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Dial locking screws, dowels and shoes

MyLilMule

MyLilMule

Hot Rolled
Joined
Jan 5, 2021
Location
Ohio, USA
I am restoring a 13"x5' from 1941. My first ever lathe. :)

Both the compound and cross slide dials are missing the knurled screw, dowel and brass shoe for the dial locks.

I'm sure (I hope) I can get something from McMaster-Carr that will be a decent replacement, but without proper gauging tools, I don't know what size or pitch these threads are, or how long the dowel or shoe should be.

I'm hoping someone here may have the specifications, if not perhaps a source for replacements. I'm not looking to do a bolt-by-bolt restoration (I think this lathe may be passed that), just something that is functional but not kludgy.

IMG_2948.jpg
 
The thread is 10-32. I used this one from McMaster-Carr.

I used a piece of 1/8" brass rod for the shoe. Just make them about 1/8" long. Use a tooth pick to measure what's left and just cut from a piece of 1/8" drill rod. All this should work just fine.
 
Are they both the same and your lathe? I found a couple bolts in my can of random crap (we all have one of those, right?) and they were different. The one in the large dial was smaller than the smaller one.

Thanks for the link and the tip on the drill rod. I'm new to all this.
 
MyLilMule said:
Are they both the same and your lathe? I found a couple bolts in my can of random crap (we all have one of those, right?) and they were different. The one in the large dial was smaller than the smaller one.

Thanks for the link and the tip on the drill rod. I'm new to all this.
Click to expand...

Later you can remake them to be more user friendly!

P1060546.jpg

P1060543.jpg
 
MyLilMule said:
Are they both the same and your lathe? I found a couple bolts in my can of random crap (we all have one of those, right?) and they were different. The one in the large dial was smaller than the smaller one.

Thanks for the link and the tip on the drill rod. I'm new to all this.
Click to expand...

They are both the same size on my H10. Is that large dial from your lathe? Is the cross feed screw really 8 TPI (my understanding was that all SB feed screws, both cross and compound were 10 TPI)?

If yours are different sizes, you'll have to dig into your "stash" to find one that fits and measure that. It will be a common size, like 12-24, or 12-28.
 
Yes, these are from the lathe. Considering it's 80 years old and was originally sold to a college in PA, who knows if it's OEM.

The cross slide is 8 TPI, the compound feed screw is 10 TPI. I suspect the cross slide is not original since I believed both dials were originally the same size.

I've got some good information from here and on another forum. Even Fakebook had some decent tips. :)
 
Realizing this has nothing to do with the dial locking screws, but since it was brought up, I had to take a closer look at the cross feed screw. It's definitely not the original. My bet is, it was 10 TPI at some point. The acme threaded section is pinned to the gear section with a roll pin. Originally, this would have been a single piece, I am sure. Plus, the nut has been "modified" - I'm not sure what it originally came out of, but a section of 8 TPI female threads was pinned to part of the nut.

IMG_2952.jpg

It ain't stupid if it works, I guess.
 
MyLilMule said:
Realizing this has nothing to do with the dial locking screws, but since it was brought up, I had to take a closer look at the cross feed screw. It's definitely not the original. My bet is, it was 10 TPI at some point. The acme threaded section is pinned to the gear section with a roll pin. Originally, this would have been a single piece, I am sure. Plus, the nut has been "modified" - I'm not sure what it originally came out of, but a section of 8 TPI female threads was pinned to part of the nut.

View attachment 310883

It ain't stupid if it works, I guess.
Click to expand...
Really need 10tpi for the dial to be accurate. Should be one turn per 100 thou, thus 10 turns per inch.

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk
 
Scratch that! The dial has been changed also. It will work like it is .250/2=.125 thus .125x8=1 hope I diddnt confuse you more.

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk
 
You stated that you don't have the measuring tools needed to measure the thread pitches. Go to ebay and pick a set up (they are called THREAD PITCH GAGES). They are less than $20 a set. Here's a set for less than $10.

Here's a pic of the item so that others can see the gage when the item is removed from ebay:

attachment.php
 
MyLilMule said:
Plus, the nut has been "modified" - I'm not sure what it originally came out of, but a section of 8 TPI female threads was pinned to part of the nut.
Click to expand...

Can you tell what the material is for the nut section? That's a really great idea for fixing your cross slide nut. Is the pin really a set screw? Is there one on both sides of the top boss?
 
SLK001 said:
Can you tell what the material is for the nut section? That's a really great idea for fixing your cross slide nut. Is the pin really a set screw? Is there one on both sides of the top boss?
Click to expand...

The nut appears to be all brass. The inner threads are held in place with a single set screw from the top. The feed screw acme thread is held with a roll pin.
 
SLK001 said:
You stated that you don't have the measuring tools needed to measure the thread pitches. Go to ebay and pick a set up (they are called THREAD PITCH GAGES). They are less than $20 a set. Here's a set for less than $10.
Click to expand...

I ended up placing a small order on Az (as much as I hate them - lol) for a set of these, some feeler gauges, and a 6" rule. It's a start. ePay isn't bad, it's just that I find it hit or miss and sometimes when it says shipping from CA, they really mean China, and I end up waiting 3 weeks for something I could have tomorrow for the same price.
 
MyLilMule said:
I ended up placing a small order on Az (as much as I hate them - lol) for a set of these, some feeler gauges, and a 6" rule. It's a start. ePay isn't bad, it's just that I find it hit or miss and sometimes when it says shipping from CA, they really mean China, and I end up waiting 3 weeks for something I could have tomorrow for the same price.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's true, but ordering from China is always a crap shoot. I have found that lately, ordering stuff from China arrives fairly quick, because I guess that there is a lot more room for space-available mail bags.

Also, make sure that your order was for an SAE version of the gages, although you might also want to get a metric set too. Your large dial looks like those I have seen on foreign built lathes, so it probably has a metric screw hole.
 
SLK001 said:
Yeah, it's true, but ordering from China is always a crap shoot. I have found that lately, ordering stuff from China arrives fairly quick, because I guess that there is a lot more room for space-available mail bags.

Also, make sure that your order was for an SAE version of the gages, although you might also want to get a metric set too. Your large dial looks like those I have seen on foreign built lathes, so it probably has a metric screw hole.
Click to expand...

Turned out to be a slightly wallowed out 10-32. I tried an M4 and an M5 at Ace Hardware. Neither would fit. The 10-32 cap screws they had fit fine, so I picked up a 1/2" and a 3/8" until McMaster allows customer pick up again. Ace also had a length of 5/32" brass rod to use as the shoes. I decided to skip the dowel and just cut the brass longer. I can't see why the dowel would even be necessary. Was brass that expensive in 1941? ;)

All is good. Now to pull the gear train apart.
 
MyLilMule said:
Turned out to be a slightly wallowed out 10-32. I tried an M4 and an M5 at Ace Hardware. Neither would fit. The 10-32 cap screws they had fit fine, so I picked up a 1/2" and a 3/8" until McMaster allows customer pick up again. Ace also had a length of 5/32" brass rod to use as the shoes. I decided to skip the dowel and just cut the brass longer. I can't see why the dowel would even be necessary. Was brass that expensive in 1941? ;)

All is good. Now to pull the gear train apart.
Click to expand...

Don't do this. The brass will slowly bend and peen from the thumbscrew and can become a permanent part of the lathe (and unmovable, too).

I thought that McM-C had walk-up lockers for items? Oh, it appears that Cleveland is the only site that doesn't have walk-up.
 
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