MadModder

Thanks for your thoughts chaps.

I have a feeling that the tool disk currently on the lathe will be easier to dismantle than the broken spare one but I'd still like to get that apart first to see what's what. Latest plan is to lug out my rather heavy magnetic drill (it's old school not Temu!) and drill out the broken off bit and tap those outer holes for a strong 'push off bolt'.

Need to do some careful measurements to stop the drilling before breaking through into the main casting and either create a flat bottomed tap, or push off bolts with reduced ends to pass through the inevitably tapered end of the tapping.

Why does everything get so complicated !

OK last resort - what does the drawing say ? Well the only drawing that I have is from the Patent Application so may not be 'as built' but here it is:

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Now to me that is clear as mud. I can see the large bolts screwing into the outer half of the front curvic coupling allowing for a bit of rotational adjustment (as I have previously done). But the ten smaller bolts from the way that I'm reading the drawing don't seem to do anything.

I've retreated for more head scratching.

As best I can tell, and I'm not much cop at interpreting those kind of drawings either...

The smaller bolts look exactly like the pattern that typically holds a car flywheel to the crankshaft. My best guess would be that if you undo and remove them all, you then screw bolts into the two holes top & bottom & use them to push the whole front piece off. Or maybe just the middle comes out, since the drawing shows all the bolts flush with the same surface, but neither physical unit matches that (the centre bolts being further in). Best guess, the big outer bolts are holding the coupling together (with,as you say, enough play to make minor radial adjustments), the inner bolts are what's holding it together. Probably gravity isn't strong enough to overcome the sticktion between the two parts, hence the push-it-out bolt holes in the centre portion.

Should be easy enough to test the theory - loosen the inner bolts, screw a bolt into one of the things you suggested might be for a slide hammer, and see if a) it bottoms out and b) if so, that it does indeed dislodge the coupling.

Today's task - remove the tool disk from the spindle. How hard can it be, I've previously several years ago been able to rotate the disk to align the tool pockets to the curvic coupling so I kow that the eight large cap screws lock them together but what actually fixes them. There is a row of ten smaller cap screws that I feel MUST be involved but are they?

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As eventually I will need to set the alignment of tool pockets to curvic coupling to cam features on the spindle I wanted to resolve this before yanking on the original disk in the lathe.

I dragged out my spare (but busted) tool turret to experiment with to have a look see. Plan was to sit it on it's rear flat casting face with the tool disk upwards and pull it apart. Absolutely no way I could get it in the attitude so I roped in a passing friend. We also failed what is this thing made of, solid uranium to judge by it's weight.

So out comes the engine hoist again and we managed to get it sitting as I wanted it.

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First I slackened the eight big bolts a long way out and did a tentative lift, no the whole turret came up. Then I did the same with the ten slightly smaller bolts with exactly the same null result. So glad that I'm working on the spare and not the one in the lathe!

OK last resort - what does the drawing say ? Well the only drawing that I have is from the Patent Application so may not be 'as built' but here it is:

  [ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]  

Now to me that is clear as mud. I can see the large bolts screwing into the outer half of the front curvic coupling allowing for a bit of rotational adjustment (as I have previously done). But the ten smaller bolts from the way that I'm reading the drawing don't seem to do anything.

I've retreated for more head scratching.

Lots of lateral thinking going on 

Plus lateral some shifting!

Lots of lateral thinking going on