Hi Samuel, try throwing away the gasket and apply Black Silicone Adhesive Sealant that they use in the car industry for valve covers and engine sumps, make sure to insert some into the bolt holes and on the bolt threads and there is a good thickness of silicone on the mating surfaces. My lathe leaks oil everywhere, but it all comes from oiling the ways, bushers and quick change gearbox which are drip fed. Keep up the good work.
Hello Samuel. I feel your pain regarding the oil leak. How often does oil or water leak for no apparent reason. Too often I have thrown the kitchen sink at a leak too no avail. Then without warning it stops. 🥴 Hey, ho fingers crossed you get to grips with your own oil leak. Looking forward to the next instalment. Good luck. Andrew 👏👏👍😀
I have a quantity of spare composite rubberized form engine gasket material which seems to have worked well to stop an oil leak from feedstock of my Harrison 140. Happy to post some of you want to give it a try.
Hi Samuel, I had a similar leak on my lathe. It turned out to be a failed o-ring on one of the controls. The oil dribbled down behind the fascia plate and appeared along the bottom edge. Good luck with it. Nice to see the progress.
Leaks like that are pretty common when the baseplate is very thin. It simply warps when tighteining up the screws and then the oil leaks out again. A good indicator is that leak often gets worse if you tighten the screws more... You could try making a thicker baseplate, and you usuually need an elastic gasket of some type, paper gasket won't seal because it won't elastically conform to the irregular gap. A rough and ready solution is to get rid of the gasket and clean the surfaces, then use engine silicone in a thick bead and lightly tighten the screws so there is about 1 to 2 mm thickness of rubber silicone acting as a rubber gasket. A better solution is a thicker baseplate and proper rubberised gasket material 1 to 2mm thick (and a silicone sealant). 🙂👍
Yeah, I think you've commented along those lines before (or may be it was someone else). I don't think the base plate is leaking now though. It cannot be made thicker - a cast plate would have been nice - because it would foul on one of the shafts (that is why one line of screws is countersunk).
At least you eventually read the instructions, which is an improvement on me. I can't suggest much on that oil leak, except that it is a thin plate so potentially it's bending somewhere, but as to why it should do that I have no idea.
I might make a new bottom plate, and I think it could be made a little thicker without hitting anything. It's probably too pitted by rust to seal well.
I guess you've resolved the leaking issue at the time of this message, but on similar plates, I have been successful using flat 2mm thick cork sheet, and sealed with Lion jointing compound, or Welseal, assembling while sealant is wet, also I'd use Cap Heads with flat washers instead of button heads, best regards, Dave
When you have a water leak, it is seldom where you see the water emerging. Oil can behave similarly. I would look for other sources than the bottom plate seal. Oil is viscous and Heldite pretty effective.
Yes you are right. Oil is leaking from the seals around the tube through which the feed shaft runs. This was something I did not touch because I couldn't work out how to disassemble it!
@@RicktheRecorder It is listed in the OED, but this usage - taking a machine apart - does seem to be originally American, judging from the sources quoted going back to 1881.
I'm sure you've tried everything by now but I was thinking how about making sure the bottom is flat using a piece of glass and some lapping compound. Just a thought
Yes, or I could mill it flat. Might even mill the bottom of the casting flat, as there is slight corrosion on it, although I didn't think it enough to prevent a seal.
Hi Samuel, did you spray or brush paint your lathe? I've got the Paragon paint (both in aerosol cans and a pot of non-aerosol). I cannot justify the hassle of blasting the entire thing so I thought I'd spray paint some of the smaller items and see how the paint holds up. But now I'm thinking I might just brush paint the lathe bed as well while its all in bits. To spray the smaller parts I have been degreasing (Comma Hyperclean), wire brushing to remove old paint, then a slight roughen with 240 wet-or-dry for a key, then a wipe-down with tack cloth and a final degrease with a slow-dry U-Pol panel wipe. I don't think this is as good as blasting to clean metal e.g. Sa 2-1/2, but I reckon its as good as I can do in practical terms. Yours is looking pretty good now. I hope you get it going to your liking soon! Keep up the good work. Cheers.
