Monday, July 11, 2022
Micro Lathe
this weekends adventure with the Oakland Cloud Dusters was fun. I went to a swap meet, met a lot of guys into flying model airplanes. Met a great feller who could possibly help me learn to trim and fly my planes much better
He was returning from a club meeting, with a Micro Lathe in his car. Very vintage and rusty, it has been sitting, it is just the project I can attack with vigor
Also a cat launch glider, that I plan to use with Saul
Got it home, unpacked, into the garage! and DISASTER. He also gave me my personal holy grail at the moment, a Cox .010 crankshaft. (photo is an .020, the .010 is so rare, its hard to find a photo!)
Which I foolishly put in my shirt pocket. You can see where this is going. I cannot find it. I've looked all over my car, house and yard, at least 372 times, I tell you what. This bit of machinery is about the size of a sliver of your thumbnail, and it is GONE
Seldom daunted, I threw myself into restoring the micro-lathe.
unmounted it from board, cleaned with compressed air, a brush, a cloth, then started with oil and brushes, scotchbrite pads, and other manners of cleaning.
some photos
as received:
motor
info plate
He was returning from a club meeting, with a Micro Lathe in his car. Very vintage and rusty, it has been sitting, it is just the project I can attack with vigor
Also a cat launch glider, that I plan to use with Saul
Got it home, unpacked, into the garage! and DISASTER. He also gave me my personal holy grail at the moment, a Cox .010 crankshaft. (photo is an .020, the .010 is so rare, its hard to find a photo!)
Which I foolishly put in my shirt pocket. You can see where this is going. I cannot find it. I've looked all over my car, house and yard, at least 372 times, I tell you what. This bit of machinery is about the size of a sliver of your thumbnail, and it is GONE
Seldom daunted, I threw myself into restoring the micro-lathe.
unmounted it from board, cleaned with compressed air, a brush, a cloth, then started with oil and brushes, scotchbrite pads, and other manners of cleaning.
some photos
as received:
motor
info plate
then I got to work disassembling
its fierce rusty
lots of soaking and brushing later:
I cut and routed a new bit of plywood, no pix, the stain is drying now
hopefully I can counter sink mounting holes tomorrow, rewire the electrical, and maybe have it ready to go --- I need to learn how to change the chuck, as the other one is stronger, and will work better.
oh, and how to swap the chuck for a live center.
but its coming along.
now for dinner and a good cry about the crankshaft.
# posted by cstatman : 8:53 PM
