What's new
What's new

I have an old tailstock with a stuck ram. What are the best ideas to loosen it?

dcsipo

Diamond
Joined
Oct 13, 2014
Location
Baldwin, MD/USA
I have the endcap and the screw removed. I filled it up with PB Buster last night let it soak overnight. I also heated the outside until the stuff got to a boil.

Should I try to press it out? Let it soak more, more heat? Open for suggestions.

dee
;-D
 
Time is your friend, use it. Let it soak for a long time. Up to a month, depending on how bad. If a lot of rust has grown between the ram and the bore there may be no helping it. Completely submerge it might help.
 
Air hammer not to break it loose just to set up some vibrations to get the PB into more places
 
Time is your friend, use it. Let it soak for a long time. Up to a month, depending on how bad. If a lot of rust has grown between the ram and the bore there may be no helping it. Completely submerge it might help.

I have the cavity behind the cap completely filled. I guess submerging would give it two ways. I need to see if I have enough PB to do that :). The outside is CI, the Ram might be steel but do not know. You say patience grasshopper :) I guess I have to let it sit till it decides to come out. What about heating it periodically? I think that would expand the tailstock sleeve before it gets to the ram. PB is nasty when it boils :)

dee
;-D
 
I think I would:
make sure the clamp is not binding or rusted on. I would be afraid force might break that part of the casting if it was the last thing holding
see if the key can be removed with ram in place
continue soaking
using a brass drift and a, say, 12 ounce steel hammer, give it a whack on an occasional basis. Somewhere just below smite a mighty blow
 
Try to heat the housing fast so it can expand before the ram warms up and expands with it. Be sure to heat the casting evenly though. Light vibrations as mentioned earlier could also help. A 5 gal bucket of diesel to submerge it in might help. Another way would be a strong plastic bag with all excess air sucked out, minimal oil is needed that way.
 
Try to heat the housing fast so it can expand before the ram warms up and expands with it. Be sure to heat the casting evenly though. Light vibrations as mentioned earlier could also help. A 5 gal bucket of diesel to submerge it in might help. Another way would be a strong plastic bag with all excess air sucked out, minimal oil is needed that way.

Do you mean like a kitchen vacuum sealer? Hmmm PB tasting chicken :)... The wife would not be happy.

dee
;-D
 
What lathe is the tailstock for? And how badly do you need to save it? If it's rusted up as badly as it seems chances
are it will never be a precision fit again. I suppose it would depend on what you wanted to use it for.

If you do get it apart and really need to use it you could line bore the housing and make a new spindle but that's gonna
be a lot of work...
 
Should I try to press it out? Let it soak more, more heat? Open for suggestions.
Let it soak more, let the PB work.
I had 2 2" dia pins rusted into steel mounts, a 10 ton ram just bent the mounts without budging the pins. Sprayed Kroil on them periodically for 2-3 days, on the 3rd day a moderate swing with a 2 lb hammer moved them easily. The longer the engaged length on the ram the longer it will take for the PB to work it's way in. I haven't found high heat to help with penetrants, seems to just boil them off.
How big is the ram?
I'd try to make a way to press on it rather than impact it.
 
Make an ad hoc gear press. steel plate with hole in the center to fit over one end of the ram, 4 holes in the corner for tie bars. Steel plate same the first except a threaded hole in the center. Make the tie bars out of ready rod. Apply force to the ram, Give it a sharp rap now and then.

Tom
 
What lathe is the tailstock for? And how badly do you need to save it? If it's rusted up as badly as it seems chances
are it will never be a precision fit again. I suppose it would depend on what you wanted to use it for.

If you do get it apart and really need to use it you could line bore the housing and make a new spindle but that's gonna
be a lot of work...

It was for a wood lathe, I just want to save it if it is possible.


dee
;-D
 
Let it soak more, let the PB work.
I had 2 2" dia pins rusted into steel mounts, a 10 ton ram just bent the mounts without budging the pins. Sprayed Kroil on them periodically for 2-3 days, on the 3rd day a moderate swing with a 2 lb hammer moved them easily. The longer the engaged length on the ram the longer it will take for the PB to work it's way in. I haven't found high heat to help with penetrants, seems to just boil them off.
How big is the ram?
I'd try to make a way to press on it rather than impact it.

it is not that big the ram is like 1.5" or so I did not measure it, maybe 4" travel. Guys this is a learning experience not much else if I effitup no one will send me a bill for it.
 
Are you in a BIG hurry? If it's a wood lathe I suspect it is a thin casting and will probably crack if forced in a press. If your in no rush, looks at a post from , forgot his name, but he hosted the class I had in the UK a few years ago....he had a hydraulic press with a rusted piston in a cylinder and he soaked it in citric acid water mix for a few months and as he said that mixture eats away rust and it worked. Keith Rucker also did one on You Tube where he uses a battery charger. Melcom is his first name of the uk guy. Look back a few months on here and we talked this same issue. I had a distributor stuck in a engine block years ago and a Ford (fishing buddy) mechanic told me to squirt it with PT Buster and tap on the shaft for 5 min each day for 2weeks....I did and it worked....as the other guy said the vibration worked in the liquid. I would not try pressing it out now or yu will be ask us how to weld up a tailstock next. Or to embarrassed to ask.
 








 
Back
Top