Lathe criticism

[God mode restorations]

Morning everyone. I thought I would start a thread on lathes and some of there design faults. As fantastic as lathes are and there uses. This is not a thread to discuss how good or bad a machine but more to do with design faults .also this information would be good for anyone who is in the market for a lathe machine new or old. Some of you guys who run multiple machines or machine shops will have a good knowledge of design faults. So I will start this first post. My 3.5x20 Mellor lathe has a very anoying fault on the limited amount of travel on the cross slide. This is because the gears for the power cross slide get in the way. This really limits the amount of travel it has thus making it difficult to use a rear tool post ECT.

 

[Tiggy_dorset]

The power feed lever can be a bit fidly on my Warco GH550. I have shattered a few tips when I stop the saddle power feed and the handle overruns too far and activates the crossfeed. Always have to be aware of that. just one of those quirks you learn to adapt to. Otherwise its not a bad machine.

 

[God mode restorations]

The power feed lever can be a bit fidly on my Warco GH550. I have shattered a few tips when I stop the saddle power feed and the handle overruns too far and activates the crossfeed. Always have to be aware of that. just one of those quirks you learn to adapt to. Otherwise its not a bad machine.

Yes. You definitely don't want to be doing that to often. One of those little mistakes that could cost a new set of tooling.

 

[bigegg]

Head stocks with no method of locking to unjam an overly tight face plate without locking the gears, and potentially stripping wheels or snapping the slotted plate.

Trashed a leinen toolroom lathe doing that when I was younger - ended up cutting the faceplate off with a grinder.

 

[Pete.]

Morning everyone. I thought I would start a thread on lathes and some of there design faults. As fantastic as lathes are and there uses. This is not a thread to discuss how good or bad a machine but more to do with design faults .also this information would be good for anyone who is in the market for a lathe machine new or old. Some of you guys who run multiple machines or machine shops will have a good knowledge of design faults. So I will start this first post. My 3.5x20 Mellor lathe has a very anoying fault on the limited amount of travel on the cross slide. This is because the gears for the power cross slide get in the way. This really limits the amount of travel it has thus making it difficult to use a rear tool post ECT.View attachment 125126 View attachment 125127

You're right, short cross-slide is a design 'feature' of early lathes. As machine designs developed the advantages of a longer slide - slower wearing, more rigid and greater travel - became apparent and they were incorporated into the design.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Morning everyone. I thought I would start a thread on lathes and some of there design faults. As fantastic as lathes are and there uses. This is not a thread to discuss how good or bad a machine but more to do with design faults .also this information would be good for anyone who is in the market for a lathe machine new or old. Some of you guys who run multiple machines or machine shops will have a good knowledge of design faults. So I will start this first post. My 3.5x20 Mellor lathe has a very anoying fault on the limited amount of travel on the cross slide. This is because the gears for the power cross slide get in the way. This really limits the amount of travel it has thus making it difficult to use a rear tool post ECT.View attachment 125126 View attachment 125127

Mine has thin sheets of steel covering the acme threads on my compound. (Cross slide is huge and doesn't need one) your cross and compound look to have areas machined lower between the screws and handles. Might be a worth while addition to keep the swarf out.

Cough etc cough. Are you trying to incur @MattF 's wrath.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Like that.

 

[Richard.]

I have a little myford metric ml10.
Absolutely love it’s ability to produce such fine work. Design faults on it well the spindle oil nipple is impossible to get oil into without either spending stupid money on the myford oil gun or removal of the nipple all together and putting a few drops down the hole. It’s deep inside the pulley with no acsess to it around the sides.
I’d also prefer it to have the rpm speeds available as per the speed 10. 850 rpm is the ml10’s top whack and a bit quicker would be nice.
Defo needs a thread cutting box. Everything I do on it requires a thread cutting and changing those wheels all the time is a royal pita.
Sure it’s small and not designed for big heavy work but I wouldn’t call that a design fault as it was never intended for that

 

[addjunkie]

Every lathe I have ever used has had its quirks, but with time you either learn to live with them or move on, just like most things.

But that no locking headstock thing for unscrewing chucks did used to annoy the hell out of me. As does any machine where you need to reach past the work to stop it.

 

[Matthew92]

Acorn tools (Atlas 10f clone), has some nasty alloy type substance used for several gears and other parts. This is the bracket/bearing housing for the power cross feed gears, it's under the saddle so difficult to see when assembled, but well worth checking if you were to buy one. This one is cracked right through and falling to bits. I've started machining a new one, but lost interest a while ago. With the arrival of a new milling machine in the next few weeks, I will be back on this project.

