Hudy Lathe Problem
 

I have a Hudy lathe with hardened V-Guides and I am having a few problems with it.

The v-guides make marks on the armature shafts .... is this normal? I had a ball bearing lathe before and did not have this issue?

Also the lathe is the Executive comm lathe and it says it has operation speed adjustment. Well when I adjust the speed it doesn't seem to get any faster or slower .... just spins really fast??? I connect it up to a much more power supply. Should I be connecting it to something like the much more motor master???

Help would really be appreciated.
Thanks

First answer is that the V blocks should be lubricated during use. They will bed in a little through extended use.

Second answer (I could be wrong on this) is that the adjustable speed is actually the feed speed on automatic cutting bit, i.e. the speed it moves side to side. Slow this down if the cut seems a little rough.

The lathe is designed for 12V DC, so the PS is the correct thing to run it from.

Thanks Sosidge .... what should I use to lubricate the blocks?

That clears it up I thought it was the speed of the spin .. thats cool I understand now cheers.

Use lubricant with non-flinging properties (I don't think that is the correct technical term!)

Personally I use an old bottle of Integy synthetic oil that seems to stick pretty well to a spinning arm.

I'm getting a terrible cut on my tech lathe,I'm going to have my bit relapped anything else to check before I send it off today?

Having a sharpened bit is never going to be a problem - the other ingredients to a good lathe cut are smooth and slop-free mechanical parts.

Any backlash or sticky spots in the movement of the tool will affect the quality of cut.

Also, make sure that your bit is set at the proper height and orientation as per the instructions.

on the v-block, there is a screw with the plastic holder. these hold the arm in place. DO NOT tightened them real tight. this will put added pressure on the v-block. also there could be a chip imbedded into the plastic holder. i went to the local hardware store and bought a new o-ring that was thicker. this will hold the armature in place with a little more pressure and i do not use the plastic holders on the v-block. make sure you always put a drop of oil on the v-block when the arm is in place.

the motor only turns at one speed. its the feed that is adjustable.

The reason I think it may be the bit is I've changed nothing and it used to cut great until recently.

i had the same problem when i first got my hudy lathe - just put a couple of drops of bearing/bushing oil on the v guides. if your motor lathe seems to be going way too fast - there might be too much power getting to it - i just plug mine up to my motor master and keep it at 2.5amps -

another little trick is that if the armature can move freely back and forth (lots of slop actually in the lathe when you try to cut) - place a plastic shim on the end of the armature (outside the v-blocks) and then tighten a pinion behind that to you can keep the arm from bouncing around - you want a little wiggle of the armature, but not alot...

hope that helps and makes sense

are you using a diamond bit ?
or a carbide bit ? (approximately how many arms have you cut).

I'll give it another chance and apply the things that you guys have recommended,thanks.I've always oiled the v-blocks and I have tried all sorts of different speeds from 2 volts up to 4 volts which is what's recommended,it may be to much slop as mcGoo said.

diamond bit, and it has cut a ton....about 1 year old...

i forgot one time to use the pinion trick on one of my armatures and at 2.5 it beat up my armature pretty good - the pinion rig should fix your slop, and make sure your use the oil, or you will put some grooves in the your armature...

Diamond! not near enough to wear it out but I'm going to swap it out with my spare and see if it helps.

You might have chipped the bit.