I think you mentioned in an earlier video that the bottom plate did not look original, is it possible it is too thin and flexing under the weight of the oil? To me this would be consistent with making the leak worse when tightening the bolts (i.e warping the plate further). Perhaps machine a nice new (thicker) bottom plate.
I don't think it's flexing under the oil weight (which is v small), but it might not be completely flat and mating all along with the casting. A slightly thicker new bottom plater may be the answer.
Hi. You made a throwaway remark that the bolt holes are blind. Is it possible to test that assumption? You mentioned that it leaked a little more after tightening the bolts more. Could it be that there's bolt ends are applying pressing against the bottom of the holes and forcing open some anomaly like a small fissure, beginning to distort the threads or even stopping the bolts applying the requisite pressure on the seal? You've heard of Sod's Law!
An imaginative theory which I'd have to try and test next time I have it apart. Right now I have resealed it with more Heldite and I'm giving it several days to set properly before putting oil back in with fingers crossed.
@@passenger6735 I cleaned them up and flattened them. I've decided the apron is not leaking via its base plate, but via the two shaft seals around the tube that carries the drive shaft through the apron.
@@samuelfielder Well spotted. Have they still got their numbers visible? (For ordering replacements purposes). It's been a very interesting series by the way. Almost a reference video.
Hi Samuel, try throwing away the gasket and apply Black Silicone Adhesive Sealant that they use in the car industry for valve covers and engine sumps, make sure to insert some into the bolt holes and on the bolt threads and there is a good thickness of silicone on the mating surfaces. My lathe leaks oil everywhere, but it all comes from oiling the ways, bushers and quick change gearbox which are drip fed. Keep up the good work.
Thanks. That might be worth a try, given that the joint washer approach seems to be useless.
Hello Samuel. I feel your pain regarding the oil leak. How often does oil or water leak for no apparent reason. Too often I have thrown the kitchen sink at a leak too no avail. Then without warning it stops. 🥴 Hey, ho fingers crossed you get to grips with your own oil leak. Looking forward to the next instalment. Good luck. Andrew 👏👏👍😀
Good job 👍
I have a quantity of spare composite rubberized form engine gasket material which seems to have worked well to stop an oil leak from feedstock of my Harrison 140. Happy to post some of you want to give it a try.
Thanks. I'll get back to you later if my present effort fails to stem the leak.
Hi Samuel, I had a similar leak on my lathe. It turned out to be a failed o-ring on one of the controls. The oil dribbled down behind the fascia plate and appeared along the bottom edge. Good luck with it. Nice to see the progress.
Thanks, I'll check for that.
Leaks like that are pretty common when the baseplate is very thin. It simply warps when tighteining up the screws and then the oil leaks out again. A good indicator is that leak often gets worse if you tighten the screws more...
You could try making a thicker baseplate, and you usuually need an elastic gasket of some type, paper gasket won't seal because it won't elastically conform to the irregular gap.
A rough and ready solution is to get rid of the gasket and clean the surfaces, then use engine silicone in a thick bead and lightly tighten the screws so there is about 1 to 2 mm thickness of rubber silicone acting as a rubber gasket.
A better solution is a thicker baseplate and proper rubberised gasket material 1 to 2mm thick (and a silicone sealant). 🙂👍
Yeah, I think you've commented along those lines before (or may be it was someone else). I don't think the base plate is leaking now though. It cannot be made thicker - a cast plate would have been nice - because it would foul on one of the shafts (that is why one line of screws is countersunk).
That's a real teaser of a video - come on Samuel, we're all desperate to see it running!
The date for 3-phase is now March 16th. If that fails, I have a friend who has some kind of 1- to 3-phase generator that I might borrow.
At least you eventually read the instructions, which is an improvement on me. I can't suggest much on that oil leak, except that it is a thin plate so potentially it's bending somewhere, but as to why it should do that I have no idea.
I might make a new bottom plate, and I think it could be made a little thicker without hitting anything. It's probably too pitted by rust to seal well.
