Yep exactly, the motor runs at a constant speed and the variator lets you move between 300 and 3000 rpm
So the VFD will give you that facility too so you could just lock it out somehow if required. Like you I'd still want it working as designed though.
the vfd would let me alter the motors speed but its not as good for the motor and you do loose torque as you reduce speed, unlike the mechanical variator which is one reason id like to keep it. ill be using the VFD to ramp up to 50HZ and then holding it there. ill also be wiring it to the fw and reverse switch and letting the vfd switch the phases round.
Found mine .. quite a bit smaller .And older ,1955 . I'm not sure now if it was attached to a 5hp motor, the input shaft is only about 15mm ! Dunno if i want to part with it now.. ,let me think about it . My lathe runs on a flat belt and this has a flat belt pulley, so it would adapt easily to fit in mine. The back gear on mine howls like mad when it's engaged , this would bypass that . Anyway , here's pics . It works but there's no oil in it . Fascinating bit of kit though...
Found mine .. quite a bit smaller .And older ,1955 . I'm not sure now if it was attached to a 5hp motor, the input shaft is only about 15mm ! Dunno if i want to part with it now.. ,let me think about it . My lathe runs on a flat belt and this has a flat belt pulley, so it would adapt easily to fit in mine. The back gear on mine howls like mad when it's engaged , this would bypass that . Anyway , here's pics . It works but there's no oil in it . Fascinating bit of kit though...
That is quite a bit smaller so definetly not off a chipmaster. If i were you rebuild it and get it connected up to your lathe. From my new found knowledge they are very picky about oil (Shell Morlina BL10) hard to get in small quantities but im told allspeeds can provide a few L, also dont try to adjust the speed without it running.
While the motor was out i had a look over to try and work out the motors specs. There was no plate on it but luckily i did find it in one of the boxes of bits that came with the lathe.
Rather lucky that the motor turns out to be dual voltage and i just need to swap the config from star to delta according to the plate.
And changed
Cleaned off the coolant pump
And emptied the tank
Then time to do a bit of wiring.
Not much to see but i removed the contacter from the lathes cabinet and used the existing FW/REV switch to control the VFD on the remote pins, i kept the isolation switch in line with the motor which also doubles as a door latch. At the moment i wont be using the VFD for speed control so i havent connected anything up for that. The knob used to glow so of course i had to make that work too. The wiring was busted and the bulb blown to i pulled it all out and put an led in. Very quick resistor and LED fitted
This wires up the the VFD 12v outlet and is switched by the fw/rev switch so it illuminates in either position.
The motor spins up nicely, currently set with a 30sec ramp up time and a 10sec ramp down time it seems to be handling it just fine although there is no load at the moment..
Anyway back to the variator. I decided to put it back together as it is without the unknown parts as they just didnt seem right to me, looked very homemade and i wonder if it was someones attempt to stop it leaking oil, They dont have any oil seals and the only way they will leak out the shafts is if they are overfilled. Since the proper oil sight glass is missing im inclined to believe this line of reasoning.
Anyway part way through assembly i noticed something odd.
These preload springs (cup washers). There should be 2 on the input and 2 on the output..
I only have 2 in total both of which were on the input side. Looking at the output roller “thrust” bearing you can see dimples where its been overtightened
And on the rollers.
So until i can get hold of some more of those and some new case gaskets i have reassembled it to keep the muck out and all the parts together.
Since i cant get those parts till next week i pulled the cross slide off and got to a bit more cleaning.
Stripped and as a quick demo you can see the difference here after a scrub with scotchbrite and oil.
You can even see what i assume are the original machining marks on the mating faces
The dials got a good scrubbing too and getting all the compacted grease out the knurling took a bit of doing.
With everything scrubbed i put it all back together.
Am pleased to report that i found a big portion of the the backlash was between the dial and screw on the cross-slide so that tightened up and now there is only 0.16mm of backlash which is much better. Topslide and toolpost done too.
The lathe coolant pump needed a little bit of work.
The base was corroded off which made things a little difficult.
But the internals didnt seem too bad.
So i stripped everything down Found a note tucked in with the wiring
Chucked it into the little myford and refaced the bottom of the casting.
Then epoxied a piece cut from ally sheet onto the bottom with the mounting points in
With a bit of paint and reassembly the motor looks good. I put new bearings in it too while i was there.
I havent had the chance to test it yet as i need to wire up a second vfd which is still sat in a box.
Next up was the green paint. This lathe wasnt green originally and very little prep was done when the new paint was splashed on. So as you might expect it all comes off pretty easily with a scraper..
Not all off yet but its getting closer.
Next up the parts i have been trying to get hold of for the past 6 weeks finally got here.
