Feet, drip tray and chip guard
With the many modifications and additions to the lathe the standard drip tray and chip guard were a bit small. I also wanted to reduce the speed of the lathe, since I hardly ever used the high speed range, and needed more torque when turning large pieces of work. In order to do the latter modification the lathe motor needed to be remounted behind the lathe and I needed to provide a robust platform for this.
A new drip tray was not so difficult to provide. Someone on the Yahoo 7 x 12 mini-lathe group had suggested using a Grobag tray. These trays are L1000 mm x W400 mm x D50 mm and are the perfect size for the extended lathe.
A new drip tray was not so difficult to provide. Someone on the Yahoo 7 x 12 mini-lathe group had suggested using a Grobag tray. These trays are L1000 mm x W400 mm x D50 mm and are the perfect size for the extended lathe.
In order to raise the level of the lathe to the height of the drip tray, new mounting blocks were made from 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 mm square box section steel as shown in this photo. Also note in the photo there is a bar 240 mm x 65 mm x 8 mm between the mounting block and the lathe. The blocks are bolted through the bar to the lathe using M6 screws.
This photo shows the bar extending back from the mounting block to the rear of the lathe. This photo is of the tailstock end of the lathe and the bar here is used to support the adjustable foot at the rear of the new chip guard. There is a similar arrangement at the head stock end where the bar is used to support the re-positioned motor.
The mounting blocks are secured to the bench by M6 bolts passing through the new drip tray. Between the block and the tray is a hard rubber washer (3/4" tap washers are perfect) to seal the block to the tray and prevent oil soaking into the bench. At the head stock end the bolts are tightened down to secure the lathe firmly to the bench but at the tailstock end the bolts are only hand tight. This is to avoid any possibility of distortion of the lathe bed.
The mounting blocks are secured to the bench by M6 bolts passing through the new drip tray. Between the block and the tray is a hard rubber washer (3/4" tap washers are perfect) to seal the block to the tray and prevent oil soaking into the bench. At the head stock end the bolts are tightened down to secure the lathe firmly to the bench but at the tailstock end the bolts are only hand tight. This is to avoid any possibility of distortion of the lathe bed.
A new chip guard was made from the side panel of a discarded washing machine. This is 570 mm long, 150 mm deep and 150 mm high. This is considerably larger than the standard chip guard to allow for the increased cross slide travel and the extra length of the lathe with the lathe bed extension. The chip guard is designed to slope towards the tailstock end of the lathe and also slope towards the lathe bed casting. Thus cutting fluids do not accumulate on the guard but drain down the back of the lathe casting. With the increased depth it is easy to sweep swarf off the chip guard into a tin at the tailstock end of the lathe. The chip guard is attached by only two screws rather than the four used for the standard guard. One screw goes in the headstock and one screw into the rear of the lathe bed casting at the tailstock end. The back (upright) end of the chip guard is also supported by an adjustable foot that rests on the 8 mm protruding bar as shown in the above photo. This make the chipguard fairly robust and I use it to support a worklight that is attached to the chip guard with a magnet.