What's new
What's new

Cincinnati Hyrdashift 13

Erichimedes

Plastic
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Hello all. I've been a lurker on these forums for years, and can't tell you how much I've learned from the wealth of knowledge available here. I figured I'd start posting since I've got something worth posting about.

I'm a custom bicycle frame builder and I use my machines to do tube mitering, slotting, and drilling, but also quite a bit of custom toolmaking. Machine tools are scarce around here, and I had a South Bend Junior 9" for quite a while that got plenty of jobs done well enough. But having learned on a Harrison 13", I knew what a real lathe could do. I'd been keeping an eye out for a long time and finally this Cinicinnati Hydrashift 13 showed up only 4 hours away at a great deal. I went to look at it and was surprised at how good of shape it was in. If the stories are true, I'm only the third owner, and the previous two didn't do too much harm to it.

It's finally in place in the shop, so I took some pictures.

MG_4371.jpg


MG_4364.jpg


MG_4360.jpg


MG_4362.jpg


I had to pick up a L0 spanner from Walter A since the PO's were apparently using a drift and hammer to get the lockring on and off :(. These spanners are fantastic! Walter was easy to order from and I'm impressed with what I got for the price. Since I do my own powder coating, I decided to coat it when I did the next run of powder. Turquoise was in the gun, so that's what color the spanner is!

MG_4368.jpg


When it arrived here, I took it off the trailer with a chain hoist and an eye hook going through a beam that spanned 4 of the garage trusses. The ceiling didn't even flex with all the weight, I was surprised and also relieved.

10138-e1568163913201.jpeg


Anyway, I'm just posting to try and find the other Hydrashift owners out there. Especially any who have done work on the head. Mine runs fine, when I got it I flushed the oil and adjusted the hydraulic pressure at both regulators. It shifts great and runs reasonably quiet. I was hesitant to buy this machine because of the hydrashift system, but every other aspect about it was exactly what I wanted; swing, spindle bore, old American iron, gear head, and built nice and heavy. Now that I've played around with the system and understand it a bit more, I actually really like it. I think it'll take a little getting used to, but overall it seems to work well.

So, I do have a couple questions for the folks out there who might have an answer.

-When I stop the spindle with the brake, it seems to sort of "stick" and it's hard to move the chuck. If I move the clutch lever towards a jogging action, the spindle will start to spin, slowly, like the clutch is just barely engaged. Basically, it seems like there's no real 'neutral' in there, it just goes from clutch straight to brake. Is something adjusted wrong, or is this just how these machines are? Once I've stopped the spindle, I usually need to put the wrench in the chuck to be able to turn it a bit, for whatever angle I need. If I need a really free moving chuck, I put the giant dial(that thing is fun) in neutral and then the chuck turns freely.

-Does anyone have a lead on some P-55 lubricant like Mobil DTE Medium that I can buy in 1 gallon increments? I bought 5 gallons of DTE light for the headstock, but I can't find anything smaller than a 5 gallon bucket of the Medium, and I don't need that much for just the QCGB and carriage. I'm considering just putting way lube in the carriage reservoir since that just goes on the ways and lead screws. But I'd like to find the correct lube for the QCGB.

-Does anyone have one of these with a taper attachment? Mine has the attachment, but there is supposed to be a block that clamps to the bedway and holds on to the taper attachment so it stays still when you take a cut. Mine is missing, and I'm sure I can make one, but I'd love to see detailed pictures of a real one in the flesh so I have something to work off of. I wouldn't mind making the replacement at least close to an original. The part I'm talking about would go here:
MG_4367.jpg


Ok, that's it for now, thanks in advance for any help offered.
 
Hello I just read your post looking for some information on my Cincinnati lathe that is like yours just a little bigger.
I to am in need of some parts so if you find a source I would appreciate the lead. Also I need the spanner you have and would like to know where you bought it.
 
Erichimedes,

I wish I had some information to give you, but I do not. However, I do want to say that is a nice-looking lathe. I'm glad you bought it and are enjoying using it. (I hope someone comes along with the info you're looking for.)
 
