central machinery model 5980

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lucymachine
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 8:09 pm

central machinery model 5980

Post by lucymachine »

Hello:
I have one of these old #5980 harbor freight 3 in 1 mill-lathe machines. I want to disassemble the mill and the lathe stocks to clean them up, greased and reassemble. Does any one know how to do the disassembly of both components? any videos? How does the belt pulleys come off? but using a bearing puller? or are they screwed on? Any suggestions ?
many thanks in advanced
spro
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Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 11:04 pm
Location: mid atlantic

Re: central machinery model 5980

Post by spro »

Hi. First, welcome to this site. Most anything you can ask has an answer. I, for one, expect your pulleys to be held by a key within the shaft and tightening screw/s to secure it. They may be "allen" metric type but once they are loosened and the exposed shaft clean, the pulley should slide off. Often, gentle taps around the periphery will get it started. Anything at that point is well to go backward and see the evidence of what the pulley sees. There may be rust or dried grease which would only make it tighter. May be burrs and other reasons it won't come off smoothly.
It is that we have learned from myriad experiences; forcing something away almost always causes another problem when the few .001" jammed it.
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NP317
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Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Re: central machinery model 5980

Post by NP317 »

I just did a video search on YouTube for:

#5980 harbor freight 3 in 1 mill-lathe machine

and found many videos. There might be some about disassembly/maintenance of your machine.
I leave that research for your fun.
~RN
lucymachine
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Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 8:09 pm

Re: central machinery model 5980

Post by lucymachine »

thank you for quick reply. I looked everywhere and did not see obvious keys or screws anywhere to loosen. I totally agree with you that forcing something will cause more damage than good. This machine has served me well for many years, even though is not the best in the world but I made many fine tools with it in the past. I took out the retaining nut from the top and did light tab on the pulley and the shaft to no avail. Most pulleys that I have ever worked with came in the form of pressure fit, so i assume that this is also the same.
I did many searches on the net and found many videos on the machine but none for service or disassembly, all show after the fact they have refurbished the machine. If you have found one that shows the disassembly and service, please forward it.
many thanks
Torch
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Location: Muskoka

Re: central machinery model 5980

Post by Torch »

Looking at the parts diagram in the manual for that machine, it looks like the mill spindle pulley is secured with a nut, and the pulley itself is on a taper. Looks like the lathe pulley is keyed, but I don't see what exactly secures it. Maybe a set screw in one of the pulley sheaves?

Let me know if you need a copy of the manual.
spro
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Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 11:04 pm
Location: mid atlantic

Re: central machinery model 5980

Post by spro »

Gosh it is good Torch. Tapered after all and then another thing. It had a key. The key has bent and the pulley has to be slightly reversed to loosen. May be iron pulley can't know the strategy from here.
The key hasn't bent but the slot has shifted to where it has locked the key.
Torch
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Location: Muskoka

Re: central machinery model 5980

Post by Torch »

Here is a pdf with lots of pictures of replacing/rebuilding the 5980 mill spindle by an owner:
http://machine.archives.verhey.org/file ... df6f5d.pdf

Here is a very detailed set of instructions from Harbor Freight themselves for the very similar L-H007:
http://machine.archives.verhey.org/file ... 36aad4.pdf
lucymachine
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Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 8:09 pm

Re: central machinery model 5980

Post by lucymachine »

thank you Torch for your links. over weekend I managed to get the mill's pulley off on my own but could not advance further. Now I see how to proceed. I do have a copy of the exploded manual view. interestingly enough some of the smaller retaining screws shown in the links in the face or under the collar does not exist in my machine! maybe I am not looking hard enough or it is covered with dirt. i will revisit them.
if you happen to have the same detail pdf for the lathe disassembly, please forward it.
many thanks again
spro
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Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 11:04 pm
Location: mid atlantic

Re: central machinery model 5980

Post by spro »

Apologies from me. I didn't know it was the bull pulley. Looking at the the pdf , it seems that you can go further into the main spindle/ quill. Some people detected sand around open bearings and replaced them with sealed. Either way, good to know.
lucymachine
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Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 8:09 pm

Re: central machinery model 5980

Post by lucymachine »

exposing the bearing show a lot of junk and dirt in them so that it is hard to turn by hand. i will probably change them with sealed ones.
Now I am trying to tackle the lathe head stock to take that guy apart. there is no instructions for that that I can find. I'll try to go by the exploded view to see how far I can go.
TGW901
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Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:59 am

Re: central machinery model 5980

Post by TGW901 »

First, I want to say hi to one and all. I am new to this org.
Secondly, I also have the Central Machinery T5980. Virtually every part of my machine is frozen up. From Mill to spindle Hand-Wheel to the lathe itself ...nothing will freely turn. Sooo, a complete tear down is in order. I would also like to thank lucymachine; Torch, and others for what help you've offered to date. Question: what in the world would cause everything to seize up like this and, is it worth it to tear it all apart? (I got it for free, so no loss there.)

Thanks for any ideas you might have...
Torch
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Location: Muskoka

Re: central machinery model 5980

Post by Torch »

TGW901 wrote: Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:25 pm ...nothing will freely turn.
Does that mean they turn stiffly? Could be as simple as old congealed grease and that a good cleaning will get things moving again. You may need to soak things down repeatedly with WD-40 or similar thin oil spray to liquify the grease in order to get things apart first though.
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