The Thrill is Gone and it is all Vaughn's Fault!

I wouldn't say I am a pro crastinator but most that know me definitely consider me the ranking amateur!

Finally got around to buying a few yards of 1/4-20 threaded stock and a couple handfuls of other quarter inch hardware since tractor supply sells that by the pound.

First I made the spring compresser, my version of the ones in Vaughn's links. One person trying to remove or replace the snap ring on the spindle of the old Craftsman lathe without anything but some ground down needle nose pliers is about as difficult as doing major surgery on yourself and debatably slightly safer. Fingers and such are definitely at risk and the idea of how some first year resident would go about trying to remove that spring from my stomach always gives me a chill.

Used the compresser for the first time last night. B-O-R-I-N-G !! My heart never even missed a beat or shifted into overdrive, both totally normal when removing the snap ring in the past. Heck, this thing even corralled all of the pieces and the only time I bend over for exercise is when I'm searching through the shavings and all the cracks and crannies looking for the missing parts. The snap ring usually reminds me of the old Ricochet Rabbit cartoon. Ping, ping, Piiiii-ing, Ricochet Rabbit! Now did that last time it hit sound like concrete, brick, screen, aluminum awning, or wood?

After Vaughn deprived me of the thrills working with the spring and snap ring, he then cost me work to make up for the several hours saved fighting with them. Too many leftovers to just lose storing in some soon forgotten tin can. With some leftovers and a couple of the old hardened lead head roofing nails I made the trammel points. Accurate to .05" or if you are the fussy type you can grind the point to the side on one or both nails and adjust to dead on by turning the nail as a fine adjustment.

After the trammel points I still had a good bit of 1/4" hardware left, some of it will soon become part of the donut chuck laid out on the MLP.

After that, well I don't know but I still have a lot of quarter inch hardware and now I have a fair sized chunk of expensive plywood left over. Vaughn sure did complicate things for me! I'd really be sore except I'm waiting for the primary drive belt for my lathe to come in and needed a project or two to occupy my time. Should be two of the belts here tomorrow morning. I'll be out at the mailbox from daylight walking circles and waiting like another favorite cartoon character of mine, Wile E. Coyote.

Thanks Vaughn!!

Hu
 

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Yeah, that spring compressor thingy takes all the thrill out of working on those Craftsman lathes, doesn't it. Sorry, man. :D I eventually got so bored with it that I just replaced the lathe altogether. Turns out my Powermatic is even more boring with it comes to performing any kind of service. It makes up for it by being so much fun to use, though. :)
 
Powermatic looks most likely if I am lucky. I'm thinking the 3520. Would rather the Robust for several reasons but champagne tastes and a beer pocketbook. I owned a Jet 14x40 metal lathe a few years back, I suspect a pretty close cousin to the 3520 in quality. I wasn't impressed at all about how some of the innards looked but it ran and did it's job with zero issues after I changed a very poorly sand cast carriage lock that was broken when I got the machine. Fired up my Bridgeport mill the same age I was to cut the lock out of mild steel which was what I had handy. The Bridgeport made it easy for me to understand some people's love of old iron, quality end to end. I know where a friend has a Monarch EE in storage which would make a fantastic bowl lathe but he will never part with it. Sure wish I could sneak that thing away from him, variable speed and all built long ago. Would actually have to upgrade the speed control, it is a huge analog monstrosity that usually went bad on them. One thing though, enough copper in that controller to pay for the replacement parts!

Hu
 
I'm with you on the Robust. If I ever buy another big lathe, that's the one I'd want. But I sure have been pleased with my 3520B. :thumb:
 
Kinda playing with the idea of maybe seeing if someone would swap a lathe they have moved up from for my NC router. One reason or another I haven't ran it and I bought it almost eight years ago. Three weeks before Katrina, my first little distraction. I have seen it cut pretty pictures and I have cut test squares with it, about as far as I got. It's factory made, 25"x39" work area if I remember correctly. Got over five thousand in it but that is far more than I'll ever get back out of it. If I do that I'll pretty much settle for a short bed or whatever I can get that is a decent machine. Maybe somebody has an old Nichols or Vickmark laying around!:D

Hu
 
CNC routing is as popular now as it has even been. Swapping yours for a better lathe might be easier than you think. ;)
 
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