 

[RichardM]

ML10 - have a look at the Speed 10 drive system.
Can't help you with the gearbox.

Boxford 280, the oiler springs work themselves down the oilers so the ball bearing doesn't seal properly, not a biggy but you have to take them out to screw the spring back in!

 

[God mode restorations]

I have a little myford metric ml10.
Absolutely love it’s ability to produce such fine work. Design faults on it well the spindle oil nipple is impossible to get oil into without either spending stupid money on the myford oil gun or removal of the nipple all together and putting a few drops down the hole. It’s deep inside the pulley with no acsess to it around the sides.
I’d also prefer it to have the rpm speeds available as per the speed 10. 850 rpm is the ml10’s top whack and a bit quicker would be nice.
Defo needs a thread cutting box. Everything I do on it requires a thread cutting and changing those wheels all the time is a royal pita.
Sure it’s small and not designed for big heavy work but I wouldn’t call that a design fault as it was never intended for that

I like the myford. I did look at a ml super 7.
Lots of attachments available to.

 

[God mode restorations]

Every lathe I have ever used has had its quirks, but with time you either learn to live with them or move on, just like most things.

But that no locking headstock thing for unscrewing chucks did used to annoy the hell out of me. As does any machine where you need to reach past the work to stop it.

My Mellor lathe doesn't have a locking system. That's something I was going to look in to.

 

[Richard.]

I like the myford. I did look at a ml super 7.
Lots of attachments available to.

There is but unless they come with the purchase I wouldn’t buy a bare Myford lathe.
To buy all the extras I have separate would of been 4 times the price of the lathe.

 

[God mode restorations]

There is but unless they come with the purchase I wouldn’t buy a bare Myford lathe.
To buy all the extras I have separate would of been 4 times the price of the lathe.

Definitely right there. Some are serious money now.

 

[Wallace]

Raglan “Little John” Mk1 has no interlock between the screw cutting and power feed selector levers so you can select both as I did by accident. Later models this was rectified apparently.

 

[God mode restorations]

Acorn tools (Atlas 10f clone), has some nasty alloy type substance used for several gears and other parts. This is the bracket/bearing housing for the power cross feed gears, it's under the saddle so difficult to see when assembled, but well worth checking if you were to buy one. This one is cracked right through and falling to bits. I've started machining a new one, but lost interest a while ago. With the arrival of a new milling machine in the next few weeks, I will be back on this project.

View attachment 125233 View attachment 125234
View attachment 125235

Wow. That's seriously fractured

 

[Kram]

Spencer those gears are removable? You could extend the shaft put the gears further back.

Mine similar, the dovetails give a lot of travel but the cross screw is far too short. Got a replacement but I have to do a few things to get fitted.. Ive already spent far too long improving the lathe instead of using it.

My wm240 has leadscrew covers, nice feature. Except the right end is fixed into a peice of tube which reduces saddle travel a couple inches. As the leadscrew bearing is pinned it will not be easy to remove. I might grind the tube off instead.

I dislike the spindle pulley being behind the bearing preload nuts - I dont want to touch them but I do want to swap the pulley !

 

[MattF]

Not so much specific, but rather a general dislike of a design trait. The Warwick was always a pain in the **** when drilling with the tailstock due to slight wear on the bottom block, meaning it could be pointing off to one side when locked to the bed due to rotating slightly. The design where a block on the bottom of the tailstock sits between the ways, and then a plate underneath the ways locks the tailstock to the bed. Get some wear on that block, and it's no minor thing to sort the issue.

 

[Gritineye]

Acorn tools (Atlas 10f clone), has some nasty alloy type substance used for several gears and other parts. This is the bracket/bearing housing for the power cross feed gears, it's under the saddle so difficult to see when assembled, but well worth checking if you were to buy one. This one is cracked right through and falling to bits. I've started machining a new one, but lost interest a while ago. With the arrival of a new milling machine in the next few weeks, I will be back on this project.

View attachment 125233 View attachment 125234
View attachment 125235

Not all Atlas lathes have that problem, mine is 1940s and that hasn't happened to any parts on it.

A lug broke off the apron gearbox which is made of the same stuff due to a loose bolt, but I made a complete new box on the lathe using a Myford milling slide.