Thread: Secret to removing the feed rod.

After following cal's brilliant idea with the clamp and ball bearing to press out the taper pin, i still can't get the feed rod to budge. is this in on a taper and would need popped with some kind of contraption or just hose the hell out of it with some penetrating oil and wait till it slides out.

The feed rod joint is a cylindical snug sliding fit (no taper) and will pull apart if isn't rusty/corroded. Try twisting it first to break it free. Protect the feed rod and the gearbox shaft and apply torsion to the joint. Penetrating oil and time can't hurt.

beautiful, i was hoping for that answer. i will pick up some oil on the way home from work tomorrow and get this apart. thanks.

Kroil seems to work well for this sort of thing; WD40, not so much.

Is the apron still hung up on the other end?

Cal

no, i got that freed up. the apron was just sitting at a weird angle in relation to the rod, once i got enough light in there to see that, i was able to find the magic pivot point on the apron and get it to slide back onto the rod. if im understanding other posts here and the drawings in my manual, whats hanging it up is the key thats in the worm gear. since it doesn't look like there is any way to take that key out with the rod in, i have to get the rod off.

as stated, your idea on the c-clamp with the ball bearing worked beautifully for the tapered pin, i just didn't want to pound on the rod until i knew if it was a cylinder fit or a tapered fit. since its a cylinder, i usually use the automotive CRC at auto parts stores. i can't remember the name of it now, but i know it when i see it. if it works on the rusted undercarriages of old fords, this is a piece of cake.

Originally Posted by scphantm

no, i got that freed up. the apron was just sitting at a weird angle in relation to the rod, once i got enough light in there to see that, i was able to find the magic pivot point on the apron and get it to slide back onto the rod. if im understanding other posts here and the drawings in my manual, whats hanging it up is the key thats in the worm gear. since it doesn't look like there is any way to take that key out with the rod in, i have to get the rod off. ...

Nope. You don't need to mess with the key. I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a separate key. You should be able to slide the feed-rod out of the apron (unless the tailstock end of the keyway is messed up). Something else is wrong. I've never tried to slide the apron off of the feed-rod, so that may be the problem.

Cal

The keyway slot on the end of my rod ends about a 1/4 inch before the end of the rod. when they made it, they drilled a (be gentle, im at work and haven't had my coffee yet) 1/4 inch flat bottom hole at that point and terminated the slot in the center of the hole. on that last 1/4 inch its a solid round rod. where that keyway slot ends is where the apron stopped moving.

maybe its an aftermarket feed rod thats a little different than norm. as i understand it, these rods are pretty standard and can be bought at McMaster. At the point in the bed where I have all the wear on the rack, there is evidence that the feed rod was wearing unevenly (1/3 of surface bright and shiny, the rest oily and dingy) as well so it may be bent to boot.

My mistake. The keyway on my round-dial's feed-rod ends about 6" from the tailstock end. Looking at my other photos, the keyway on a square-dial feed-rod seem to end within an inch of the tailstock end. In either case the slots appear to have been made with a horizontal milling cutter. So the feed-rod has to come out the right end of the apron. Sorry for the bad information...

Suggestions for getting the feed rod free:

• Move the apron back in position and in mesh with the rack (this is probably a good idea regardless, to keep form trapping the end of the rod in the gearbox stub shaft due to poor alignment). Put a split-type 1" shaft collar on the feed rod and use the apron hand-wheel to jack the apron to the right and pull the feed-rod free. (Don't go nuts, it should pull free without too much force on the hand-wheel). This trick works for the leadscrew as well, but you don't need the shaft collar, just close the half-nut.
• If the above fails, use the shaft collar and a slide-hammer to pull the rod. If a few sharp blows don't unseat it, apply more penetrant and wait a day or two. Repeat until it comes free.
• Heat the joint with a heat gun (don't use a torch). The socket should expand more quickly that the shaft, releasing the rod.

Cal