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Clausing 1501 Information

kciocia

Aluminum
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Location
Half Moon Bay, CA
I'm looking at buying a mid-70's Clausing 1501 Vari-Drive Lathe. It runs well, but the previous owner never changed speeds or did general maintenence on it, so now the hydraulic oil has run dry and it is stuck at one speed.

Does anyone know where I can get a manual/information on the lathe in general, or specifically the transmission? Also, are there any good sources for Clausing Parts? (In addition to what might be wrong with this one, I have to rebuild the clutch on a 5913.)

Thanks,
Kevin
 
You can call Clausing at 574-533-0371. They will want the model and serial number. I have heard that prices are quite high.
 
Here's a direct link to Clausing industrial
http://www.clausing-industrial.com/service-std.htm

If you guys think they're high (IMO, they're cheap), buy some Gisholt, Warner & Swasey, Mori-Seiki, or Monarch parts!

IIRC they charged me $20 for a manual. A new cross slide screw and nut were about $275. We just bought a manual for an old Gisholt for $250. A new screw and nut for the same machine was $5K from GoFast.
JR
 
Hi,

I used to be a Clausing dealer in Houston. If you give me the serial # I can make you up a manual for $20.00 plus UPS.
You would have to go to Clausing for the parts because I only sell discounted Clausing-Colchester lathe parts.

Frank
 
Thanks for the quick responses. I was hoping to avoid going through Clausing because of the price, but I guess I'll just bite the bullet.

I know Clausing parts aren't the most expensive, but there's a reason I'm buying a broken Clausing instead of a nice Monarch or Gisholt.

Thanks for the help,
Kevin
 
the hydraulic oil has run dry and it is stuck at one speed
Most likely the aluminum pistons are scored and the hydraulic fluid leaked out. If you refill it, the speed will slowly drop while running.

The complete cylinders were just shy of $80 if I remember correctly. Or you can make new pistons and replace the seals. From Clausing, the seals for the two cylinders and the master cylinder should be about $30. The pistons are 0.747" o.d. and simple to make. Between the cylinders is a cross over pipe which uses two 5/16 x 7/16 x 1/16 o-rings.

To replace the seal on the master cylinder, the cast iron portion of the master cylinder does not need to be removed, just the aluminum block. There a couple of set screws on the cast iron part that keeps the two pieces together. Once they are backed out, the aluminum block (alias cylinder) can be removed. There are a couple of o-rings in the master cylinder, but I don't remember the sizes for sure, I think they are 1-7/64 x 1-25/64 x 9/64 and 11/16 x 13/16 x 1/16.
 
Wow John, sounds like you've got some experience. You make it sound so easy I'm almost hoping it's broken.


Kevin
 
Cool! this forum is great. The vari speed on my Clausing is dry too. The previous owner said it leaked and only used two speeds anyway. From the above it looks like fixing it won't be too expensive or difficult.
I think we need exclusive "Clausing lathe" section in the forum (and an excello Mill one as well) to get this kinfd of info all in one place
 
So we purchased the lathe
, and next week sometime we should get power to it. I haven't had a chance to take apart the drive yet, but will try to in the next month or two. The place I bought it from even cleaned it up for us. They didn't do a great job, but you have to give them credit for how hard they tried (see second picture). Which brings me to my next request. Does anyone out there have a picture of the feed rates?

Clausing1501.jpg

CleanClausing.jpg


-Kevin
 
I was thinking about taking the panel off tail support and putting some shelves in there for tooling and such. Since the panel is only held on by 3 screws (one on each side and one on the bottom) I figured it wasn't a loaded component. Any objections or has anyone done the same?

-Kevin
 
kciocia;
good score its just like my lathe ill try and copy the feed chart and threading chart and fax to you. send me a PM with a fax #.
dont try and make the pistons if scored unless you have them hard coat anodized.
do you have the collet closer setup? and the 5-C nose attachment for collet work?
i like my machine have had it since 1982 and its still very accurate.
look directly under the chuck and thats where the Vari-speed sheave is its a very simple repair and you can get the o-rings from any industrial hydraulic supply house, i think i fixed mine for less than $5.

the end of the cabinet is a great place for storing chucks and chuck wrenches but something else i did on mine was to attach a piece of 4" H structural aluminum about 4' long on the chip guard and bored it out for drill chucks , centers, the 5-C spindle nose adapter, the L wrench to tighten the chucks with, ETC,ETC. its also a good place to keep toolholders at close reach. be careful not to overload it its easier than you think.
now you need a Aloris CXA wedge type tool post and a bunch of dovetail tool holders, i have a BXA but IMHO the CXA is a better size.
you will realy enjoy that machine...jim
 
I only have the 3 and 4 jaw chuck for it right now. Most of the stuff I'm going to do will be large diameter one-off pieces, so right now I don't need the convenience of collets.

I have a Phase II BXA piston type. I've read all the warnings about the piston types, but with budget concerns and all ... and again this isn't set up for high volume production so I'm not too concerned about it.

I think I am going to put a shelf in the base. I like the idea of the holder on the chip guard and may get to that eventually, but for right now I think I want to keep everything in the end. Mostly I want a place to keep the stuff I'm not going to use all that often (oil, 4-jaw, etc.). As for the structure of the chip guard... it turns out you can't support the lathe by that alone
. Apparently someone in the past didn't block up the bed when they put a forklift under it, so there's a nice big dent in it :D . I'll have to take it off one of these days, pound it flat and reattach it. Until then I don't think I can hang much off it.

BTW, I may have mentioned this but when I purchased it the machine was pretty close to dry. There was (fortunately) some oil left in the headstock and nothing was rusted (except some surface rust on the chucks). The first day I got it I cleaned everything and applied the proper oils in the proper places. The difference was amazing. It was like the sadle was gliding on a bed of... well oil, I suppose. The ways and gears are all fine - it hadn't seen enough use to get much wear.

-Kevin
 
Oh I forgot to mention the half nut is rather worn. I suppose as long as I get a running start it would work, but I'd like to replace it if I get the chance. Has anyone looked into making a replacement?

-Kevin
 
Hey, I got my Vari-Drive working tonight. I can't really take much credit though, all I did was take it apart and put it back together and it worked. It was a strange thing though; the piston was somehow stuck inside the cylinder (though the fluid had leaked so the pulley was in low speed). When I loosened the bolts on the case, it popped open like there was compressed air inside. Everything was fine on the inside (nothing scarred or worn), and on reassembly it worked perfectly. I was looking forward to repairing it, but I suppose I can't complain about getting a perfectly good lathe at a discount price
.

-Kevin
 








 
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