| The cross slide forms a mobile base for the compound
rest.
To remove it, you must first remove the graduated dial and
unscrew the backing dial (my term), similar to what was done with the
compound rest. In my case the handle retention pin was 1/8" and there was no nut screwed into the handle. 1/8" is too large for the pin - which probably should be a spring pin like the compound rest has - and I had to use a gear puller to get the handle off. The pin damaged the threads on the end of the leadscrew when it came out, but not irrepairably. |
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| Here's the leadscrew with the graduated dial removed.
The backing dial is threaded into the cross slide casting as
shown, but you must first remove the set screw (which is labeled "oil")
in order to unscrew it. Once unscrewed, the entire leadscrew
itself can be simply unscrewed from the cross slide casting. To remove the cross slide casting, push it off the back of the saddle, which is grooved along its entire width to accomodate the cross slide leadscrew nut. Although not strictly necessary, I found it much easier to loosen the gib adjusting screw before sliding it off. |
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Once you've removed the cross slide casting, you can
dismantle the leadscrew assembly easily. For me, removing the
backing dial from the leadscrew itself was a bit of a challenge.
There's a pin that retains the bushing and backing dial as
shown,
but the pin is a very strong press fit (about 0.005" interference).
You want to be careful with this assembly, as it's a
precision
leadscrew and you don't want to risk bending it. I punched
out
the pin as shown, with the back side of the leadscrew resting on a
stack of blocks and the front supported on an aluminum bar close to the
pin so I wouldn't mar the steel surface. You need a 3/32" pin
punch. You want to remove the backing dial because there are 2 ball thrust bearings on the leadscrew that should be inspected. The second photo here shows the bearings in their approximate positions on the leadscrew shaft. They bound the backing dial. |
| Here's what the entire cross slide assembly looks like
(except the gib isn't shown, but that's just a metal wedge).
The
ball thrust bearings are likely to be in good condition, as long as the
lathe was lubricated periodically. They don't have to handle
much
load or speed, so they should tend to last almost forever. To remove the leadscrew nut you must first remove the oil plug at the center of the screw. Then the leadscrew nut screw has a giant slotted head. You need at least a 3/8" wide flat blade screwdriver to unscrew it, but I found that a screwdriver that large is too thick to put in the narrow slot. A 9/16" drag link socket might work, but I don't have one, so I ground down a 3/4" wide piece of scrap steel on one end and used that as a makeshift screwdriver, which worked remarkably well. Technically, I suppose there's no reason to remove the leadscrew nut, since it can be cleaned pretty well right where it is. But I like to take everything apart. |
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