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Building a New Lathe

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vtsteam:
And here's he finished bore gauge. The slot allows me to drop it down over the boring arbor and test the bore without taking apart my setup. I was a little apprehensive putting a slot in the gauge, in case there were internal tensions that would change the OD's, but measuring after slotting (and letting the gauge cool) showed the diameters were still spot on.

So I stamped both sides of the gauge with their dimensions, and we're ready to continue boring the journals.

vtsteam:
And after boring all morning, we have a bearing journal!  :ddb:

Phew....!!

vtsteam:
The gauge worked perfectly in sneaking up on the final diameter. The final fit is nice and close, and I'm happy. Hope the other one comes out as well.



One of the things to remember is that this type of boring has no actual lathe adjustment or graduation at this stage in the construction. It's all a matter of moving the cutting bit out of the boring bar small amounts at a time and re-tightening the setscrews. So it feels like quite a victory to hit the diameter right on the money.

awemawson:
Excellent Steve - that must be quite a relief to complete this phase  :thumbup:

vtsteam:
Well, one more journal to go, but the first one done means the end is in sight.

For those who haven't tried this: a little spring in the boring arbor is helpful in getting the final diameter right. It never cuts to full depth on first pass. For instance, if I set the boring tool out 4 thousandths the first cut will be maybe 2 thou (4 for diameter), the second cut one thou more (2 on diam), and the third cut maybe a half (one thou on diam) , and so on, until you reach the chatter point. So if you play this right by advancing the tool just a little past final size you can ease right down to where you want it in very small steps without resetting the tool, testing each pass as you go with the homemade gauge. When it just fits, you're done.

Rigidity is a plus in a lathe, but you can work with a less than perfect setup to get the results you want. It just takes more time, and understanding. Since this is a one-off situation (the finished lathe will be a much more rigid boring platform) boring the headstock before it is fixed in place with a 24" long  boring bar is a little tedious, but certainly tolerable, considering this kind of setup won't be needed again.

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