Cleaning up a new to me 16" SB Lathe, some questions on best way to do so.

[englewoodcowboy]

I just purchased a 117E 16" SB Lathe for my shop. We are cleaning it up, not sure if it is original or an older restoration but it is cleaning up well. (Added info found, it has been restored at some point, looks like a very good job and it was retrofitted to a single phase 1.5 hp SB motor. Originally it was a 3/4hp 3 phase 50hz motor and was bought by the DOD and sent to England. Somehow this thing made it back across the pond!) The step pulley has some buildup on it and it looks like the PO replaced the belt but never cleaned it up. We can see belt dressing residue etc. The contact side of this belt has a tread like pattern on it and it is even all around with no flat spots etc apparent. I was leaning towards using the drive motor and some emory cloth, possibly starting with a wire wheel to get the buildup off then polish it out with the emory. Looking for advice on how to proceed. I would ultimately,matley like to just disassemble the headstock but we do not have any other means of turning the pulley when it is. The inside needs to be cleaned as you can see old belt material buildup along with dressing etc. so we will do that after the pulleys are cleaned up. The only part that is broken is the gear change on the headstock, the pin that limits the handle movement is either pressed too far in or sheared off. Looking for insight on that repair as well. Pic attached for the part I am referring to. You can see the handle is resting on the gear cover and it shouldn't be.

 

[animal12]

You could remove the spindle & soak the pulley in mineral spirits though pulley may clean up some with some running of the lathe . . Don't take any emory cloth to it , if ya do do so with the pulley removed ya don't need to be introducing the crap from the emory cloth anywhere close to the spindle bearings . These folks may have a teardown & assembly manual for yer lathe .
animal

 

[englewoodcowboy]

You could remove the spindle & soak the pulley in mineral spirits though pulley may clean up some with some running of the lathe . . Don't take any emory cloth to it , if ya do do so with the pulley removed ya don't need to be introducing the crap from the emory cloth anywhere close to the spindle bearings . These folks may have a teardown & assembly manual for yer lathe .
animal

That crud and buildup is also on the lower pulley. We may run it as is for n awhile and see if it cleans up on its own or at some point pull them down to remove and clean them.

 

[animal12]

Are the wicks still good in the headstock ?
animal

 

[tnmgcarbide]

you'll want to remove the cone anyway to clean the years of grease crud from the
bore . when the lathe runs in back-gear , the cone turns freely over the spindle in
a lubricant of some kind . it's not a sealed arrangement , so crud and chips and dirt
can accumulate.

also, you don't know what was pumped into the fitting on one of the steps of the cone over time ........ could be anything- way oil , lithium grease , moly , silicone,
3-in-1 oil ? south bend recc'ds teflon grease ......... i would suggest sticking to one
and of the right amount...otherwise you may foul the belt w/ grease/oil or whatever.

good luck