Lathe Crash And Repair! 🤦‍♀️

This episode on Blondihacks, I’m repairing the lathe that I broke! 🤦‍♀️ Exclusive videos, drawings, models & plans available on Patreon!

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[Blondihacks]

Hey everyone- since a lot of people seem to be losing sleep over it, no the pinion is not hardened or some fancy alloy that is going to be hurt by heating it. My Chinese lathe is honoured that you all think so highly of its components, but you can count on one hand the parts in these machines that are hardened or any alloy that would mind a little heat. So let’s not bother typing that any more. Now you can get some rest, finally!

Also a lot of people saying the shear pin on the leadscrew didn’t do its job. Well, that isn’t that shear pin’s job. That shear pin is to save the leadscrew if you crash with the half nut engaged. It has a 4:1 (plus the rack) mechanical advantage over the pinion and there’s six gears and shafts between the two. That pin ain’t gonna shear from the power feed. This lathe SHOULD have a shear pin on that pinion. That would be nice. But it isn’t that existing shear pin’s fault. If it would was weak enough to shear from that pinion at the other end of a 4:1 gearbox, you couldn’t cut threads with it. It would shear from the force of the half nut pushing hard through a 13 tpi thread. So feel free to complain that there should be a SECOND shear pin here, but don’t blame that one. It’s doing its job by not shearing here. 😉

[robin]

Next project: fabricating a slide hammer. Its a hammer for pulling, works great for dowel pins like this. Its actually nice of them to use this type.

[rpavlik]

As soon as you found the issue, I thought, "ok, just make a replacement with the lathe", and then I learned how people end up with multiple lathes. 😁

[edgeeffect]

This is one of your best voice-overs ever with your "adult language" intermission and your imperial fist shakes. Excellent!

[jackbonanno]

Quinn, you nailed it, I love repairing more than the oh sh#$%. Good thing for you you were dealing with parts easy to see and feel. Unfortunately last night I was repositioning my $100.00 indicator on my mill to set up my rotary table and accidentally knocked it off on to the concrete. Well didn't work when I picked it up. Rest of the evening spent digging out watchmakers screwdrivers and doing an autopsy on said instrument, smallest screwdrivers I had, akin to working on fleas balls. Had to disassemble the Guage and found the tiny clock arm mechanism knocked out of its groove. Removed it slid it back in place, worked perfect. So never give up no matter what. I'm 71 years old but still figure difficulties out. Hang in there girl, you are brilliant.

[AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

Great repair. An alternate method of straightening is to heat the part and then put a wet rag on the high spot which will pull it back toward straight. Keep on keeping on.

[WSmogpule]

That stuff about different oils was REALLY fascinating! Thanks...

[fsj]

<laughing> Canadian left. I love it!!! Thanks for sharing.

[andyb]

Quinn, I love watching your videos because your a down to earth person (not afraid to make mistakes). It's great to see the repair of equipment at times and also all of your projects.

[ducatistas]

Your openness about the ENTIRE process is refreshing. Some people were born master machinists, apparently.

[davidnightingale]

Another great video. I’m pleased you managed to straighten the part ok. Probably better tolerance than when new🤣 If you ever have to straighten anything like that again I recommend cutting a radius in the end of a cold chisel. Not to try to cut the part but to be able to direct the impact pressure to exactly the right spot. The same thing is employed to straighten crankshafts. There are some great YouTube videos of this process. Take care and stay safe.

[kieranh]

Awkward tension pins/roll pins.
Take a piece of wire (I use stainless tig welding wire)
Put it through the hole that the pin is to go through.
Slide the pin down the wire to begin seating in the hole.
Use a punch to start the pin.
Remove wire and complete reseating of the pin.

[cleon_teunissen]

I have succesfully straightened round items in the following way: first I machined aluminum half-rings, with the ring outer diameter double (or so) the outer diameter of the axle. (The rings were made with internal diameter to match the outer diameter of the axle that needed straightening, and then I sawed the rings in half.) The half-rings allowed me to exert a lot of force, without risking damage to the surface of the axle. I used a setup with three half-rings. I clamped the assembly in a vise with wide enough jaws, with the middle half ring set to push at the spot along the axle where it had been bent. So one jaw of the vise was pushing only the outer ends of the (short) axle, and the other jaw was pushing only the one half-ring at the spot where the bend had occurred. I supported the axle, so I could back off the jaws without the axle sliding down. With the jaws hardly pushing I slowly rotated the axle to feel where it was binding a little. At the orientation where the axle was binding the most I turned up the force of the vise, and then I backed off again. If I could feel no reduction of the bend then I would try again, turning up to a little more force, each time backing off again, and then rotating the axle to feel if there was still an orientation where it was binding a little. That way I was able to straighten that axle back to a point where I could roll it over a surface plate and I could no longer see any wobble.

[petem]

Nice job Quinn, we have straighten a few shafts between two Vee blocks and using the arbor press . I realize your shaft is very small but I am always amazed at the memory metal has. some times you give the handle (its long) a tug and the shaft springs back . Your patience and approach to problem solving is inspirational ... Pete M

[smellsofbikes]

Supporting the leadscrew with a machinist jack for tapping out the tapered shear pin is a great idea and convinces me it's time to make some machinist jacks.

[walterbohlin]

Quinn, in my opinion, this is one of your very best videos, especially for a newbie like myself. I'm bound to make more mistakes than you and this video encourages me to dig into the nitty gritty to solve and fix the problem. Just brilliant!

[pmdoit]

You continue to amaze me. Your mechanical ability and knowledge rival anyone. You are also a talented entertainer.

[turbobus]

Love your vids! I was a machinist in a refinery for years, now retired and missing machining! I don’t want this to sound bad, certainly not my intentions but I love to see a woman doing this kind of work in a previously male dominated trade, good for you! Keep up the great work! Plus, you’ve got me thinking about getting a hobby lathe and possibly a mill after I finish my Charger project.

[Dmenbiker]

Love your vids and tutorials... Pragmatic... Perfect... It does prove one thing.... You are intelligent and not just another pretty face... Your sense of humor makes me smile, profusely... I'm hooked on learning all kinds of stuff..

[johngardner]

I love the way you describe the process, especially the frustrating stuff.