The Shop > Tools
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... :D
Brass_Machine:
Tool restorations are great to read. Is that a treadle powered lathe? I assume it is for wood? Please edumacate me :smart:
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 :headbang:
Keep us updated ............... and ............. where do you find all the spare time :bugeye: .... if it's available in the supermarket can you post a link :D
CC
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version