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Initial Assessment of my New/Old 1954 Pacemaker

m-lud

Stainless
Joined
Sep 4, 2016
I finally got my lathe loaded and home. It's still on the trailer. My big Hyster has sat for three years, and the steering tires have sunk halfway to the rim.
I pulled the gear cover and was happy with what I seen. These lathes have a beautiful shifting mechanism.
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I'm going to do a good flush with kerosene. I drained the oil and it was a clean golden brown still translucent. No water.
The next post is pictures of the gear change box.

I'm going to post a lot of photos of each section of the machine as I go through cleaning and getting everything lubricated. I won't be cracking the apron open unless I have a problem. Just flush and try to get a look at the lead screw and double bevel gear drive and the feed rod keyway.

I haven't seen anything that gives me reason for a major overhaul. Clean it and slather it in oil. The leadscrew and half nuts look like new
 

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The gear change box gear cluster. Sorry about the double photo.  Yes, I bent the square clutch shifting rod. I had the small fork truck behind the lathe in case I needed it to push with.  I pulled the lathe out of a narrow slot and used the small lift truck to slide the end and square it up with the door. I left the forks up anout 20" and lifted from the other side with the big lift and side shifted and sat the lathe down on that raised fork. Made me sad and felt stupid. I wasn't going to admit my mistake. but I DID IT. I always chain tight around the base
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I had already taken the Steady Rest and Tailstock off before loading it for transport. This is a 32"x 48" lathe with a top speed of 800 rpm's. In my reading 800 should be plenty for a 32" swing. I do have a smaller 20hp motor that would allow a pully change. It will take more speed but il wait and see how it works out. It has 8 bran new belts. Im hoping the smaller diameter motor would allow movement to keep the belts. Thats a project for if and when speed is needed.

Tailstock and steady rest

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The Monarch 10ee on the Pacemaker steady rest.

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Im going to have to have a hoist over this lathe. I have a freind that uses a fork truck to load his lathe and all his handles are bent from getting too close..
 
Charlie Your work always motivates me. I need that. In old age anxiety kicked in and don't know why.
I'm happy with what I have found on the pacemaker so far. I couldn't run this lathe but had a good feeling about it. Only running it will tell me the bearing condition. I'm not real worried. I'm working on the big Phase converter. I may use a driven pony motor start to minimize the startup shock
I think I can straighten that bent clutch control rod but if it's not an invisible repair Ill replace it.
It didn't break any supports but I'm sure they are in a bind. Both handles are pretty tight. The one by the apron has a little slop.
That handle repair on your Monarch will be my reference thread.
 
I have been a lifetime gearhead.. Those gears are beautiful. The ones that are rounded on the end help the gears engauge at low speed. Riding the clutch handle while shifting.
Smooth gear change with the right touch.

QUOTE=EmanuelGoldstein;3869477]Americans have ground gears, a nice (and expensive) touch.[/QUOTE]
Americans have ground gears, a nice (and expensive) touch.
 
A version of the 20 " heavy (the BIG PM) in earlier times this size was also offered in 18 and 22" swings. Eight drive belts a dead give away compared to the "little" ones with but 5
 
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I saw this lathe on the net. Nice look accept the red handles.
Anyway I looked at the chip pan and it hit me to look at mortar boxes.
The pacemaker is 59 1/2" between legs. Soo, I googled 60" mortar box.

Mortar Box 60” x 32” x 11” | Bee Green Recycling & Supply, Oakland CA

The Pacemaker has the sump in the tailstock leg, so all the pan needs is a drain with a hose going to the sump.
I'm not planning flood coolant, but it may be needed for a certain job. Well controlled volume on coolant isn't sloppy unless the shape of the part slings it.
I get tired of acid brushing oil on. Its ok on small parts but if you're really cutting you need a flow of coolant

Opinions on that mortar box on a lathe.?? It's a half inch too long. Thats No problem
I could mount it on a metal frame with casters to roll it out and clean.
 
Congrats ! I have been eagerly awaiting this thread ! Not mine, but I feel excited to see this all the same ! :D

Cole2534 dragging one home a couple weeks back motivated you, didn't it ? :D

For those just arriving to the party, mllud22 started flirting with this machine a while back in this thread:
What to Pay for an American Pacmaker 20"x48" Lathe

I have been following coles2534 thread. I follow this forum along with the Monarch forum and a couple others. I was here reading long before joining in 2016. More information here than be consumed
 
Opinions on that mortar box on a lathe.??
I'm kinda confused ? What would that do ? Chip pan slides in and out easy for cleaning. Coolant in the leg is actually nice if you only use it occasionally ... volume is less and it doesn't get as awful as the big pans on a Monarch. Ask Tex about that :) The hose on the chip pan has enough slack to pull the thing out more than halfway, plenty good access for cleaning.

A bigger problem is, if you put it up against a wall, cleaning behind. And the headstock door won't swing all the way open. And it's hard to get behind to twist the oil strainer thingy.
 
I'm kinda confused ? What would that do ? Chip pan slides in and out easy for cleaning. Coolant in the leg is actually nice if you only use it occasionally ... volume is less and it doesn't get as awful as the big pans on a Monarch. Ask Tex about that :) The hose on the chip pan has enough slack to pull the thing out more than halfway, plenty good access for cleaning.

A bigger problem is, if you put it up against a wall, cleaning behind. And the headstock door won't swing all the way open. And it's hard to get behind to twist the oil strainer thingy.

