Finally got my Barnes 41/2 lathe going strong. Installed a DC motor from a treadmill and new 3 jaw. It can hold .0001 all day. Not bad for something that’s over 120 years old.
Glad to hear it! I was thinking about mine and when I get this trailer in shape I'm going to have to get the old pedal powered unit set up. I heard you can control the speed with the treadmill motor. Holding a 10,000th with a Barnes could be pushing it beyond what could have been done when it was new! Good job. You must have some machining skills. I'd be lucky to hold .010" on the old girl.
@@davewilson1591 I have modified a couple of things to tighten it up. Replacing the chuck helped tremendously. I spent hours hand scraping the ways and shimming the chuck mandrel. I use a 100 dollar QCTP from Amazon that holds really well. Also have an alignment bar for centers. Installed trust bearings in the carriage. Now it is solid mounted on a cabinet and leveled. I don’t know exactly how long it will stay that tight. I bought it as a project and don’t use it as a full time piece of equipment. I usually turn mild between 5-7 hundred rpm. Then make my final pass at 1500 rpm. It makes a nice finish with cheap carbide tips. Keep in mind I’m not making deep passes, a thou or two at a time manually. It’s not worth the time to setup gears for no more than I do on it.
@@Miner-49 Yep, that what it takes. You have to dial your equipment in to get good results. Sounds like you have some machinists blood running through your veins. I don't have the patience. Different back ground. I bent, folded, welded, fit up, layed out, and generally made things out of metal my working life. Tolerances way different. But I enjoyed it. You keep on holding .0001" and I'll watch.
Finally got my Barnes 41/2 lathe going strong. Installed a DC motor from a treadmill and new 3 jaw. It can hold .0001 all day. Not bad for something that’s over 120 years old.
Glad to hear it! I was thinking about mine and when I get this trailer in shape I'm going to have to get the old pedal powered unit set up. I heard you can control the speed with the treadmill motor. Holding a 10,000th with a Barnes could be pushing it beyond what could have been done when it was new! Good job. You must have some machining skills. I'd be lucky to hold .010" on the old girl.
@@davewilson1591
I have modified a couple of things to tighten it up. Replacing the chuck helped tremendously. I spent hours hand scraping the ways and shimming the chuck mandrel. I use a 100 dollar QCTP from Amazon that holds really well. Also have an alignment bar for centers. Installed trust bearings in the carriage. Now it is solid mounted on a cabinet and leveled.
I don’t know exactly how long it will stay that tight. I bought it as a project and don’t use it as a full time piece of equipment. I usually turn mild between 5-7 hundred rpm. Then make my final pass at 1500 rpm. It makes a nice finish with cheap carbide tips. Keep in mind I’m not making deep passes, a thou or two at a time manually. It’s not worth the time to setup gears for no more than I do on it.
@@Miner-49 Yep, that what it takes. You have to dial your equipment in to get good results. Sounds like you have some machinists blood running through your veins. I don't have the patience. Different back ground. I bent, folded, welded, fit up, layed out, and generally made things out of metal my working life. Tolerances way different. But I enjoyed it. You keep on holding .0001" and I'll watch.
Hope you're doing well sir!
Thanks buddy. We're hanging in there.