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Some of the pack-rat's stash. My dad was the ultimate pack-rat. The two large ball bearings were removed from his WD-9 when he went through the rear end in the early 50s. He saved some of the bearings, as they weren't too badly worn. I wanted a 3" through hole in the chuck and spindle, hence the need for the large bearings to accomodate the 3" schedule 80 pipe that would serve as a spindle for the chuck. Bearings of this size are expensive these days.

I used my band saw to remove an 8" chunk of the 6" schedule 40 pipe. We'll worry about making it square in the next step.

If we chuck the pipe in the lathe and face it off. the end will then be square. The folks at the Pacific Steel just used a cutoff wheel to remove the length I wanted from the full stick of pipe. End was about .3" crooked.

I'll bet if I bore out the end of the pipe just a bit, the large bearing will fit right in there -- we'll see?

I used a grinder to take the hump off two of the main bearing caps. Here, I'm milling the first one flat. The other one that's sitting on the vise will also be milled flat and to the same height as the first.

Well, What do you know! The length of 2" schedule 80 pipe is an almost perfect fit in the bearing blocks. I need to take about .002" off and it should turn easily in the new bearings

Uprights have been welded to the framework. Now we're in the process of milling the tops flat.

Plates have been welded to the posts and are now being milled flat.

Drilling holes for the trunnion bearings.

The 1" plate has been drilled through with a hole saw. It's a bit rough but we'll use a boring bar to true it. Chuck backplates are available for less money than I'll have tied up in this effort, but they are cast iron and since I need to weld a length of steel pipe to it, cast won't fit the bill here.

Stepped hole in the center of the plate. We will machine the end of the pipe, press it into the plate, and weld it to make a gudgeon shaft to mount the chuck on.

Finishing groove for brass inlay.

Ready for welding and brazing. Notice two of the three small pockets that have been milled into the reduced diameter of the center hole. I will press the arbor shaft into the hole and against a shoulder I leave in it. I will then reach in from the other side and weld the pipe to the plate, letting the weld contraction pull the pipe tight against the shoulder but not allowing it to pull the pipe out of square with the plate.

Front surface finished. Holes to be tapped yet.

Pipe ready to be mounted to plate.

It was -30° F the night before I fitted the shaft to the plate. I left the pipe outside during the night and fitted it while the pipe was cold and contracted. I had the plate mounted in the lathe, pushed the shaft into the plate, supported the end with a rotating chuck in the lathe tailstock, and let the lathe run slowly while the whole assembly normalized to room temp. The pipe was very tight and true before I tack welded the pockets I had left.

Drilling holes for the trunnion shaft

Although it is not shown here, I used a parting tool to reduce the diameter of the pipe in two places where I would cut it off, once welded to the bearing housing. The continous length allowed me to weld it while keeping it straight. Removing that section allowed the chuck spindle to pass through the housing with the trunnions welded to it.

Carriage finished and wheels mounted

Holes lain out & drilled in motor mounting plate. A mill equipped with a DRO makes accurate layout very easy.

Slotting finished

The main mechanical components have been assembled. I need to weld a stop with a bit of fine adjustment that will hold the ratchet handle that will be responsible for holding the chuck at the desired angle. The electrical also needs to be tended to and then the device will be ready for a coat of paint. The 90V DC gear motor shaft turns @ 14 RPM when full voltage is applied. The chain drive further reduces top speed to 7 RPM. Minimum speed should be somewhere around 5 minutes per revolution with decent torque from the little DC motor. That is likely slower than I will ever use.

Positioner with the spindle in the vertical position and the chuck ready for use as a horizontal table.

Chuck rotated to allow for horizontal mounting of the workpiece. This is ideal for building worn shafts up.