Now the variator can be dismantled again
Cleaned again just to be thorough
And reassembled with the new parts where the missing bits where.
I setup the backlash and everything feels good. I do have an issue with the oil “sight glass” which it has, certainly not original and im not even sure the oil will show up on it when the correct amount is in the unit. So i bought some clear acrylic, chopped a piece off.
And quickly jumped on the myford to make a better one. I didnt spend too long on it hence why its not fully polished but its clear enough to see through.
It fits and an o-ring should seal it all up.
Now with the variator back in the lathe
Since i know its totally empty i can fill it with the correct amount which is 1 pint of Shell Morlina S2 BL10 and make a mark for the full level.
Im a bit behind on progress updates. Going back a few months i gave everything a test run.
Can report back that the variator is a little noisy but runs perfect up and down the speeds. 3000rpm is a tad scary and i cant imagine what i might need that for certainly at the moment.. I didnt have any gearbox oil as i was sent the wrong stuff and the correct oil was on back order so didnt have it running for long or test the powerfeed.
While i waited for oil i sorted out a light. An old diving torch which didnt work properly was stripped down and mounted into the lamp in place of the bulb holder.
Built a quick and dirty controller for it and mounted the adjustment potentiometer on the back.
Wired up to a 12v supply and boom we have light. Actually there was a distinct lack of “boom” because i wired it up correctly
Another small job i needed to do was wiring. I need to be able to move the lathe occasionally so it has to be able to unplug and wheel out of the way. To that end everything has to be on sockets. Including the control wiring for the VFD. I found some 5pin bulkhead connectors and fitted one to the underside of the vfd.
Now we have the cable that is easily removable.
I still have more wiring to do as i want to change the way the VFD is connected based on the suggestions from Jimi. I also need to wire up the coolant pump which will require a second VFD. I dont want to try running 2 vastly different sized motors off the same one. I did have a second VFD which was given to me with the lathe, it was a bit old and when i turned it on there was a shower of sparks and everything went dark. I wont be using that one then then :/
Without having any way to run a coolant pump currently im just running without. I have certainly been getting some use out of the lathe and really enjoy using this little beast.
Since getting my MR2 project on the road and the Norway trip i have been a bit quiet. Its not that i havent been doing anything but i do seem to have missed out on updating you all. You may have seen i have been playing with the lathe and that has taken a fair bit of time.
I finally got some finishing touches done on the workshop. Only taken 3 years but i finally got the doors insulated and the vapour barrier up
Followed by 9mm mdf and white emulsion
This also meant that i could finally finish the wiring for the lights.
With that done i spent a few weeks tidying up my storage areas since it was getting a bit overrun.
On the smaller jobs side its mostly just been playing on the lathe, I needed a dimple die of a particular size so made it.
Found someone on ebay selling a load of bar ends for cheap so grabbed a bunch. And threw a quick storage solution together.
Needed a new handle for the lathe tailstock.
I bought a few drafting sets
Mega cheap and just needed a bit of a tidy up.
A set i gave my dad was missing a lead holder so i turned out a quick one
I wanted to make a slightly bigger tap handle since i have the odd tap that doesnt fit my usual one. Im copying the presto handle i already have which is pretty much a lathe only project. Which is convenient since i dont have a mill. Hole marked up and then drilled on the pillar drill.
The flats were done on the bench grinder and then finished with the file.
I realised later that i probably could have used the surface plate and made the hole and flats on the lathe. Maybe a challenge for another time.
Oh and i made a new scribe, nice bit of fun.
Then for a bit of something different there is a project i have been trying to get around to for years. I could do with a shrinking stump. An oak sleeper stacked in the back of my dad's workshop seemed like a good candidate. Cut into 3 lengths, planed and thicknessed
I aimed for 30” which seemed a good hammering height for me. Drilled out for some m20 threaded rod since i had some laying about.
Then a bit of 2” 10mm flat bar cut and folded to make a strap for the top.
Glued the 3 pieces together and bolted it all up.
The base was a bit overkill being 50x100x8mm angle but its not going anywhere.
Carved a bowl into the top and applied a bit of linseed oil.
Then it would be rude not to test it.
Followed by a bit of dolly and slapper work we have a workable panel.
Its not a particular panel for anything but mostly just a practice piece.
Then i made another one trying to keep it matching to the first one, so at this point i might aswell make something so im going to weld a strip inbetween them and make a motorbike style fuel tank. I dont have a bike but maybe it will make my little diesel heater work a bit better
Post by toomanyprojects on Nov 10, 2022 16:59:58 GMT
Love this, looks superb.
