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slim_boy_fat
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Carl Wilson
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Sodium Hydroxide strips paint like nobodies business. I used it in the form of oven pride oven cleaner.
DiyAddict
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Finished sanding off the blue/green. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have used paint stripper. I tried several different types (including Oven Pride). It seems to have a greater effect on the original grey paint and primer/filler than on the hammerite, causing the odd gouge here and there. Nothing that can't be put right, but I'm going to stick to wet & dry and elbow grease for the other parts.
At the moment, I'm thinking some form of rust cure for the rusty metal spots, fill the chips (and gouges inflicted by Yours Truly), then a coat of epoxy primer and we'll go from there. Still haven't decided what final colour yet.
At the moment, I'm thinking some form of rust cure for the rusty metal spots, fill the chips (and gouges inflicted by Yours Truly), then a coat of epoxy primer and we'll go from there. Still haven't decided what final colour yet.
eLuSiVeMiTe
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Found a combination of push scrapers and linbide pull scrapers to get the worst off then a wire heel on my angle drill for finishing does the job well.
DiyAddict
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In the meantime, my cheap reamers have arrived. I had very low expectations of these, but I have to say I'm impressed. The rough cut reamer removed as much material as I dared in just a few minutes.
Here they are alongside the Tracey Tools finishing reamer on the left:
I could easily have got rid of all the scoring with these reamers, but each fraction of a mm makes the tool disappear another 1mm or so into the quill. So here's where I stopped:
Not exactly a baby's bum but much better than the moonscape I started with, and there's a lot more contact with the bit now. And it really grips - I don't think I'll have any trouble with the bit rotating.
Since the taper has been reamed so much in the past, a standard MT2 chuck is loose. The body of the chuck makes contact with the end of the quill before the taper grips. But I've found a nice MT1 chuck with an MT1 to MT2 adapter, which works well and leaves plenty of room for the end of the quill:
And here's why I didn't want to ream any more. Even though the drift slot has already been extended, there's only just enough room to get a drift in when I want to remove the chuck/bit:
I have some ideas on how to improve this, but they'll have to wait for another posting. I'm being distracted from important drill-related work by the need to make some progress on house renovations. I impressed on my beloved the vast speed increase to be gained by my acquisition of a pillar drill, and she's now (rightly) bemused that I've embarked on a several-months-long bare metal restoration of it. I have some ideas on that front too..
Here they are alongside the Tracey Tools finishing reamer on the left:
I could easily have got rid of all the scoring with these reamers, but each fraction of a mm makes the tool disappear another 1mm or so into the quill. So here's where I stopped:
Not exactly a baby's bum but much better than the moonscape I started with, and there's a lot more contact with the bit now. And it really grips - I don't think I'll have any trouble with the bit rotating.
Since the taper has been reamed so much in the past, a standard MT2 chuck is loose. The body of the chuck makes contact with the end of the quill before the taper grips. But I've found a nice MT1 chuck with an MT1 to MT2 adapter, which works well and leaves plenty of room for the end of the quill:
And here's why I didn't want to ream any more. Even though the drift slot has already been extended, there's only just enough room to get a drift in when I want to remove the chuck/bit:
I have some ideas on how to improve this, but they'll have to wait for another posting. I'm being distracted from important drill-related work by the need to make some progress on house renovations. I impressed on my beloved the vast speed increase to be gained by my acquisition of a pillar drill, and she's now (rightly) bemused that I've embarked on a several-months-long bare metal restoration of it. I have some ideas on that front too..
DiyAddict
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OK, so here's my idea - machinists please look away now. During the course of my search for a donor head/quill, I came across this rather magnificent Meddings MB10 Precision drill capable of 10,000 rpm at a very nice price. Having clamped down the quill better than you see here, use a carbide burr to gently grind away the slot so it's extended enough to fit a drift through without causing any more damage, then fill any remaining damage with JB Weld. If that works, I'll try something similar with the spindle.
I already had the cheap cross-slide. I'm aware that lateral force is absolutely the worst thing for a drill, but I don't have a milling machine, and I made very gentle passes. It took around 2 hours to complete both sides.
Here's the result:
The sides don't look parallel on this photo, but they are, so I'm quite pleased with this.
JB weld applied (badly). It needs to dry overnight which is just as well, as it'll take me that long to figure out how to sand it to shape without removing any metal from the quill itself.
