What is this collet setup missing?

Hey guys, first post here. I picked up a sheldon UM-70B lathe from an estate so I didn't get any questions answered. It came with some tooling that I'm still sorting thru. I have a 4 jaw chuck and this collet setup for work holding, still need a 3 jaw and a 4 jaw independent. Alway need some help to get this collet setup working and haven't had any luck figuring this out on my own so here is what I have.





I've seen pictures of different lever style clamps to pull on the draw bar but nothing quite like this

The drawbar in this case is actuated by the hand wheel. You are missing a nut that threads on to the spindle to pull out the collet sleeve. On my 9C South Bend I have a soft aluminum bar that I tap mine out with. Some here have said that is abusive and will damage the collet sleeve but I have not seen any problem in 40 years. Yours may be a little harder to get out with the rust.

On the hand wheel you tighten it to clamp a part, to get the part out you loosen it about 1/2 to a full turn then tap it with your hand to release.

I am putting a collet closer on both of my lathes, you will want a 5c collet set, I got the shars off of ebay in 1/64" from 1/64-1-1/8" which is 72 pieces. I test fit every collet and there were about 5-6 that had burred threads so I picked up a die to chase them. You will also want to cheack each collet for runout, they will replace them if one is bad but realistically out of 72, you may have a few that are out of spec.

I also need to get the same nut/thread protector to remove the spindle adapter, if yours is 2-1/4" X 8 tpi, they run from about $70 and up if you buy one. Once I get my lathe up and running, I will probably just make one.

Chucks are an expensive item for a lathe, if you can find a 3 and/or 4 jaw along with a faceplate, you will have just about every option you need to turn just about anything. Good luck. Tim

I did get some various 5c collets but not a complete set so I'll be looking into all of those as well. The machine also came with a face plate and a spare spindle for some reason

I also have been collecting various carbide holders and bits as well as an aloris bxa post

Hello Motorcitydak,

Judging by the picture it looks like the drawbar bearing may be rusted frozen. There is a bearing that allows the collar to remain stationary against the spindle when the drawbar is tightened on a collet. That collar must be free to spin. Make sure it is not frozen.

By the way. That is a nice lathe as Sheldon's go. I have an EXL with a smaller swing and shorter bed than yours and I love it. I'm sure you will too once it's up a running. For in-depth Sheldon resources, join the SheldonLathe Yahoo group: here

Edit: Also, all the spindles on that lathe must be oiled during use. Do not run it dry! Let me know if you need further info regarding lubrication.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards,
Bob

That draw bar looks way too long for your setup, unless you have it pulled out that far for clarity.
I have a original draw bar that came with one of my Sheldon lathes I have. It looks very different from that in the picture. Of course, my lathes are the early R-series lathes and Sheldon may have had a different looking draw bar for the S, M, and L series lathes. As other have said, missing the thread protector that also acts as an ejector for removing the collet adapter from the spindle. Your collet adapter looks just like the one I have. KenS.

Thanks for the help so far fellas! Bob, I'd be happy to read anything on lube for this machine. Just got some vactra 2 in today. You are right about the frozen bearing by the hand wheel. I thought that area was just a bearing journal. Took a wire brush to it and found an oil hole and was able to turn it a bit by hand, also found a part number






Is this supposed to bottom out against the lathe spindle? 4GSR, that draw bar wasn't pushed out to show it, that's just how long it is. Here it is pushed out the other end





Here is the face plate I got



And spare spindle, are these of much use besides a rather hard to find replacement part?




And i bought this really cool 1920s starrett 0-6 mic, just wanted to show off but it's accurate to the best I can measure which is really cool I think!



Anyway, back to the collet setup, I'm not skilled enough yet to cut down my draw bar and give it new internal threads so that it would close a collet and bottom out on the spindle yet. If I made up a bar to take up that space on the back side, that should work right?

Hello Motorcitydak,

Let me first cover the lubrication:

You can pick up a free manual for Sheldon M on the Sheldon Lathe site or Vintage Machinery site. It wont be the exact manual but will get you close. You can request an actual manual from John Knox by providing him your serial# once you join the Yahoo group. If he has one he'll charge you just for printer charges and post. It's good to have the manual to know where all the oiling locations are.

Now Some folks will recommend using Motor Oil. I DO NOT. Here is what I use for my EXL that is very similar to yours:

-- Mobil DTE 25(ISO 46) in the main spindle
-- Mobil DTE 26(ISO 68) for all the other spindles (Apron oilers, Lead Screw Bearings, Back-Gear spindle, Cone spindle, End-Gear spindles, and QCGB spindles)
-- Mobil Vactra 2 (ISO 68) for all the ways and QCGB and End gear teeth, and Apron Worm Gear oiler.
-- Clear Lithium grease for the E-Drive. Your U Drive may require something else. I'm not familiar with them.

You can get gallon size jugs of DTE at Amazon or Zoro.

Best Regards,
Bob

Motorcitydak said:

...Is this supposed to bottom out against the lathe spindle?

Click to expand...

Yes. It's obviously too long though. You need to shorten it.

Motorcitydak said:

And spare spindle, are these of much use besides a rather hard to find replacement part?

Click to expand...

I'd be wondering why it's there. Maybe there was a problem with the spindle that needed replacement. Check to see if it is damaged or bent. Then use your discretion whether to keep it or not.

Motorcitydak said:

Anyway, back to the collet setup, I'm not skilled enough yet to cut down my draw bar and give it new internal threads so that it would close a collet and bottom out on the spindle yet. If I made up a bar to take up that space on the back side, that should work right?

Click to expand...

I would not recommend hanging that thing off the back of the spindle to run collets for a couple of reasons. It will most likely vibrate like crazy and prevent you from running the spindle at high speeds (Most collet work can be done at higher speeds). I recommend that you learn to single-point the internal threads necessary to draw the collets back. You can use 1" black pipe to practice with as it is the right size to fit in the spindle and will get you close enough to size the draw-bar length with. I hope this helps.

Edit: As a temporary work-around, this guy sells draw-bars made to your length:

Collet Closer Draw Bar Replacement | eBay

Then you can make a nut to draw it in on. Just a couple thoughts to get you up and running.


Best Regards,
Bob