# Starting Up a used lathe for the first time



## RMO (May 5, 2011)

I have a lathe I picked up for close to nothing that I would like to put into service. It is missing a chuck and tool holder and has a few loose or missing bolts, but otherwise looks fairly good from my beginners perspective. It is a Acra Turn Lathe LC1340 G. I have posted a photo below. (I do have the guards and such) I have ordered a manual, but my question is this:

I would like to plug it in and run through a few of the speeds and functions before purchasing a chuck and quick change tool holder. If it has problems I will want to get those fixed before moving to the next steps.

Is there anything I should be checking before I plug it in and turn it on? I do know that the headstock is loose as there are a couple of bolts missing and I plan to secure that before turning it on. I can rotate things and it turns smoothly, no obvious catches or noises. I would appreciate any advice, tips or comments.

Mike


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## mulac321 (May 5, 2011)

hi there i have a similar Chinese lathe, id make sure there is oil in the headstock, on my lathe there a transparent bubble on the headstock to check the oil. in regards to checking anythings loose id just see if you can move anything by leaning on it... IE press hard on the top of the headstock and make sure it doesn't move separately to the bed. if the spindle spins by hand smoothly try selecting a few gears and make sure there all OK, lower speed gears will be more difficult to turn then high speed gears. for running first time id select the lowest speed, if your lathe like mine has a jog button id press that a few times to highlight any issues before properly starting it. good luck!

Calum


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## RMO (May 5, 2011)

Thanks Calum, Any particular type of oil? I havn't got the manual yet. The head stock does move because bolts are missing, I am picking up new bolts today and will make sure the headstock it secured before doing anything drastic like turning on the machine. Thanks


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## Tin Falcon (May 5, 2011)

Make sure thing turn freely by hand before trying to run under power. 
Tin


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## lordedmond (May 6, 2011)

have the electrics test by a competent electrician



or poke the on button with a long stick 


do all the above posters have said and good luck 


Stuart


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## metalmad (May 6, 2011)

Hi RMO
I have also resurrected an old Asian lathe and I love it 
My headstock uses "hyspin AWS 32"
all the best 
Pete


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## kvom (May 6, 2011)

If you can turn the motor shaft and the attached belts/gearss by hand, then it should be OK. Start with spindle in neutral and everything set to the lowest speed.


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## RMO (May 6, 2011)

Thanks all for the advice. I got some time tonight and checked that all of the gears turned and that there were no unusual noises. I plugged it in and started it up. It turns freely in all of the gears and speeds and runs quiet. I only ran it for a very short while (few seconds in each gear and no loads) as the oil had been drained from the headstock. In checking it out I noticed three main problems: 

- At least one of the bolts holding the headstock has been sheared off. I will have to lift the upper half of the headstock off to get at the broken bolt and remove it. From what I can tell, something hit the headstock on the front upper left corner and possible caused the bolt to break. The one bolt that was holding the headstock down was bent, It looks like there is a allen head bolt inside the headstock that is loose as well. I will have to see if it is also sheared off or just loose. I will need to rig something to lift it safely. 

-The carraige feed will not engage, it feels like something is jambed there. However, the feed screw turns nicely and while it has a few dings, now of them seem to be deep enough to cause concern.

-The cross slide has been moved to one extreme and is stuck; the handle will not move in ether direction. Not sure how to handle this, but will figure it out, perhaps when the manual comes.

Other than that, the rest is fairly minor things like cleaning, adding oil, mounting the shields and guards, etc. I did remove the top cover of the headstock and look at the gears and they show very little if any wear at all. In fact I could only see light markings on one set of gears where they meshed, the rest had hardly any marks at all. Now I just need to find a D1-5 chuck and a tool post. Thanks again I really enjoy the site and the help. 

Mike


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## Maryak (May 7, 2011)

RMO  said:
			
		

> Thanks all for the advice. I got some time tonight and checked that all of the gears turned and that there were no unusual noises. I
> -The carraige feed will not engage, it feels like something is jambed there. However, the feed screw turns nicely and while it has a few dings, now of them seem to be deep enough to cause concern.
> 
> -The cross slide has been moved to one extreme and is stuck; the handle will not move in ether direction. Not sure how to handle this, but will figure it out, perhaps when the manual comes.
> ...



