Harrison L5 rescue

[micktoon]

 Good morning all , I am totally new to posting so not sure if what you are seeing is what you are meant to be seeing . This is the state of my Harrsion L5 1959 lathe when I rescued it from a damp old shed, I have had it a few years and its been cleaned up and used a bit but still scruffy so the plan is to now give it a good going over to get it half decent. More recent photos to follow if this post works ok.
  Cheers Mick

[buffalow bill]

Hi Mick,
Looks like you have this ere posting pics OK.     
A fue of your workshop would be good, I'll am green with envy as my shop is still in my head ( and some would say there is plenty of room for it!)    
Bill

[micktoon]

Thanks Bill , I will get photos of shop as I do the jobs for the lathe, well that post seemed ok , the images were thumbnail, I would like the normal size images if possible as I know when I read through posts nothing is worse than having to click on every pic to see better. I have found some old photos of the lathe after a bit of elbow grease and a couple of it as its been used for the last couple of years. I am planning on doing a bit today so will post tonight.
 Cheers Mick

[Rob.Wilson]

Hi Mick 

The lathe is looking good , have you used it much ?  whats it like ?   , its just i have my eye on an L5 

To embed your photos you will need to use Photobucket   http://photobucket.com/ there are two cracking post by Ralph on how too
http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=607.0

And to resize use Fastone  http://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm   , http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=4735.0


Rob

[doubleboost]

Hi
Mick
You have made a great job of cleaning up that lathe
It looks to be in good shape under all that grime
John

[micktoon]

 Its not too bad John, that was phase 1 now it just needs a good go over and paint to get it back to its former glory  .
    Thanks for them links Rob , I will check them out and hopefully get into the swing of posting better as I go. I have not used the lathe too much really , well mainly making bits for the lathe , backplates etc and other parts for various stuff, its been fine for everything I have done but I have not done anything too tricky mind. I like the lathe and have only heard good things about Harrisons in general, this one has the screwed spindle but the larger bore 2. 1/4 inch 6 tpi, quite hard to find backplates , faceplates etc for I still need some stuff.  If I had of posted before I took it apart you could have had a go to see what you thought its now in bits as you will see from tonights photos  , my plan is to strip and clean , repair what I can then maybe put back together to try to access how 'true' things are ( something I might need advice with ) then strip back and do what needs done and give it a nice repaint, hopefully ending up with it operating and looking as it was back in its day.
  Cheers Mick.

[doubleboost]

Hi
Mick
Are you running your lathe from a phase converter
That is assuming it is 3 phase
John

[micktoon]

     Hi John, the lathe is single phase 1hp motor at the moment but its a noisey motor and I think the date on it is 1941!, its a huge old thing massive for 1 hp. I have an inverter and 1.5hp three phase new ish but decent motor I was thinking of fitting , no doubt that will involve making brackets , a pully , a mount for inverter bla bla bla as these things always do . The top speed is 750 rpm at the moment but L5's did have the option of two speed motor and 1500 rpm top speed so all the bearings etc are good for higher than 750 rpm and I know the inverters can get more than 50hz in therory so maybe get higher top speed with it too ? and reversing for threading, I know its a screwed on chuck so a bit iffy but having said that how much force is needed for taking off the chuck I think you would have to be doing something daft to get it to come free.
   How do you find the inverter on your Boxford ?
  Cheers Mick

[AdeV]

Nice rescue of a nice lathe Mick. I've always had a soft spot for the L5, I nearly scored one a while back, before ending up with the Edgwick.

and reversing for threading, I know its a screwed on chuck so a bit iffy but having said that how much force is needed for taking off the chuck I think you would have to be doing something daft to get it to come free.

The big danger, as I understand it, is if you do an emergency stop from a high reverse speed: The lathe stops, but the chuck doesn't... That shouldn't be a problem when threading, as you won't be doing high speed.

[micktoon]

    Cheers Ade, as you say its stopping from high speed that is probably the risky part but I can avoid that ok so think it would have its advantages over all. In hindsight maybe a phase converter would have been a good idea instead of inverters on various machines ? then again it would not have suited everything and speed control is good on most things too. I enjoyed your 'mega sump' Ade plenty getting around problems on that project !
  Cheers Mick

[micktoon]

  After spending hours hopefully sorting out this photo embedding and resizing business I will try another photo to see if its worked or not. If anyone else is wanting to do this,  look at Robs post above for links to Ralphs  ( Divided he ad ) TOP CLASS postings on the topics, he will defo go to Heaven for them posts  and deserves a huge gold medal too  not to mention a few beers. I would have been messing about till Christmas to have worked that out on my own  .......who am I kidding ....... I would never have worked it out.  So thanks again Rob for pointing me in the right direction and Ralph for taking the time to post the instructions in such a easy to understand way.