I already had the cheap cross-slide. I'm aware that lateral force is absolutely the worst thing for a drill, but I don't have a milling machine, and I made very gentle passes. It took around 2 hours to complete both sides.
Here's the result:
The sides don't look parallel on this photo, but they are, so I'm quite pleased with this.
JB weld applied (badly). It needs to dry overnight which is just as well, as it'll take me that long to figure out how to sand it to shape without removing any metal from the quill itself.
DiyAddict
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Here's the head, having applied Hammerite Kurust to the bare metal, then a layer of Silverhook Big Boy Body filler:
Sanded down, then covered with two coats of HP Body 989. I have a compressor and cheap spray gun, but nowhere warm to spray it and I'm out of practice, so I applied the paint by brush:
Seems to have gone on pretty well, but some raised brush strokes will need levelling out. The current plan is to use Tractol or Tekaloid paint to match the original Meddings dark grey.
Sanded down, then covered with two coats of HP Body 989. I have a compressor and cheap spray gun, but nowhere warm to spray it and I'm out of practice, so I applied the paint by brush:
Seems to have gone on pretty well, but some raised brush strokes will need levelling out. The current plan is to use Tractol or Tekaloid paint to match the original Meddings dark grey.
Carl Wilson
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Looking really good.
slim_boy_fat
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Finger file?
DiyAddict
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So here are my quill and spindle results. The JB weld was much easier to sand down than I anticipated. Started with a small triangular finishing sander to get the rough bits off, then some 400 grade wet & dry to level it off until I started making contact with the quill. Finally progressively finer grades to blend it in. I don't think I took any appreciable amount off the quill. Before and After of the Quill:
I also extended the spindle by about a mm, and attempted to even out the original slot extension, which had wandered somewhat off to the side. I polished up the surface, but didn't attempt to remove the major dents and scoring as it would have meant removing more metal than I was comfortable with. Before and After of the spindle:
Spindle placed loosely in the quill. Plenty of room now to drift the bit out without crunching into the quill now:
The JB Weld's a bit darker than I'd like, but by the time the quill's back in with some moly grease, it should look OK.
I also extended the spindle by about a mm, and attempted to even out the original slot extension, which had wandered somewhat off to the side. I polished up the surface, but didn't attempt to remove the major dents and scoring as it would have meant removing more metal than I was comfortable with. Before and After of the spindle:
Spindle placed loosely in the quill. Plenty of room now to drift the bit out without crunching into the quill now:
The JB Weld's a bit darker than I'd like, but by the time the quill's back in with some moly grease, it should look OK.
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DiyAddict
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I thought I'd list some of the remaining challenges now, in case someone knows a better solution than I can think of. Some of these are on the way to being resolved.
First is the oil seal in the gearbox. Meddings lists this as a W15709839 (now unavailable). If I've understood this correctly, the outside diameter is exactly 39.88mm (1.57"), the inside diameter is 24.89mm (0.98"), and the width is 9.91mm (0.39"). I'd like to take this as a metric oil seal with imperial nomenclature, but I measured the shaft at 24.87mm - shockingly close. So is it actually a 40mm x 25mm x 10mm seal? Was the shaft originally 25mm and has just worn down a but? I read on another forum that someone used a metric seal with a 25mm inside diameter on a Meddings gearbox. It leaked badly so he ended up replacing it with a 24mm seal. Since they're cheap, I've ordered one of each, but I'm hoping the 25mm seal will work on mine as 24mm seems a bit too small. Here are the new and old seals. The old one looks ok but the rubber must have hardened/perished by now.
First is the oil seal in the gearbox. Meddings lists this as a W15709839 (now unavailable). If I've understood this correctly, the outside diameter is exactly 39.88mm (1.57"), the inside diameter is 24.89mm (0.98"), and the width is 9.91mm (0.39"). I'd like to take this as a metric oil seal with imperial nomenclature, but I measured the shaft at 24.87mm - shockingly close. So is it actually a 40mm x 25mm x 10mm seal? Was the shaft originally 25mm and has just worn down a but? I read on another forum that someone used a metric seal with a 25mm inside diameter on a Meddings gearbox. It leaked badly so he ended up replacing it with a 24mm seal. Since they're cheap, I've ordered one of each, but I'm hoping the 25mm seal will work on mine as 24mm seems a bit too small. Here are the new and old seals. The old one looks ok but the rubber must have hardened/perished by now.