Mike,

Having managed to go from longitudinal feed to cross feed on my lathe when all I meant to do was disengage the feed, I ended up with the above situation.

In my case, the shear pin between the change gears and the feed screw had sheared and the cross feed drive nut had jammed against the carriage and bent the cross feed shaft. 

The 1st part is a matter of locating the appropriate shear pin and replacing it. 

The 2nd part is a bit more fiddly. First remove the handle and bearings from the cross slide, this should allow the whole assembly to move towards you. Be aware that inside is also the drive gear keyed to the cross shaft. When you have moved the assembly a couple of inches to you, you should be able to release the drive nut from the cross slide and gently punch it and the shaft downwards releasing it and allowing the cross slide to slide off the guides. Before sliding the assembly off the guides loosen the gib and remove it.
You should now be able to screw the nut off the cross shaft and remove the shaft, again look out for the shaft drive gear and key.

Hope this helps

Best Regards
Bob


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## aslanefe (Feb 16, 2012)

Mike, do you still have the Acra lathe? I acquired one and have some questions if you still have yours.
Thanks
Ersin


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## ShopShoe (Feb 17, 2012)

Mike,

The damage you are describing may have been caused by something hitting the lathe, or maybe (far worse?) the whole lathe fell over or was dropped while being moved. If this makes sense start looking for whatever else could have been jammed or bent in that type of accident. 

You also might want to fill the headstock, then run it if you can, then drain the oil again to see if anything like loose parts or shavings come out with the oil.

Does this sound right to others here?

--ShopShoe


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## rhankey (Feb 17, 2012)

It sounds to me like once the bolts have been replaced, the fun will really begin with trying to reallign the headstock, bed and tailstock to one another so that it can cut reasonably straight. Whatever caused those bolts to bend and break, could very well have knocked or bent other things out of allignment too.

Robin


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## RMO (Feb 18, 2012)

aslanefe  said:
			
		

> Mike, do you still have the Acra lathe? I acquired one and have some questions if you still have yours.
> Thanks
> Ersin



Yes I still have it. What questions do you have. Send me a message if you like.

Mike


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## aslanefe (Feb 19, 2012)

Mike  said:
			
		

> Yes I still have it. What questions do you have. Send me a message if you like.
> 
> Mike


Mike,
Sent you a message.
Thanks a lot
Ersin


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## RMO (Feb 20, 2012)

Ersin,

I could not figure out how to post photos on the messaging system so I will post the photos here. There are two shots of the cover lable and two shots on the headstock and gear box. Hope this helps.

Mike


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## RMO (Feb 20, 2012)

And one of the carriage...


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## aslanefe (Feb 20, 2012)

Mike, these help a lot, thank you very much.
Do you have a picture of the carriage? Looks like you posted the picture of the gear box twice. Does your lathe have a thread dial indicator that attaches to the carriage? I would like to have a picture of the data plate on that also if you have. Also the oil label that is on the backshield on the right side when you get a chance.
What oil did you use? The manual calls for No.20 Machine oil and I was thinking of using MOBIL DTE Heavy/medium on the head stock, gearbox and the carriage.
Thanks a lot again
Ersin


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## RMO (Feb 20, 2012)

So I did... Here is one of the carriage, but I am not sure it shows the whole thing. I will have to go back out tomorrow evening to take another photo. I have yet to fill up the gear boxes with oil as I am still looking (saving) for a chuck.


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## RMO (Feb 22, 2012)

Ersin,

Here is the shot of the thread dial. I forgot to look at the oil sticker. It is a 5 mile trip one way to the shop so you get to wait a day or so until I am out there next.

Mike


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## aslanefe (Feb 23, 2012)

Mike,
I appreciate it.
Sent you a message, let me know if you get it as I am still trying to figure out how to send a message. Have sent you a few before but sounds like it didn't make it to your inbox.
Thanks
Ersin


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