Talk ME out of buying a Clausing 5914 lathe

[John Evans]

I can only say that hanging out at a new and used machine and tool dealer has been a education !! The pay is nil but the benefits/deals have been great. I check out and trouble shoot the used machines he gets in and correct issues that I find. Common sense and a bit of mechanical aptitude is all that is needed. I love to repair things that most seem not be able to do, I find it to be highly satisfying .

[SteveHGraham]

I think that will be a great lathe if you get the variable speed working. It has a nice big bore, and the headstock is short and handy to deal with. With your machinery connection, I'll bet you can get accessories more cheaply than I was able to. The 5914 is the one I wanted and was promised, but instead I received its evil twin.

[John Evans]

Steve: The vari-speed is sorted and works fine,1-3/8 bore ain't all that big!! Like I said Tom doesn't pay me per say but every once in awhile I get deals on things ,week before a 6" Buck set tru chuck for a C note. A few months ago a Multifix post and several holders gratis. These lathes were more of a pro machine that aimed at the home market.One interesting feature is a automatic trip out on the slide feed. Set the stop and when the apron contacts it feed is kicked out. On real pro shop lathes those trips claim to be able to repeat and trip to .001.

[SteveHGraham]

My lathe has stops on the longitudinal feed. I have used them mainly to keep from running into the chuck. I think they're supposed to be accurate to within 0.050". I'll bet a smart person could improve that.

[countryjeff]

I am a first time lathe owner and just bought a clausing 5900 12x36 . I was nat able to test before buying but it looked like a nice piece.
It has a turrett and a 3+4 jaw chuck with lots of extras including tooling . almost a tool box full of stuff.
after finally getting the power to it and fired up wvery thing works like it should except the threading selector knob.
it only seems to work in the B position if any one has ever run into this problem I would Like to hear the fix if anyone has a idea, before I start to take it a part . I really don't think I will be doing much threading but I do like to have all things working like they should .
Thanks
Jeff

[Glenn Brooks]

Jeff, welcome to the forum. It would be helpful to edit your personal info to show where you live. Most people have some location information posted, as it helps others offer perspective about local issues and resources that might be of interest to you.

Also, feel free to post your question as a separate thread. More people will see it that way, and you will likely get better response. Also a photo or two of the thread selector knob and immediate area would help others refresh there memory about the machine - when offering suggestions how to proceed.

A search of prior discussions might yield some answers also.

Cheers,

Glenn

[wlw-19958]

Hi There,

I have a Clausing 5900 series lathe. I haven't had the problem you are
experiencing but I can make a few suggestions. First off, there is a
shear pin in the lead screw (right up next to the gear box). It has a
head that looks like a rivet head. Check and make sure it hasn't sheared
and letting the output shaft of the gear box spin inside the lead screw.

If it isn't that, then you will have to check the inside of the gear box.
The "ABC" knob moves a gear called the Dog Gear Spline which is splined
to the output shaft. On either side of this Dog Gear Spline, are two
other gears called Dog Gears. Check and see if the Dog Gear Spline
engages either of the two Dog Gears when the knob is rotated to "A"
or "C."

If you don't have a manual for your lathe, send an email to Clausing
Industrial parts department. Include your lathe model and serial number
and they will email a PDF copy of your manual to you.

Good Luck!
-Blue Chips-
Webb

[BadDog]

My lathe has stops on the longitudinal feed. I have used them mainly to keep from running into the chuck. I think they're supposed to be accurate to within 0.050". I'll bet a smart person could improve that.

No help on the Clausing feed problem, but I've got those same cam-lobe trips you have. I was happy to see it on the lathe when I acquired it. There are 4 on mine, and 4 detents on the bar from the support collars. So you can orient the "lobe" on each of the detents, and use it sort of like those turret feed stops that were so popular on a lot of the small lathes (particularly those with turrets). I envisioned wonderful uses for that feature, but other than to confirm it works properly initially, I've not used it once. Like turrets, I suppose those are really only useful for those doing production type work with suitably toleranced features, or by someone with more experience than me.

[countryjeff]

Thanks guys ! I will do better on my next post of questions ha ha
The shear pin is in place next to the gear case and it does turn properlty in the B setting .I guess I will be opening the gear case in a few weeks
after making a few chips and getting used to the new toy. I will keep you informed

[liveaboard]

I'm shocked to read that any decent lathe is shipped without the ability to thread inch and metric!

I'm an utter beginner and I've already had many occasions to thread both.

[spro]

Many a decent lathe is shipped. They just last beyond their owners. The other thing was a combination gear 127/ which provides metric feeds but you don't have direct metric reading from the controls' dials. That's what is so cool about affordable indicators to actual metric travel. Many a grand lathe or mill went to scrap just before that happened.

[liveaboard]

Of course some will be metric, with metric coss slide screw and dial, others will be imperial with inch denominated screws and dials.
But they should all be able to cut threads both ways!
Well, that's what I think anyway.

My ancient Polish lathe is metric, but I saw an identical one on ebay UK that was in inches.