J Archdale Lathe Rebuild Questions

Hi everybody. This is my first post, I've been reading a lot on this forum and it's been very helpful. Thank you all for contributing so generously.

I recently picked up a vintage lathe which was somebody else's unfinished project - this meant that half of the parts were scattered in a crate with nothing to identify them. I have struggled to find much information about the lathe, and from what I read over at lathes.co.uk Archdale stopped making lathes in 1915. I wasn't really intending to dive into a full restoration project, I really just wanted a cheap lathe that I could get turning quickly. But the idea of running a 100+year old machine is pretty cool, so I'm going to crack on and finish the rebuild. It is mostly complete but I have a couple of questions that I hope somebody here can help with.

Firstly, within the headstock gearbox, the shafts have these split rings hanging loose on each end. I can't work out what they are for. There is no groove for them to fit into on either the shaft or the housing. I was wondering if they are to hold an oil seal or something like that?




I am also unsure how to judge the oil level in the gearbox. There is no sightglass, and so I imagined that there might be a plug like in the diff of a car, you fill the oil until it overflows from that point. But I can't find any such plug. One theory: there is a cute little lid that you can remove at the back end of the spindle, inside the casting is a scribed line.... maybe this is the oil fill level? I've attached some photos for reference.





Thanks,
-Dale

Look up RING OILED

Oil is below, ring turns with shaft (or spindle) and brings up oil to dump on top journal

What you have, as John Oder noted, is ring oiled bearings. The space in which the ring runs, particularly below the ring, is known as an "oil cellar". I kind of doubt the scribed line is the actual oil level to be maintained in the oil cellar- unless the photo is playing visual tricks. With ring oiled bearings of this type, there are no oil seals on the bearings. The rings will carry oil to the top of the spindle journals when the spindle is turning. The oil migrates along the journal as it turns.

If you were to fill the oil cellars above a level that was tangent to the journals at 6:00, you'd have oil running out of the bearings. Oil level should be slightly below touching the journals at 6:00 position. Some ring oiled bearing designs actually had a return cavity in the casting surrounding each end of the bearing. This return cavity had a drilled return passage back to the oil cellar. Oil was slung off the journals into the return cavity and hopefully made it back into the cellar.

The rings for ring oiled bearings are usually made of some softer metal such as brass. This is to avoid scoring the journal. If the journals on your Archdale lathe are hardened, the rings might be a soft steel.

The fact is that many people do not comprehend, nor do they try to figure out, ring oiled bearings. All too often, they fill the oil cellars full, submerging the bearing and journal, thinking this has to be the way to lubricate the bearing. When the oil runs out the ends of the bearing and makes a mess, they then holler that the motor or other piece of machinery has sprung a leak or some similar imagined problem. Getting people to understand that a ring oiled bearing works by dipping oil up from the cellar, and that overfilling does more harm than good, is often a challenge. Been there, done that a few times over the years.

Nice to see Joe using the correct terminology.

For a Babbitt/shaft bearing the "Journal" is the part that moves (think journey) the "bearing" is the stationary part which bears the load.

Collectively they're frequently called a "Bearing" but more accurately named "Journal Bearing."

Joe in NH

Thank you guys for your assistance guys - that was very helpful.



Here's a photo of the old lathe. Hard to believe it's 100years old. I hope to have her turning shortly.

Actually, I have a further question. Can somebody tell me what the purpose of this heavy bar and eyelet is? The chap who sold me the lathe said it was a lifting point, but I'm almost certain that's incorrect. I have been wondering if it is to support large workpieces being loaded into the lathe? If the lathe is really 100 years old, it crossed my mind that it could be a support for a line shaft .... but I don't think you'd want that built into the machine. If somebody can shed light on the matter, I am curious to know it's purpose.




I apologise for the rotated images.... I'm not sure why they are being rotated during uploading.

Thanks again,
-Dale

33revs:

The "eyelet" you picture is a support for a wooden rod used to work a belt shifter fork. When the lathe was line shaft driven, it was clutched or de-clutched from the lineshaft by means of "tight and loose pulleys" (sometimes called "fast and loose"). A horizontal wooden rod was positioned above and behind the bed of the lathe at a convenient height for the lathe operator's hand. To start the spindle turning, or to stop it, the rod was slid horizontally to work a belt shifter fork. Or, the lathe may have had a drive pulley with a friction clutch worked by that same horizontal wooden rod. With the move to electric motor drive, chances are the tight and loose pulleys may have not been used in the last place the lathe was working. A wider "drum" type pulley on the line shaft (or countershaft) was provided to have sufficient width for the belt to be slid on or off either tight or loose pulley down on the lathe's drive shaft.

Here is a twenties Hendey showing the "pole". This one is doing the "tight and loose" deal. Third image is another Hendey employing the "pole" to work a clutch

Thanks guys, that's very informative. There is a drive pulley with a friction clutch as you suspected, I don't have a clear photo of it to upload - but you obviously already know what they look like. I was intending to permanently engage the clutch and start/stop the motor with a VSD switched from a more convenient location.... but now that I know about the wooden rod, I don't see how I could bypass such a cool mechanism.

Thanks again. -Dale

Hi Dale,
I hope your not going to use that chip tray as is, you WILL trip over it at some point!
Nice lathe by the way, it should serve you well.
100 years old, nicely run in then

That's a really rare machine. I've never seen or heard of an " Archdale " lathe other than in books. They were much more well known for their radial arm drills ( very good ) and milling machines ( not as good ).

Regards Tyrone.

I like your lathe and it looks to be in good shape. Glad you are going to hook up the clutch. Like you say that is too neat not to use!