Anyway, I'm just posting to try and find the other Hydrashift owners out there. Especially any who have done work on the head. Mine runs fine, when I got it I flushed the oil and adjusted the hydraulic pressure at both regulators. It shifts great and runs reasonably quiet.
Congrats on the Hydrashift. I've got a 12-1/2 x 36 (basically the same machine, just an earlier name). Sorry for not replying earlier, just saw this topic, and not sure how we all seemed to have missed it in September.

Looks like your lathe had a non-factory coolant pump in the tailstock leg? I'm guessing you replaced the nozzle stand pipe with that work light?

When you flushed the hydraulic system, did you clean the strainer on the backside below the motor? Important to do.

-When I stop the spindle with the brake, it seems to sort of "stick" and it's hard to move the chuck. If I move the clutch lever towards a jogging action, the spindle will start to spin, slowly, like the clutch is just barely engaged. Basically, it seems like there's no real 'neutral' in there, it just goes from clutch straight to brake. Is something adjusted wrong, or is this just how these machines are? Once I've stopped the spindle, I usually need to put the wrench in the chuck to be able to turn it a bit, for whatever angle I need. If I need a really free moving chuck, I put the giant dial(that thing is fun) in neutral and then the chuck turns freely.
As Mike C. noted, sounds like the brake side of the double ended Pullmore clutch is over tightened. Not hard to adjust, and there's a Pullmore manual floating around on the 'net (it's better than the factory Cincinnati manual for servicing the clutch, which was a purchased assembly from Rockford Clutch Division of Borg-Warner); if you can't find it, let me know.

The Pullmore drive and brake clutch in these lathes is just two simple multiple-disc all steel wet clutches on the same shaft, but if there's not enough free play or if there's crud between the discs, they will transmit motion even when released. As you've already experienced, beware that the spindle can start moving if the gears are engaged (not in neutral), even if the clutch is not engaged.

Depending on the condition of things inside the headstock, some gear combinations may be slow or difficult to engage, you may need to jog the spindle slightly by hand on the chuck to get things to line up properly.

Also, check to see if the brake return lever and spring is missing from the left side of the headstock under the sheetmetal belt and gear cover. It's common to find that this assembly has been removed, but it helps prevent the brake from being left on, which is likely not good for lubrication inside the headstock, especially of the input shaft bearings.

-Does anyone have a lead on some P-55 lubricant like Mobil DTE Medium that I can buy in 1 gallon increments? I bought 5 gallons of DTE light for the headstock, but I can't find anything smaller than a 5 gallon bucket of the Medium, and I don't need that much for just the QCGB and carriage. I'm considering just putting way lube in the carriage reservoir since that just goes on the ways and lead screws. But I'd like to find the correct lube for the QCGB.
I've never found DTE Medium in one-gallon jugs, just the five-gallon pails. If you use something else in either the apron or the QCGB, it should be compatible with yellow metals (bronze), as there are some lubricants that attack them, and both assemblies have lots of bronze bearings and the apron has those large bronze bearing blocks and a large bronze worm gear.

-Does anyone have one of these with a taper attachment? Mine has the attachment, but there is supposed to be a block that clamps to the bedway and holds on to the taper attachment so it stays still when you take a cut. Mine is missing, and I'm sure I can make one, but I'd love to see detailed pictures of a real one in the flesh so I have something to work off of. I wouldn't mind making the replacement at least close to an original.
Mine doesn't have a taper attachment, so can't help with dimensions or pics, but I seem to recall someone else was looking for the same info not long ago. There are images on the 'net of these things, so it shouldn't be hard to make a reasonable and functional replacement.

Did your lathe come with either of the steady rests (std. 4" or oversized) or a follow rest?
 
