I spent money I didn't really have, but the deal was too good to pass up.

http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...t/IM001729.JPG

Clausing 6300, 12x24 lathe, and no, it's not completely assembled yet. I had to take it home in pieces because it was so heavy I and the seller (and his two sons) couldn't really budge it. And, to unload it, I'd have the same problem (I had to use an engine crane for the bed, and the headstock).

Tomorrow I'll put the gears, cranks, *****, levers and other pieces we removed back on, wire it up, and give it a whirl!

Just wanted to share my happiness.

 

Way to go Frederic!

That's a nice size for a home shop. I had a big one and had to get rid of it because of space considerations. I just wasn't using it very much.

So now you will never be hurting for lack of a spacer or a bushing etc...

 

sure beats the poor boy lathe. bench grinder and a drill. should come in handy

 

Way to go, have fun with the new toy! I had a devil of a time moving mine at about 2500# but did it all in one piece. The threading ability is one of the most useful features.

I can see the turret and drawbar. Did you get any other tooling with it?

 

Yes, lots of stuff!

A few boring bars and a bag of carbide tips, the turrett thing as you saw, a regular tailstock, two chucks (3 jaw - they all move together, and a 4-jaw where the jaws are independent), a bunch of quick change things for the quick change saddle, and some of the boring bars fit into those things. I think that's they are for at least

And a bunch of other stuff I have no idea what it's for... yet! Oh, and two or three live centers for the regular tailstock.

Tooling:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...m-DSC00344.JPG

Other tailstock and other chuck:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...m-DSC00345.JPG

Here's how I took it home:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...t/IM001726.JPG

Here I've set up and leveled the table, and started to crane the lathe bed onto the table:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...t/IM001727.JPG

Fitting the headstock:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...t/IM001728.JPG

I still have to figure out which gears go where, since removing the headstock required removing some of the gears, which I have in ziploc bags at the moment.

When we took it apart to load it in pieces, I was smart and put electrical tape around the shafts the gears go on, as not to lose or mix up the woodruff keys.

Here's a writeup on the lathe....
http://www.lathes.co.uk/clausing/page2.html

 

Got the lathe assembled:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...t/IM001730.JPG

Figured out the wiring for the 3-phase fwd/off/rev switch to use it as a single phase switch, as well as the motor wiring:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...300-wiring.jpg

Wired up the motor:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...t/IM001731.JPG

And reassembled the motor carriage/support with a new belt:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...t/IM001732.JPG

I'm 9 bolts away from having this thing running!

 

It looks like you are fairly well set for basic tooling. I will have to visit the Airparts business down the street to pick up more for mine. I have a few pieces but need more.

I take it that was a single phase motor then or did you just have a single phase to go on it?

Looks like you are close to being up and running. Level the lathe VERY carefully and do some test cuts on a long piece of bar stock between centers and also a piece of stock chucked in the jaws to make sure everything is aligned and you are not cutting a taper. Taper in a lathe is a pain to deal with.

The gears for various threads should be noted on the nameplates somewhere.

 

Nice machine!

I've got a 10 X 36 Clausing, and was fortunate to round up alot of friends to help move it. There is a Clausing lathe & mill newsgroup on Yahoo that may help you also. Good luck with the new toy.

Bob

 

Originally it had a 3 phase, 440V motor, and the person I bought it from had already purchased a single phase, 120V/240V reversable Baldor motor for it, but wasn't able to get it wired. The control switch is a 3-phase switch, so it required a little reverse engineering to use it as a single phase and still reverse the direction/start winding. Wiring is my thing so... it took about 10 minutes lmao. I'm more electrically inclined than I am mechanically inclined. That's why most of my vehicle related projects look awful, and often run awful at least for a while, but the wiring is beautiful

Very close. I have to mount the motor support structure, then bolt down the lathe to the bed (the motor mount uses the same bolts as the lathe feet), then run the new wiring outside the cabinet to the control box, then plug it in!

After reassembling, I spent about two hours trying to figure out why it was binding, preventing me from turning it by hand. I thought I had installed something incorrectly, but it turns out I had the back gear transmission engaged, and the handwheel on the back of the headstock also engaged. So so I had a "solid axle" so to speak, with a 16:1 range of gearing driven by each end of the same solid axle - thus it would not turn. For most it would have been really obvious. I needed to install the back cover in order to realize the metal plate that says "engage/disengage" meant that lever I bumped ha ha.

There's a clear chart which has litho'd numbers on it, and two levers move red things behind it, so one can select the movement/threading capability of the moving saddle. It was sticking a little bit before I brought it home, but after assembly it doesn't stick anymore.

I'll check out the potential taper issue and report back... thanks for the tip!

BTW... I can chuck brake rotors for the Olds and the Crown Vic just fine. Unfortunately, not the F350 rotors. They're a tad too large in diameter

 

I love to mess with electricals also, see my home page. I have wired a few drum switches for the same single phase reversing application.

Brake drums, rotors and wheels is one of the reasons I wanted a big lathe. Mine is a 20" that will swing 24" in the gap. Unfortunately I now have to contend with a 7.5HP 3phase motor and a phase converter.

 

does this mean that we poured all that gear oil all over the back of the rattletrap and down the driveway for nothing???

 

Yeah, had I known I was getting a lathe as soon as I did, I would have put a bucket there instead of a bunch of old rags LMAO

 

Got the gearboxes (all three) filled with oil, and the machine running. Seems something in the saddle is a bit loose, as while trying it out (by cutting up a 3/4" bolt shank), the saddle kept wobbling. Wobbling cannot be good.

I think part of the problem was I couldn't get the four-jaw chuck centered, as the jaws are independent. I should probably cut one of the spare backplates and put the 3-jaw onto that. Just didn't want to cut that as my first project, as they're expensive and impossible to find, and it would suck to ruin it.

I have to keep reminding myself this is not a saw... I have to let the tool do the work.... slowly lmao

 

No experience with a lathe???

A 4-jaw is the best chuck to use. You need a dial indicator with a mag base to indicate the workpiece in tho. Use the lines on the chuck face to get things close. A 3-Jaw is OK for quick rough work but most machinists will use the 4-jaw.

Your saddle should not wobble. It should be rock steady. Find the problem there. Maybe have a machinist or a millwright look at it.

 

Which chuck to use is a fuction of what the work piece is. I only use a four jaw when I need to make an eccentric cut.

Frederic, are you certatin that there is no means for mounting the three jaw other than on a backing plate? I don't know your machine, but that is not common. I would study that a little. It should have a flanged piece that fits the head stock to bolt it to.