wefalck

Peewee, it all depends, what you want to do with the lathe, i.e. what size of parts, repeatability of mounting, and whether you need screw-cutting facility.
 
My personal preference are watchmaking lathes for their precision and versatility of workholding (if you have the full range of spindle tooling). However, screw-cutting attachments are rare and expensive - I have one . The UK is not so much into ebay, compared to some other countries, so you may have to source one through model engineering or watchmaking Web-sites. There are also new ones available from China. I cannot say anything about their quality, but it is certainly lower than that of the antique ones. On the other hand, they come with an integrated power-unit. If you go for a Chinese one, I would go for the bare machine without collets and chucks, as their chucks have a metric 7 mm thread. The traditional thread is 6.82 mm x 40 tpi and you can get lots of second-hand spindle tooling. If you opt for an antique one, go for the larger so-called WW-type, as this is more rigid, unless you want to work on some really small parts, when a so-called D-bed lathe would be good enough. The D-bed type seems to be more frequent on the European market, while the WW-type is more frequent in the USA.
 
Cowells makes excellent stuff (I only have a vertical slide by them), but it comes at a price, even when second-hand. The so-call ME lathe is particularly sought after.
 
Taig and Sherline lathes are made from aluminium. I don't really know how durable their ways etc. are, but there is a lot of information on them on the Web. Sherline makes some good chucks and I have several of them, but I don't have any experience with their lathes as such. In both cases, Taig or Sherline, I would opt for the so-called WW-spindle or adaptors to take watchmakers chucks and collets due to the versatility of that spindle tooling.
 
You can find quite a bit of information on watchmaking lathes on my own Web-site below.

I don't recall Harland talking about single masted vessels. There certainly is a description of how it was done in ships with 2+ masts.
 
For single masted vessel I could think of two variants and believe they have been used some time in history. Whether this would be correct for the period you are interested in, I cannot say:
 
- either the boom or the gaff could be used as a crane; it was probably the boom, as you would need some firm pivotal point (though you could arrange this with the throat halliard and the downhaul for the gaff); the boom would be raised using the topping lift and controlled by the sheets; one would need to rig a tackle for the boat to hook onto; the boat would have a … (forgot the English term at the moment) rigged between an eyebolt in the stem and the stern into which the tackle would be hooked.
 
- similar to above, but in addition one would use the fising tackle for the anchor; the fisihing tackle is hooked into a lanyard that has an eye that goes over the mast usually between the stay and the shrouds; the fishing tackle would be hooked into the fore ringbolt of the boat, while the boom tackle would be hooked into the stern eyebolt; however, I think this method would only work, if you can also rig a tackle or line from arm of a yard; otherwise, it would be difficult to swing the boat clear of the ship.
 
The first method was used at least in the later decades of the 19th century on trading smacks, when they did not have yards anymore. They had a heavy pulley to be hooked onto the boom for loading and unloading purposes, which would be also used for the boat - however, due to the hard work involved in getting the boat out and in, it was usually towed.

I don't recall Harland talking about single masted vessels. There certainly is a description of how it was done in ships with 2+ masts.
 
For single masted vessel I could think of two variants and believe they have been used some time in history. Whether this would be correct for the period you are interested in, I cannot say:
 
- either the boom or the gaff could be used as a crane; it was probably the boom, as you would need some firm pivotal point (though you could arrange this with the throat halliard and the downhaul for the gaff); the boom would be raised using the topping lift and controlled by the sheets; one would need to rig a tackle for the boat to hook onto; the boat would have a … (forgot the English term at the moment) rigged between an eyebolt in the stem and the stern into which the tackle would be hooked.
 
- similar to above, but in addition one would use the fising tackle for the anchor; the fisihing tackle is hooked into a lanyard that has an eye that goes over the mast usually between the stay and the shrouds; the fishing tackle would be hooked into the fore ringbolt of the boat, while the boom tackle would be hooked into the stern eyebolt; however, I think this method would only work, if you can also rig a tackle or line from arm of a yard; otherwise, it would be difficult to swing the boat clear of the ship.
 
The first method was used at least in the later decades of the 19th century on trading smacks, when they did not have yards anymore. They had a heavy pulley to be hooked onto the boom for loading and unloading purposes, which would be also used for the boat - however, due to the hard work involved in getting the boat out and in, it was usually towed.

What do you mean by 'tan bark' sails actually ?
 