DiyAddict
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Taking all the grease out of the gearbox has solved one mystery. The reason why the drill won't stay in high gear is because the ball bearings either end of the spring in the gear spindle are missing. Presumably buried in all that grease somewhere, but I'm not going to rummage around trying to find them.
Fortunately, the spring was still present in the hole:
Fortunately, the spring was still present in the hole:
DiyAddict
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I originally thought the loose gear shift was due to the gear lever casting. It's been broken on mine sometime in the past and the missing piece long since lost. A popular member of this forum came to my rescue here and donated the casting and lever from his donor drill. Thanks #Brewdexta!
Here are the old and donated parts. There's some differences between the castings, but the cover still fits. It may need opening out a bit to accommodate the new gear lever, or I may be able to fit the old one with the new casting:
Here are the old and donated parts. There's some differences between the castings, but the cover still fits. It may need opening out a bit to accommodate the new gear lever, or I may be able to fit the old one with the new casting:
DiyAddict
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I also have to do something about the broken alloy quill seal. This is the one that came out in two halves when I removed the spindle.
Meddings list them as being in stock, and a reasonable price, so I went and ordered one. But..
It turns out the new one is plastic. Yuk. It's exactly the right size though, and fits perfectly. I guess it's just there to stop grease escaping from the lower bearing, and to prevent swarf getting up into it. I'm still tempted to restore the old one or have one made though. Note to self: Do not go buying a lathe especially for this.
Meddings list them as being in stock, and a reasonable price, so I went and ordered one. But..
It turns out the new one is plastic. Yuk. It's exactly the right size though, and fits perfectly. I guess it's just there to stop grease escaping from the lower bearing, and to prevent swarf getting up into it. I'm still tempted to restore the old one or have one made though. Note to self: Do not go buying a lathe especially for this.
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eLuSiVeMiTe
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It won't just be used for that. Wouldn't want to be without one.
Making progress now though.
DiyAddict
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Doh! I can feel my resolve fading away already..
eLuSiVeMiTe
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I'm on number 3 in 3 years. sold one kept two.
Never got to do metalwork at school but always wanted to play on a lathe. Seemed silly not to.
2 lathes and a mill drill for under 550, cheaper than the pub for 3 years,
Just gotta watch for the bargain that's close and have a transport plan in place.
DiyAddict
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Next problem to solve is the telescopic jack that supports the large table. This consists of a cast iron reducing sleeve and a metal rod. The jack has been absent from this machine for some decades. The seller said he'd never seen it, and he'd had it for thirty years. It is important though - its absence led to a major repair to the arm that holds the table:
The original cast iron clamp broke, and someone had to repair it by fitting a support sleeve from thick steel. They made a pretty good job of it - it must have taken some hydraulic press to make that shape. Anyway, so the jack is important.
The metal rod should be easy enough to source, but I spent a good while trying to find some sort of reducing sleeve that would hold up to the task. Eventually I spoke to Meddings, and they sent me a parts list (Their customer service has been brilliant throughout this restoration). Guess what - they still had the cast iron reducing sleeve in stock! I had to sit down for a while on hearing the price, but since they've kept it for me these last 40 years, it would be rude not to buy it.
Since it's a raw casting, the Meddings engineer even offered to paint it Meddings Blue for me! I declined as I'm probably going to stick with the original grey. It's a fine lump of cast iron with some very high quality grinding work inside.
The original cast iron clamp broke, and someone had to repair it by fitting a support sleeve from thick steel. They made a pretty good job of it - it must have taken some hydraulic press to make that shape. Anyway, so the jack is important.
The metal rod should be easy enough to source, but I spent a good while trying to find some sort of reducing sleeve that would hold up to the task. Eventually I spoke to Meddings, and they sent me a parts list (Their customer service has been brilliant throughout this restoration). Guess what - they still had the cast iron reducing sleeve in stock! I had to sit down for a while on hearing the price, but since they've kept it for me these last 40 years, it would be rude not to buy it.
Since it's a raw casting, the Meddings engineer even offered to paint it Meddings Blue for me! I declined as I'm probably going to stick with the original grey. It's a fine lump of cast iron with some very high quality grinding work inside.
