Just wondering if anyone has ever done this. I have a Powermatic 90 lathe I’m restoring. You can’t thread anything on the big 1-1/2″ x 8tpi spindle because several of the threads are flattened down. This prevents faceplates being threaded on. My MSC Industrial supply catalog shows a thread file and several types of dies. There are adjustable dies and rethreading hexagonal dies in this size for about $47. Would getting something like this be the right way to go about cleaning up these threads? Or is there an easier or cheaper way to do the same job?
Thanks in advance for your time.
Bill
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Replies
60 degree Riffler (sp?) file. Patience and time. 5 bucks maybe and figure and hour.
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
Bill, On a lathe spindle, it doesn't take much in the way of knocks/dings or, bruises to interfere with a smooth fit.
If you 'Blue' the spindle's threaded area with spray Dykem Blue and let it dry, then, by using a fine three corner file, mill away any bright marks but not blue , you'll restore it's fit.
Screw on a faceplate or chuck 'till it binds. Remove faceplate and file away any high spots (Keep the orientation of the file steady in the groove)
Rotate the spindle and continue to file/blue/ mark high spots/ rotate file etc etc After a while, the chuck will advance a bit more in stages
Don't get too aggressive with the file. Patience will reward you Stein.
If you find the chuck is too heavy to monkey with, remove it's backing plate and use it alone to mark the threads.
DON'T disturb any paper shims and when reassembling, line up the 'Witness' marks (Usually two prick marks at the juncture( If there's no witness marks, Scratch an X across the joint, so you can put it back exactly as it was .
Stein. After you acheve a nice fit, buff the clockwise running spindle with a fine brass wire wheel held in an electric drill (spinning anticlockwise)
Edited 1/9/2004 2:42:43 PM ET by steinmetz
Edited 1/9/2004 2:53:43 PM ET by steinmetz
Edited 1/9/2004 3:04:01 PM ET by steinmetz
Edited 1/15/2004 7:19:37 PM ET by steinmetz
Bill,
Just get a standard triangular file and work your way around the thread, reshaping the most obviously damaged areas a little at a time until the faceplate will thread on properly. Go easy and take your time, you don't want to remove any more metal than is needed to get the fit right. The work should take only a few minutes.
John W.
Rent a pipe threader.
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
Do NOT use a pipe threader. Pipe threads are tapered, lathe spindle is not.
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