Do you mean canvas sails that have been 'tanned' in a broth of tree bark and the smeared with a mixture of tallow and ochre ?
 
Or do you mean sails made from tree bark as used on some idigeneous Pacific boats of old ?

I don't recall Harland talking about single masted vessels. There certainly is a description of how it was done in ships with 2+ masts.
 
For single masted vessel I could think of two variants and believe they have been used some time in history. Whether this would be correct for the period you are interested in, I cannot say:
 
- either the boom or the gaff could be used as a crane; it was probably the boom, as you would need some firm pivotal point (though you could arrange this with the throat halliard and the downhaul for the gaff); the boom would be raised using the topping lift and controlled by the sheets; one would need to rig a tackle for the boat to hook onto; the boat would have a … (forgot the English term at the moment) rigged between an eyebolt in the stem and the stern into which the tackle would be hooked.
 
- similar to above, but in addition one would use the fising tackle for the anchor; the fisihing tackle is hooked into a lanyard that has an eye that goes over the mast usually between the stay and the shrouds; the fishing tackle would be hooked into the fore ringbolt of the boat, while the boom tackle would be hooked into the stern eyebolt; however, I think this method would only work, if you can also rig a tackle or line from arm of a yard; otherwise, it would be difficult to swing the boat clear of the ship.
 
The first method was used at least in the later decades of the 19th century on trading smacks, when they did not have yards anymore. They had a heavy pulley to be hooked onto the boom for loading and unloading purposes, which would be also used for the boat - however, due to the hard work involved in getting the boat out and in, it was usually towed.

Peewee, it all depends, what you want to do with the lathe, i.e. what size of parts, repeatability of mounting, and whether you need screw-cutting facility.
 
My personal preference are watchmaking lathes for their precision and versatility of workholding (if you have the full range of spindle tooling). However, screw-cutting attachments are rare and expensive - I have one . The UK is not so much into ebay, compared to some other countries, so you may have to source one through model engineering or watchmaking Web-sites. There are also new ones available from China. I cannot say anything about their quality, but it is certainly lower than that of the antique ones. On the other hand, they come with an integrated power-unit. If you go for a Chinese one, I would go for the bare machine without collets and chucks, as their chucks have a metric 7 mm thread. The traditional thread is 6.82 mm x 40 tpi and you can get lots of second-hand spindle tooling. If you opt for an antique one, go for the larger so-called WW-type, as this is more rigid, unless you want to work on some really small parts, when a so-called D-bed lathe would be good enough. The D-bed type seems to be more frequent on the European market, while the WW-type is more frequent in the USA.
 
Cowells makes excellent stuff (I only have a vertical slide by them), but it comes at a price, even when second-hand. The so-call ME lathe is particularly sought after.
 
Taig and Sherline lathes are made from aluminium. I don't really know how durable their ways etc. are, but there is a lot of information on them on the Web. Sherline makes some good chucks and I have several of them, but I don't have any experience with their lathes as such. In both cases, Taig or Sherline, I would opt for the so-called WW-spindle or adaptors to take watchmakers chucks and collets due to the versatility of that spindle tooling.
 
You can find quite a bit of information on watchmaking lathes on my own Web-site below.

Thanks, gentlemen, once more for the praise  
 
*************************************
 
With all the machining completed, the various castings were cleaned up for their cosmetic appearance and lightly sanded to provide a better key for the new paint. The areas not be painted were masked with tape and and any openings stuffed with toilet paper.
 

Parts masked for painting
 
The castings were given a light coat with a filling primer, while the fabricated parts were just given a coat in an ordinary primer.
 

Parts primed for painting
 
After some light sanding and thorough de-dusting the parts were spray-painted in my favourite colour for machines, in RAL 6007 'Bottle Green'. I find the combination of bright steel, polished brass details, and the dark green aesthetically very pleasing.
 

Painted parts after demasking
 
On the images above there are two parts visible that have not been discussed yet: a round cap that will close-off the electrical installations of the motor and a clamp to fix the machine at the workbench. The round cap actually is a bakelite cover for some electrical home installations and which had almost the right internal diameter. I just needed to enlarge it on the lathe by a few tenth of milimetres. The clamp belonged to an obsolote electrical drill. The reciprocal movement of the filing machine will necessitate some form of fixation, or it is likely to jump around a bit. In addition, the high centre of gravity of the machine would make working with it like this rather unstable.
 
To be continued ...