-Does anyone have one of these with a taper attachment? Mine has the attachment, but there is supposed to be a block that clamps to the bedway and holds on to the taper attachment so it stays still when you take a cut. Mine is missing, and I'm sure I can make one, but I'd love to see detailed pictures of a real one in the flesh so I have something to work off of. I wouldn't mind making the replacement at least close to an original. The part I'm talking about would go here:

Erichimedes -

I meant to reply when you posted originally but obviously did not. I have a 13" - but mine is a manual shift, not automatic like yours. When I got it the same clamp was missing on mine. A couple years ago someone on here, can't remember who, was parting out - if I remember correctly - a 15" but the clamp I think is the same number. So I snagged it - missing the bolt and bottom lock piece. I have not gotten around to installing it yet so have not made the pieces I need to. Here are some pictures - sorry it is so cruddy. Hope this is of some help. If you need anything else picture or measurement wise just holler.

Dale

Tapeer Lock 4.jpgTapeer Lock 1.jpgTapeer Lock 2.jpgTapeer Lock 3.jpg
 
Hello! And thanks to all who've responded. I stopped checking in on this post a while back, but much thanks to Elwood1968 who alerted me to these responses.

skipjackbill,
It sounds like you have the 15" then? Seems like mine and yours shared several parts, according to the parts list. I got my spanner from PM user Walter A. I believe the thread I contacted him through was this one: FS: "L" Series Spanners
I can't say enough good things about the wrench and ordering from Walter!

BrandonMag,
Thank you! I'm quite pleased with this machine so far. I'd been searching for something like it for several years before this turned up close enough to be worth driving to get, and I believe it's in pretty good shape. I had a little SB before this, and the reality was I'd just use the lathe at work after hours if I needed to make anything bigger than a pen.

MikeC,
I've got the original factory manual (came with the machine) and I've seen how to adjust the clutch and brake. I may try to dig up the Pullmore manual Ellwood1968 mentioned.

Ellwood1968,
Thanks for the detailed response!
-Yes, judging by the pictures of other Cinci lathes I've seen, the pump in the tailstock leg must be aftermarket. Whatever's in there seems to fit and work quite well, but I haven't delved into the depths of the coolant tank and cleaned it out yet. I've plugged it in and it seems to work though. The coolant arm wasn't mounted in the factory spot (threaded hole in the carriage) the previous owner had drilled and tapped some holes in the taper attachment. I'm going to relocate the coolant arm to the correct location and figure out how to get the worklight around it.

-I did clean that strainer you're referring to. The filter housing was beat up from the mounting bolt being tightened too much, and it was being tightened too much because the seals were original and hard as rocks. So I made up some new seals, and formed everything back as best I could, and it doesn't seem to leak too much at the moment. But the filter was certainly filthy, I'm clad I cleaned it. I couldn't quite figure out how to flush out the governor pump filter. The wording in the manual on page 12 goes: "...remove the pump and gasket and insert a tube into the suction line opening in the housing. Force solvent through this tube to dislodge sludge from the filter." But there is no diagram or description as to where the "suction line opening" is. I got that far, and ended up just putting it all back together. If anyone has a photo or description of which opening you're supposed to flush with solvent, I'd be grateful.

-In the three months I've been using it since I posted, the clutch and brake are acting at least a little bit more normally. Perhaps there was a bit of sludge in the clutch and brake packs that has worn off with use. When the lathe is cold, the chuck seems to be more prone to "drifting" when out of gear. I'm guessing this is just the clutch discs acting as a bit of a viscous coupling in the cold oil. I think it's passable for now, but I may revisit everything when I dive into the headstock again for an oil change. And Re: the brake return lever, yes, I actually just discovered that when I was poking around under the end cover trying to figure out where to mount an anchor for a collet closer. I adjusted it, and I think it's helping bring the clutch lever to a good neutral point after the spindle stops.

-It does shift quite well into most of the gears. When I was in the headstock making adjustments to the hydraulic regulators, I inspected the gears and found 2 or 3 that had ground against eachother quite badly apparently while trying to change gears. The pitch surface of the teeth were fine, but there are supposed to be points at the ends of the teeth that act as ramps when the lathe shifts. These points had worn down. It doesn't go into 6th and 7th gear as quickly as all the others, so I'm guessing the damaged gears relate to those speeds. I've just made it a habit to spin the chuck by hand a little bit after shifting, and I can usually hear it clunk into gear. I'm hoping I'll become less timid about shifting, but It has ground gears once and that was enough to make me never want it to happen again.

