Lathes projects - multiples! - That don't fit together!

[rjenkinsgb]

I've not had much spare time through November & December, as all the customers jobs that had been waiting for parts or other people through the year all came in a rush!

I did do some browsing on ebay in the evenings though, looking at lathe parts when they were going at what seemed a decently low price..... I now have around 4 2/3 lathes!

The G Boley 6.5mm one I posted early November, which I have since acquired some collets and a carrier chuck for - so just short a tool rest.

An unbranded look-alike of the G Boley in 8mm. That has a bearing problem - but a good tailstock and specifically tool post, that fit the G Boley bed.

A Boley Reform 8mm, complete except the tool rest insert for the tool post. [it looked like a WW style in the photos.]

 

And, based on the comment I had about the problems with parts for non-8mm lathes, multiple WW style items, including two 8mm headstocks,  a tailstock, a cross slide and some flat adapters to mount tool posts or the cross slide. (And a good selection of 8mm collets, fittings & ER11 chuck).

And; three different "WW" beds: An 11" Boley, a 16" long double-foot Pultra and an unbranded ~ 9 1/2" one. Slight problem  though - none of the parts fit to any of them!

 

One of the headstocks is a genuine Webster-Whitcomb, so I'd think that would fit correctly on a standard WW bed. Neither that nor the tailstock will fit as the depth to the underside of the "T" slot is slightly too large, by a fraction of a millimetre. The fittings will also all wobble or rotate slightly when held down to the beds, which to me confirms the bed profiles are wrong, rather than the clamp stud lengths.

The other headstock will fit them, though when clamped the clamp lever is dead in line with the index pin hole, so obviously also not the correct fitting.

 

The beds all have the finished side tapers against the top edge, so they are intended for WW style attachments that use those for location.

It appears they are ground too tall? If a fraction was ground or milled from the top surface, that would both allow the clamp stud head to fit, and the attachments seat slightly further down the taper sides, removing the side play.

One of my engineering customers can skim one down, but I am very puzzled over the incompatibility, as I was under the impression that the WW bed style was standardised, so different manufacturers attachments could be used?

 

The only mechanical fault that concerns me at the moment is with the WW tailstock in the photos below.

I believe the 8mm inner sleeve should move freely, with the knurled centre wheel being a clamp for that. The wheel has just today freed up after many oilings and attempts to move things, but the inner sleeve is still absolutely solid.

I just gave the end of the inner sleeve another tap with a tiny brass hammer - and the whole whole outer sleeve moved; that's now completely out, but the inner is still stuck solid. I've dumped it in a mix of used L&R rinse and 3 in 1 oil - which appears to be working its way well in to the thing through the clamping slots, as there are small mountains of crud appearing underneath those!

 

(I will probably put some or all the non-WW lathes back on ebay eventually, but I'm going try and complete them first if I can - and keep them for now in case I need to make any small parts for the WW gear.)

[Dell]

That’s a classic case of being careful to buy complete watchmaker lathes Even though the WW bed is supposed to be the same with all manufacturers but even though they look identical they may not be that’s the reason I have a Pultra it was made in the uk and if I buy anything Pultra  I know it will fit apart from anything for the 15/90 that is easy to see is a lot larger.

If I was a watchmaker lathe manufacturer then I would make it very slightly different to others so people had to purchase my accessories, good business sense.

Dell

[rjenkinsgb]

9 hours ago, Dell said:

Even though the WW bed is supposed to be the same with all manufacturers but even though they look identical they may not be

Just as I've found 

Complete working lathes in good clean condition generally sell for rather more than I've paid for all the bits I've accumulated separately, though, so I'm not bothered about a bit of extra work to get them up to working condition.

Luckily most of my customers are engineering companies & I can get a bed "adjusted" to suit the fittings. I can probably get it skimmed next week, then hand grind or linish it if the initial finish is not  smooth enough. I think that should  give a similar finish to grinding then curling, with the traces of milling marks acting as oil pockets.

I'll use the longest WW one with the double feet.

 

I've managed to get the tailstock runner apart after an overnight soak in the solvent and oil, then heating it to a bit over 100'C.

There was quite a bit of rust in the back half of it, so it's now in the EDTA rust remover solution to try and clean it up. The brass hammer head is wrecked, but for a good cause.

 

Also, when cleaning up the bearing in what I though was the unbranded V bed one, I found that is is actually another G Boley, so quite happy with that! 

Edited January 30 by rjenkinsgb
correction