My Harrison Lathe.....Restoration??

[Darren]

OK, OK, not strictly a Harrison as you know it, but made by them all the same. Harrison made machines under the Union brand name until the 70's.

This is the Union L.1.A.S from around the 30's.



This is my newly acquired example.....oh dear







Why did I take this home? Well firstly it was free, it came with a complete set of change wheels, dogplate, face plate, 3&4 jaw chuck, intermediate shaft with pulleys and a working motor. Basically it's all there, inc the end cover with thread cutting chart

At worst the change wheels can be used for dividing, and the slide maybe used as a milling slide on another lathe....

But wait, lets not abandon it just jet..............more to come I've been busy tonight...!!

 

[Darren]

Ok, first thing we need to know is just how bad is this rust...!!

It sure looks bad, those pic's are not exaggerating anything....lets have a look...

Using a rather large cobolt lathe tool as a scraper I carefully removed the surface muck....



Surprisingly it was mostly a combination of grease, and lots of it, sawdust and a bit of rust...in fact this lathe was quite well greased up when stored by the look of it..
A little rust has got to the bed, but it's not that bad in reality...



Armed with nothing more than this



And a few of these, (Bogs would be happy at least)



You too could look like this...ahem...



Not too bad so far, better than the first impression by far, wouldn't you agree...?


Then the next stage, I took a diamond hone, not the cheap plastic type with holes in, they flex far too much. But a metal backed solid type. Read that as very solid.
Mine is a "very, very fine" whatever that translates to?
About an hour later with very careful attn to detail regarding flatness and full bed length strokes we have this. keeping it flat was not too much of a problem as suction did the hard work. Lucky for me that this bed is flat.



Now then, how good is it so far? Well the carriage now glides from one end of the bed to the other with a simple flick of a finger, it just glides,

Unbelievable !!! Well I was shocked at just how smooth it glides....beautiful...

I'll do some more on this methinks...

[Brass_Machine]

Tool restorations are great to read. Is that a treadle powered lathe? I assume it is for wood? Please edumacate me 

Eric

[bogstandard]

That mug is way too small, double the size at least.

In the first instance on any of the assembled bits, if you can, get an old washing up bowl (or even a new one) and soak the assemblies in diesel fuel. Doesn't need to cover them, just use a brush to get it onto the bits. Leave for at least a day. That should then free everything up, and you will do less damage getting them apart. Don't go too heavy getting the rust off mating moving parts, most of it will wear off when you get the thing turning.

I wouldn't expect too much from it in the accuracy stakes, but it would make a good roughing out machine.

John

[CrewCab]

Blimey Darren .............. you do like a challenge don't you    ........  From the second picture to the last ............. the difference is incredible 

Keep us updated ............... and ............. where do you find all the spare time  .... if it's available in the supermarket can you post a link 

CC

[Darren]

Tool restorations are great to read. Is that a treadle powered lathe? I assume it is for wood? Please edumacate me 

Eric

Hi Eric, yes it was a treadle lathe originally, but like a lot of them it was "converted" to leccy when it came about no doubt.
It's a metal lathe

[Darren]

That mug is way too small, double the size at least.

In the first instance on any of the assembled bits, if you can, get an old washing up bowl (or even a new one) and soak the assemblies in diesel fuel. Doesn't need to cover them, just use a brush to get it onto the bits. Leave for at least a day. That should then free everything up, and you will do less damage getting them apart. Don't go too heavy getting the rust off mating moving parts, most of it will wear off when you get the thing turning.

I wouldn't expect too much from it in the accuracy stakes, but it would make a good roughing out machine.

John

Hi John, surprisingly everything it free, nothing was even tight. The bearings feel tight but spins just dandy.

Accuracy, yep not expecting too much, will have to wait and see.

But, but, but,
It's got a back gear and a 10.5" gap bed, wonder if it's up to making me a backplate...? Should be, shouldn't it?

Question is can I make one...

Darren

[Darren]

Blimey Darren .............. you do like a challenge don't you    ........  From the second picture to the last ............. the difference is incredible 

Keep us updated ............... and ............. where do you find all the spare time  .... if it's available in the supermarket can you post a link 

CC

I'll be honest I thought this lathe was a basket case. I wasn't even going to post about it.
But when I scraped the muck off the bedway my thoughts took a turn.
Ok, it's not much of a lathe. But I'm sure it'll find some use....maybe !!
I just fancied restoring it and see what gives...I mean, it's nearly 100 yrs old, well not far off, be a shame to scrap it now.

Darren

[Darren]

Did a little more tonight and it's looking a bit better all the time



Tried shining a light through, didn't see much surprisingly. How accurate are these rules anyway, my 2ft one is deff not straight, different on both sides. This 12" one is better.
That's a 500W photo flood light I'm using. I know you can't see much in the pic, but there wasn't hardly a slither of light getting through.







Darren

[Darren]

Oh, I forgot,

Isn't cast iron nice to work with..can sorta "feel" what's going on.

Hope it machines just as well...

[bogstandard]

Darren,

You have a faceplate and a chuck for it.

If it can cut an 8TPI thread, then I see no reason for it not being able to make your cherished backplates.

As long as you can get it to cut accurately for a length of about 2" in the headstock area (that will be where all the wear is, if it has any).

John

[dsquire]

Darren
Glad to see that you were in the right place at the right time. The difference between the before and after photos is amazing.

I will be watching to see the final outcome on restoring this lathe. Job well done to date.
Cheers

Don

OK, OK, not strictly a Harrison as you know it, but made by them all the same. Harrison made machines under the Union brand name until the 70's.


Why did I take this home? Well firstly it was free, it came with a complete set of change wheels, dogplate, face plate, 3&4 jaw chuck, intermediate shaft with pulleys and a working motor. Basically it's all there, inc the end cover with thread cutting chart

At worst the change wheels can be used for dividing, and the slide maybe used as a milling slide on another lathe....

