EVERY old lathe NEEDS this modification! - How to fit a power feed unit to a metal lathe.
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- Welcome back. Over the last few years, I have rescued this metal lathe from a scrapyard and fully restored it. It is a Halifax 524, a slightly heavier clone of an Atlas lathe. When I got it, it was missing everything from the motor, electronics, chuck, and toolpost, and even the upper countershaft had to be fully remade.
One of the main missing parts was the change gears and banjo assembly, meaning the lathe had no working power feed. This electronic version allows much greater control of speeds and feeds, even adapting while the lathe is cutting. This lets you change the speeds to remove chatter etc.
Having now used this for a while I can say that it is an absolute game changer for turning large pieces or repetitive work. Being able to suddenly reverse and use the rapid traverse button is extremely helpful. The only downside is that you can no longer do single-point threading, but I don't mind because mine couldn't do that anyway!
If you’ve got an idea for what else I can do to make this lathe even better, let me know! I’d love to hear your ideas
Very beautiful add there. Hopefully you get great use out of it for many years to come my friend. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friend. Forge on. Fab on. Weld on. Keep making. God bless.
I hope so too! Thank you
Great job, looks very useful.
Thank you! I’m loving it so far!
Nice job !!
Thanks!
Another idea, having looked at your video portfolio. How about a profile following attachment for your lathe? You've got the power feed (although be aware of wearing out the lead screw) so a profile follower attached to the cross slide should allow faster turn round times on identical turning jobs. May be more useful to you than my ELS idea!
That’s a brilliant idea, I’ll have to give that a try one day. Like you say that would be very handy for repeat profile turning!
Just found your channel and Subscribed. Nice lathe
Just finding your video after searching around. Figured it would be cheaper if not the same price to retrofit an electric lead screw then replace my broken control box for the mechanical lead screw. Any way you can give me your exact dimensions or a print of the adapter shaft?
I reallylike this idea. I am going to do the same to my Clausing 100 lathe. I do have a question. Did you drill and tap the end of the lead screw or did you just cute it down to sise and use a die to thread it? Also there is a keyway in the bronze gear and shaft. Did you cut a keyway in the adapter shaft? Thanks
Hi there, great question. The lead screw already had a threaded portion sticking out, so I attached the piece I made with a threaded hole and a jam nut. The brass gear on the power feed unit is not keyed in place, just held with compression from a nylock nut. So in a crash situation, or too heavy of a load, the brass gear actually slips on the shaft, just a little extra safety feature to stop the carriage half nuts stripping out (they are Zamak castings on this lathe)
I can't thank you enough for your reply. Your video is the only one I have found that is doing this modification. My Clausing is all cast iron and I have already made another half nut out of cast iron. My lead screw is not threaded so I may try to pin it with a soft shear pin. Again, thanks for the rapid reply.
So what is this product called? Where did you get it. My Chinese lathe could sure use this addition
Make it better? An Electronic Lead screw (search 'Lathe ELS'). Instant push button or touch screen selection of feed or screw cutting rates. Various ones available, I have James Clough's push button one and it's worth its weight in gold. Does metric and imperial feeds and threads. Takes time to put together but comes in at a reasonable cost. There are other offerings available, some of which are more comprehensive - ie automatic screw threading and also taper turning. Some are metric only so take care if choosing. Incidentally, I've never sen any one else implement your power feed mod.
I have had a look at some others creations and I agree an ELS is superior especially for threading. Well done for doing one of those! I looked into the clough42 one myself, but ended up giving this a go as I haven’t seen a video of anyone trying this before