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My Free LeBlond Regal

grinder&paint

Plastic
Joined
Jun 2, 2020
Hello everyone, I am a mechanical engineering student and I just happened upon a free LeBlond Regal 12. I have never used a lathe before, and I have a few questions for everyone to make sure I don't destroy my machine or spend unnecessary money.

The machine seems to be in decent condition, the ways seem to be straight and there is only 2 thousands of runout on the chuck. I just got the machine running with a VFD and the motor and headstock gears seem to be decent. Here are the questions I have.

- Is AW-46 an acceptable substitute for 'Medium Grade Machine Oil'. I just changed the oil in the headstock and used that
- It it worth replacing the lead screw and powerfeed on a machine this old? Currently the screw and powerfeed shaft are both missing, but the apron seems to be in good condition. I was thinking of buying a precision grade ACME shaft from McMaster.
-What is the best tooling for a beginner to invest in? I am leaning towards HSS because I will learn the most about tooling design.
-How can I level this machine? I don't have a machinists level, and to be honest it isn't in my budget. I think the most precise level I have is the one in my phone, which is accurate to one degree.
-Does anyone have a manual for the Regal 12? VintageMachinery.org | Welcome doesn't seem to have one.
-Does anyone want to buy 3hp Baldor VFD? It came with the machine and I don't have 480V (Heres my listing Baldor ID15H403E VFD New Old Stock | eBay)

Here are some pictures. I'm sorry if this is the wrong forum to post my questions.
Machine
IMG_1437.jpg
Headstock Gears, the oil looks a little frothy I hope that is OK
IMG_1439.jpg
The gearbox
IMG_1438.jpg
 
Not having power feeds severely limits the machine's capabilities IMO. I think you are on the right track replacing them. You might also get lucky finding used parts from a machine being parted out.

In regards to leveling: look up how to do a two collar test. It's a very simple way to test how much wear or twist is in a bed and adjust for it with simple tools (just need a bar of material and a micrometer to measure it with).
 
any oil you put in there should be close enough for that machine. you don't have to have a leadscrew
unless you chase threads. if you don't have a threading dial, not much of an issue. i wouldn't worry
too much about leveling the machine. it is an way to resolve twist in the bed if you have to.

cut a few test bars and measure the results. that lathe is 100 years old, it will never be perfect.
just buying acme stock doesn't mean that it fits what you have . are the half nuts still in the apron?

the rpm on that machine is around 550, but you could up that with the vfd a bit .

be safe and learn. get something else when you're ready.
 
Yes the half nuts are still there. The lead screw is ACME 1"-6 LH, which McMaster has. I think powerfeed will be more important than threading, so I will go ahead and buy that shaft before the lead screw. From what I can tell, the powerfeed shaft is just a fully keyed 1/2" shaft,
 
Welcome aboard, g&p!

That ain't the latest and greatest, but for a college kid, what fun you can have!

Power feed is essential. A lead screw for threading would certainly be nice. A quick change tool post sure is nice, but I think everyone should learn to set up a bit in a lantern-style.

Have fun and be safe! Read up on lathe safety--those things can hurt you!
 
HSS is what you want with that lathe.

Any chance you have water in that oil? It looks like an emulsion.

The lathe does not need to be level- but the bed cannot have any twist. Your phone is probably more accurate than 1 degree- but only displaying one degree. Look at some level or inclinometer apps.

Tell us how you are measuring the runout on the chuck.

You should replace the leadscrew and feel rod.
 
I'm not sure what's going on with this thread, but the first visible post from M B Naegle seems to be an answer to questions posted by the OP. Post #3 appears to be from the OP. Later posts also seem to be answering questions from the OP's original post that isn't visible
 
I'm not sure what's going on with this thread, but the first visible post from M B Naegle seems to be an answer to questions posted by the OP. Post #3 appears to be from the OP. Later posts also seem to be answering questions from the OP's original post that isn't visible

Yes, the original post and his pictures seem to have disappeared....
 
That is weird, I didn't delete it. Anyway I'll rewrite my situation.

I got a free Leblond Regal 12 lathe recently. I just got it running with a VFD, but it has some issues. I have a few questions and I appreciate the responses I've gotten so far

-Is AW-46 an acceptable headstock oil? The Leblond catalog says "medium grade machine oil"
-Is it worth replacing the powerfeed and lead screw shafts?
-Does anyone have the manual for this machine?
-What should I do for tooling? I have a bench grinder so I'm thinking that I'll use HSS


IMG_1437.jpg
- In this picture, you can see the little stubby shaft coming out of the powerfeed gearbox. From looking at the brochure I found on vintage machinery.org, I think this is where the powerfeed shaft attaches. The issue here is that that shaft is bent. I don't know how to fix this.
IMG_1438.jpg
IMG_1439.jpg
 
It doesn't need to be level.

