If I were to make it again or improve it? Make all bearing roller bearing no bushing. The spindle would have some sort of timken tapered roller bearing and adjustable for end play.
There's no way to adjust out the feed screw backlash, so make that different, maybe with acme feed screws. Use brass for all gibs, I used steel as per the plans, shim stock all brass, I used aluminum foil, pop cans, and those aluminum pans for cooking turkeys in. Hey they were cheap for shim stock. The shim stock I used is ok, but brass probably would be better?
I ended up using a 1 hp. electric motor the smaller motors wouldn't or couldn't turn the spindle at the highest rpms.
Looking back this was a fun project to build. I built the shaper and mill so I could fix my gears on the sears lathe. I preferred spending $300.00 on building the tools to make a $300.00 pulley/ sheave for the sears lathe, that way I learned something plus have 2 machines once done.
Until starting on the Gingery series I'd never done anything much with my small lathe, nor did I know how. but now that I've built the shaper, mill, and dividing head I'm bitten by the machining bug. I do like to cast metal and machine it into something useful.
I've up graded to a Grizzly G0602 lathe. I designed and built a speed reducer and reverse tumbler gears for my lathe along with small things to make the lathe more user friendly for me. I just in the past 2 weeks bought a Grizzly G0619 mill. It's still in the shipping crate. I called and asked if it was going to go on sale soon they didn't know. A couple of days ago I get a Grizzly flyer about that mill being on sale for $1375.00 instead of $1495.00, of all the rotten luck!!
I'm in Missouri now so on the way home, I'm going to pay Grizzly a visit and see if they would maybe give me that discounted price, I'll use the refund if they will to purchase more tools for the mill, they may not do that for me but it won't hurt to ask.
good luck on you build.
There's no way to adjust out the feed screw backlash, so make that different, maybe with acme feed screws. Use brass for all gibs, I used steel as per the plans, shim stock all brass, I used aluminum foil, pop cans, and those aluminum pans for cooking turkeys in. Hey they were cheap for shim stock. The shim stock I used is ok, but brass probably would be better?
I ended up using a 1 hp. electric motor the smaller motors wouldn't or couldn't turn the spindle at the highest rpms.
Looking back this was a fun project to build. I built the shaper and mill so I could fix my gears on the sears lathe. I preferred spending $300.00 on building the tools to make a $300.00 pulley/ sheave for the sears lathe, that way I learned something plus have 2 machines once done.
Until starting on the Gingery series I'd never done anything much with my small lathe, nor did I know how. but now that I've built the shaper, mill, and dividing head I'm bitten by the machining bug. I do like to cast metal and machine it into something useful.
I've up graded to a Grizzly G0602 lathe. I designed and built a speed reducer and reverse tumbler gears for my lathe along with small things to make the lathe more user friendly for me. I just in the past 2 weeks bought a Grizzly G0619 mill. It's still in the shipping crate. I called and asked if it was going to go on sale soon they didn't know. A couple of days ago I get a Grizzly flyer about that mill being on sale for $1375.00 instead of $1495.00, of all the rotten luck!!
I'm in Missouri now so on the way home, I'm going to pay Grizzly a visit and see if they would maybe give me that discounted price, I'll use the refund if they will to purchase more tools for the mill, they may not do that for me but it won't hurt to ask.
good luck on you build.