Ball chain in headstock of a Clausing 6900 lathe?

Look at the pulleys - they should have indents showing the size and pitch.

Mart> My 6913 lathe is missing a ball chain. Its job is to pick up oil from

I'll bet you can find this at the local hardware store. At least, our local Ace store used to carry this, haven't checked lately.

Jon

The balls are 1/8" dia on mine. It looks like the usual chain on a light cord, although a little bigger. My guess is that it's 3606T91 in the McM - Carr catalog.

Here are photos of how it should look inside the head.

Don't ask me how the chain is joined. I forgot to look.

RWL

I'd just contact Clausing.

I never noticed it in the drawings, you have a picture where it is located? I might be able to take a look at my 6903 and give you some measurements and a picture.

Wes

That is ingenious. I wonder if Iggy's chain is in the sump?

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

Nowhere to be found.

Wes, I will call Clausing tomorrow.

It's Clausing part 051-042 (ball chain belt) on my 5914. It was $13 from Clausing in 2005.

Not that it would be difficult to do using ball chain from McMaster.

Joe Gwinn

Hey Iggy,

Just try something from a hardware store. It's not an "engineering" thing. In use, the "dry shaft" will pull the chain around, and as soon as there is enough oil the chain will slip and stop delivering oil. Something with a 1/8" ball, like about the size used on a commercial bathtub plug.

I've also seen what I call brass "flat chain" used. Harder to install, but the advantage to that is that it has no "joiner" point, and carries much more oil. Needs to be solid brass (solid, not a coating or finish).

We used a lot of same principle oilers that are a solid brass ring. Advantage to those is that if the oil reservoir gets low, the ring has no oil to the shaft and it starts to "tinkle" like a bell, warning that it requires attention. Disadvantage is that the shaft has to be removed to place the ring on, and the reservoir has to be of a size to accommodate the diameter.

Take care.

Brian Lawson.

Looks like light pull chain!

They have a double ball clip.

What diameter - I might have some.

Mart> >

Thanks. Just a little update. Clausing told me yesterday that they do not carry this chain but can give me a quote today. So far no quote.

I bought chain of similarly similar size at McMaster carr (it was very cheap) and I will give it a try.

The situation is as follows. Today (3 weeks later) clausing called me and had a price on the chain, which is $11. Surely, I did buy it.

One of the guys in the home office probably changed the valve on his toilet this weekend, came in to work today, and said "Hey, I've got the chain from the old float valve - we can send that to the guy who needs the chain for inside the head of that lathe" DG&R

PS. For that price, that's probably what I would have done if I hadn't already seen what the one inside mine looks like.

RWL

But, how is your chain joined? With a regular joining link like on your ceiling light?

Y'know. I don't know. When I unscrewed the cover of my lathe to take the photo for you several weeks ago, I didn't think to keep rotating it to see how it was joined. As I recall, there were joiners listed in the McMaster Carr catalog, but for sure you'd want to have the right one, because if the link broke, you might break gear teeth grinding up the loose chain.

Let the rest of us know when you get yours from Clausing.

RWL

I will. My friend, who worked on my lathe, put in a regular ball chain in it already (as I thought that Clausing forgot about me), but I will report if there is any difference between "Clausing ball chain" and regular 1/8" ball chain.