Relieving a lathe bed to increase swing

Hbjj · Nov 27, 2017

Shop owner says cut it so thought I would document the carnage for your amusement

This is happening as I type this so more to come...

ewlsey · Nov 27, 2017

I saw a big Pacemaker hacked out in the middle with a carbon arc setup once. They used it for spray welding steam turbines, no actual machining.

DMF_TomB · Nov 27, 2017

Hbjj said:
Shop owner says cut it so thought I would document the carnage for your amusement
View attachment 213871 View attachment 213872
This is happening as I type this so more to come...

.
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old lathe not worth much no big deal modifying it but if lathe bed is hardened it might not be so easy to relieve it

Hbjj · Nov 27, 2017

Tough going with the sawzall
On to the slicer disc

Derek Smalls · Nov 27, 2017

What make of lathe? Looks like it has triple inverted V's for the saddle, maybe not such a piece of junk machine after all???

Hbjj · Nov 27, 2017

Making progress

Hbjj · Nov 27, 2017

It's a 27" American
She is tired though clutch adjustment is maxed out and it'll only pull a 10ish horsepower cut
Spindle bearings make a nice wave pattern that you can feel especially on a facing cut
After we cut it should swing about 34 in

billzweig · Nov 27, 2017

Makes me cringe to see this....

TGTool · Nov 27, 2017

Like watching an accident about to happen. You want to close your eyes but just can't.

Then of course it's burned in like that whale at the beach in a bikini you can't un-see.

Hbjj · Nov 27, 2017

All cut now some grinding and deburring wipe it down and she'll be making chips in an hour or so

So to be clear this is not how I would do it if I have the time but owner says hurry up This Is What You Get

JST · Nov 27, 2017

Eh.... it's the T/S ways, up where they are not used. Aside from stress relieving issues, and considering the other comments, no big deal. I probably would not do that as a first choice myself, but... it's really not ruining a tool.

Alex McGilton · Nov 27, 2017

I'm worried about what stress are contained within the bed frame, simply cutting will relies the stress and cause the bed to bend upwards. Either ruining the machines accuracy or possibly fixing all the wear near the head stock.

gustafson · Nov 27, 2017

Doubt that cut will warp anything, but seeing all the grinding schumtz on the bed makes me think accuracy is not going to be the strong point of this machine for long

alskdjfhg · Nov 27, 2017

Hate to see it, but nearly all my the big lathes I've got (mostly old junk), have had that done do them.

From the 24" Pacemaker to 40" Hendey.

You know its classy when angle grinders and porta-bands are involved.....

dcsipo · Nov 27, 2017

Hbjj said:
It's a 27" American
She is tired though clutch adjustment is maxed out and it'll only pull a 10ish horsepower cut
Spindle bearings make a nice wave pattern that you can feel especially on a facing cut
After we cut it should swing about 34 inView attachment 213886 View attachment 213887

It is too late now, but you could have just cut the ears off the pipe, turn it and weld it back.That would have been my choice. Since she already is wobbly, making her take bigger diameters will make her fail faster

, I hate to see good old iron being abused.

dee
;-D

hermetic · Nov 27, 2017

Cutting the lugs off is exactly what I would have done!

Jersey John · Nov 27, 2017

Interesting set of images to date, thanks for sharing

... can't believe there was not another option or machine to do the job.

Hbjj · Nov 27, 2017

Accuracy is not what we do
Service is
By doing this we didn't have to turn away a good customer
Back to making $

Hbjj · Nov 27, 2017

Welding was not even brought up im only WABO certified not AWS/coast guard

TGTool · Nov 27, 2017

I wouldn't expect warping to exhibit from the cutting that was done. And if there was, it would just be a guess which way things could go.

IF you assume compression stresses in the ground ways that were removed (a wild guess), then you might also speculate that an upward bow of the bed would somewhat compensate for the increased wear on the ways near the headstock.

I can speculate with the best of them.

Relieving a lathe bed to increase swing

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