New toy

[marcros]

I have been looking for a lathe for a little while and bid on eBay over the weekend. I collected it today.

It is a boley 4L, I believe it is from the 1930's. You can feel the quality in it and it is very heavy.

It needs a bit of work doing to it which I will start when I have finished doing my meddings drill.

Other than a general clean, the main issue is the compound slide, where there is play in the forwards backwards shaft. The seller said that a thrust washer would sort it- he was open about the issue in the listing so I will see when I strip it down. It needs a new flat belt and a bench/stand making. I assume that the motor runs but if not I will have to get one.

Also came with a full set of change wheels!

I will post some pics shortly.

 

[adidat]

pics or it didn't happen!!!



adidat

 

[marcros]

all in good time- taking me ages to transfer them from my phone, resize and upload them!!!

 

[adidat]

You can download the photo bucket app and then just upload them from your phone then copy and paste the link on the computer

Adidat

 

[marcros]

 

[monkeybiter]

Looks like a nice project.
Is this why you're in need of more space and selling stuff?

 

[marcros]

it is certainly a good part of it. i enjoy woodwork, but at the moment, i get 3-4 a week in the workshop at most. In the winter, it is too cold for glue to set. I figure that if i focus on some things like making pens, I can complete a project in a session or two. I want to use the metal lathe so that i can accurately size the parts for threading using taps and dies and make them completely from scratch rather than kits.

I have been meaning to bung some stuff on sale for a while, but i wanted to take some pics of the lathe tonight, so got my buttocks in gear!!

 

[DTR]

Congrats on getting a Boley!

Might a thrust roller bearing be a bit smoother than a thrust washer on the feed screw? (if there's room for one, that is)

 

[marcros]

Thanks Dave. A thrust bearing may well be a better option, I will have to look. The chap may have said that actually. He mentioned both, but since neither meant a great deal to me, i just remembered the bit about stripping it down to have a look. I assume that it all comes down to space?

 

[Aggrajag]

You can download the photo bucket app and then just upload them from your phone then copy and paste the link on the computer

The problem with that is every picture takes at least 30 seconds to view, even on a PC with 20 meg connection; the photobucket website is atrociously slow.

 

[marcros]

i found quite a simple way of doing it on my mac, once i had got them off my phone. i needed an android file transfer programme apparently, and then it was easy.

 

[adidat]

You can download the photo bucket app and then just upload them from your phone then copy and paste the link on the computer

The problem with that is every picture takes at least 30 seconds to view, even on a PC with 20 meg connection; the photobucket website is atrociously slow.

The website is pretty rubbish sure. But they load instantley on the forum

Looks like a nice lathe btw! Just planning the move and making space for my new south bend 13" lathe.

Adidat

 

[bugbear]

It is a boley 4L, I believe it is from the 1930's. You can feel the quality in it and it is very heavy.

It needs a bit of work doing to it which I will start when I have finished doing my meddings drill.

Other than a general clean, the main issue is the compound slide, where there is play in the forwards backwards shaft. The seller said that a thrust washer would sort it- he was open about the issue in the listing so I will see when I strip it down. It needs a new flat belt and a bench/stand making. I assume that the motor runs but if not I will have to get one.

Hmm. I would look into how this is supposed to work; I find it hard to believe there's been enough wear to result in that lash, so it may be either a poor modification, repair, or missing part.

Lash is normal, and can be worked round, but this is a Boley; it should have (almost) none.

BugBear

 

[marcros]

You can download the photo bucket app and then just upload them from your phone then copy and paste the link on the computer

The problem with that is every picture takes at least 30 seconds to view, even on a PC with 20 meg connection; the photobucket website is atrociously slow.

The website is pretty rubbish sure. But they load instantley on the forum

Looks like a nice lathe btw! Just planning the move and making space for my new south bend 13" lathe.

Adidat

That sounds a beast!

 

[MusicMan]

Mark
Bugbear is correct, that is a misadjustment or missing part, not wear. When I get out of hospital, as promised I will look at mine (which is very similar) and photograph how it goes together. There should be zero slop in that part. There may be wear in the leadscrew and/or nut of course. In mine it is mostly in the central part of the leadscrew.

Good to see the pics. It does look in nice condition. It will be interesting to see if the bed does not have too much wear as yo go to and from the headstock. That fit is adjustable with a neat taper gib plate. I've just had my machine rev round (bed and slides) and am in the process of realigning it all. Except this darn UTI and laser prostate surgery then another UTI have kept me out of the workshop for three months!

Keith

 

[woodpig]

Given the age of the machine it could well be a badly worn leadscrew nut.

Some folks have made their own replacements:
http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/thread ... e-easy-way

 

[graduate_owner]

How do these compare with a M series Myford Drummond type?

K

 

[adidat]

Given the age of the machine it could well be a badly worn leadscrew nut.

Some folks have made their own replacements:
http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/thread ... e-easy-way

That's an excellent method, thanks for sharing that!

Adidat

 

[DTR]

How do these compare with a M series Myford Drummond type?

K

No experience with either, unfortunately, but I'd expect the build and design quality of a Boley to be exceptional. The M-type, on the other hand, was aimed at a different market. That's not to say that the M-type isn't a good lathe; there's some debate as to whether the M-type is better than a Myford ML7. It was certainly good enough for the British armed forces to adopt as their standard lathe during the 1940s.

Given the age of the machine it could well be a badly worn leadscrew nut.

Some folks have made their own replacements:
http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/thread ... e-easy-way

That's an excellent method, thanks for sharing that!

Adidat

Agreed, very clever


edit: This is my 1234th post. My OCD demands that I never post again for fear of ruining my perfect post count (hammer)

 

[woodpig]

It should be possible to get leadscrew nuts for most lead screws out there but there's always the possibility of non standard pitch etc so the moulded Delrin is a good backup solution which will always fit properly.