dgfoster
Diamond
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2008
- Location
- Bellingham, WA
I have a 1943 EE that I snapped the head of the locking lever off. This occured as the lever will snap back If I fail to fully lock it as I extend the lever. At some parts of the bed I have to be careful it is fully latched before I take my hand off it. I have never fully investigfated (my bad) why this happens. But, it happens occasionally with a rather loud and alarming whack as the lever strikes the barrel of the tailstock. I was aware of the risk of the lever breaking since I figured it had to be grey iron and I know well that grey iron does not do well with repeated sharp impacts. So, today it happened. The head snapped off about an inch from the top of the head.
I think the crack is pretty evident. I unfortunately had crazy glued it back together in preparation for using the lever as a pattern before I got my phone out to take pics.
What I had not previously noted is that the head itself had at some time past been brazed to the lever. So this is evidently the second time the lever hs been injured. Judging by the four or five different colors of paint on the lever arm in the area of the head, I am guessing that repair is vbery old. Ive owned the lathe for more than 12 years and have not added any paint though most of you would not have been impressed with the royal blue most recent coat that had been put it on it some years before I got it.
I have been casting straight edges for 3 years now and have been doing so in my own foundry for 2 years or more. So casting a replacement should be pretty straight forward. I am tempted to cast it in ductile rather than grey though I cast all my straight edges in grey. I believe converting the melted grey to ductile is a matter of simple addition of magnesium as an innoculant shortly before pouring---rather dramatic fireworks occuring for a few moments when the magnesium burns violently. I will be checking with my mentor who owns a commercial foundry and get some innoculant from him. I have a scheme in miond that will allow me to more or less remotely dump the mag into the crucible without being "innoculated" myself.
I suppose I should put a rubber bumper on the side of the tailstock to prevent the harsh impacts in the future.
I have filled in the holes in the lever/pattern with Bondo. And I am making more of a fillet at the junction of the round head and the arm of the lever to make that junction stronger without significantly changing the appearance of the lever.
Thoughts?
Denis
I think the crack is pretty evident. I unfortunately had crazy glued it back together in preparation for using the lever as a pattern before I got my phone out to take pics.
What I had not previously noted is that the head itself had at some time past been brazed to the lever. So this is evidently the second time the lever hs been injured. Judging by the four or five different colors of paint on the lever arm in the area of the head, I am guessing that repair is vbery old. Ive owned the lathe for more than 12 years and have not added any paint though most of you would not have been impressed with the royal blue most recent coat that had been put it on it some years before I got it.
I have been casting straight edges for 3 years now and have been doing so in my own foundry for 2 years or more. So casting a replacement should be pretty straight forward. I am tempted to cast it in ductile rather than grey though I cast all my straight edges in grey. I believe converting the melted grey to ductile is a matter of simple addition of magnesium as an innoculant shortly before pouring---rather dramatic fireworks occuring for a few moments when the magnesium burns violently. I will be checking with my mentor who owns a commercial foundry and get some innoculant from him. I have a scheme in miond that will allow me to more or less remotely dump the mag into the crucible without being "innoculated" myself.
I suppose I should put a rubber bumper on the side of the tailstock to prevent the harsh impacts in the future.
I have filled in the holes in the lever/pattern with Bondo. And I am making more of a fillet at the junction of the round head and the arm of the lever to make that junction stronger without significantly changing the appearance of the lever.
Thoughts?
Denis
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