# The "new" beast



## 350xfire (Feb 19, 2012)

So after a few months in my new home I found another one... Had to beg a little to get wife's approval but she finally caved in.
The good- 
1. AMERICA IRON!!!
2. Bison chuck- only 6" but a bison it is.
3. Headstock bearing play- about 4 thou in and out(can be adjusted... About 2 thou up and down. Around a non-calibrated Maglite barrel about 2 thou. Not bad!
4. 3ph motor.
5. Taper attachment
6. 30" bed makesd the unit smaller and cheaper DRO scales will be needed. My other Leblond was about 60" bed making it wide and the DRO scale for the X was another $100.
7. Some bed wear but not a big deal... When the carriage lock down screw is partially engaged below the chuck, the carriage gets tighter as it is moved away from the chuck towards the end of the bed. Not too bad though. My other Leblond was worse.
8. I have a 4 jaw 10" chuck , assorted backplates and collet closer that I kept from the other lathe!
9. A bit lighter in weight.
10. Cooler legs with storage.

The bad:
1. Spindle bore only 1.1"
2. Now I need to buy VFD.
3. No tool post so I need one. I would love to have another KDK!
4. Machine a bit dirty and greasy, will take a bit to polish up. I love a challenge though!
5. 6" Bison... At least a Maglite barrel fits into the chuck nice and deep. I will eventually get an 8".
6. Kind of a small 3/4 hp motor... Not sure how this will work but my other Leblond had a 1hp and worked well. Although, I could feel it straining on big passes.

That's it for now!


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## gadget_lover (Feb 19, 2012)

It sure sounds sweet. What is it? A Leblond?

Daniel


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## darkzero (Feb 19, 2012)

Plans for a full resto? If yes, please post your progress! Congrats!

I plan to buy an old lathe one day for a resto project. I think it will be a lot of fun! They don't pop up too often around here. Man would I love to have a Monarch or an old Mori Seki, can't afford it though.


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## 350xfire (Feb 19, 2012)

Yeap, Leblond Regal 13". I'll call tomorrow and see what age. One nice thing about the old American stuff is that the manufacturer's are great about having the information on the machines. My old 13" was a 1944 model and they knew almost everything about it!


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## wquiles (Feb 20, 2012)

Excellent - glad to hear the deal worked out OK


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## 350xfire (Feb 20, 2012)

Alright, here's some more eye candy! Clean up in progress. Leblond said it's a 1943 model that was sold to the government.
Daughter says "approved"!



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## kuksul08 (Feb 21, 2012)

Sweet! That'll be fun to clean up, I can't wait for the after pics. I found that scotch brite and WD40 works really well for removing the surface rust quickly although it just put a scuff pattern in the metal.


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## 350xfire (Feb 21, 2012)

Oven cleaner works well also and removes paint. So if you don't want to remove paint don't use it.
Spray, let is soak a few hours and wipe off. Repeat as needed. It's only about $1 (generic brand) per can so very cheap.


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## precisionworks (Feb 22, 2012)

It hurts my soul to look at a gorgeous older machine because it makes me realize how ugly the newer Chinese machines are. Everything on the Regal is sculpted, rounded, meant to touch & use for years. Reminds me of my South Bend. Pretty enough to display in the family room even if it never makes a chip.


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## 350xfire (Feb 22, 2012)

I agree Barry. These things are sweet. I almost bought an 11x Chinese machine that the owner bought and never used (at least that what he said). After using my other Leblond, I knew I wanted another American Beauty. I spent a few hours last night power washing parts and picked up a can of ANSI Gray Sherwin Williams to do a cosmetic resto on it. Spindle bore is not as big as lathes of today but I can work around it.

I do need a few parts for this one as some were missing. Luckily I kept the 4-jaw Cushman and collet closer from the other one I had. Now I really only need the steady rest. It has the follow rest.


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## precisionworks (Feb 22, 2012)

> I really only need the steady rest.


EBay often has "unknown" steadies that can be adapted. Sometimes they have to be cut down & welded, other times a V-groove will need to be machined. Cost is usually low.


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## CMAG (Feb 22, 2012)

350xfire said:


> Oven cleaner works well also and removes paint. So if you don't want to remove paint don't use it.
> Spray, let is soak a few hours and wipe off. Repeat as needed. It's only about $1 (generic brand) per can so very cheap.



gloves and eye protection the boy of I guy I worked with way back burnt the ---- out of his hands stripping paint with easy o


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## 350xfire (Feb 22, 2012)

Indeed. That is a pretty strong sodium hydroxide (caustic) mix.


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## 350xfire (Feb 23, 2012)

Started to paint her tonight. Also bought a NEMA 4 TECO VFD drive for her. I like the fact that it has a FWD/Rev switch, on/off switch and a pot for adjusting speed.





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## StrikerDown (Feb 24, 2012)

WOW, you are moving right along! Good work, thanks for posting the progress.