This is the headstock after all the flaking paint scraped off.
  Mick

[AdeV]

Thanks Mick, the sump was a slightly crazy project.... I'm planning Mk2 now, it will be a CNC version, but first I have to learn 3D CAD, then CAM, then make it suit my non-G-code machine....

I've been fortunate that everywhere I've been for the last 10 years+ has an actual 3-phase supply. A while back, I bought a 3-phase alternator from Machine Mart (on one of their "VAT free" days), so if I ever do lose my 3ph supply I can run the alternator, either attached to a single-phase motor, or a generator, whichever seems most practical.

I see you have the Norton style gearbox on yours - will that cut metric and imperial, or do you need to add a change gear for that? Just curious as mine will cut both from the same gearbox...

[micktoon]

   Hi Ade, the gearbox can cut both metric and imperial but needs a 127T gear ( I now have after looking for ages ) and a couple of other gears changed namely a 60T which I now have, plus a 40T and 63T both of which I still need, along with face plate and catch plate. The three phase thing is a bind in general for the average home workshop, I have inverters on things, which still involves changing switch gear and suds pumps, lamps etc or managed to convert to single phase from three phase like I have on my Boxford shaper.
   I don't envy you having to learn all the 3D CAD then CAM and dont even know what G code is to be honest Once you have learnt it your set I suppose and it makes some things that would be a nightmare to get right easy once you're up and running too ( well in therory anyway ). It was your sump post that first lead me to madmodders to be honest... just found it looking about the net for Bridgeport info and was very impressed with your project and madmodders 
   Cheers Mick.

[Rob.Wilson]

Hi Mick

I see you got the photos posting  sorted  , Ralph did a dam fine job of the "How Too Posts"  . I will be watching this thread closely see how the lathe turns out .

Shaper you say ,sounds like you have a well tooled up shop. 


Rob

[BillTodd]

I've been fiddling with a knackered L5-4A just this afternoon. Yours looks in much better shape Will be watching your progress with interest

I'm about to graft a new-ish piece of double start thread to the old cross-slide screw (I didn't fancy trying to make a complete new one) .

Do you have a picture of the top of the cross-slide nut? (I'm not sure if this one has been modified - has a step milled into it for some reason).

Bill

[awemawson]

Thanks Mick, the sump was a slightly crazy project.... I'm planning Mk2 now, it will be a CNC version, but first I have to learn 3D CAD, then CAM, then make it suit my non-G-code machine....

I've been fortunate that everywhere I've been for the last 10 years+ has an actual 3-phase supply. A while back, I bought a 3-phase alternator from Machine Mart (on one of their "VAT free" days), so if I ever do lose my 3ph supply I can run the alternator, either attached to a single-phase motor, or a generator, whichever seems most practical.

I see you have the Norton style gearbox on yours - will that cut metric and imperial, or do you need to add a change gear for that? Just curious as mine will cut both from the same gearbox...

Adev,

Your machine IS G code enabled - just it starts up in Heidenhain conversational - you can switch to G code simply by changing a parameter. My TNC355 based machine (Beaver Partsmaster) is extremely similar, although I choose to work conversational as I have a Heidenhain post processor for Featurecam (that was written for a TNC150/151!!!!!)

AWEM

[doubleboost]

Hi
Mike
Your lathe has cleaned up very nice
I am very happy with the VFD on my Boxford
It makes screw cutting a pleasure
I had a colchester bantam lathe wich i converted to single phase , had i known then how good VFD inverters are i would have used one on that . I would have been cheaper as well.
The soft start is a great feature .
John

[micktoon]

  Good evening gents , I have got distracted from the lathe today getting the milling machine cleared off and making a gadget that a diamond point dresser fits into to true up a grinding wheel for sharpening my woodturning gouges, I will attach a photo or two and you will see what its like ( the holes in side of billet were already there and just big enough to do the job so will have to do. I have been given one to copy. Note temp inverter for power table resting on radiator... another job to do !
  Is it just my clock on posts wrong or is everyones ? its 4.30pm ?? acording to the site, the other thing is in my profile I put location Newcastle and my age but they dont show either ?? any ideas.







