Bought a metal lathe finally....

Finallly got a lathe, its a Delta Rockwell 11x36, machine seems to be in good condition. Comes with 3 and 4 jaw chucks. Also a drive plate and drive dogs. A few things need tightened up and lead screw may need replaced. It belonged to a gunsmith that passed away and his boys were selling it. Im just nervous cause parts are hard to find, but i seen alot of the parts can be made.

 

Address that leadscrew before you even waste time cleaning it. It will be useless if you cant get that fixed

 

I seen that, dont know why the guy did that, but i was researching it and apparently you can buy precision acme thread, so if i can find out what the thread is i should be able to buy another one and machine it to work, it only comes out to right at the tailstock, and looks well done and should be useable. Just get the willies cause this is my 1st lathe buy but i do know what to look for. But after driving 2 hours one way yesterday i forgot to look under the head plate to look at the bull gear and back gear. I txt the guy and asked if he would open it up and look, we shall see if he does.

 

Congratulations !

 

Hopefully youll be making chips in no time. Even without a leadscrew an extra lathe sitting there comes in real handy to make tools as you go and not have to break down a dialed in setup

 

"lead screw may need replaced."

Check the split nuts to be sure they are not damaged. Worn split nuts on a new lead screw have the potential to affect the accuracy of your thread pitch.

 

Yeah, parts are a bitch for those- almost as bad as for my Sheldon. Took me almost a year to score a steady (did it come with one?), found one just as I was about to give up and modify a SB steady to work.

I don't see a threading dial which is a must. Hopefully it's there, somewhere?

What's the power? 220v single phase?

In general (not specific to this lathe), those old rotary speed controls can fail and used to be a big downside, but nowadays it's a pretty straightforward conversion to a VFD if needed.

High-precision (toolroom grade) lead screws are really pricey- I'm thinking wouldn't be necessary on a typical engine lathe like this. Excellent point about the half-nuts. If they're badly worn, you'll need to see about getting them fitted with bronze inserts as it's very unlikely you'll find replacements.

 

Quick fix for the lead screw is to cut off the ends , flip it around, and drill and tap and make new arbors for the ends. Lots of old lattes repaired like that as when will you ever thread at the end of the bed. Problem is you need another lathe to do it. Half nuts are easy, machine a bushing, thread it, split it,
Machine to fit the holders. People have also been known to cast them from Babbitt. I fixed the half nuts on my Kalamazoo bandsaw with devcon bedding it like a rifle cause I was in a rush. That was 6 years ago and it still holds today.

 

Yes it has a threading dial, it has a 3ph 1hp motor, which i havent figured out how to make it run off 110 if thats even possible, if not i have a industrial grade 1hp motor that run on 110. And yes it has the old rotary speed control but it worked fine. And no it didnt have a steady rest, maybe its possible to make one? Guy got back to me and said he is gunna take the top playe off and check the gears and send me pics. Heck of a nice guy.

 

I want it for a gunsmith lathe, just afraid im gunna run into needing a part and gunna be screwed. I heard half nutz can be lined with brass nuts threaded acme and new lead screws can be bought and machined to fit and bushing can be made. I will be doing alot of threading on this machine. Cool thing is this came from the orginal owner he bought it new, used it for his gunsmithing business for a loooonnggg time. His kids wernt even allowed near it lol. If the bull gear and back gears check out in the head, id love to have it only if i can use it and not wait months for parts. I think i got a good deal on it from the numbers of completely worn out machines ive looked at...

 

I would try machining some parts before getting carried away trying to fix things just because they look bad. Only fix them because they don't work.

 

Nice machine. I learned on one in the early 90's. As for power, get yourself a VFD.

 

I have a Rockwell 14x40 and love it. If you can't find a steady rest I can help you make one. I made one like this for mine.
Tarey

 

Yes thats awsome is would like to make one of thoes....

 

I know i am ignorant on the subject of vds, how or which one would work with this? It has a 3ph 1hp motir on it. I have a 1hp 110 motor i could throw in it aswell. I tried looking a vfds before but i am no electrician and get kinda lost when i looked at these.

 

Thats thats reassuring to know, if i need to docthis i might be sending you a pm, lol

 

Are the motors the same frame and type? If you want a vfd youll need a 3ph motor and you really need 220v

 

Idk i havent looked yet, its attached to a different machine of mine, not sure if i wanna mess with vfd. Might just change the motor to a 110 variant. Also another question, would i be able to make my own gears, i seen you can get dividing heads gor making spiral gears as well. Could this be used to make any gears i may find damaged?

 

VFD's are a cakewalk as long as you get one with legible instructions for programming the parameters (not a cheap ebay one with chinglish instructions). I use a Teco L510 on my South Bend.

It's preferable to use them with an inverter-duty motor as others may overheat when run at different frequencies.

Since you have a 120v motor of same HP /rpm probably be better off doing the motor swap, as youll have power for it available anywhere.

 

I like your idea of a steady rest. Looks a lot more solid than the normal one that comes with most lathes.