J-Line lathe issues

[Michael Stephens]

I’m a new wood turner and have been bequeathed a J-Line lathe. Three issues:
The Morris taper of the “drive pin” appears to be frozen, perhaps rusted. Have sprayed liberally with liquid wrench and have tapped with a rod and hammer. Any suggestions?
Second: The tailstock quill doesn’t have a large taper like an MT2 Morris taper, but rather a small point that sits in it which is tapered. Is there any way to adapt this quill for a live center or drill chuck?
Third: The headstock threads measure 1.08 in. OD. I can’t find any adapters on line with thatmeasurement imperial or metric to fit a four jaw bowl chuck. Any thoughts?

 

[Lou Jacobs]

I’ll address part of your problem. I’ve used a product called PB Blaster to good effect. You’ve got to give it time to penetrate, like hours or even days. Is the spindle hollow all the way through so you can tap from the back end of the drive center? If so, do that gently - don’t want to damage bearings by hitting too hard.

 

[john lucas]

Use PB blaster. Spray it and tap on the piece with a mallet to create vibrations to help it penetrate. Do this several times during the day. May take a day or two and lots of applications. There should be a 3/8" diameter hole through the headstock so you can put a rod in there and drive the tapered drive center out. The tailstock should also have a morse taper(at least mine did but not sure they are the same models). Same thing with that one. You can either push a rod all the way through to drive out the dead center that is there. Some lathes have a self eject on the tailstock quill instead of a hole through. usually cranking the tailstock quill all the way in will eject that dead center but sometimes on a rusted one you may have to grap the center with a pair of vice grips and twist it while cranking. Odds are good that spindle thread is 1" x 8TPI. Measure the number of thread peaks in one inch. If it measures 8tpi then probably a 1"x8 faceplate or chuck will fit. .080" of an inch isn't much but could easily be filed down if the faceplates try to fit but feel snug.

 

[Michael Stephens]

Thanks folks for the input.

I’ll get some PB blaster and keep at it. There is a hole through the spindle to insert a rod. That’s what I have tapped on so will spray and repeat.

Haven’t tried taking the headstock apart yet but it looks doable. (I’ve rebuilt a tractor engine before so it shouldn’t be more difficult than that.) If I need to take that route, is there serious risk from putting propane heat on the spindle to get expansion?

And I’ll take a second look at the quill to see if I just missed seeing the taper. I’ve taken the tailstock apart to clean it and have had the quill out. It doesn’t self eject anything when cranked all the way in but that may just mean that it’s stuck.

Is 8 tpi standard for 1” nuts. If so I could simply buy one at the hardware store and test it.

I get so much beautifully grained wood on my PA property when cutting firewood that I hate seeing it wasted and can’t wait to get some shavings on the floor.

 

[Roger Holzmacher]

I replied to your other thread before seeing this one. The spindle thread is most likely 1 1/16" x 8TPI which is an oddball size.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I highly recommend removing the spindle. Otherwise, every time that you hammer on the end of the spur drive and it doesn't budge the energy is brinelling the bearing races. If the Morse taper socket on the spindle is very rusted it might not be worth spending any money to repair it.

 

[john lucas]

If the spindle thread is odd you can have an adaptor made by these people. www.bestwoodtools.com Heat won't hurt the spindle and will often help break the rust barrier. You don't really need to take anything apart just heat it at the thread portion.

 

[stu senator]

I have purchased some 1" x 8 tpi nuts from an Ace hardware, but it was in farm country. An Ace in an industrial area may also have them.

Stu

 

[Michael Stephens]

Thanks for the input.
Two Morris tapers cleared and dead center and headstock drive ??? (Watchamacallit) . All cleaned up. Maybe I’ll get the language learned in time. You’re being patient with this green horn.
The thread being 1 -/16” sounds reasonable. I’ll try the 1 1/8 to 1” adapter.

 

[Richard Coers]

Just in case you need to search for something latter, it's a Morse taper.

 

[Michael Stephens]

Update on the J-Line spindle threads

Best Wood Tools tells me that the threads are 1 1/16” with 8pti Forcing schools to purchase their accessories. Best wood tools make a custom adapter to the threads of your choice. Approximately $118.00

thanks for all the help.