Showing posts with label before and after. Show all posts
Showing posts with label before and after. Show all posts

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Refurbishing a Delta Homecraft Lathe Headstock

I recently purchased just the headstock for a Delta Homecraft Lathe. Delta sold different models of lathes with this same or very similar headstock from the early 30's until the mid-50's so I don't know when specifically this headstock was sold.

Before and After


I stripped the headstock down completely, cleaned and looked at every part. The Timken tapered roller bearings (1) & (2) are in excellent condition and did not need replacement. The spindle threads had some minor damage which I repaired with a needle file. 


Unfortunately the indexing pin point was damaged sometime in the past but is still usable. 


Since I was down to bare metal I filed the casting seams fairly smooth


And repainted with Rustoleum Dark Machine Grey.


One little mishap during the process, the badge was damaged. 




Now what to do with it? My original plan was to make a bowl lathe / disc sander. I might still do that or might end up reselling it. 






Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Stanley 501A Try Square, a vintage tool review + Before and After

These ugly try squares were a bargain price I couldn't refuse, less than $2 each. I didn't buy them as show pieces but to scatter around the shop so I would have a square handy where needed.
Before
 The order is reversed in the bottom pic. Middle is still middle but top and bottom squares are reversed. (Reminds me of this Johnny Cash song)
After

The Bad:

  • Numbers have no contrast and are tough to read.
  • Handles are plastic and balance is poor, they are blade heavy.
  • Blades are stamped steel.

The Good:

  • They are dead nuts square, at least to my ability to measure. I compared them against a machinist square and did the 'ol draw a line and flip test - square. 
  • They are fairly durable as you will read below. These took some abuse and stayed square.
  • Made in U.S.A.


A previous owner had spilled some kind of glue all over the blades and left it. Rust formed under the glue but luckily was only on the surface. A quick scraping, a vigorous brushing for good measure and they were clean and rust free although stained. They had been dropped numerous times and all the metal corners were bent but a file put it right in a jiffy. The previous owner also painted the handles green, probably to identify them at a glance. Through all that abuse the squares stayed true so I have to give my nod of approval.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Before and After Stanley 220 Block Plane

This block plane looked worse than it was. First degreased with a citrus based cleaner, rinsed, then de-rusted. The sole was flattened and the sides were sorta flattened. The blade appeared to be brand new under the rust and corrosion and still had the factory edge. It was fairly flat too. Will make a nice user plane. Most of the body Japanning is intact but the lever cap heel is bare.



After cleaning, before flattening.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Before and After Cedarberg Mfg Co., Dandee Reel chalk line

This 1940's chalk line by Cedarberg was in bad condition. Three applications of Naval Jelly and a wire brush brought it back from rust-purgatory. It now works a dandy. 


Before


After