I might have to do something similar as have a few bits of oak lying about as well. It's also a good excuse for me to pick up some more metalworking tools this weekend at the NEC as well
I might have to do something similar as have a few bits of oak lying about as well. It's also a good excuse for me to pick up some more metalworking tools this weekend at the NEC as well
A sandbag and mallet will get you a long way. I try and keep an eye out for hammers and dollies at the carboots or autojumbles and have picked up a few in the past although they are quite uncommon, the price of new ones is a bit rediculous. Most of the time for dollies i use whatever bits of scrap are laying about. Thinking i should pick up a few sledge heads next time i see any going cheap as they would make nice mushroom dollies with a bit of work.
Taking a few days off work i wanted to get my teeth into something a bit different. Its been a long time since i was able to do a decent woodworking project, which is a shame especially considering my dad is a very skilled carpenter. So whats the project? Well its a box . See if you can figure it out as i go.
Before i start however there is a problem. See this piece.
It holds the lower guide rollers for the bandsaw, and as you might be able to tell its currently in 1 pieces too many.
So made some scribbles
And cut a piece of steel and marked it all up
After drilling out the required holes i got down to some hard machine abuse. One day ill buy a mill but until then i have to violate my pillar drill instead.
I missed a few pics but cut down some bits of tube which were a press fit into the block
Welded in
There is a locking feature which required a hole drilling down the length, along with a few holes in the bottom for fixing it onto the bandsaw.
And there we go one new part which shouldnt fail like the original.
Reassembled with some new bearings, you can just about make it out in there.
Now i can get on with the my actual project but it got a bit late so thats for day 2.
Getting a start i ripped the main planks of walnut i needed down to side and rough width
Then planed both faces flat to each other.
Cut finger joints in the edges and glued together
I cut the rest of the parts i needed including the shelf supports and draw fronts while all that was gluing up. The draw bodies are going to be made from oak.
So lots of cutting and planing later and i have a good stack of parts.
Along with 2 very bored looking dogs.
The sides and top come out of the clamps the next day and left in a stack with the rest and a bit of weight on top to stop curling
Time to test and setup the dovetail jig
Came out pretty good and i made a few small adjustments after that..
Then time to do all the box body
It all came out rather well, im not doing a dry fit until everything is ready to go as all the joints are very tight and i dont want to risk splitting the sides by taking it apart multiple times.
There are “shelves” and uprights to take runners for smaller draws. These bits are also getting a dovetail joint into the box sides, so i cut them in next.
And then the corresponding piece
Still more slots to cut for various other bits, then ready for the outer box assembly.
Next up is to grove all the extra bits in the side panels, there is front and back panels along with all the draw runners. I made up the front and back pieces, these are cut to give a tongue which fits into a grove in the sides and lid.
Then its onto the runners. To same alot of hassle lining up runners i decided to recess them into the sides. Back onto the spindle moulder with e 12mm cutter it took a while of constant adjustments but eventually got them all done. See if you can stop the Pickle up and repair.
Then onto the runners, for a bit of contrast i have decided on oak, of course everything gets planed on all edges to be sure the draw slides nicely so this lot took a while.
And radiused
I made a little jig for drilling the screw holes in the same place.
Routed out a little pocket in the sides, the door runs on 2 pins which go in this grove so it can be layed down and slid under the bottom draw, but it also needs to be held in place when the door is upright.
To make it easier its getting a brass plate fitted into the side which the pins can run on, the pocket got cleaned up with a chisel ready for the plates which i still need to make.
Sanded all the inner faces then glued and screwed the runners in.
Next will be to fit all the outer panels together, but thats for later.
It must be time to glue it all together right? . Right? . . erm well not quite.
You see the way im making it is as an assembled unit as this keeps everything in line and square, once the glue is dried ill cut the top off to make the lid. All this is fine and dandy but i am going to struggle to fit the lock once its all together.
This is the lock in question
I went to a nearby hardware store for all the fittings and rummaged through their shelves of old stock that arnt on the system for the locks, hinges and corner caps. Couldnt find any nice clasps though.
Back to the lock i routed out a pocket on the inside and marked where i need to cut once its all assembled
There will still be some fitting work to do but the bulk is done Now its time for the glue
And knocked together to be clamped up
Lots of clamps
The next morning before heading off to work i took all the clamps off for a good looking over
Its held nice and square, there is the odd tiny gap but they wont be visible.
Started the sanding process.
Once i had all the sides smoothed out it was time to chop it up
Very carefully ran it through the saw and now we have a box and a lid which line up perfectly.
Sanded down the cut marks and moved onto fitting the lock.
A bit of chiselling later and its recessed nicely. Dont have any screws though so that will have to wait.
The hinges are a slight problem, they are too long.
I was pretty sure this was the case when i bought them but since they are solid brass and not plated i can modify them.
There we go, now they will fit.
But putting them on will have to wait until later.
