Elliott OMNISPEED lathe

[minimutly]

Probably more 'dangerous' to the lathe/fence/garage wall than to us.

If it were to tip over, it would have gone sideways. Our positioning meant that we were pretty safe. The lathe was surprisingly stable on the pallet truck and trolley.

What I have not shown/talked about was that I lowered the lathe multiple times onto wooden blocks and repositioned the trolley/pallet truck whenever the lathe was no longer optimally positioned on the pallet truck and trolley.

I guess everybody has got a different risk appetite/see risks differently.

Without starting a massive H&S argument I would like to say there is definitely a need for H&S (having lived in a country with poor H&S rules/regulations/practices before). But, I feel the UK has gone overboard with H&S rules/regulations. The UK being so risk adverse, many things can't be done/takes so long to do/so expensive to do.

Maybe natural selection and Darwin awards are not so bad....

Just picked this up again. By dangerous I meant to the lathe!
Common sense would dictate no one being inside its radius of fall whilst pushing and shoving..

 

[Pawcu]

Btw @Smouser what grease/oil are you using on the change gears in the back? I used lithium grease but it just flings it everywhere xD
Looking good on the lathe and love the tach mod

 

[Smouser]

Thanks.

I gave my gears a light coating with an 'open gear lubricant aerosol'. I guess applying it regular and in tiny amounts are the best way forward. Otherwise, it just get flung and make a big mess.

As my lathe is basically done, you should post some of your lathe's progress on here or make your own thread detailing your progress. This forum can become the main Omnispeed knowledge hub

 

[Pawcu]

Ahh that's a great idea - I'll see if the hardware store has any in stock - otherwise I've got a bunch of chain wax lube for the motorcycles which I think might help as well.
Not much to say if I create a new thread but this is my current progress:

Almost finished except for the missing parts I need to machine and the way wipers I also need to paint the tray and the back splash as well as order and fit a DRO.
I also still need to test that the feedbox gears are working as intended but will need to get some material to try a couple of scratch passes and confirm that the threads are as indicated.
EDIT: i also have some missing knobs i need to buy, clean the 3 jaw chuck and machine a mounting plate for the 4 jaw.
Thank you once again for all your help

 

[Smouser]

Looking good!

Yours are almost finished too.
I have delayed the DRO purchase on my lathe for now.

I am forcing myself to fit the last scale on my milling machine first before I buy more DROs and scales

 

[Pawcu]

Looking good!

Yours are almost finished too.
I have delayed the DRO purchase on my lathe for now.

I am forcing myself to fit the last scale on my milling machine first before I buy more DROs and scales

Hehe I just want to sort it out while I have the back splash removed xD
Ah that reminds me... also need to level it and align the tailstock xD
I should really make a list....

 

[fizzy]

I really NEED an Elliott Omnispeed for my collection

 

[Smouser]

I really NEED an Elliott Omnispeed for my collection

While you were chilling out in hospital @8ob's friend had one he wanted to get rid of....

What is an Omnispeed lathe worth?

Any latheists here care to value this? its three phase and in working order.

www.mig-welding.co.uk

 

[Pawcu]

So I finally managed to mount the DRO scales on my lathe.
I bought SINO scales from AliExpress (got 2 for the lathe and 4 for the mill)

In case anyone is interested this is the list of scales I got:
Lathe
Z-axis: KA600-1100mm-5um
X-axis: KA500-320mm 1um

Bridgeport:
X-axis: KA300-770 5um
Y-axis: KA300-320mm 5um
Z-axis (knee): KA300-470 5um
Quill: KA300-170mm 5um (should have gone with the small factor KA200 but it was not in stock and much more expensive)

The plan is to use this with TouchDRO - got 2 DIY Kits from https://www.touchdro.com/store/diy-dro-kit-v2.html
After soldering:

I will be using a single tablet and switching between the 2 devices - which the app supports natively
For a table I'll be using an Amazon Fire HD 10 table which I found a great deal on amazon.de for €67 The catch is that this tablet runs Fire OS which is a ported version of Android and doesn't support Google's play store. That being said there are workarounds to install the play store manually and then be able to install the TouchDRO app.

The Z-axis scale was pretty straight forward - kit came with a few mounting plates which I used and hacked with an extension plate as it wasn't long enough:

Looks a bit janky but it works

The X-axis was a bit more problematic. Preferably I would have mounted the scale on the cross feed and have it move with it while the read head stays stationary on the saddle. However this meant that the scale would constantly stick out further past the back of cross feed and after confirming with @Smouser (thanks once again for your help and patience!) this is no bueno since when fully wound out back, there is very little space between the cross feed and the splash back.
So I opted to mount the scale fixed on the saddle and have the read head move with the cross feed - I also wanted to have the opening slot of the scale on the other side of the chuck (away from chips) so this meant having a plate that goes over the scale - something like this:

This is how it turned out:

Still need to finish the wire management and found a place to mount the adapter box and also where to put a tablet mount... hopefully sometime this weekend
Hope this helps anyone else out there in similar situation

 

[fizzy]

Nice fit out!
I fitted sales to my Colchester Triumph. A bit disappointed. I find them far more use on a mill than a lathe.

