MarineEngineer1
Plastic
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2013
- Location
- Newfoundland, Canada
Hello everybody,
I recently acquired a TopAids 12 x 36 engine lathe Model numer TA-1236G. This lathe was installed on a ocean going ship built in 1988. The engineers wanted the lathe replaced with a new one as this lathe was abused for many years and not properly maintained, and had several problems. The ship owners agreed and bought them a new lathe and they were throwing out this one, so I talked them into laying it directly into the back of my truck upon removal and I brought it home. It sat in the corner of the garage for the past year until I finally got the time to approach it. The first hurdle was sourcing a frequency drive that would convert my single phast 220v power to 3 phase 220v to power the motor. A friend of mine had one in his shop and was willing to spare it for a favour. I got the Lathe powered up and running so I could see what was wrong with it. It was indeed in rough shape. The back gear had several broken teeth, the carriage had an enomorous amount of play, the motor bearings were shot, and the list goes on and on and on. I invested a lot of time into this machine and done a complete tear down and rebuild while fixing all problems with the machine as I went. I now have it completed and working, and I must say I am very pleased with the machine. It only cost me about $120 in a few bearings and paint, and a whole lot of spare time. The problem I do have however is the fact that I can find no information about this machine as the "TopAids" company seemed to go out of business shorty after they began. I know this machine looks very similar to a Jet or Grizzly machine, and it does share a few common parts, however this machine seems to be built a bit more robust, and many of the parts and construction of the carriage for instance are much larger then in the Jet or Grizzly Lathes. Maybe because this was built for an industrial shipboard application, but I dont know, any insight would be greately appreciated. This leads me to my next problem, I am missing a gear on the back of the carriage which provides power for the auto cross slide gearing. I cant source this gear from Jet, Grizzly, or any others, as this carriage is different from their product. I dont think I can order this gear "off the shelf" from anywhere either as I believe the gear size and tooth pitch are od sized and probably propriarary to the manufacturer of this machine. Can anybody suggest how I proceed to get a gear for this machine. Any help about the gear or the machine itself would be greately appreciated. I am attaching a few pictures below, the first is the lathe when I got it after I mounted it on the new stand, and the others is the lathe after restoration, and the back of the carriage showing the shaft where the gear belongs
I recently acquired a TopAids 12 x 36 engine lathe Model numer TA-1236G. This lathe was installed on a ocean going ship built in 1988. The engineers wanted the lathe replaced with a new one as this lathe was abused for many years and not properly maintained, and had several problems. The ship owners agreed and bought them a new lathe and they were throwing out this one, so I talked them into laying it directly into the back of my truck upon removal and I brought it home. It sat in the corner of the garage for the past year until I finally got the time to approach it. The first hurdle was sourcing a frequency drive that would convert my single phast 220v power to 3 phase 220v to power the motor. A friend of mine had one in his shop and was willing to spare it for a favour. I got the Lathe powered up and running so I could see what was wrong with it. It was indeed in rough shape. The back gear had several broken teeth, the carriage had an enomorous amount of play, the motor bearings were shot, and the list goes on and on and on. I invested a lot of time into this machine and done a complete tear down and rebuild while fixing all problems with the machine as I went. I now have it completed and working, and I must say I am very pleased with the machine. It only cost me about $120 in a few bearings and paint, and a whole lot of spare time. The problem I do have however is the fact that I can find no information about this machine as the "TopAids" company seemed to go out of business shorty after they began. I know this machine looks very similar to a Jet or Grizzly machine, and it does share a few common parts, however this machine seems to be built a bit more robust, and many of the parts and construction of the carriage for instance are much larger then in the Jet or Grizzly Lathes. Maybe because this was built for an industrial shipboard application, but I dont know, any insight would be greately appreciated. This leads me to my next problem, I am missing a gear on the back of the carriage which provides power for the auto cross slide gearing. I cant source this gear from Jet, Grizzly, or any others, as this carriage is different from their product. I dont think I can order this gear "off the shelf" from anywhere either as I believe the gear size and tooth pitch are od sized and probably propriarary to the manufacturer of this machine. Can anybody suggest how I proceed to get a gear for this machine. Any help about the gear or the machine itself would be greately appreciated. I am attaching a few pictures below, the first is the lathe when I got it after I mounted it on the new stand, and the others is the lathe after restoration, and the back of the carriage showing the shaft where the gear belongs
