| Saddle adjustment (Nov
13, 2001) |
Saddle lock screw and lock
(Jun 2, 2003) |
| Saddle adjustment (Dec
10, 2002) |
Saddle lock screws (Jun
19, 2003) |
| Saddle play? (May 9,
2003) |
Saddle (Feb 2, 2004) |
| |
| Saddle adjustment |
| Still cleaning and tweaking my 9" Model C; when I
put the saddle back on, the piece at the back of the saddle that
bears on the underside of the bed, if I tighten the bolts securing
it all the way, the saddle binds. Is this supposed to be shimmed?
(2136) |
| Just to be a stickler, the term saddle is used to
describe a worn condition on the ways by repeated movement of the
carriage. But your question is certainly valid. If the binder nut is
located on the front of the carriage, then you do need to shim the
back way. If you use a feeler-gage and find the optimum clearance
for the amount of wear, it should be close enough. There are high
and low spots on any lathe having been in service for years without
being scraped. That's where saddle comes in. By shimming on the high
or less worn spot, you will have set the clearance as close as
possible. Take care not to let any binding take place. It is very
bad on the half-nuts and gear-train. Da chocho will leave da station
and it's teeth behind! Ron (2137) |
| OK well, it's
called the 'saddle' in my South Bend parts book reprint but I see
where 'saddle' [as in 'swayback'] would apply as you say...the book
shows 3 bolts holding the carriage gib ['saddle gib' as they call
it] for a Series R, and South Bend tells me my lathe's s/n makes it
a "Series R", but mine only has 2 bolts holding the gib on the back
of the saddle...er, carriage. If by 'binder nut' you mean the widget
I turn to lock the carriage for facing cuts, it is on the front, so
I guess I need to shim the 'carriage gib' [?] at the rear. It seems
to be about the same amount of tightness all the way along the bed,
so I guess that tells me the way aren't worn TOO bad, huh? (2139) |
| If you are talking about the long
strip that bolts to the undersize of the saddle behind the bed, I've
always just tightened mine until the carriage started to bind then
backed off a little, but I guess you could shim it if you want.
Chris (2140) |
| I was taught that the "carriage" was the
entire assembly consisting of the: compound, cross slide, apron, and
saddle. The "saddle" was the bare casting that slides on the bed
ways. As to bed wear, the people I worked with called that
"swayback". I have read other references that call the bare casting
the carriage. South Bend Lathe refers to the casting as a saddle. It
may be a regional thing. Sort of a soft drink being called a "soda"
(in my neck of the woods) or "pop" (in other areas). As to old
business; I was rather "beat-up" for suggesting that someone could
purchase a left hand nut rather than make one for his grinder. I
know that this offended the "purest" of the fraternity but I am a
pragmatist. I also believe that this board exists as a forum for the
exchange of ideas and information. I also believe that one should
help another in need if one can and that one should supply another
with all the options available (as far as one knows them) and let
the individual make up their own mind. This is part of my idea of
freedom (of information at least). So much for being over sensitive.
Webb (2150) |
| Webb, certainly it would be a loss to the
group to loose your wisdom. I have found, part of restoring old
machines is making the parts and not reinventing the wheel when
practical. Saves a lot of money and accomplishes the same thing. I
visited Erol Goff's website, he's an Industrial Arts teacher,
specializing in the metal shop. After he found one of the crossfeed
screws completely worn out, the price South Bend wanted for a new
one, he did exactly as you suggested, bought a length of acme screw
and a nut and machined them to work together. He had enough to make
another screw. Cost was MUCH less than what SB wanted for theirs.
Those suggestions like yours do spawn other ideas, and that's what
this hobby is all about. Marty (2156) |
| Saddle
adjustment |
| My Question is in the process of replacing
the cross feed screw on my 13 inch, I noted that the back plate on
the underside of the saddle was only finger tight, when I put it back
together it locks up if I tighten the bolts? Did I miss something
here? Also for those of you with taper attachments and worn cross
feed screws/nuts, McMaster-Carr has precision 4140 Acme thread stock
in Left hand 8 pitch (or others for smaller lathes), And matching 660
bronze round nut blanks for a very good price. I spent 75.00 and
about 4 hours mill and lathe time. verses 467.00 from LeBlond. I now
have almost no backlash, and in the future the new nut would lend
itself to splitting and inserting a screw for backlash adjustment
like Bridgeport does on their lead nuts for future wear if
necessary. Mitch
(7874) |
| The
saddle back plate should only be snugged with a split lockwasher
under the bolts. Set the tension on the washers by checking the
saddle for free movement. Sometimes I use the back plate bolts to
lock down the saddle in addition to the front carriage lock for
parting off or when milling on the lathe. Kinda like belt and
suspenders, to be sure. Glen (7875) |
| Glenn; Thanks, I
thought
that perhaps I had missed something in my haste to get this machine
up and running. Seems like there should be shims there or something?