 

[Pawcu]

Nice fit out!
I fitted sales to my Colchester Triumph. A bit disappointed. I find them far more use on a mill than a lathe.

Thank you
In my case I really need them... all my handwheels are imperial and here in Malta we use metric so I have to keep converting values all the time xD

 

[fizzy]

Thank you
In my case I really need them... all my handwheels are imperial and here in Malta we use metric so I have to keep converting values all the time xD

I see you did the same as me - got a 1um scale for the cross slide on the lathe!
I did as it works better in thou that way!
Sino scales are very good.

 

[Pawcu]

Yeah since you are effectively doubling the value (diameter) I thought it would make more sense getting a higher resolution scale... Not sure how able the lathe is to hold that tolerance though xD
And thanks yeah I heard good reviews about them.. Can't complain so far xD

 

[Smouser]

So I finally managed to mount the DRO scales on my lathe.
I bought SINO scales from AliExpress (got 2 for the lathe and 4 for the mill)
View attachment 423762

In case anyone is interested this is the list of scales I got:
Lathe
Z-axis: KA600-1100mm-5um
X-axis: KA500-320mm 1um

Bridgeport:
X-axis: KA300-770 5um
Y-axis: KA300-320mm 5um
Z-axis (knee): KA300-470 5um
Quill: KA300-170mm 5um (should have gone with the small factor KA200 but it was not in stock and much more expensive)

The plan is to use this with TouchDRO - got 2 DIY Kits from https://www.touchdro.com/store/diy-dro-kit-v2.html
After soldering:
View attachment 423763

I will be using a single tablet and switching between the 2 devices - which the app supports natively
For a table I'll be using an Amazon Fire HD 10 table which I found a great deal on amazon.de for €67 The catch is that this tablet runs Fire OS which is a ported version of Android and doesn't support Google's play store. That being said there are workarounds to install the play store manually and then be able to install the TouchDRO app.

The Z-axis scale was pretty straight forward - kit came with a few mounting plates which I used and hacked with an extension plate as it wasn't long enough:
View attachment 423764

Looks a bit janky but it works

The X-axis was a bit more problematic. Preferably I would have mounted the scale on the cross feed and have it move with it while the read head stays stationary on the saddle. However this meant that the scale would constantly stick out further past the back of cross feed and after confirming with @Smouser (thanks once again for your help and patience!) this is no bueno since when fully wound out back, there is very little space between the cross feed and the splash back.
So I opted to mount the scale fixed on the saddle and have the read head move with the cross feed - I also wanted to have the opening slot of the scale on the other side of the chuck (away from chips) so this meant having a plate that goes over the scale - something like this:
View attachment 423773

This is how it turned out:
View attachment 423774
View attachment 423775
View attachment 423776

Still need to finish the wire management and found a place to mount the adapter box and also where to put a tablet mount... hopefully sometime this weekend
Hope this helps anyone else out there in similar situation

Great work!

I MUST now get some scales and a DRO.......

Keep the progress updates coming!

*Edit* Are you happy with the length of the X scale on the lathe?
If so, I am not even going to bother measuring mine and just buy the same.

 

[Pawcu]

Great work!

I MUST now get some scales and a DRO.......

Keep the progress updates coming!

*Edit* Are you happy with the length of the X scale on the lathe?
If so, I am not even going to bother measuring mine and just buy the same.

Thanks hehe :-)
Yes I am, although I'll confirm tomorrow that everything works well. This morning just barely mounted it and had to get ready for work xD

 

[Pawcu]

Yupp works well

 

[Smouser]

Thanks, that is great.

Your machine must be rapidly approaching completion too?

I will see if I can get a deal on Aliexpress when they have their 11.11 sale on and get some DRO scales ordered.

 

[Pawcu]

Thanks, that is great.

Your machine must be rapidly approaching completion too?

I will see if I can get a deal on Aliexpress when they have their 11.11 sale on and get some DRO scales ordered.

Yes I mean I still need to create the lead screw disengage block thingy, clean the chuck and the coolant pump. And some other bits and bops but for the most part it's ready xD
And yes good idea... I forgot about the sale on AliExpress... Should have waited

 

[JohnMC]

Hey Everyone,

I love this thread I’ve just picked up an Omnispeed of good old EBay and I’m sure this thread (and contacts) will be invaluable in the coming months!

Here’s some of the (poor quality) advertisement pictures and one once I got it in the workshop.

I’m unsure of the year, but it seems slightly different to some posted.

JMC

 

[Smouser]

Welcome to the Omnispeed club!

Be sure to keep us updated on your progress.