a machine tool used in the production of lathe components.
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Messages In This Thread
The Lathe Lever Quiz - by kingcreaky - 07-22-2015, 02:12 AM
RE: The Lathe Lever Quiz - by awemawson - 07-22-2015, 04:21 AM
RE: The Lathe Lever Quiz - by kingcreaky - 07-22-2015, 04:56 AM
RE: The Lathe Lever Quiz - by John S. - 07-22-2015, 05:25 AM
RE: The Lathe Lever Quiz - by kingcreaky - 07-22-2015, 05:34 AM
RE: The Lathe Lever Quiz - by John S. - 07-22-2015, 05:48 AM
RE: The Lathe Lever Quiz - by Pete O - 07-22-2015, 06:54 AM



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