But wait, lets not abandon it just jet..............more to come I've been busy tonight...!!
 

[Darren]

A little update on tonights work on this little lathe.

I lapped the saddle to the bed for an hour or so using some fine aluminium oxide powder mixed with WD40 oil. This allowed me to see where the high spots where and hopefully "knock" them off somewhat. "knock" doesn't really conjure the right image....it's taking hours and hours !!

You should be able to see darker sections/lines on the bed, this is where the paste has been doing it's job leaving a rougher finish than the diamond stone. It looks like a groove but I can assure you it's not. You can't feel it, it's just how the light catches the different finishes.



After I was satisfied that the lapping of the bedways was good enough I turned my attention towards the top cross slide.
Remember this???



Well it now looks like this and has too been lapped in, nice and smooth now.
Where did that brass protractor come from. Well it was there all the time, just hidden under all the muck !! Come up nice too.



From the other side



And the front



I found a major problem with the screw nut, it was fouling the inner tunnel causing two real problems. Firstly it was lifting the slide quite badly, second it made the slide progress with great notches. All it needed was some material removed and all became silky smooth.

This lathe does not appear to have had much use. I can't find much evidence of wear considering it's age. This is maybe why, as I assume it would have made quite a mess on facing work.



Onward we march then..........

[Bernd]

Darren,

I was going to say that the lathe doesn't look abused at all. Hardly any "Oops" marks on it. It'll be interesting to see this thing looks finished with a nice coat of paint on it.

Keep up the good work.   

Bernd

[Darren]

TBH Bernd it looks hardly used, some very tiny nicks on the bed, just two and the saddle has been run into the chuck maybe once. Again a small mark that I could take out altogether.

All the lead screws etc show no signs of wear that I can tell. Even the screws/bolts holding it all together look as good as new, no rounded heads etc.
Big question is, how will it perform? 

So, a bit more work done tonight on the compound slide. I'm not too happy with the finish, I'll have another go sometime. The top is a biggish area to do by hand.
Started off looking like this...







I lapped it etc as the other bits and stuck it back on...



Now it's starting to look like something that can be used !!!   




Paint, you want it painted...!!! 
The original paint is mostly still sound, but looks terrible !! What a colour to use,
In fact what is the colour, black, dark grey, mud, it's hard to tell.

Yep would look nice painted, tidy up the hand wheels and stuff..

What colour sir? 

Darren

[CrewCab]

What colour sir? 

Darren,

That's a fine job so far feller, well done ............. now you've sorted the cross slide it should be better than new    ........... as for colour ......... that's up to you, for gawd's sake don't ask a question like that on a forum, you'll get suggestions from black , thro' red/white/blue to sky blue pink with yellow polka dots .......... all with supporting info as to why that choice is best       ... but as to "painting it" ......  I'd be very tempted to have a chat with Rog02 cos' his Delta bandsaw came out a treat 

Keep the updates coming please 

CC

[Bernd]

Yep would look nice painted, tidy up the hand wheels and stuff..

What colour sir? 

Darren

You know Darren after seeing how nice it looks when you get that crude off I'd say "clear" color would do it.     

I mean like a clear coat lacquer.

Bernd

[Darren]

I rather like the thought of a white paint with red inners.

But for now I think it might be a good time to get it up and running, see what it can/can't do and go from there.....

Nothing done today, been out with swmbo 

[CrewCab]

for now I think it might be a good time to get it up and running, see what it can/can't do and go from there.....

I'm with you on that Darren ............ Bling can come later 

CC

[bogstandard]

Paint don't cut metal, the lathe does.

Bling is for others to admire, and you to keep polished.

Great job on it Darren.

John

[Divided he ad]

Hi Darren,

Yes I know very late to this party.... I've been busy doing a whole lot of bugger all!

I just thought I'd say that looks very, very good.... Who would have thought that machine was under there?    


Top job, and good find me thinks 

I'm now waiting for the results of the run up 




Ralph.

[Brass_Machine]

Thats a nice looking lathe!

Eric

[CrewCab]

Yes I know very late to this party.... I've been busy doing a whole lot of bugger all!

That's OK ............... seeing as how you have such a good excuse

CC

[Darren]

Thanks for all the support guys, much appreciated. So much I'm going to inflict you all with even more pictures 

Turning my attention towards the drive set-up I have this to work with



Seeing the need to strip it down and having to re-arainge the order of components I did just that.
Gave the monster 1.25" shaft a bit of a spin in the S&B whilst abusing it with some sanding paper, came up quite well.



Here are all the components in bits ready for a clean



It all came apart quite easily once it'd taken some of the burs of the end of the shaft where it had been knocked.

I have some ideas on how to set all this up, inc having some method to enable loosening of the flat belt for changing speed purposes.
But if anyone can provide some pictures/drawings or ideas of how it's all arainged it sure would be helpful.

Darren

[bogstandard]

Darren,

Normally with a flat leather belting drive using a curved cone as you have, tension slackening isn't normally used. Just slip the belts across by hand. The leather belt finds its own centre on the top of the curved cone pullies. Just make sure the cones are perfectly in line and parallel to each other.

All you need to do is check that both sets of cones are a matched pair and the same size.

If you do want to put a tensioner on there, use the sliding feet of the layshaft as the tension agent, but you should find with a leather belt, even if it is slack it will still give a very positive drive.

You can easily double the range of speeds on the lathe by fitting a double pulley on the layshaft and motor, and tension the motor belt by sliding the motor on its mounting foot. But I wouldn't get the lathe running at any more than about 1500 RPM because it only has phos bronze bearings, and above that, they are liable to get rather hot.

John