Hello guys. This is my first post on this forum, so it's sort of an introduction. But since I'll mostly be writing about ways to improve my lathe, I might just aswell start here.
Quick info on me I'm a machine engineer student in the beginning of my twenties and have absolutely no experience in machining. I have read a bit about turning, and recently tried a bit on the lathe. My other projects are a pair of Nissan Silvia's, and I hope to eventually be able to make some parts for them on the lathe.
Now over to the machine. It is my first lathe, and I have had her for a couple of months, but until recently never found anyone with a similar machine. After my new discoveries, this seems to be another Lantaine copy, only mine is form 1984. In other words it is the Grizzly, HF and Jet lathes older brother.
Spec:
3hp 220V engine
12x36"
Belt drive headstock
Coolant system
How it looked when i got it



And the accessories that came with it

As said, it is from 1984, but it has only had two owners, and the previous owner insisted on it not having been used more than 50 hours. I'm not too familiar with lathes and how they wear, to be able to tell if this is true. But from looking at it, it seems to have mostly rusted and collected dust. As a note, it has the "non-dividable" headstock belts, and judging by the work amount of replacing these i guess they are the oem pieces. - You would not believe my relief when i discovered these red "disconnectable" belts!

Also, the external jaws for the 3 jaw are still in their original bag with this thick chineese grease on them!

Sorry for the poor pictures, I still lack a bit of light around the machine


First I made a small tool board with the most necessary items

Then removed the top slide, to give it a good cleaning and lube

Soon afterwards the cross slide went aswell



Assembly


Next project was making it possible to get the machine properly level, so I jacked it up and put it on some wooden blocks. (For those of you familiar with nissans, that is a Silvia s13 upside down in the left of the picture

)

Chucked up an old piston, and got the nice metal to the surface

Soon after a few pistons and some threaded bar was made into adjustable feet

I didn't get the lathe high enough to get a 22mm drill in, so i opted for the second best solution, to weld on some flat steel


Soon after, she was standing taller than ever, and the possiblity of getting her level is now a fact. Now i need a machinist level to adjust her properly. I have read the grizzly one is supposed to be pretty good, so I'll be buying that.

I don't like the plastic handwheel for the main travel, but bogstandard showed a nice way of making an aluminium handle in another thread regarding his mill.

When turning the pistons down, i discovered some runout in the chuck

So i pulled the chuck and measured the runout of the spindle. It was about 0,005mm (~0.0002") both radially and axially.

The accuracy of the spindle seemed good enough, so it had to be either the chuck or the face plate. Since both were full of old oil and some rust, i disassembled them for a proper cleaning. Here's the face plate


I monted the faceplate and measured the runout, and it was horrible. Think it was about 0,05mm (0,002"). I should probably have turned it down right there, but lacking proper turning tools, not having a saddle lock and not beeing sure that the headstock is in alignment with the bed, I decided to wait.

Instead, i disassembled the chuck


Then the batteries on the camera died..
Here are some pictures of it all assembled again

So I tried grinding my only hss tool, and after many tries, got a result which i was happy with

I also tried single point threading for the first time ever. Quite pleased with the result, considering never having done it before, and that the rod was extended about 15cm (4") from the chuck


Made some coarser threads closer to the chuck. I'm not saying there isn't room for improvement though. For instance, i forgot to check if i had chosen the correct pitch to the diameter, so ofcourse i made the threads the wrong pitch and it was impossible to test them with a nut


When drilling i have noticed that the drill can wobble quite a bit. It almost seemed to be too much flex for a 13mm (0,5") drill, so I got suspicious about the tailstock, and started to measure.

When pusing upwards there was wuite a bit of movement on the dial indicator..

Here are the results of the measurement:
- Tailstock extended to minium, 20mm (0,79") there was 0,04mm (0,0016") play up/down
- Tailstock extended to maximum, 100mm (4") there was 0,15mm (0,006") play
- Measured on outer edge of drill chuck at 100mm extension, there was a whopping 0,5mm (0,02") play.
Something has to be done with the tailstock. I am thinking drilling out to a 20-30mm depth and inserting a bushing. But I'm not too thrilled about somehow mounting the upper part of the tailstock on a face plate and having it spin at a couple of 100rpm. If so, i think I'd have to get a boring head, mount that in the chuck, and bore it out. Opinions and suggestions are well appreciated.
When I'm first around finding things that need to be improved, I thoug I'd just aswell see how the headstock is aligned to the bed, so i chucked up a piece of brass (actually my only piece of brass

) and turned it on the slowest feed with my recently sharpened HSS tool.

Pulled out the micrometer and mesured along the rod

The results:
- Neares to the chuck Ø11,62mm (0,4575")
- 50mm (2") from the chuck Ø11,63mm (0,4579")
- 100mm (4") from the chuck Ø11,69mm (0,4602")
So I'm quite certain that the headstock is not paralell to the bed..
To do list:
- Buy proper tooling, some hss and some carbide. I have become a fan of TNMG inserts and will be ordering most of my tool holders to to suit the TNMG 33* inserts.
- Stiffen lathe feet
- Buy machine level and level the bed
- Get the headstock alligned to beds
- Turn face place, and possibly grind inside of jaws -will have to make tool post grinder first
- Sort out tailstock, possibly add a bushing. And ofcourse adjust to headstock
- Get a quick change tool post, thinking Phase II Wedge type, BXA (200)
- Make splash guard behind the lathe, to protect the wall, and to have a nice place for various tools
- Make a transparent cover to mount on the main slide, to prevent a mess when using coolant