-Unfortunately no, it didn't come with either a steady rest or a follower rest. I would really like to have both though, so if anyone has a lead on the correct one for this machine, please let me know. Looking for them on FleaBay is a thankless job, since no one seems to know which lathe the one they're selling came from.


Duckfarmer27,
Thank you for those pictures! I guess it looks almost exactly as I would expect, it's not a complex part. I actually made one up already. It's not pretty but it works great:
_MG_4686.jpg

I've got the taper attachment set up right now to cut MT5, as I wanted to make a few adapters to go in the spindle. One is a 5C adapter for a collet closer, and the other is a MT5 to MT3 for turning up new tailstock arbors.


One thing it has started doing now that it gets quite cold in the shop overnight is that when I turn the motor on first thing, it sometimes makes an awful racket that sounds hydraulically-based. As soon as I engage the clutch, it goes away completely. If I disengage the clutch, a much quieter version of the sound comes back. Once I've been running it for a few minutes, the sound disappears completely, even when the clutch is disengaged.

It almost sounds to me like an air bubble gets trapped somewhere and makes noise but then when the lathe runs, it pushes the air out, and once it's out it doesn't come back until the motor is off and the lathe sits over night. I have very little knowledge of hydraulic systems though, so I'm probably not the one to come up with a good theory. But it didn't start doing it until it got cold, so it must have something to do with the increased viscosity of the headstock oil. I just turn it on, let the spindle run for maybe 2 minutes, then disengage the spindle and all's well for the rest of the day. If anyone thinks this is something more sinister, let me know.
 
-It does shift quite well into most of the gears. When I was in the headstock making adjustments to the hydraulic regulators, I inspected the gears and found 2 or 3 that had ground against eachother quite badly apparently while trying to change gears. The pitch surface of the teeth were fine, but there are supposed to be points at the ends of the teeth that act as ramps when the lathe shifts. These points had worn down. It doesn't go into 6th and 7th gear as quickly as all the others, so I'm guessing the damaged gears relate to those speeds. I've just made it a habit to spin the chuck by hand a little bit after shifting, and I can usually hear it clunk into gear. I'm hoping I'll become less timid about shifting, but It has ground gears once and that was enough to make me never want it to happen again.
The gear clashing and damage you described is - I think - normal for these Hydrashifts after all of these years of use, not always at the hands of caring or careful users, and subjected to neglect. As you've already noted, jogging the chuck by hand helps to prevent binding of the gear train as the hydraulic valve body shifts the forks. One user here discovered a broken fork, so the system does have enough force to snap things inside the headstock.

Since I did a complete tear-down of the headstock, cleaned all of the hydraulic components, and replaced all of the bearings including the spindle, I haven't had a gear clash. Prior to that work, I did have a couple, when the shift block tried to move gears even though the governor pump was still turning. I did find that one or two small brass plugs were missing from the shifter body, and installed new ones during the rebuild, so likely the hydraulic pressures were not what they should have been.

You've mentioned adjusting the hydraulic regulators (plural) in the headstock, but mine only has one regulator (marked with the red arrow).

100_0294.jpg

Do you have more than one?

One thing it has started doing now that it gets quite cold in the shop overnight is that when I turn the motor on first thing, it sometimes makes an awful racket that sounds hydraulically-based. As soon as I engage the clutch, it goes away completely. If I disengage the clutch, a much quieter version of the sound comes back. Once I've been running it for a few minutes, the sound disappears completely, even when the clutch is disengaged.

It almost sounds to me like an air bubble gets trapped somewhere and makes noise but then when the lathe runs, it pushes the air out, and once it's out it doesn't come back until the motor is off and the lathe sits over night. I have very little knowledge of hydraulic systems though, so I'm probably not the one to come up with a good theory. But it didn't start doing it until it got cold, so it must have something to do with the increased viscosity of the headstock oil. I just turn it on, let the spindle run for maybe 2 minutes, then disengage the spindle and all's well for the rest of the day. If anyone thinks this is something more sinister, let me know.
Mine does the same thing. Not sure if it's an air bubble, or wear in the primary hydraulic pump. Both of the hydraulic pumps in these lathes are basically unobtainium, although there is a substitute primary pump from the OEM supplier (Tuthill) than can be adapted. I've never found a replacement for the governor pump, which is also a Tuthill. Both pumps are similar internally, and use a clever design that allows the input shaft to rotate in either direction while producing the same output flow direction.