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## 350xfire (Feb 25, 2012)

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## PEU (Feb 27, 2012)

Very nice progress, she is coming back to life and full splendor!


Pablo


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## precisionworks (Feb 27, 2012)

Not trying to cause undue concern but that old motor may not like your freq drive 

The older motors were manufactured before the birth of solid state electronics. Their insulation is fine for running from 120 or 240 volt power but not for the very high bus voltage present in the VFD waveform. You may want to retire that motor to a less stressful job & pick up any newer Baldor (or equal). All have ISR (inverter spike resistant) insulation & are designed for freq drive control.


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## 350xfire (Mar 3, 2012)

Precision, my old Leblond with similar motor did not have any issues. What would happen if issues were to be present?
Thanks


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## StrikerDown (Mar 4, 2012)

350xfire said:


> Precision, my old Leblond with similar motor did not have any issues. What would happen if issues were to be present?
> Thanks



Nothing to say this one will not work, Barry said it may not like the V Spikes inverters tend to create. Voltage spikes may not kill a motor instantly or at all but if the insulation is not up to the task it can be penetrated by a small arc. if it continues the insulation will continue to break down until there is a hard contact of the wiring at which point the motor will create a high current condition and either over heat/burn or pop a circuit breaker or fuse. Worst case you could have a fire from burning debris falling out of the motor and igniting other fuel sources around it. Or it may just stop running from a popped circuit. Too many variables to say exactly what will happen.


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## precisionworks (Mar 4, 2012)

StrikerDown said:


> Nothing to say this one will not work, Barry said it may not like the V Spikes inverters tend to create. Voltage spikes may not kill a motor instantly or at all but if the insulation is not up to the task it can be penetrated by a small arc. if it continues the insulation will continue to break down until there is a hard contact of the wiring at which point the motor will create a high current condition and either over heat/burn or pop a circuit breaker or fuse. Worst case you could have a fire from burning debris falling out of the motor and igniting other fuel sources around it. Or it may just stop running from a popped circuit. Too many variables to say exactly what will happen.



The frequency drive is an approved over current limiting device in most countries. It replaces the thermal heaters or solid state heaters in a motor starter And respond more quickly to overcurrent then a traditional overload limiter.

I installed a Teco drive on a motor from the 1940's & it refused to run in vector mode. V/Hz Control was as good as we could do. Not saying that this will happen to you but you should watch it closely.


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## 350xfire (Mar 5, 2012)

OK, thanks guys!


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## 350xfire (Apr 24, 2012)

OK, so I finally got her running. She works great and I absolutely love the TECO NEMA 4 VFD with FWD/REV and Power switches all on the outside included in the price. No fiddling around adding switches or going to the menu to reverse the motor. I will post pics tomorrow!


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## 350xfire (Apr 25, 2012)

OK, so here are some pics. I cleaned and painted it, added VFD, added QCTP, changed oil and lubed, working on adding the DRO. Got the back scale on and working on the cross slide. That one seems to be somewhat of a challenge due to thickness issue. I even got the slim scale. If anyoe has any suggestions please let me know. I machined about a 5" piece of a Maglite barrel and it was very smooth and very true... I think this one is going to be a winner!
Thanks... Oh and a big thanks to Will for machining the QCTP nut for me!




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## wquiles (Apr 25, 2012)

Looking good Hector - nice job in getting her ready to make chips again 

Will


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## 350xfire (Apr 25, 2012)

wquiles said:


> Looking good Hector - nice job in getting her ready to make chips again
> 
> Will



Thanks man. I have an 8,000 lumen video light brewing as we speak. My new canisters will be ready by this week I hope and then modding up the Mag heads!


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## precisionworks (Jul 12, 2012)

Here's another pretty piece of American Iron


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## wquiles (Jul 12, 2012)

You know what is the most "fun" part of that picture (specially the first one)? The lathe is "bolted" down. Like if that lathe was going to move somewhere given its weight !!!

Then again, when you "need" a lathe that big, the parts being machined are "likely" heavy as well ......

Will


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## 350xfire (Jul 12, 2012)

Just awesome!


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## precisionworks (Jul 12, 2012)

The machine is circa 1948 & the electrical controls have value ... as an antique 






Here's the control I wired up & installed:






The two tiny red wires are for control, the grey box on the right is a circuit breaker & the device lower left is the motor starter contactor. Upper left is the control transformer that takes the incoming 240 volts & reduces it to 120 volts for the contactor coil. This install is a bit unusual as the customer wanted a clear path behind the lathe so all the wiring is overhead:






FWIW the incoming service is high leg Delta - voltage from line to ground is:
L1 125v
L2 171v
L3 125v
Phase to phase voltage (A-B, A-C, B-C) is a constant 245v. The motor is 25hp and draws 77 amps under full load. Starting inrush current is 283 amps/phase


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