  Hi Bill, I will take a photo and post it in the morning for you of crossslide nut, mine looks a bit homemade ? it has raised spigot on top and a split that has been pinned with grub screw to take up backlash by moving either side of the split apart ?
  Hi Rob, I have been collecting machinery and tools for ages now so have Bridgeport , Boxford shaper, progress 2 pillar drill, Harrison ped grinder and buffer, the Harrison L5 , Harrison graduate wood lathe a Binns & Berry lathe 7 1/2 inch centre height, Clarkson T&C grinder, Startrite vertical bandsaw and Horizontal bandsaw, Mig , Tig. Half the machine tool stuff needs the same as the Harrison ( a good going over to get it operating right ) Next on the to do lists are the Clarkson, needs tee slot table as slots burst out and to get the Bridgeport fettled.  I am watching your CNC conversion with great interest, its looking very nice too.
  Hi John, I am glad to hear your impressed with the inverter, I watched your screw cutting video on youtube and the reverse looked spot on, I have just seen your latest engine base pattern post there , it looks quality, thats going to be some pour !!

   Mick.
 

[Rob.Wilson]

I now have machine envy Mick    ,, well tooled 

Just sent you a PM , see if the time is correct for you now 

Rob

[micktoon]

  Hi Bill, I have the photos for you, I cant tell if this nut is homemade by someone that knows what they are doing or the way it was made at the factory , it does not look mass produced so makes me think homemade but some stuff was just done by hand in the 1950's anyway. this has a very small milled recess as you will see but I cant see a need for it anyway, this one has a small hole drilled down from the top so oil could get to the screw, my base plate ( part with the graduated scale on ) where this nut attaches to has no place for an oiler but others I have seen have so I might add one anyway.
   Hope the photos help if you need anymore of other parts just let me know .
  Cheers Mick.

[micktoon]

  Bill I have just thought why the milled part might be there, the small thin chip guard at the front of the cross slide will hit the nut and stop travel I think  when the cross slide comes back towards the handwheel, so this gap will let the cross slide reach the hand wheel end at full travel ?
  Mick

[BillTodd]

That's great Mick. Thanks

It confirms that the step is required (I thought it might be a backlash reducing bodge ) .

I'm fairly sure this one is an original nut : it's a crudely fettled casting. Both it and the screw are marked with a figure two. Interestingly, this one was spaced down by a small stack of shims - I guess that, when new, it had less than the 60 thou" backlash !

Thanks again for the pictures. If you need any of this one, let me know .

Bill

[Ned Ludd]

Hi Mick,
I'm sure with all your equipment you don't need to be told that a 3Ph motor runs much more quietly and smoothly on a VFD than a phase converter. That and speed control makes it a no-contest situation in my view.
Ned

[micktoon]

 Hi Ned , I know what you mean and you are right, just sometimes in hindsight it might have saved a lot of hassle just leaving things three phase, switches , suds pumps , lamps etc and just plug whatever you want to use into a converter........ instead of a project per machine and then next time you go to use it the inverter has gone US  , as has happened with both the Bridgeport inverters , one for the table and one for the spindle, sometimes it just feels a bit like  ha ha .

 Mick

[lordedmond]

Nice rescue of a nice lathe Mick. I've always had a soft spot for the L5, I nearly scored one a while back, before ending up with the Edgwick.

and reversing for threading, I know its a screwed on chuck so a bit iffy but having said that how much force is needed for taking off the chuck I think you would have to be doing something daft to get it to come free.

The big danger, as I understand it, is if you do an emergency stop from a high reverse speed: The lathe stops, but the chuck doesn't... That shouldn't be a problem when threading, as you won't be doing high speed.

Ade

wrong way round

if the spindle is rotating in the normal forwards direction and you stop the spindle ( by what ever means ) the chuck ail continue to rotate in a anticlockwise rotation ( looking up the spout ) thus unscrew ( dont ask how I know )  when you are in reverse and stop the spindle it will tighten it up

You have to consider the spindle not the chuck  stop the spindle and the chuck will tend to try and continue in the same direction

Stuart