Anyway, allowing the headstock oil, pumps, and all of those bearings (especially the expensive spindle bearings) to warm up a bit when cold is a good idea regardless.
 
-I did clean that strainer you're referring to. The filter housing was beat up from the mounting bolt being tightened too much, and it was being tightened too much because the seals were original and hard as rocks. So I made up some new seals, and formed everything back as best I could, and it doesn't seem to leak too much at the moment. But the filter was certainly filthy, I'm clad I cleaned it. I couldn't quite figure out how to flush out the governor pump filter. The wording in the manual on page 12 goes: "...remove the pump and gasket and insert a tube into the suction line opening in the housing. Force solvent through this tube to dislodge sludge from the filter." But there is no diagram or description as to where the "suction line opening" is. I got that far, and ended up just putting it all back together. If anyone has a photo or description of which opening you're supposed to flush with solvent, I'd be grateful.
A few years ago, I was able to purchase a range of replacement strainer elements and gaskets from General Filter, in different micron sizes, but they don't seem to sell them anymore. Not sure where I'd get replacements now. The square ring is probably a standard size, or at worst buy some stock from McMaster-Carr and make my own, but the strainer element...hmmm.

Since Cincinnati only equipped these lathes with a strainer and not a filter, and strainers don't have very small micron ratings for an hydraulic system, I added a couple of strong magnets into the sump of the headstock near the drains when I had it apart. They do pick up stuff.

As for the governor pump intake strainer, it's impossible to get out without removal of at least one (maybe two, I can't remember) of the gear shafts inside the headstock. So Cincy advises a reverse flush. Here's what you'll need to do:

First, remove enough of the hardware on the left side of the headstock to get to the governor pump. This includes the belts, and the input shaft pulley (good time to check the input shaft bearings, as those tend to starve for lubrication if the lathe motor runs for long periods of time without the spindle turning). The red arrow marks the governor pump that needs to come out.

101_0011.jpg 101_0001.jpg

Once you've removed the four attachment screws (do not remove the two screws that hold the pump body together), mark or photograph the pump body so that you can re-install it later in the same orientation. It can be installed at any 1/4 turn rotation, so be sure it goes back in the same way! Then pull the pump out of the headstock. Note that the tang on the pump shaft engages the end of the "B" shaft, and must be lined up when re-installing the pump. With the pump removed, you'll see this:

101_0023.jpg

The port on the left is the intake (the "suction line opening"), and the port on the right is the discharge. You'll want to flush the intake strainer by applying kerosene or similar to the left port per the manual. Here's what the intake strainer looks like on the inside of the headstock (first photo with all shafts removed except the spindle, and the second photo shows why you can't get to it with the shafts installed, but note that the governor pump is not yet re-installed to engage the end of the "B" shaft. Note also the drive and brake clutch assembly on the driveshaft in the upper left of the second photo, and one of the two sump drain plugs and the magnet in the center of the first photo).

100_0255.jpg 100_0263 (1).jpg

After you've "dislodged sludge from the filter," you'll probably want to drain the headstock, flush with kerosene per the manual, and re-fill with clean DTE Light.

More to follow...
 
...continued.

Now is a good time to disassemble the governor pump and see what's inside. Make note of how the pump comes apart, and the position and orientation of the components, especially the little crescent moon valve, which is how the pump can output in the same direction regardless of the direction of the input shaft rotation.

100_0221.jpg 100_0226.jpg 100_0228.jpg 100_0223.jpg

Note the four-finger spring. That must go back in correctly.

