Thread: Chipmaster cleanup

Originally Posted by morrisman

Thanks for the links . BTW I have the same power hacksaw, your example has a faster cutting stroke than mine does. Would this be the motor RPMs ? They were made in Taiwan and sold under different brands.

No worries. I sold that power hacksaw many years ago which i regret so can't remember.

Been slowly progressing or maybe going backwards. The spindle is back in the headstock, the spindle bearings are not perfect but should be OK for hobby use. This lathe has been flogged at some time in its life, but it still has lots of life left in it. I need to find new toothed belts somewhere , one drives the power feeds and another wider one drives the spindle . Somebody on another forum did a conversion and he fitted modern poly ribbed belts , he somehow fitted new pullies over the original pullies, he reported that the poly belts are so much quieter than the toothed type. The rear spindle bearing cup floats in the housing , a unusual design, a flange with a ring of little springs pushes the cup towards the bearing cone, the cup to housing tolerance or clearance is very tiny.

I am becoming more familiar with the innards of this lathe and feel more confident about pulling it apart again if I have to ! Take lots of pics during the disassembly !

Originally Posted by morrisman

Been slowly progressing or maybe going backwards. The spindle is back in the headstock, the spindle bearings are not perfect but should be OK for hobby use. This lathe has been flogged at some time in its life, but it still has lots of life left in it. I need to find new toothed belts somewhere , one drives the power feeds and another wider one drives the spindle .

Pretty sure I've a spare set somewhere which I am NOT parting with, but they might have their part numbers on them if you think that'd help finding replacements.

With luck I even might know where they are.

Send me a PM if you're interested, I've a lot on as usual so don't drop by here very often.

PDW

Originally Posted by PDW

Pretty sure I've a spare set somewhere which I am NOT parting with, but they might have their part numbers on them if you think that'd help finding replacements.

With luck I even might know where they are.

Send me a PM if you're interested, I've a lot on as usual so don't drop by here very often.

PDW

Hi

Thanks. I think the guy from the lathes uk site sells the correct belts , but that probably would be a expensive option.

An update: The guys on the Chipmaster group have just given me these numbers , available from the UK bearing Company. Not sure if these are available here in Aust. Looks like GATES part numbers

Australian seller: https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/timin...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.thebearingcompany.co.uk/...l-timing-belt/

Hi morrisman,

"The spindle is back in the headstock..."

.. and I take it thats a photo (nice photo by the way) of you pulling the spindle in with threaded rods through the front headstock cover.
I expect to be doing something similar with my Chippie 'restoration from the grave' project in the not too distant future.

Question: my concern is that if my tightening of the nuts is less than perfect, the front bearing could twist and jam in the headstock casting. Did you find the spindle went in easily, or was it a problem needing some fiddling or smart tricks?

Cheers, Bill

Originally Posted by WCD

Hi morrisman,

"The spindle is back in the headstock..."

.. and I take it thats a photo (nice photo by the way) of you pulling the spindle in with threaded rods through the front headstock cover.
I expect to be doing something similar with my Chippie 'restoration from the grave' project in the not too distant future.

Question: my concern is that if my tightening of the nuts is less than perfect, the front bearing could twist and jam in the headstock casting. Did you find the spindle went in easily, or was it a problem needing some fiddling or smart tricks?

Cheers, Bill

hi Bill

It went in easily. I carefully applied a little force across the five nuts , slowly , it took some time . Be aware there is a ring or flange that sits in the bore , you have to carefully move the spindle past the ring otherwise the spindle will foul on the ring and the ring will push out . I applied a little oil on the headstock bore to help ease the bearing in . You also have to make sure one of the four holes in the bearing is lined up with the oil dripper which is located high up in the headstock. And first install the rear bearing cap/flange , the flange holds the ring of springs. it is easier to fit this part before fitting any of the other shafts.

Thanks for that response. The process of rebuilding the headstock from scratch (every part separated) has potential for errors, some nasty, so I am writing up a detailed procedure. Odd questions would not have been such a problem when Colchester was still in business as I understand they were helpful.
Nice paint job shown in your photo!
I appreciate also your explanation of the parts, though I do have good drawings, for example:
Spindle and parts.jpg
Drawings like this makes the planning much easier, though not without uncertainties. For example my Chippie has a spindle part not shown in the drawing attached, or any others seen to date. It's a large washer with a very narrow face, and fits between the rear bearing preload springs and the outer race. That's unless it has previously been misplaced and actually fits somewhere else, though I can't see where. However there were sure to be more parts drawings than can be found these days, and it's likely in one of those.

Chipmaster brg springs and washer.jpg

Cheers, Bill

The lathe came with a five inch 3 jaw chuck only. I noticed today one of the camlock studs is bent , the stud thread appears to be 7/16" with a 20 tpi thread . Are these available ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lve-4VW1qmo

I managed to straighten the bent stud.

The camlock studs are meant to have a slightly loose fit in the back plate. Apparently the loose fit is to allow the stud to rotate a few degrees in order to firmly lock into the cam mechanism in the spindle . Trouble is, after years of use the stud threads can wear to the point of having have too much sideways play , the studs rock or wobble from side to side . How much play is too much ?

Thanks for posting the link to that DIY camlock part video.
You can buy camlock parts from Mac-It (macit.com). Not cheap, but not wildly expensive either.
There are sure to be other sources, but I have not troubled to look for them.
Bill

A few years back (2017) macit.com was the only place I could find that had the size cams i needed (for a chipmaster) however they would absolutley not respond to any email or attempt to purchase cams from them and post to Australia. Basically at the time the only way to get them to respond was for them to post to an American address - which at the time things aligned for me and I managed to get some out of pure luck as I new someone traveling over there who was visiting family.

the web site now appears to have been upgraded a little and they now even appear to accept paypal, so maybe they would even post direct to Australia no problem.

Originally Posted by Zsteve

..... however they would absolutley not respond to any email or attempt to purchase cams from them and post to Australia. ......

Yes, I have had that with some sellers in the US, but managed to find US based mail forwarding businesses to get things here. Also, mail forwarding can reduce costs if the seller offers only really expensive (though very fast) delivery.
Bill

Been working on the variator, this lathe has a early 3 ball variator, they changed to 6 balls later .

The input/output shafts are identical, with each shaft having two 6207 radial bearings and a 51208 thrust bearing , these bearings are common and are easy to find replacements .

The way they designed it, the inner 6207 has some axial play, it is not a press fit on the shaft , I think this is a design feature so it can preload the thrust bearing as you tighten down the end threaded lock nut.

The thrust bearing is badly pitted and is u/s . The inner 6207 is also sloppy and worn. The cones and balls appear to be useable but I will see how it goes !

Pics from another owner https://www.pearl-hifi.com/06_Lit_Ar...or_Re_Assy.pdf

While moving the heavy 3hp motor , which is original to the lathe , 1963 vintage , it slipped off the trolley and one of the mounting legs broke. A previous accident many years ago before I owned it has broken another leg off , it's been welded back on and is holding. The legs are very fragile and easily broken, poor design. The motor is mounted upside down , it sits beneath the variator on a heavy cast frame which sits on three rubber flex mounts.

The legs are cast integral with the motor body . I ground off the broken area and tinned it and the leg with brazing bronze, I then brazed the broken bit on.