My Harrison Lathe.....Restoration??

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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. :clap: The difference between the before and after photos is amazing. :thumbup:

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

Don

--- Quote from: Darren on December 04, 2008, 02:48:46 PM ---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...!!

--- End quote ---

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.......... :D

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. :dremel: :thumbup:

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? :dremel:

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 !!! :dremel:

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? :whip:

Darren

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