Had to fix my lathe ( all done)

[Jeff in Pa]

I was parting off some material in my lathe when it started slipping in the chuck. I reached down to the headstock and grabbed the spindle lever and swiftly lifted it up to stop the chuck. I heard "clunk"

(pic 1)Turned out the knob on the end of the lever broke where the previous owner welded the knob on with nickel rod.

One of my friends is very experienced in brazing and offered to fix it for me. I took it off the lathe on Thursday night, bead blasted the knob and the end of the lever on Friday. Saturday morning went out to Rough and Tumble where my friend Bill brazed it.

He ground the snot glob weld down to get closer to original shape and ground a chamfer on both pieces.

pic2- preheat and adding flux
pic3- brazing the first side
pic4- brazing the opposite side
pic5- after grinding a few minutes on the scotchbrite wheel to remove sharp edges
pic6- installed on the Monarch CK 12 and back in business

[cooperino]

Lol.. dont know your own strength tough guy

[john hall]

There is bound to be a good story as to how that broke in the first place.

[Jeff in Pa]

Originally Posted by cooperino

Lol.. dont know your own strength tough guy

I did move the other lever quite quickly.

Originally Posted by john hall

There is bound to be a good story as to how that broke in the first place.

I'd bet a dollar on something stupid versus "good story". I had to straighten out the cross slide handle as some idiot hit it with the forklift and bent it. Luckily they only caught the very end and not supported casting area.

[ol'George]

We could all guess till hell froze over what happened, and we all have stories.
Glad you have it fixed
The lever is prolly cast iron and a good nicast rod done right would of still held.
Nothing wrong with brazing in that application tho'

I'm sure if that ol' Lathe could talk, it would have some stories to tell.
Glad it is in good hands.
I've had mine near 50 years, wished the original owner was still around to know it is still making chips, when needed.

[Jeff in Pa]

Originally Posted by ol'George

We could all guess till hell froze over what happened, and we all have stories.
Glad you have it fixed
The lever is prolly cast iron and a good nicast rod done right would of still held.
Nothing wrong with brazing in that application tho'

I'm sure if that ol' Lathe could talk, it would have some stories to tell.
Glad it is in good hands.
I've had mine near 50 years, wished the original owner was still around to know it is still making chips, when needed.

My Monarch was built in April of 1942. It is entirely possible it made items to support the the war effort. It still works great and Monarch still offers parts for it. They are spendy but offered.

Yes, the lever is cast iron and I'm not a fan of nicast rod. In the rod holder of an experience welder with proper cooldown it has a chance to work but can fail at any time NEXT to the weld as mine did.

Brazing works at a lower heat and doesn't draw the carbon in the cast iron to the surface like welding does.