Another CX701

[Cuttings]

for a moment there I thought you were lifting it by the spindle looking at the first pic 😲 😁

No, there is a large note in the manual "Do not lift by the spindle" . I have a piece of 3" channel under the bed with a 1/2" rod going through the middle and 2 nuts on the bottom and 1 on the top to make it stable. To get it to balance it need to be as close to the chuck as possible so I let it go up between the jaws and then just snugged them up against the rod once the load was on. Even then I had to take the tail stock off the get a better balance.

[I make chips]

Same reaction as rsg. Then I saw the long bolt through the bed. Whew!

[David Powell]

Yet again we have praise for a brand new machine which has not even made a single cut.! It may, or may not be a good machine. Please keep us informed about how much work it has done, and how many repairs or modifications have been made at 5 yr intervals or thereabouts. Regards David Powell.

[brian Rupnow]

Cuttings--Congratulations. I wish you joy of your new machine. I think they are a great lathe, and that you will be very happy with it. Surprisingly, although there is no literature confirming it in any of the manuals, the carriage and the cross slide both have locks on them. If you can't find them, ask me and I will tell you where they are located.---Brian

[Cuttings]

Thanks Brian. I knew about the locks by reading some of your posts. The only problem I have so far is that they packed a manual for a CX706 in this box instead of the Cx701. I just talked to a nice lady in Calgary and the are going to send me the correct manual. Meanwhile I am using the on-line one. Did you catch the comment I made about the hole into the electrical compartment?

[brian Rupnow]

Very strange about the hole. My backsplash cover doesn't have a hole in it there. There may be a hole there in the lathe body, but if there is, it is covered up by the splash apron.

[Cuttings]

Good to know. I just thought that if your machine had the hole it may have contributed to your last problem. In any case this one now has a bolt in that hole. Nothing getting through there.

[Cuttings]

I am all ready to move the lathe into place, but I am waiting for the drop in anchors I have on order. Don't want to move the old one out until I am ready to go in case I need to machine something.
I was checking things out to see how I can mount my AXA quick change to the compound on this machine. I found that it is different from Brian's in that it has a special screw in stud that the tool holder mounts on instead of the bolt that comes up from the bottom like it used to have. The thread in the compound is 18mm X2 which is close to 3/4" and the AXA mounts on a 9/16" stud. The only thing that I can see to do is machine up another special stud with the short 18mm tread on the bottom, then turn down the rest to 9/16 and put the 9/16 NF thread for the AXA at the top. The only way I can see to secure it in place is to use some removeable Loctite on the 18mm thread. There is no room underneath to put anything that won't interfere with the movement of the compound. Two pictures. One with existing stud in place and the other with it out.

[Cuttings]

A little update on where I am at will the install of this new lathe. Stalled a bit right now. I have the concrete anchors I need to tie the cabinets down on order and I won' t see them for a couple of weeks. I don;t want to pull the old machine out of place until I can put the new one in. In the mean time I am using the old machine to machining down a 3/4 Inch grade 8 bolt that I have to make the mounting stud for the quick change tool post. Today I really jumped in with both feet and ordered a new DRO with magnetic scales from DRO pros . They are shipping a Magna Slim scale for the cross slide which is small enough to fit above the gibbs screws on the back of the cross slide and still allow them to be adjusted. So will install that too before putting the lathe in place, while it is so accessible..
For anyone who is considering a DRO purchase from them. Todd told me the shelves are almost bare and they don't expect to see more stock until December. I had to take a kit with the carriage scale a little longer than I really needed to get it now.

[Cuttings]

I received the DRO kit and the concrete anchors so back at it again between my daughter's daddy do list and my wife honey do list. I decided to install the carriage scale first, then I can work on moving the lathe into position and pouring the grout under the base so it can set up while I am installing the cross slide scale.
The installation of the carriage scale went very similar to Brian's install a while back. I was able to use the supplied adjustable mounts on both ends. The adjustment is a bit tricky and takes some time to get it right. The instructions only mention adjusting for vertical height and facial alignment in relation to the carriage travel. I found that there is one more plane that you should pay attention to and that is the vertical face of the scale so it will be parallel to the face of the read head. I checked this with a vertical level compared to the side of the ways. These adjustments are made with the four setscrews in the corners of the mounts. One is marked by the arrow in one of the pictures. One other thing you need to watch for.. It is very easy to put a horizontal bow in the scale with the left and right set screws of the mounts if you are not careful with the adjustments. I tend to be fussy with these things and managed to get it within .001 all along the scale. Just have to finish up with the cover and that one is done.

[Tundra Twin Track]

Glad to see your making progress,I see it came with a Sanou Chuck how does it look.

[EddyCurr]

The shape and livery of CX series products make these look much nicer than the earlier Busy Bee machines.

I am surprised to see the large opening in the side face of the motor enclosure beside the bed, just below & rearward from the chuck. By contrast, the rear face of the motor enclosure features downward opening louvers - helpful for reducing chip ingress, while facilitating ventilation for motor cooling.

Since there are no holes for machine screws around the periphery of the opening, I have to conclude that the motor isn't just temporarily exposed during commissioning while an access panel is removed. Judging from what I can see of the motor, it is not a TEFC model (maybe an Open Drip-Proof?). The vents in the end of the housing suggest that the motor will be susceptible to swarf and cutting fluid.

If there is not a simple explanation that I am overlooking, then I suggest adding an entry on the "To Do" list about fabricating a cover for that opening

[Cuttings]

The shape and livery of CX series products make these look much nicer than the earlier Busy Bee machines.

I am surprised to see the large opening in the side face of the motor enclosure beside the bed, just below & rearward from the chuck. By contrast, the rear face of the motor enclosure features downward opening louvers - helpful for reducing chip ingress, while facilitating ventilation for motor cooling.

Since there are no holes for machine screws around the periphery of the opening, I have to conclude that the motor isn't just temporarily exposed during commissioning while an access panel is removed. Judging from what I can see of the motor, it is not a TEFC model (maybe an Open Drip-Proof?). The vents in the end of the housing suggest that the motor will be susceptible to swarf and cutting fluid.

If there is not a simple explanation that I am overlooking, then I suggest adding an entry on the "To Do" list about fabricating a cover for that opening

Eddy - The back splash is off the lathe to have access for the scale installation. It covers all the openings you see in that picture. If you look at my post General you will see pictures of the lathe with the back splash in place and the small hole I found and filled.

[Cuttings]

Glad to see your making progress,I see it came with a Sanou Chuck how does it look.

Tundra - It looks good and solid but hasn't done any work yet so time will tell. I did check the runout with it sitting there and it appears to be within normal limits for a 3 jaw. 2 to 3 thou. Just about ready to start moving the old lathe out and cleaning the space to move this one in.
One thing I will need to do is make an adapter plate for my collet chuck. I priced a piece of Dura Bar from the same place I had purchased some before but they wanted $500 for a piece 5" in Diameter and 1" thick. More than I paid for the chuck. If anybody knows where there is an adapter plate from an old 3 jaw chuck from one of these lathes it looks like I could easily make the adapter from one of those. Otherwise when I get the time I will tour around the local machine shops and see what they might have.

[EddyCurr]

Eddy - The back splash is off the lathe ....

Oops. "Ha, ha" on me.

I sat here sipping a beverage and looking at that big hole asking myself "What am I missing here? There's no way that is intended to be like that !"

No excuses to fall back on. I had already read about the scale installation and examined the photos. I had previously glimpsed at the comments and photo of the hole you addressed.