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12th Nov 2018, 06:08 PM #1Intermediate Member
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- Aug 2000
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- Perth
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Sheraton 9 project how far do you go with an old machine?
A few months back I bought an old Sheraton model A as a shed toy but haven't really had much time to do anything with until now.
Anyway i knew I wasn't buying something pristine and didn't pay a lot but to say it has had a hard life I think is being very kind. So far I haven't turned anything as I'm still in the process of making a new stand for it as its on a massive bench that won't fit in my shed so I am uncertain as to how accurate it can turn. I've started cleaning bits and pieces of it but everywhere I have looked so far seems pretty worn, which I guess can be expected for something that from the style of the motor is about 50 years old. I think that trying to restore it to factory condition will be a waste of time and money but as there are a couple beds available at the moment I was thinking that replacing the bed may be of some benefit but if the saddle is also worn to the same degree then this may be a waste of time.
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The ways are pretty beat up and worn and I need a few new screws for the rack, one is missing some of the others are pretty rounded out and it's hard to tighten them.
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I took the banjo off last night as I wanted to see how hard it was to remove the headstock as the screws holding the gearbox are loose and noticed that there is just two capscrews holding the headstock on.
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Is this method of attaching the headstock normal for a Sheraton? as a lot of what would be square headed screws on a Hercus are all capscrews so I'm not sure in a lot of cases what is original and what has been modified over the years.
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Your thoughts / comments are appreciated, mainly I want something to machine up little bits and pieces as necessary and at this point in time won't be doing much in the way of precision machining on it.
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12th Nov 2018, 06:21 PM #2Most Valued Member
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- Jul 2016
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- Melbourne
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- 35
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- 1,522
That bed is certainly pretty abused. I'd definitely not bother and boy have I taken on some basket cases.
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12th Nov 2018, 06:33 PM #3Diamond Member
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- Aug 2006
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- Melbourne
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Out of curiosity what is wrong with that lathe bed?
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12th Nov 2018, 07:02 PM #4Golden Member
- Join Date
- Aug 2015
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
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- 843
Hi Darryn,
First of all congrats on the new machine. Yes, it'll be worn, but you'll be surprised what you can turn out on a worn machine. Sometimes it might be a challenge, but it'll make you a better machinist, that is for sure. I have a 1941 South Bend 10". The Sheratons are a South Bend 9" copy. My '41 is pretty worn. They're not complex machines so if it suits your fancy, don't write off a strip-and-clean and minor refurb. The felts are probably garbage and there is likely sh*te everywhere in it.
Re the beds. The ways look pretty worn but but you can counter for that in some ways. As a start for the beds ways, I'd make a 'burr file' and take off all the high spots. Only the raised part of a ding matters, so cut them down. A burr file is very easy to make. Take an old file, cut some of it off using an angle grinder or something, then, using an oil stone, rub your new file section on the stone to flatten the tops of the teeth slightly.
A file with slightly flattened teeth like that will only file off high spots and will not eat into anything. When using it, you can hear when the high spots are gone .. the file whistles on the surface. Much better than a stone.
The poor old lathe might be abused but, for sure, with a bit of care it'll be on this planet long after we're all gone. And certainly well after the inevitable zombie apocalypse.
All up to you though, giving the old girl a cleanup is a fair bit of work, but very rewarding.
Greg.
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15th Nov 2018, 02:19 AM #5Intermediate Member
- Join Date
- Aug 2000
- Location
- Perth
- Posts
- 34
Hi Greg
Thanks for your comments, please be assured I have no thoughts of giving up on it I'm just being pragmatic about not spending money unless it's going to make a worthwhile difference
Regarding a worn machine making me a better machinist, I'm not one by trade but grew up around my father's general engineering business and taking up the backlash was drummed into my head from a very young age.
I had thought about using a stone on the ways after seeing one used in a lot of scraping videos but the file idea makes more sense.
The strip clean minor refurb seems to be happening organically at the moment as getting it onto the new stand is probably going to be easier in bite size pieces and as I need to take the headstock of to get to one of the gearbox screws I might as well take the gearbox off and clean it out. I think the previous owner was more of a woodworker than metalworker as the main thing that seems to be everywhere inside it is mdf dust. I'll keep updating the thread as I go.
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15th Nov 2018, 09:44 AM #6Diamond Member
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- Aug 2006
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- Melbourne
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- 1,105
I wouldn't have thought you would need to remove the head stock to take the gearbox out.
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15th Nov 2018, 11:47 AM #7Senior Member
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- Jun 2013
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- Tasmania
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- 257
Any lathe is better than no lathe.
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15th Nov 2018, 05:24 PM #8Intermediate Member
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- Aug 2000
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- Perth
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- 34
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15th Nov 2018, 06:36 PM #9Most Valued Member
- Join Date
- Nov 2017
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- Geelong, Australia
- Age
- 57
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- 2,651
I got given a similar lathe about 30 years ago when it was being tossed from a school (Hercus 9" - A model). Bed wear was worse than yours, but probably not as dinged up.
I was lucky enough a couple of years later to be able to swap the bed for a better one from another lathe that had been sectioned and was being used as a training aid at work. Up until a couple of years ago it was still the only lathe I had and did various small jobs to varying degrees of poor accuracy.
I'd say if you can get a bed thats in much better condition cheaply (which to me would be less that $100) then take the opportunity to to change it. Cut the old bed up and make some straightedges and you'll probably make money on the deal!!
Other than that just clean the gunk off, fix up whats broken and use it.
A replacement bed won't change the fact that everything else is worn but will definitely remove some of the wear related error and assuming the gearbox works OK you'll end up with a useful tool for learning general turning and thread cutting You might even keep it when you upgrade due to it being able to easily cut imperial threads.
If you do end up selling it later the better bed will improve its value - if for no other reason that giving a better first impression to the buyer. You can still be honest about its history.
Steve
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