Still working on the wood lathe

 I was digging around in my Box O' Parts for the lathes and found a 3 jaw chuck. I thought to myself, "Self, let's see if we can get this thing cleaned up and replace that irritating screw chuck that is on Grampa's wood lathe!"  So, I did.  

 

Now, this screw chuck is just that, a lag bolt mounted through the middle of a chuck face. It has been on this lathe since I brought it home from Grampa's ranch. He built this thing from Douglas Fir and parts he found around his shop and the machine shop he worked at. Dad said he made one bowl with it, didn't like how the shavings kept hitting him atop his bald head, and never used it again!

So, my issue with the chuck is that there always seems to be a wobble with it, and my work was always... off center?  I figured it couldn't hurt to try a different chuck. With a little help from two pipe wrenches, I was able to remove the screw chuck without too much effort. 

The chuck is small enough that it has a ring with holes around the edge to loosen and tighten. That was kind of fun to break loose - a bolt of the right diameter and a dead blow hammer worked well, and after a bit of steel wheel work, the chuck works fine!

 

  

Now, to figure out a project I want to try with this new set up - hopefully, it will not have that darned wobble!

1886 Winchester in 45-70.

 I purchased this rifle from a friend's parents estate.  The story behind it is that her father had been a very good machinist and gunsmith, and had replace the barrel, then would carry the rifle in a scabbard attached to his Indian motorcycle.  That explains the various burn marks on the buttstock - the scabbard is also burnt from sitting next to the exhaust pipes!  

So, the first thing was to take everything apart and strip the old, bubbled finish off. The barrel had already been replaced, so there was no point in trying to keep the patina.  Plus, it was just ugly.  I was able to keep a lot of the original flavor, the largest burn mark on the bottom of the stock is still noticeable along with some scratches an marks.

          

       

   

I really didn't have to work hard at removing what was left of the original finish, it cleaned up quickly.  I also re-blued the metal and insured the action was still in good condition.  It is a beast of a lever action, built like a tank!  It is strong and takes a firm hand to work it smoothly.

      

      

      

     

I loved working on this project.  This one is what Stagecoach Gunsmith is all about!

Working on another old lathe!

 I have had and used my Grampa Edward's home made wood lathe for quite a few years, and have never bothered to clean it up or upgrade components like... wiring... 

So, about a month ago, I decided to play around with the lathe and plugged the old, two wire cord with Bakelite connector into the normal outlet - ZAP! A black puff and some brief flame encouraged me to quickly disconnect!  An inspection of the plug revealed that the old, cloth covered wires had fallen apart and were connecting both prongs of the connector.  What a wonderful time to take the whole darn thing apart and clean/repair/rebuild!

First step was to take the heavy-assed thing apart and get it on the bench.  I did NOT throw my back out, but if it had been a 1 hp motor instead of a 3/4 hp... 

Notice the heavy steel and rough construction?  My grandpa and my dad were both excellent at built

heavy and stout equipment for use around the ranches. They would just pull whatever looked most useful out of the metal pile and make it look close enough for gummint work... damn gummint.

The next few pictures show some of the wiring for this old beast of a motor.  Notice the cloth covered wiring as well as the early rectangular "Thermo-Tector" - a thermal detector/protection unit.  There was

a lot of shop and wood dust to clean off, but surprisingly little inside, more cobwebs than anything. 

Everything got a thorough cleaning and lubrication.  And finally, the arbor of the lathe, all cleaned of rust, dust and corrosion, the wood disc sanded and given a good coat of boiled linseed oil.                                                                                                                        

                  

The bearings are actually poured Babbitt - which looks like lead but is a harder mix of other soft metals. The grease cups feed into grooves cut into the babbitt to lubricate the shaft.

These bearings did not need to be melted and re-poured, they are still very snug with no movement in any direction. The rotation is free but firm - good thing there is a strong motor to turn the shaft!

More posting to follow as I continue this project!