Thanks Emanual, some good points. I need space to get around. That end doors thickness/width is a monster. In another thread on this lathe someone else talked about floor space
They make a 60x32 mortar box that would be a better pan. It only needs to be as wide as the where tray drips. I see that there is room to get under there to clean.
I was thinking support for that poly pan then the casters came to mind. Overthink is my nature.
I don't let chips pile up anyway That poly pan is 5/16 thick and looks pretty rigid by design.
Giving room in the back of 42" and length of 18' giving room for door swing and 3' walk around on tailstock end and walkway in front. Total space needed about 10x 18'. And it's a short Pacemaker
I have space.
I saw the chip pan on Charlies 61 series Monarch. It looks big and heavy. Sorry Charlie:D

If we figured square footage by the cost at a commercial building rate very few of these machines would find a home. I'm happy to provide the space. I've adopted many stray dogs. Use to let stray people sleep on my couch until one stole from me.
 
I saw the chip pan on Charlies 61 series Monarch. It looks big and heavy. Sorry Charlie:D
Pacemaker is different. On a Monarch there's a coolant tank built into/under the pan. The Pacemaker is a simple slide-in/slide-out tray, with a shallow box thing on one end to catch the coolant and drain it to the outer leg. It's really easy to just slide it forward to clean.
 
Pacemaker is different. On a Monarch there's a coolant tank built into/under the pan. The Pacemaker is a simple slide-in/slide-out tray, with a shallow box thing on one end to catch the coolant and drain it to the outer leg. It's really easy to just slide it forward to clean.

He didn't mention it, but I'm pretty sure the original chip pan is long gone. That's why he's looking at alternatives. I could be wrong, but that's my take. In his first pic of it from the previous owner, it was not in place either:
What to Pay for an American Pacmaker 20"x48" Lathe

I like having original parts, but the chip pan itself is less important me than other items. If you get a pan in the hole and any sort of matching color scheme, few will know. If you do happen to have the original, might try it with all the garbage cleaned out.

My pan is a whole lot lighter without coolant and sludge, I can tell you that ! :D Heavy, but managable when empty. To move it I slid it out of truck bed my self, and stood it on end and teeter walked it a coulpe feet. I used cheapo harbor freight moving dollies to get into my building, and close to machine. I can slide it in and out a foot so with putting just a little ass into it.

I too have one door that I have limited access due to wall. Its on the rear side of lathe and down low on base. It allows access to one leveling adjuster, and motor belt adjustments I believe. I pulled the hinge screws to remove door to allow me to get in. I'll probably only install two of those screws when I'm done in that hole.
 
Pacemaker is different. On a Monarch there's a coolant tank built into/under the pan. The Pacemaker is a simple slide-in/slide-out tray, with a shallow box thing on one end to catch the coolant and drain it to the outer leg. It's really easy to just slide it forward to clean.

Why were some pacemakers built with cast in place chip pans and others removable?

Good thread:)
Hodge
 
He didn't mention it, but I'm pretty sure the original chip pan is long gone.
Oh. Sorry I missed that part, just figured it wasn't in the photo.

btw, my machinery mover guy I had for decades and was really really good ? He'd never ever set a machine on 4x4's like that on the trailer. Said the machine would bounce around and scrunch into the dunnage enough to sometimes get loose, then there was all hell to pay. He was a big fan of chains, not straps, too. And binders. Flick the catch and whang ! they'd fly off over the building. To quote the man, "Straps stretch and get loose and then you got a problem."

@Hodge, have not seen anything newer than 1945-ish with a cast in chip pan ? Never paid attention to the really big ones tho, except for nc.
 
That plastic mortar box will be ok if you repower the lathe with a 2 hp motor. Even a 5hp will lay a pile of hot chips in the pan that will melt through in a couple of minutes.
 
Oh. Sorry I missed that part, just figured it wasn't in the photo.

btw, my machinery mover guy I had for decades and was really really good ? He'd never ever set a machine on 4x4's like that on the trailer. Said the machine would bounce around and scrunch into the dunnage enough to sometimes get loose, then there was all hell to pay. He was a big fan of chains, not straps, too. And binders. Flick the catch and whang ! they'd fly off over the building. To quote the man, "Straps stretch and get loose and then you got a problem."

@Hodge, have not seen anything newer than 1945-ish with a cast in chip pan ? Never paid attention to the really big ones tho, except for nc.

gbent
Thanks for the hot chip tip. I hadn't considered that. They do make 60" steel mortar boxes.
Bon 11-303 60" Steel Mortar Box 60" x 32" x 11" 9.5 Cu ft Capacity (trusupply.com)


The chip pan was missing. I wasn't clear on explaining that. That's why I looked at the mortar box. I removed all the covers from the legs to prevent loss on the road

Emanual
Plus one on the 4x4s under the legs. I wanted to carry the load across the beams under the weight of the headstock but probably wasn't needed. The short pieces under the tailstock leg weren't good either but those two chains around the base were very tight. They didn't budge. I had a chain around the bed with a piece of conveyer belt to protect the ways. Then four straps. I like straps but still use chains on some things
I do a check after a couple miles and again at around 25 miles, but I was home at 25 miles.

I was also a little heavy on the toung weight, but it hauled ok. Expansion joints in the highway set up a Rythm and bucking without enough Toung weight. I have a 2004 f350 with a v10. I knew that I had some weight back there
Thats a heavy chunk of iron

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It's time to get It unloaded.

Here is a photo of the threading dial bronze gear. It was engaged with the leadscrew. Im hoping the gears conditions continues to be good.
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These are such a pleasant looking machine to look at, from an artistic or style point of view. Not sure if I would call it art deco, maybe "streamlined" or "atomic era". But all the rounded , and joining edges are so nice, and well thought out.

I really like the large upper door at left end also. Nice and easy to open to look inside. I really like the style of mine also, but only the lower door on motor base is on a hinge. The rest is bolted on.
 








 
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