Has anyone tried to take a lathe bed for regrinding? What was the procedure , what did you have to take off and how much does it cost. Just checxking things out in case if the lathe turns out to be worn. I think that it would be easier to do if it still was on trailer.
Don't waste your time.
You can't get the money back out of it, and you won't notice the difference in accuracy unless the bed is truly at the edge of being beyond use.
If you can find someone in your area that is competent and equipped to do a decent job of it, it will cost you several times what the lathe did.
Cheers Trevor Jones
About $500-900 for a 13x36 here in California
Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.
How much more, to put it back together with all the parts in alignment?
The guys in Edmonton AB, that I spoke to that were worth talking to (skills-wise) were quoting nearly the price of a new machine. The guys that quoted reasonable prices, I would not let work on my lawnmower.
That price is not bad.
I still think it a waste of money and time, on that machine, though.
Cheers Trevor Jones
Would be cool, to spend extra $500 and make a lathe that would be as accurate as new. The only issue is other wear points.
iA guy wrote an article in HSM a year or two ago about sending a used South Bend heavy 10 (I think) back to South Bend for a complete rebuild. Apparently South Bend develops an estimate. In this guy's case, the estimate was about $10,000 for the complete job.
I bought a used Atlas 10F lathe 25 years ago that was all in pieces, having just had the ways reground. They had done a great job on it. I assembled and adjusted it and have been using it ever since. I paid $125 for the whole lathe with a lot of accessories.
Just having the lathe on the trailer won't help much as far as grinding the lathe bed goes, since you'll have tear the machine completely down to get it ready for the grinder.
Pete Stanaitis
-----------------
Ignoramus11230 wrote:
That price is if you bring the ways to the grinder, and pick them up.
Disassembly reassembly is on your dime
Gunner
Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.
No.
$500 gets the bed ground.
Then you have to get all the rest of the lathe back into line and accurate.
The biggie is getting the carriage to run so that it does not bind on the lead screw. Most rebuilders now are using Moglice or similar to build the carriage back up so it rides in the same plane.
Then you have to retrue the cross slide, so it is running accurately and within spec. Then the compound dovetail need to be rebuilt.
DAGS for "in modest praise of klunkers" by Meridian Machine
Best advice. Don't f*ck with it, until you can quantify the issues.
Set it up. Use it. Make test pieces. See how much wear there actually is, before you do anything to it.
To do otherwise, you might just as well be using an angle grinder to clean the ways. Or a cutting torch.
Cheers Trevor Jones
Good point Trevor. I will cut a test bar and try to accurately measure how the diameter changes from one end to another.
I was just quoted $600-900 for a bed 42" in length.
That is the problem. Seems like something moglice is made for.
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
A fair amount of bed wear does not have the same amount of inaccuracy in turning diameters.
Look at a circle, tool at 270 degrees assuming 0 is at north and plot vertical vs horizontal displacement.
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
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.