What does HSS mean...does that mean you want to buy tool steel and grind your own? I guess from a 'that's how you should learn' standpoint that makes sense....but you'd be better off buying insert type tooling. If you're learning how to run a lathe, nothing will dampen your enthusiasm more than having to jack with cutters that won't cut properly.
 
QT: [The issue here is that that shaft is bent. I don't know how to fix this.]

It is not uncommon for a machine repair shop to have a guy who is a near master at straightening stuff,

To be a decent lathe guy you need to use both HSS and inserts.
 
It doesn't need to be level.

What does HSS mean...does that mean you want to buy tool steel and grind your own? I guess from a 'that's how you should learn' standpoint that makes sense....but you'd be better off buying insert type tooling. If you're learning how to run a lathe, nothing will dampen your enthusiasm more than having to jack with cutters that won't cut properly.

I am a firm believer in you have to learn to grind HSS tooling in order to really learn how to run a lathe, and nothing will dampen a poor college kids enthusiasm like breaking the last insert 5 minutes into a 4 hour job at 6pm on a friday night and the next paycheck is not till the following friday:bawling:.

HSS is not hard to grind, read "How to run a lathe" , if need be there are plenty of tutorials on YT, practice makes perfect.
 
Thats my thinking, I'll probably get a better sense for how it all works grinding my own tooling. Also, with the exception of cheap garbage carbide on Ebay, HSS seems cheaper. Maybe I'm wrong about that.
 
Good to just buy a set of used bits off eBay, tail drill chuck, couple center drills, a digital caliper, set of drills but you likely need tap drill sizes. You can die-cut threads for a time.
What you need is based on what you intend to make. Some guys like a 1 to 3" set of micrometers and an indicator. A decent bench vise and a drill press can be handy. parting blade holder can be handy. few lathe dogs and a headstock center, homemade soft is Ok. Down the road, you may want a boring bar but you can shallow bore with a tool bit.
 
Still disagree. A beginner should focus on how to safely and properly run the lathe, not also having to tangle with the learning curve of grinding bits.

I've never broken an insert, ever. And....it's good lesson, since we're giving lessons, not to be short of cutters. C

I don't think any beginner is gonna be machining stuff that requires custom-shaped cutters.

He can learn to grind steel later, once he is acquainted with the machine and when/why he needs a certain cutter.

But then....what do I care? lol
 
plenty of culled carbide tooling on ebay...the good stuff. for a couple dollars apiece.

that is not a carbide machine, might have even been a carbon steel tooled machine. get hss and have a decent
pedestal grinder and belt grinder to maintain wear on the tools. grinding tools is one of the most useful
and important skills of machinists . if you blue the toolbit first , scribe the angles and relief with
a bevel protractor or combo square , you can't miss.
 
If you make the acquaintance of a few hobby machinists locally,you will find that your bent feed shaft will be straightened free ,and someone may even have a lead on a leadscrew.
 
It doesn't need to be level.

What does HSS mean...does that mean you want to buy tool steel and grind your own? I guess from a 'that's how you should learn' standpoint that makes sense....but you'd be better off buying insert type tooling. If you're learning how to run a lathe, nothing will dampen your enthusiasm more than having to jack with cutters that won't cut properly.

I guess I'm in the "learn to do it" camp. Since HSS tooling is about all the machine can handle learning to grind tooling would be an advantageous, if not necessary skill. A quick look at HSS offerings reveals inserts are anywhere from double to quadruple the cost of a similar size tool blank. I don't do HSS inserts so I can't attest as to how many times they can be sharpened if at all. I do know blanks can be sharpened hundreds of times, and profiles can be changed at will.

It might be old school, but I remember my first day in class the instructor handed each student a 3/8" HSS blank. After all the safety and grading information was finished he pulled out a number of huge wooden replicas of different profile tool blanks. Each student had to create a working turning tool profile. The instructor cautioned not to get carried away on grinding since the tool would be used the entire semester, and would be reground to different profiles throughout the year.

Once the tools were completed each student got to choose a project from a preapproved stack setting on the table. The final grade would be partially based on the project along with other other assignments throughout the year. The more complex the project the higher the potential grade. The more complex projects required more tooling profiles, so it was in your best interest to learn the skill as quickly as possible without wasting precious resources.
 
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