Thanks for sharing with us. I've got one of these lathes, and the indentations on both dials of it's dials are very light too, though maybe not quite as light as that. I've always figured it was that way on purpose, since the dial itself is so tiny. I could be wrong though. Maybe different production runs used different tooling? Or maybe they changed it on purpose for some reason? ...I know they made several much larger changes over time. If I remember correctly, the early versions had babbit bushings instead of roller bearings. Mine is a later one, made in 1959, with tapered roller bearings. Then they redesigned them again later to reduce costs and give the headstock a more "modern", more blocky appearance. It looks like yours is the same generation as mine, which I think is the best overall. I like that 4-way tool post you've got! ...I'm still using the spindly lantern style post that it came with. (I tried one of those cheap little ~$33 aluminum quick change tool posts from Amazon, but it was even less rigid than the lantern post!!) I can't justify the price of a steel QCTP though, so maybe I'll make one like yours, along with a solid tool post mount to replace the compound for most operations. ...I've got the gibs as tight as they'll go and it will still flex visibly just by pushing on it with my hand!
That was an OXA size tool post. That's the smallest, then there's AXA and BXA. My Grizzy takes a BXA. The OXA went with the 618 when sold. Littlemachineshop.com.
Thanks for sharing with us.
I've got one of these lathes, and the indentations on both dials of it's dials are very light too, though maybe not quite as light as that.
I've always figured it was that way on purpose, since the dial itself is so tiny. I could be wrong though. Maybe different production runs used different tooling? Or maybe they changed it on purpose for some reason? ...I know they made several much larger changes over time. If I remember correctly, the early versions had babbit bushings instead of roller bearings. Mine is a later one, made in 1959, with tapered roller bearings. Then they redesigned them again later to reduce costs and give the headstock a more "modern", more blocky appearance. It looks like yours is the same generation as mine, which I think is the best overall.
I like that 4-way tool post you've got! ...I'm still using the spindly lantern style post that it came with. (I tried one of those cheap little ~$33 aluminum quick change tool posts from Amazon, but it was even less rigid than the lantern post!!) I can't justify the price of a steel QCTP though, so maybe I'll make one like yours, along with a solid tool post mount to replace the compound for most operations. ...I've got the gibs as tight as they'll go and it will still flex visibly just by pushing on it with my hand!
That was an OXA size tool post. That's the smallest, then there's AXA and BXA. My Grizzy takes a BXA. The OXA went with the 618 when sold. Littlemachineshop.com.