Not shown in these photos is that the internal toothed section of the pump (see the second photo) spins inside the pump body, and should be removed and inspected and cleaned. If your pump has too much wear, the output pressure will drop to zero before the "B" shaft stops spinning, allowing the valve body to initiate the next shift if a different gear has been pre-selected. Cincinnati touted this as a time-saving feature, but be careful about using it with a worn governor pump; this is one way that the gears get damaged. For my lathe, I almost always wait until the spindle has stopped turning before selecting a different spindle speed, including neutral, on the big knob. I don't work in a production environment, so the little bit of extra wait time is worth not damaging the gears.

When you re-assemble the pump, pre-lube it with DTE Light of course, and replace the O-rings. I don't have the part numbers handy, but they're standard sizes available from McMaster-Carr, etc. If you can't find them. let me know and I'll dig out my invoices.

Last, here's a clipping from an old Tuthill catalog that describes how these reversible pumps do their thing.

Tuthill pump operation.jpg
 
Finally, here's some detail on the clutch and brake. First with the assembly removed:

100_0063.jpg

This image is reversed from how the assembly would be installed, i.e. the discs on the right are actually the clutch and would be on the left when the shaft is in the headstock. The discs on the left are the brake.

And here's how the assembly looks when installed, including the large fork that converts the monkey-motion from the control rod across the left outside of the headstock to the apply the clutch or brake (the fork slides left and right, left to engage the clutch, right to apply the brake).

100_0286.jpg

Note the two copper lube lines to direct DTE Light onto the clutch and brake discs. If the governor pump isn't pumping (i.e. the spindle shaft isn't turning) then these lines aren't flowing oil, and the clutch and input shaft bearings are spinning away without fresh lube. You should be able to watch the lube oil flow in the sight glass on the front of the headstock. If you don't see oil flowing when the spindle is turning, then either the governor pump isn't pumping, the distribution line(s) are blocked, the oil is low, or the oil line into the upper port of the sight glass has been dislodged or removed.
 
Elwood1968,
I'm completely floored by all of this fantastic information you're sharing. I can't thank you enough for all the detailed information about the governor pump, strainers, and clutch. I've copied it all into a text file I'm keeping with good notes I find about this lathe. It actually makes me want to do this service sooner than I planned. To answer a couple things:

-You're correct about the regulator, my lathe is the same and only has one. I was referring to the second adjustment, which appears to just be the governor, the one you adjust so that the hydraulic pressure drops to zero when you engage the spindle. I recall this one being very finicky to adjust, and taking several tries to get it so that the spindle would actually come to a stop before the lathe tried to shift. I do shift it as the badge on the front of the lathe suggests, by bringing the big dial to a new speed before disengaging the spindle. I haven't had any issues with it trying to shift before the spindle stops, but it does make me uneasy turning the dial while the spindle is going. I go back and forth on which way to do it.

-I made it to the point you show in your third image, where I had the governor pump out, and I was looking at those two holes and I wasn't sure which one needed to be flushed. Seeing your image of the screen inside the headstock makes it all make sense. I may dive into that this winter and flush it out and also re-adjust the governor so that the spindle comes to just a slightly slower speed before it shifts. I've noticed that as the lathe warms up, it seems more likely to shift a little early (as the spindle is still slowing down) than when it's cold. Again, I chalk this up to the decreased viscosity in the oil once it's warm.

-It's good to know the input shaft bearings don't get oil when the lathe is idling. I didn't know that, and I tend to walk away with the lathe still running. I'll be sure to shut the motor down anytime I'm not actually working on it.

Once again, I can't thank you enough for all of this great info. I'll post up some more pictures of what I've been working on with it. I've fit a carriage travel indicator, a new toolpost, and I'm working on fitting a Royal collet closer to it as well. That aught to get me where I want to be for the most part.
 
-It's good to know the input shaft bearings don't get oil when the lathe is idling. I didn't know that, and I tend to walk away with the lathe still running. I'll be sure to shut the motor down anytime I'm not actually working on it.
I should clarify the bit about the input shaft bearing oil. These smaller Hydrashifts (not sure about the two larger ranges) have a small reservoir bolted to the back left inside corner of the headstock. I believe the purpose is to capture some of the overflow spew from the regulator vent elbow, and direct it to those input shaft bearings through a "T" in the copper lube line.

