Ja_cain
Cast Iron
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2012
- Location
- USA, Virginia
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I'll have to look on Mcmaster and see if they have any tapered brass brushes. I assume pure brass (not coated steel) is the way to go? Thanks for the suggestion. I can't remember off hand what my lathes taper is, but I found a Russian finish reamer that looked resonable in price. Not sure how these compare to the higher prices options.You could use a wire wheel on a dremel to get the surface clean, also wd-40 and some emery cloth.
Ultimately, you you really want to run a finish reamer in it, especially not knowing all the history, of what may have spun in there or what. What size is the taper ?
I just cleaned a taper in a TS myself. When starting with a finish reamer I was initially only contacting about 1/16" around the hole. Something spun in it, and had a raised area. After getting the raised area down, I was contacting about 25%, gradually working up to close to full contact. Just working the reamer by hand with a wrench.
I'll have to look on Mcmaster and see if they have any tapered brass brushes. I assume pure brass (not coated steel) is the way to go? Thanks for the suggestion. I can't remember off hand what my lathes taper is, but I found a Russian finish reamer that looked resonable in price. Not sure how these compare to the higher prices options.
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Texasgunsmith, thanks a million. For all that info. Plan on ordering 4"x1" steel discs and counter boring them for the leveling feet per the manual. My millwright buddy let me borrow these. I just need a precision ground straight edged that's long enough to across the bed longetudinaly. Will definitely look for a test bar that fits the taper. That sounds like a great idea. Any good video suggestions on setup of a lathe like you suggest? I'm sure I can find one myself, but appreciate anything you might find comprehensive. Thanks again.View attachment 305823
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Clover is a very good compound and comes in different grits but for $50 bucks for a one-pound can.
Sorry about the mix-up on longitudinal vs front to back. Makes sense it's relative to the operator. Will definitely check out those threads! Thanks again for your help.Leveling longitudinal is less of a concern, it won't affect accuracy. Many set longitudinal slightly high on head stock side. This is done so any potential oil or coolant will flow toward chip pan or tail stock side. I'd set up maybe .010-.020" per foot high on headstock side, for this reason. You can use level directly on a flat way of bed, for longitudinal.
Leveling front to rear of lathe is critical for accuracy, as bed can slightly twist. You want to check level, front and rear, close to head stock, and the opposite end by tail stock.
The levels your buddy lent you are Starrett No 98's. They are good for .005" per foot. They will definitely get you close, and depending what your expectation, may be good enough. The end result may be let's say .002" to .003" off in accuracy of bed level. If you are obsessive, a Starrett No 199 is good for .0005" per foot. That would get bed to within let's say .001" of level.
I don't know a vid off hand, but I have been writing a thread on it in the South Bend section starting about here:
Getting Another South Bend 16x6 Operational
Disclaimer on that: I'm not grinding or scraping the bed, or any of the parts. I just don't have that skill set yet. So to get the headstock aligned I needed to shim it. Guys real serious about machine reconditioning would frown on that, as hand scraping in is a higher level of craftmanship. Anyway, I need to do what I can for best over all accuracy. I do level and use test bars on HS and TS there. I'm in the midst of the tail stock now.
I'll be running a total bed, headstock, and tail stock alignment on a Monarch 61. I've got reamers and test bars for HS and TS for it. But based on current schedule, I'm probably 2 months from posting that. That'll be in this thread:
Getting a Monarch Series 61 Back in Service
Before you use the center in the headstock method to center the reamer, you need to double check the alignment of the tailstock first. Extend the quill and check it lengthwise to insure it is parallel to the ways. Then chuck and turn a plug that is the same od as the quill. Now you can use the carriage to move an indicator to compare the alignment of the plug to that of the quill. Offset or shim to get the tailstock dead nuts to the spindle. In case of slight errors, use the same quill extension for alignment as you use for reaming.
This tailstock setting is not an absolute! Different positions on the bed may require offsetting the tailstock slightly to get straight work when turning work between centers.
If the tailstock center can't be adequately repaired, it can be replaced with a straight od morse taper socket. Thats a story for a different time.
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