Ariston lathe

[Black Forest]

This is the lathe I needed the information regarding change gears.

It is not as old as I thought it was. 1973. Bought new by the grandfather of the man I bought it from, my horse shoer. He thinks it has not been used for at least 10 years. It was covered in dirt and grease.

It came with a box of change gears and lots of tools and accessories. We'll see if it is worth having.

I gave it its initial clean-up today. I brought it outside and cleaned it with solvent first and then pressure washed it. Then I took it inside and blew it off with my leaf blower and then sprayed oil everywhere. I took off the covers eveywhere. What I found was a surprise. It seems the old man welded the head stock to the ways. So it is about 13mm too far to the right in the direction of the tailstock. I have no idea why he would do that. It is only a small weld but it keeps the gear that drives the lead screw not in correct alignment with the change gears. It works but only half of the width of the gear is being driven. The weld is on the bottom left corner of the headstock. I will cut the weld and put the head stock where it belongs.

[Alistair Hosie]

Hi please don't think I am being rude or over critical but it looks like an older model (much older ) so you surprise me.I am fascinated by the headstock weld maybe you could ask why it was done maybe the Pferd man knows.Bitte entshuldigung I should have written meine Antwort ( reply ) in Deutsch. Alistair ps Veil Gluck.

[whitis]

The weld may have been done out of desperation due to the headstock not staying in alignment with the ways once aligned or being so hard to into alignment when the machine was reassembled that he didn't want to risk slipping - possibly the alignment changed when the bed was clamped down due to irregular surfaces. That weld may be a warning that "here there be dragons".

If it is badly misaligned now, then you have to cut the weld. Alignment of the change gears doesn't count.

You don't need to move the headstock to fix the problem with the change gears. You have enough thread on the keeper nuts that you can put spacers between the first gear and the headstock.

While the weld shouldn't be there, cutting the weld off is about as drastic as putting it there in the first place and should not be done lightly. Are you prepared to scrape the bed and the bottom of the headstock to correct a pre-existing problem or one that you may introduce? It might come down to that.

[MuellerNick]

This can't be built '73. 1873?
My guess is also 1920..1930 At most 1940.
Re the weld:
Grind if off with a parting disk and pay attention that you completely grind it off. Preferably just separate the parts and use a file.
I know that he didn't pay that much and it is only his sand box lathe. So I won't have to visit him and scrape the head stock to alignment.

I doubt that the weld has been done with any kind of thinking. No one welds there. ... thinking ... BlackForrest! ... that's too much! You can't pull my leg two times a day.

Bad boy!


Nick

[aboard_epsilon]

When you buy an Ariston
Its guarantee is five years long,
That’s nineteen ninety-one!
Ariston!
And-on-and-on-and-on-and-on.
One million French think they’re très bon,
Half a million Germans can’t be wrong,
From Italia to Bri-ton,
Ariston!
And-on-and-on-and-on-and-on.



all the best.markj

[Black Forest]

I thought it was much older also. Maybe the man I bought it from didn't get it right. On the ways there is a number stamped 5973. The name plate on the transmission says the year is 73. So I really don't know. I have seen a couple of the same brand on Ebay and they list the year as 1927. Looks identical.

I don't think my shoer knows anything about this lathe. He didn't even know how to turn it on.

[Black Forest]

Nick I am not pulling your leg. It really is welded. I will take a picture.

[The Artful Bodger]

My guess he (whoever?) welded it in place because the bolts that clamp the head in place are stripped, or sumfink like that!

On the other hand, I suppose someone could have used the machine with the headstock loose on the ways thereby damaging the ways somewhat...

[Tony Ennis]

I think it's going to be gorgeous when you're done with it.

[Black Forest]

Here is a picture of the weld. I am almost convinced I need to cut this weld and reposition the headstock. The gears don't line up and there is no good way to accomplish that without moving the headstock. Secondly the pulleys don't line up between the headstock and the transmission. The belts are not doing well because of this and the idler wheel for the belt tension is in the way of the backgear. Speaking of back gear. What does this thing do? Unless there is some coupling in the spindle that I can't see I can see no reason for this thing. Maybe it is not a backgear but I am referring to the short lever on the backside of the headstock. When I pull it forward it engages two gears against the spindle gears. But it itself is not connected to anything else.