In the photo below you can see the reservoir, and also a short length of bent copper pipe I added as a temporary line to try to control the overflow when I'm adjusting the regulator with the headstock cover removed (I removed the pipe before putting the cover back on). I'm guessing that the overflow elbow is supposed to spray lube oil into that reservoir, and splash it onto the clutch below, but I'm not sure how much oil really gets there when the lathe spindle is not turning and the motor is running. I've been meaning to make up a clear Plexiglas headstock cover so I can watch what happens when the lathe is idling and shifting, but other repairs and projects have taken priority so far.

100_0813.jpg

Also, my lathe had a small felt plug in the end of the lube passage drilled in the input shaft bearing retainer; this plug doesn't appear in the factory parts catalog, so I'm not sure if it was original, but I suspect the purpose was to sort of meter the oil flow into those bearings, and not let it all just run through them at once.

What I know for certain is that the bearings on the input shaft on my lathe were trashed when I got it. Worn enough to feel, hear, and see the wobble. And the taper joint between the shaft and pulley was not in good shape, which took a fair bit of time to get lapped back together. So I'm watchful now for any issues with those bearings.

Once again, I can't thank you enough for all of this great info. I'll post up some more pictures of what I've been working on with it. I've fit a carriage travel indicator, a new toolpost, and I'm working on fitting a Royal collet closer to it as well. That aught to get me where I want to be for the most part.
I'm curious about your carriage travel indicator (Trav-a-dial?) and collet closer - can you post up some pics?
 
"Also, my lathe had a small felt plug in the end of the lube passage drilled in the input shaft bearing retainer; this plug doesn't appear in the factory parts catalog, so I'm not sure if it was original, but I suspect the purpose was to sort of meter the oil flow into those bearings, and not let it all just run through them at once."

Yes, the felt plugs serve two purposes, they are flow restrictors, but also filters. Most everything I have owned has these in the machine somewhere and they are usually hard as a rock and filthy. Flush with solvent, blow clean and put them back. After finding the remains of felts in the oil cups of the QC countershaft on my 1918 L&S, I put not only those back properly, but made some for all the oil cups on the machine.
 
I'm curious about your carriage travel indicator (Trav-a-dial?) and collet closer - can you post up some pics?

I've been wanting to post this thing on the internet somewhere because as far as I can tell, it doesn't exist anywhere else. The only reason I knew what this was is because a friend has one on his lathe and I've used it before. Pretty cool little units.

It's called an Acra-Stop and apparently was made by Joslyn-Hudson of California. The notched rod catches on something inside the unit and when you push it left (towards the headstock) it transfers the motion to the dial indicator. Originally it had a turret-style carriage stop on the end so you could apparently set it to 8 different lengths. I'm honestly not sure exactly how it was intended to be used that way, but I replaced the turret stop with a threaded rod and a knurled thumbwheel. That way I can bring the main rod to within a click of the carriage, zero it with the threaded rod, and use it as a travel indicator. Obviously it takes some keeping track of which click you're working in when measuring distances longer than an inch, but it's very accurate.

I plan to re-purpose the turret stop as a standard carriage stop mounted to the bed behind the Acra-stop. Then I can actually measure to the points I set the stops to. That will come later.

I'd be curious if anyone else is familiar with these units.

MG_4714.jpg


MG_4715.jpg


MG_4716.jpg



I also replaced the toolpost with a proper Aloris BXA. I started with an import CXA, but it was just too big for this lathe. I liked it ok, but I think the BXA is the proper size for this lathe. The Aloris is very nice. For some reason they seem to have stopped putting that slight taper on the handle going to the ball. Just aesthetic, I know, but I always really liked it. Good thing I've got a taper attachment on this lathe :D

MG_4692.jpg



I'm in the middle of "refurbishing" the Royal collet closer. Ebay, as usual is a crapshoot, and I ended up with a collet closer that had been modified by a previous owner. So I'm modifying it back to working condition, and making a few parts so I can fit it to the Hydrashift. I'll post it when I have more to show.
 








 
Back
Top