Montgomery Wards Logan Refurb

[bmwrd0]

Great pics BMW! 

Hope you don't mind a suggestion. To get the hardened grease off that lead screw try using a heat gun set on low and it will loosen up enough to give the brush a chance to do its job.

Great idea, and any suggestion is welcome.

[bmwrd0]

I am back from a trip to visit my father's widow, and, waiting for me was a tool I bought especially to get those threads cleaned up, freeing up the old lathe to be sold.


a 3/4"-8 ACME thread chase die. I had debated this, as it was on the pricy side, but cheap Chinese dies from eBay didn't list the outside dimensions, so I had no idea if I had a die stock of the right side, and I would prefer to do it right the first time while buying from a good place, McMaster-Carr.

And this thing is wonderful! It does the job perfectly, and quickly.

You can see the clean threads to the right, in contrast to the still filthy threads to the left.


One thing I wasn't counting on was that it took a 1-1/2" wrench, of which I only had in an adjustable.

[bmwrd0]

Things move slowly, but they keep moving.





These are the two hangers for the lead screw, and you can see in the first pic just how much junk needs to be removed to get down to the original paint.

[bmwrd0]

I finally sold the old lathe, and now, before I remove the bench, I am starting on the cast iron legs.

I first removed the SquareD fuse box from the side, as I won't be using it. I will not have it hard wired into the wall, but will run it with a plug and completely disconnect it when not in use.

Seems to be a good box, will probably clean it up and see if anyone wants it.

[bmwrd0]

I changed my mind about the switch box, and I have decided to keep it, as opposed to unplugging the machine each time I turn it off. So I started cleaning it up



It seems they just painted over dirt, which does make my job easier. I will probably re-do the power flow so it feeds a little better for my application, but as I am just going to run a 3/4HP motor I am not too worried.

[Uncle Buck]

I like knife throw disconnects.I think keeping that was a wise decision.

[Uncle Buck]

So, you sold the lathe and kept the legs, is that right? As you know those legs are costly.

[bmwrd0]

No, the legs are from the Logan/MW that is being restored, the South Bend had no legs. it was just on top of a bench and taking up more room than I wanted.

[bmwrd0]

Life has been keeping me busy, even in retirement, but I have been working on the Logan

The countershaft needed some looking after, and once I got it taken apart, it got a good bath in Evaporust. I am not a huge fan of the stuff normally, but in cases like getting the cone pulley taken care of, it is just the ticket.



Here it is, separated, and while it was soaking I was better able to get to this side of of the countershaft pulley


And all back together, nice and clean

[bmwrd0]

More of the tedious work of scrapping the dirt and grey paint off to get down the original lacquer:


Getting 90% of it off is easy, it just flakes off and leaves the original paint in decent shape, but the last 10% is the time consuming part, as you have to go over every inch of the cast iron and hit every tiny bit with the tip of the pic to get it to come off, and the parts that have damage to the original paint is where the cheap grey really likes to stick.

But, now we are getting somewhere with the countershaft assembly:

The yoke on the top of it, were the counter shaft bearing sit, was something I had thought I didn't receive when I picked up the project, and I had been searching for one in vain for months. But, I was going through some photos while looking for something else, and noticed it in the pics of the pile of parts I dragged home. This caused me to do a deep search for it in the garage out back, and I found it under some tarping. That piece was only from the earliest models, and was replaced by a simpler bit of cast iron to make, and is nearly impossible to find. I thought I was going to have to modify something from a later model, but was very happy to find the one I already had.

Speaking of lucky, I usually keep an eye out for any lathes for sale in the PNW where I live, and so I look through the usually online sources pretty regularly. And in doing so, I spotted an ad on Marketplace for someone selling lathe parts that looked like Logan bits, and he was only asking for a best offer. So, I shot him an offer, and within minutes he accepted, and we met an hour later in Eugene. Here is what I got:

Tool posts, tool holders, centers, wrenches, milling attachment, backing plate, a tin of HSS

an 8" four-jaw, change gears

Logan tailstock with lamp, mag base and dial indicator by Mitutoyo, and a steady rest down in the bottom.

Seller said lots of people wanted him to ship it to them, but I was the first to come and pick it up.

[jabberwoki]

Don`t you love it when a sweet score like that pops up.
You`ll be smiling about this score for ages.

[bmwrd0]

Indeed I will Jab!

[bmwrd0]

I have been doing more paint removal, but pictures of that are boring, so I got the knife switch all wired up


Also got the butcher block top cut to size and the first locating holes drilled.


Next is to get the butcher block stained and poly'd, then check that the bed fits, and start cleaning the old paint off of that.

[goodfellow]

That old fused switch is a sight for sore eyes. So many high amp draw machine tools used that setup. Easy to diagnose and repair -- those were the days!

[bmwrd0]

Got the table top all stained/polyed, and down in the shop. Now we are putting things together:

It looks a little like Frankenstein's Monster right now, but I needed to be able to do this by myself, safely, and get all the mounting holes square and lined up. I plan on drilling the holes oversized, so the wood can float between the legs and the bed while still being tight. I have a metal tray that came with it, but it is around 10-12 inches longer, and my shop is so small that every bit counts. It does make lining up all the screw holes harder. It would have been nice if they just made the mounting holes a nice, even distance apart, but, no, it had to be an odd number with a fraction.

Doing things like this by yourself isn't difficult, you just need to think about every step, and usually three steps, in advance, just so you don't need to go back and do everything over.