I guess you've resolved the leaking issue at the time of this message, but on similar plates, I have been successful using flat 2mm thick cork sheet, and sealed with Lion jointing compound, or Welseal, assembling while sealant is wet, also I'd use Cap Heads with flat washers instead of button heads, best regards, Dave
Thanks. I haven't done anything more yet. Welseal look similar to Hylomar - both non-setting jointing compounds.
@@samuelfielder yes, I agree. Looking at other comments suggesting a thicker plate, that sounds a good way to go, best of luck
When you have a water leak, it is seldom where you see the water emerging. Oil can behave similarly. I would look for other sources than the bottom plate seal. Oil is viscous and Heldite pretty effective.
Yes you are right. Oil is leaking from the seals around the tube through which the feed shaft runs. This was something I did not touch because I couldn't work out how to disassemble it!
@@samuelfielder Is 'disassemble' American? I say dismantle!
@@RicktheRecorder It is listed in the OED, but this usage - taking a machine apart - does seem to be originally American, judging from the sources quoted going back to 1881.
@@samuelfielder It is unfortunately a word, but I put it in the same category as antidisestablishmentarianism.
I'm sure you've tried everything by now but I was thinking how about making sure the bottom is flat using a piece of glass and some lapping compound. Just a thought
Yes, or I could mill it flat. Might even mill the bottom of the casting flat, as there is slight corrosion on it, although I didn't think it enough to prevent a seal.
Hi Samuel, did you spray or brush paint your lathe?
I've got the Paragon paint (both in aerosol cans and a pot of non-aerosol). I cannot justify the hassle of blasting the entire thing so I thought I'd spray paint some of the smaller items and see how the paint holds up. But now I'm thinking I might just brush paint the lathe bed as well while its all in bits. To spray the smaller parts I have been degreasing (Comma Hyperclean), wire brushing to remove old paint, then a slight roughen with 240 wet-or-dry for a key, then a wipe-down with tack cloth and a final degrease with a slow-dry U-Pol panel wipe. I don't think this is as good as blasting to clean metal e.g. Sa 2-1/2, but I reckon its as good as I can do in practical terms.
Yours is looking pretty good now. I hope you get it going to your liking soon! Keep up the good work. Cheers.
Sounds good. I brush painted mine, mainly because I have no compressed air. Using a roller might produce a smoother finish where that's feasible.
@@samuelfielder Thanks Samuel. Good idea. I might try one of these little sponge rollers.
I think you mentioned in an earlier video that the bottom plate did not look original, is it possible it is too thin and flexing under the weight of the oil? To me this would be consistent with making the leak worse when tightening the bolts (i.e warping the plate further). Perhaps machine a nice new (thicker) bottom plate.
I don't think it's flexing under the oil weight (which is v small), but it might not be completely flat and mating all along with the casting. A slightly thicker new bottom plater may be the answer.
Hi. You made a throwaway remark that the bolt holes are blind. Is it possible to test that assumption? You mentioned that it leaked a little more after tightening the bolts more. Could it be that there's bolt ends are applying pressing against the bottom of the holes and forcing open some anomaly like a small fissure, beginning to distort the threads or even stopping the bolts applying the requisite pressure on the seal? You've heard of Sod's Law!
An imaginative theory which I'd have to try and test next time I have it apart. Right now I have resealed it with more Heldite and I'm giving it several days to set properly before putting oil back in with fingers crossed.
Can I ask where you got the beautiful information plates from please?
Those are the original ones that came witrh the lathe.
@@samuelfielder Wow. They look in great condition. Thank you. Have you tried ThreeBond to seal the apron. It worked for my 65 Triumph.
@@passenger6735 I cleaned them up and flattened them. I've decided the apron is not leaking via its base plate, but via the two shaft seals around the tube that carries the drive shaft through the apron.
@@samuelfielder Well spotted. Have they still got their numbers visible? (For ordering replacements purposes). It's been a very interesting series by the way. Almost a reference video.
rubberized cork
Headstock. Autocorrect is infuriating.