Boxford Model B lathe rebuild

[rnr107]

Hi Jonny,
Thank you for the compliment! :-)
It took a long time to get it there... about 3 months between the striping, degreacing, paint removal, repaint....wait....wait....(paint is drying slowly in this country)
then finally re-assemble , re-oil.... and try!

Colour is a question of choise... If White is what's float your boat, Go for it! ;-)
Don't forget the double coat of primer! (etching primer on all aluminium parts, red oxide on steel and iron)

Looking forward to see more pics!

RNR

[jonnydeen]

more de-greasing & de-gunking today, id love to be able to shot blast this cab but i don't see funds stretching that far.
the method im using for cleaning is rather simple and quite cheap although it is laborious, what i use is...

1) rather than using an expensive degreasing product i use lovely cheap & cheerful red diesel (ive also used kerosene but i find diesel is easier to clean up).
2) an assortment of brushes including wire brushes, scrubbing brushes, dustpan brush (its handy to have one thats dry) and even a tooth brush for the little nooks and crannys
3) budget brand toilet paper (or any other cheap disposable paper towel) rather than spread dirt and grease just bin it

diesel makes a great degreaser but it leaves a thin layer when used so a further rub down is required to get a clean surface for paint

this photo shows the rear of the cabinet, upside down resting on 2 pieces of wood


some one has previously done some welding to the bottom of the cab and i don't commend their technique


the door sporting the original boxford logo and the suppliers plate


a close up of the suppliers plate


this is the lock that is currently fitted to the door, i dont have a key for it and it doesn't fit properly so il have to find a suitable replacement


the barrel of the lock doesn't even match up to the hole let alone fit in to it


the lathe bed sitting upside down on the table, notice the solid lump of swarf reinforced grease ontop of the foot on the left


this is the head stock end of the bed, the paint simply rubbed off with a piece of toilet paper


as of yet i have not found any sign that there was primer used when it was last painted and i dont think it was even cleaned properly
who ever painted this lathe was/is a grade A idiot

[jonnydeen]

RNR, do you think i could use 1 coat red oxide primer and then a coat of white primer in prep for the white paint?

[rnr107]

Hi,
Yes, white primer on top of Red oxide is fine... Just mke sure they are of the same brand. I had a bubled paint problem painting different brands on top of each other.
If you want to paint white, you could use a High build primer on the top of the red oxide. (U-Pol High-5) these are beige almost white and are very thick, very good to hide the defects of the castings. And once fully dry, can be sand smooth (300 grit). I used it on the rough parts of the castings and got a pretty good finish after sending.

A couples of tip:
Get an angle grinder with a metal brush (You can get one fron 15 quids) a lot easier than a hand brush.
Lots of very light coats give a much better finish than 1 heavy one...

Are you going to spray or brush ?


RNR

[jonnydeen]

i dont have a wire wheel for the grinder but i use ones on the drill,but i think i may well invest in one i do have experience of spraying motorcycle components so im not too worried about technique and although i would not call my paint work professional standard i feel its good enough, i think my real problem is patience i am going to spray, i know i would get a better finish with sprayingthanks for the information, i appreciate it!

[onecut]

hi, build log lm a new member onecut is the name lv read your thread about your restoration of your boxford and lm following in your footsteps havn,t got my lathe yet be about 3wks when guy is next in area so lm watching your blogs with intrest and hope l can pick your brains of what and not to do hurry up and do an extension on how you are progressing need to kmow as start what quantities of diesiel ,paint, primer,red lead etc that will keep me busy until l start the painting-take care be happy

[rnr107]

hi, build log lm a new member onecut is the name lv read your thread about your restoration of your boxford and lm following in your footsteps havn,t got my lathe yet be about 3wks when guy is next in area so lm watching your blogs with intrest and hope l can pick your brains of what and not to do hurry up and do an extension on how you are progressing need to kmow as start what quantities of diesiel ,paint, primer,red lead etc that will keep me busy until l start the painting-take care be happy

The fun bit is not the paint. It is the preparation... Nitromos ! Wire brush ! Masking tape !
Once you've finished repainting nicely your new lathe, these 3 words above will be the one you won't want to hear ever again! Beleive me! ;-)

Seriously, To get a good finish on the paint, the secret is to take your time on the preparation! Make sure you get the whole lathe down to bare metal and shiny. No rust, do trace of oil, greace or old point. And do de-assemble everything and mask. Lot of people repaint there Lathe fully assemble and without masking, the result is horible... and the new paint peels off after a few weeks.

RNR

[jonnydeen]

hi, build log lm a new member onecut is the name lv read your thread about your restoration of your boxford and lm following in your footsteps havn,t got my lathe yet be about 3wks when guy is next in area so lm watching your blogs with intrest and hope l can pick your brains of what and not to do hurry up and do an extension on how you are progressing need to kmow as start what quantities of diesiel ,paint, primer,red lead etc that will keep me busy until l start the painting-take care be happy

Welcome onecut

i am glad to see this thread is already being of use to someone
im going to get a move on shortly with the restoration and you can be sure i will post up more photos.

as for quantities, it really depends on what method you are going to use. spray cans, spray gun or brush?
as for diesel i just filled a 5 liter drum, im just using it to clean up the heavy dirt and grease so i dont think il use more than 2 liters
you don't have to use diesel, i just use it because its cheap and close at hand

what i really recommend you have is some wire wheels, either for a drill or an angle grinder but preferably both big and small in sizes
and as much as i hate the stuff, nitromors is the best way of stripping paint from areas the wire wheels wont fit.

good luck with the restoration

[Jonathan]

Looks good so far. Did you consider getting it powder coated? I recently got a CNC router frame (60x60 box section, about 100kg) I did powder coated by a local company and it was only £30, which was their minimum order. It came out very nicely so I thought that was quite good considering power coating should be more durable than paint.

[jonnydeen]

Looks good so far. Did you consider getting it powder coated? I recently got a CNC router frame (60x60 box section, about 100kg) I did powder coated by a local company and it was only £30, which was their minimum order. It came out very nicely so I thought that was quite good considering power coating should be more durable than paint.

ive contemplated powder coating but nowhere locally will entertain such a small job, just big industrial operations! i have toyed with the idea of establishing my own setup as i seem to be constantly spraying motorcycle frames & components but i just don't have the space... yet!