Anyway I spotted (broke up the smooth surface) of the crosslide and
compound and stoned them. This really makes the movement smooth, and
much less friction, I highly recommend this procedure for older lathes
that are not worn bad enough to require scraping in. Mitch
(7928) |
| Saddle play?
|
| Is it normal to
have minor vertical movement on the front of the saddle (SB 9A) if
you lift up on it? I can see no way of adjusting this play out?
Larry (10966) |
| I just did a long
shaft for a drill press column, and while cutting thru the scal on
the pipe, I noticed the same thing. I finished up the job today and
pressed in the hub, so this is a VERY timely thread for me too.
Actually, I was going to post it in the morning. Dave (10968) |
| In most turning
operations the work is coming towards you. This puts a downward
force on the saddle and no retaining mechanism is required. Once in
a while it would be useful to have the work turning the other way
(inside left handed threads or milling or some other offbeat kind of
thing). When you can't figure out a way to invert the tool or
whatever it takes to turn it the normal way, use the carriage lock
to keep the saddle from rising up in righteous wrath and wrecking
your piece. Glen (10972) |
| I tried to do a
milling operation and it seemed like everything moved. I'm not sure
where the loose fits are but I did notice movement on the front of
the saddle. It would also seem that If I do make a reverse cutoff
tool. there will be forces trying to lift the saddle. Maybe my
problems lie elsewhere. Dave (10974) |
| Thanks for the
info. I have yet to make any chips with this machine as I'm still in
the rebuild stage. Many SB things are designed differently from my
Atlas 12." Carriage shims are just one. I wanted to be sure I wasn't
missing any parts, some of my parts list downloads are rather fuzzy
and I wasn't sure if shims would be listed as parts. Larry
(10980) |
| Saddle lock
screw and lock |
| Does anyone
have the dimensions/specs for the saddle lock screw and the lock
itself? They are missing on my 9" SB model A (1957 vintage according
to Rose). I saw the picture of them in the photo's area and while
that helps even a rough dimensioned sketch would be better. Looks
like something even I could make. I saw reference to a sketch in one
posting but didn't find it. Also does anyone have a source for the
spindle taper sleeve adapter? I've been following that thread with
great interest as I am also missing the sleeve and headstock dead
center. I have a center for the tail stock. I've e-mailed SB and am
awaiting info on that from Rose. Bill (11687) |
| I promised to do a
sketch and post it a long time ago. I actually did the sketch in an
old Macintosh drawing program. I just need to find it on my home
computer and get into a format most people can read. The bolt is
5/16" x 18 about 2 1/2 inches long. The brake thingy (excuse my
technical jargon) is a rectangular piece 1/2" thick and about 1 1/2"
by 1 1/4" with a 1/2" square notch cut out to miss a part of the
apron. Drill and tap to match the bolt and drive in two pins to
guide it along the outside of the bed. I'll post the sketch tonight
or tomorrow. Glen (11688) |
| Sorry this was so
long in coming, but here is the sketch I promised of the saddle
lock. Glen (11747) |
| Looking at my
sketch, I see I forgot to locate the drilled and tapped hole. It
should be on the east west center line of the part. Glen
(11778) |
| Saddle lock
screws |
| I found this
website and they carry the saddle lock screws,
http://www.macit.com/ToolPostScrews.html I called to get a price
and they were $10.14 a piece for the #05020 numbered part which is
5/16-18 x 2" long. They were in stock and not a special order. Hope
this helps anybody needing a replacement, I try to buy as many
replacement parts from Leblond as a I can afford but there's was more
than twice the price. (12126) |
| Saddle
|
| I am in the process
of fine tuning my SB10 H. The slack in the saddle cross feed varies
dependent on where I am on the saddle plate. I have tightened the
gib screw as much as I can. The shoe and screw that are on the side
of the C R Base has also been snubbed up. As I get close to the
collar the slack is very close to 0 but as I move the saddle further
from the collar the slack gets to almost 20 thou. Vinnie
(17010) |
| Screw worn more in
the middle than on either end. Ron (17011) |
| Ron: I assume that
you mean the rear T.A Screw. Vinnie (17012) |
| Vinny: You have me
confused. I don't know what you mean by Taper Attachment Screw.
There is only one screw and that is the Crossfeed screw. All screws
have backlash otherwise with no clearance they would not turn. If
your backlash is say .004 at extreme position of Saddle towards
where operator stands and then as you move saddle away from you (
farther down screw or closer to "middle") your backlash becomes .020
and then as you move all the way to the extreme position farthest
away from operator and backlash comes back down to say .004-.006
then this is an indication that screw is worn more in its middle
than at either end. It would look on inspection more like a
HourGlass Worm Gear if one could describe its shape. Ron (17013) |
| Ron: Sorry for the
confusion. What my book calls the " Rear T.A.Screw" is the cross
slide nut. Vinnie (17015) |
