Todays job

[roofman]

Thought ide stay in the workshop today with the heater and Classic FM churning out festive tunes. One job which i never thought was needed untill i started looking closely was a full service on my lathe saddle,crosslide ect. wet stoning all the mating surfaces including the tool holder on the bottom side...I was amazed how bits and pieces go concave and not true flat over years of clamping down so after hours of "blue printing" all the mating surfaces together the whole thing feels tighter with every jib screw adjusted too. Old Henry Milnes knew how to build lathes thats for sure. Was going to be in the market for a nice Harrison next spring but i might put that on the back burner for now seeing as my old Henry has another life

 

[Pete.]

It's nice that it's improved the operation of the lathe but wet-stoning is frowned upon when dressing lathe ways because it promotes stick-slip and accellerates wear in the machine - althought it's quite acceptable for the top of the compound and underside of the toolpost. If you seldom use it and keep it oiled then it's likely that the ways will stay good for quite some time. If you can oil-flake the underside of the compound dovetail and flat ways then that will help a lot with slideway oil retention but really the only acceptable way to work lathe ways by hand is by scraping.

 

[Windy Miller]

...but really the only acceptable way to work lathe ways by hand is by scraping.

And we know someone who's REALLY good at that don't we Pete!