Cleaning A New Lathe

[wm460]

My new Steelmaster 9 X 20 lathe turned up yesterday. ;D ;D

I forced a couple of beer down a mates neck :big: to help me lift it out of the create and on to a temporary bench.

Now I was wondering far do you go to clean all the oil and grease off of it?
Do you have to pull the saddle cross slide and tailstock off?

Any other advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanking you in advance,
Mark.

 

[ksouers]

Mark,
First off, congrats on the new machine ;D

The grease they are packed in is for rust prevention, not lubrication. So, yes, tear it down for a VERY THOROUGH clean up and inspection. There is probably casting sand left in corners or that has been painted over. I don't know about the 9x20, I got mine used, but my C2 and X2 had lots of trash left on them and burrs all over the place.

Prepare to spend the next week or two cleaning up, inspecting and tweaking. This is where you really need to slow down and take your time. If you don't do it now, you'll just end up doing it later.

Assume this is a kit and the manufacturer only packed the parts close to their final resting place and spent no time making sure adjustments have been made. Check for any burrs, especially sliding surfaces or where they may snag an unsuspecting hand. Clean them up with a file or stone. WD-40 and a cheap paintbrush works well for clean up.

When you are satisfied with the clean up and all snags and burrs are gone it's time to adjust it for work. Use "Rollie's Dad's Method" (use google) to check the headstock for square and adjust as needed. Assemble each piece one at a time and check that it works properly and smoothly. Lube the parts as you put them together. 90 weight transmission grease works well, so does wheel bearing grease. I've used synthetic motor oil to good effect but it needs frequent oiling.

That should get you started. Lots of info on the web, some of it not so good, some great. If you have any doubts, ask.

Good luck.

 

[CrewCab]

Nice lathe Mark 8) .............. as Kevin says, get to know it and you'll have years of fun ..there's a lot of information on the web about the 9x20, if you haven't found this site yet have a look ................

Steve Bedair

CC

 

[wm460]

Thanks for your replies.
I started to clean it up last night, Blimey there is a lot of grease on every thing going to take a lot longer to clean up than I thought.

 

[1hand]

Congrats on the new addition. Better post some pics of your new baby.

Matt

 

[BigBore]

I'm TOTALLY jealous, Mark, as it will be April before I can afford mine. I spent too much money on all that pen stuff. Oh well, that's fun also. Have you announced over on Paradise that you have gone over to the dark side? I drew the Host for the swap.

Even post some photos of the clean up. I'd be filing them away for sure!

 

[xr6t]

Congratulations Mark.

I cleaned up mine with mineral turps, don't forget to pull the 4 jaw chuck apart and degrease the jaws, etc.

I finally got around to using the 4 jaw today after cleaning it properly, didn't use it for long. The lathe electronics had a major heart attack. Big flash from the electrical box area, blown switchboard circuit breaker and that's your lot for today.

Have since reset the circuit breaker and checked the power point, all OK. Checked the fuse on the machine, OK but not a peep of action anywhere. No power light. Haven't a clue. Rang Asset and am still wating for a call from their technician. This will be the test on how good a company they are to deal with?? Like you, I am a long way from Melbourne.

Enjoy.

KenM

 

[wm460]

Thanks for your replies,

Matt,
Photos coming, will take some and post on the weekend , though it won't be set up as neat as Kens.

Big Bore,
Haven't told them or the Aussie forum yet. Taking a couple of days leave at the end of the month to make my swap partner his pen.

Ken,
Sorry to hear of your trouble's, hope it is nothing serious.
Have you contacted Big shed I remember in his write up when he bought his he had some small problem with the control box.

How far did you strip your lathe down to clean it ?
I tried to take the saddle off but after taking the nut and the bracket off the lead screw I couldn't see what was stopping it from coming off the bed.
Will have another look tomorrow in day light.

 

[xr6t]

Mark,

Yes, Big Shed has contactedd me and hopefully it is the same problem he had.

The speed control knob is fitted very loose on the shaft and therefore keeps rotating around. I pulled the knob off and applied a little Loctite, he thinks and I agree that it has gone down the shaft and shortcircuited the pot out. This makes sense as it was only a couple of seconds after I had done this that it went "poof!"

As you can see from the photo I purchased the stand and then built a small extension to fit some draws into, then on went the tray and another fabricated spacer to lift the lathe an inch off the tray. The crane in the garage was taken off our yacht were it was fitted to lift handicapped people aboard from the tender, when I realized the weight of the lathe I couldn't think how I was going to lift it. All my friends are either my age or older, then I remembered the crane. A little lateral thinking on how to mount it and the job was done.

I did not dismantle the compound slide, just cleaned it thoroughly with a small trimming paint brush.

Looking forward to seeing some photos.
KenM

 

[wm460]

Hi Ken,

The stand looks great well done.

I am constructing my own will be on wheels as I have developed a chronic lack of space in my shed.

Cheers,
Mark.

 

[xr6t]

Hi Mark,

Just an update.

Ufortunately, the pot is not the problem. I managed to get one from Jaycar and measured the resistance on a multimeter and compared it with the one in the lathe. They were very similiar, but to be entirely convinced I soldered in the new one and still no joy, therefore I have reinstalled the old one and will await a response from Asset.

In regards to the lathe cleaning, I gave the gears a good clean and sprayed them with white lithium grease.

Cheers

KenM