CVA Lathe

Obviously not a good thing if the flat way is holding the Vee apart, so it seems like the right thing in theory. How would you propose to doit? Scraping? Big surface grinder? anything else might be a bit too brutal. Have you checked that the ball bearing 'gibs' are adjusted up?

Tim

You may want to ask in the Monarch forum on Practical Machinist. Since the CVA is basically a developed Monarch 10ee copy there is probably some experience worth tapping in there.

Also on the Yahoo Monarch group there's a document detailing someones rebuild that might be inspirational. Charles

Is this the machine that was on Ebay recently but got pulled before the end of the auction? Mark.

Thank you for the replies, I have carefully attacked the underneath of the saddle with a file. The metal seemed quite soft and I just kept removihg the high spots. I have not had it running yet as I am doing some other work on it but it now feels rock solid so I am hopeful. Thanks Tim for the encouragment and the advice on the rollers, I will check them also. I found some interesting stuff on Monarch lathes as suggested -especially the guy with the "Wreck" who was totally rescraping all the ways but it sounded a bit out of my league. Lastly, for Mark, I have had my CVAs (a 1954 and a 1957) for about six years, having bought them from a chap in the village. It has taken me until now to make a converter and give them a proper try. I think I was watching the same lathe on Ebay -all the bids were removed back to its £9.99 starting price and then it vanished - strange! Once again many thanks, and I hope you all find this as I'm not totally sure how to reply -my first time.

Charles P>>>Hello,

Did you really use a file on the underside of the saddle? Seems a tadge brutal.

Charles

Sounds a bit savage,but everyone to their own. I would have stripped the saddle,including removing the rollers at the back,wipers etc.Wash down bed and underside of saddle.Lay the saddle back on the shears at the chuck end,blue the bed at the tailstock end and slide the saddle carefully along to the tailstock end.Lift the saddle of and all the high spots should be marked. It`s strange that the saddle is sitting on the flat and not touching the vee as,even with wear it should all go down together and it would be impossible for the vee to wear if the flat didn`t. I`m wondering if it`s the original saddle or if the bed has been reground,badly. However what you`re doing won`t cause you problems from the point of view that the metal has to come off to get the saddle back on the vee.It`s just that most people do it with a scraper. :-) The thing to watch is not to lose the squareness of the cross slide to the spindle,and that shouldn`t happen if you don`t touch the vees,a drop in height is not going to cause problems. The other thing to check after you`re happy with the fitting of the saddle is the alignment of the half nuts on the leadscrew. Mark.

There'll tend to me more wear on the rear face of the vee, I can visualise that taking the brunt of any wear & especially so if the flat way is well lubed & the vee is a bit dry. Is oil getting freely to all intended points?

Think of a file as hundreds of tiny scrapers

Tim

I was watching it too, but rather wilted at the thought of trying to explain yet another chunk of cast iron to SWMBO having only just last week acquired an imacculate Smart & Brown 1024. I was a bit relieved when it disappeared ;-}

Richard