Thanks, gentlemen, once more for the praise  
 
*************************************
 
With all the machining completed, the various castings were cleaned up for their cosmetic appearance and lightly sanded to provide a better key for the new paint. The areas not be painted were masked with tape and and any openings stuffed with toilet paper.
 

Parts masked for painting
 
The castings were given a light coat with a filling primer, while the fabricated parts were just given a coat in an ordinary primer.
 

Parts primed for painting
 
After some light sanding and thorough de-dusting the parts were spray-painted in my favourite colour for machines, in RAL 6007 'Bottle Green'. I find the combination of bright steel, polished brass details, and the dark green aesthetically very pleasing.
 

Painted parts after demasking
 
On the images above there are two parts visible that have not been discussed yet: a round cap that will close-off the electrical installations of the motor and a clamp to fix the machine at the workbench. The round cap actually is a bakelite cover for some electrical home installations and which had almost the right internal diameter. I just needed to enlarge it on the lathe by a few tenth of milimetres. The clamp belonged to an obsolote electrical drill. The reciprocal movement of the filing machine will necessitate some form of fixation, or it is likely to jump around a bit. In addition, the high centre of gravity of the machine would make working with it like this rather unstable.
 
To be continued ...

Thanks, gentlemen, once more for the praise  
 
*************************************
 
With all the machining completed, the various castings were cleaned up for their cosmetic appearance and lightly sanded to provide a better key for the new paint. The areas not be painted were masked with tape and and any openings stuffed with toilet paper.
 

Parts masked for painting
 
The castings were given a light coat with a filling primer, while the fabricated parts were just given a coat in an ordinary primer.
 

Parts primed for painting
 
After some light sanding and thorough de-dusting the parts were spray-painted in my favourite colour for machines, in RAL 6007 'Bottle Green'. I find the combination of bright steel, polished brass details, and the dark green aesthetically very pleasing.
 

Painted parts after demasking
 
On the images above there are two parts visible that have not been discussed yet: a round cap that will close-off the electrical installations of the motor and a clamp to fix the machine at the workbench. The round cap actually is a bakelite cover for some electrical home installations and which had almost the right internal diameter. I just needed to enlarge it on the lathe by a few tenth of milimetres. The clamp belonged to an obsolote electrical drill. The reciprocal movement of the filing machine will necessitate some form of fixation, or it is likely to jump around a bit. In addition, the high centre of gravity of the machine would make working with it like this rather unstable.
 
To be continued ...

Thanks, gentlemen, once more for the praise  
 
*************************************
 
With all the machining completed, the various castings were cleaned up for their cosmetic appearance and lightly sanded to provide a better key for the new paint. The areas not be painted were masked with tape and and any openings stuffed with toilet paper.
 

Parts masked for painting
 
The castings were given a light coat with a filling primer, while the fabricated parts were just given a coat in an ordinary primer.
 

Parts primed for painting
 
After some light sanding and thorough de-dusting the parts were spray-painted in my favourite colour for machines, in RAL 6007 'Bottle Green'. I find the combination of bright steel, polished brass details, and the dark green aesthetically very pleasing.
 

Painted parts after demasking
 
On the images above there are two parts visible that have not been discussed yet: a round cap that will close-off the electrical installations of the motor and a clamp to fix the machine at the workbench. The round cap actually is a bakelite cover for some electrical home installations and which had almost the right internal diameter. I just needed to enlarge it on the lathe by a few tenth of milimetres. The clamp belonged to an obsolote electrical drill. The reciprocal movement of the filing machine will necessitate some form of fixation, or it is likely to jump around a bit. In addition, the high centre of gravity of the machine would make working with it like this rather unstable.
 
To be continued ...

Thanks, gentlemen, once more for the praise  
 
*************************************
 
With all the machining completed, the various castings were cleaned up for their cosmetic appearance and lightly sanded to provide a better key for the new paint. The areas not be painted were masked with tape and and any openings stuffed with toilet paper.
 

Parts masked for painting
 
The castings were given a light coat with a filling primer, while the fabricated parts were just given a coat in an ordinary primer.
 

Parts primed for painting
 
After some light sanding and thorough de-dusting the parts were spray-painted in my favourite colour for machines, in RAL 6007 'Bottle Green'. I find the combination of bright steel, polished brass details, and the dark green aesthetically very pleasing.
 

Painted parts after demasking
 
On the images above there are two parts visible that have not been discussed yet: a round cap that will close-off the electrical installations of the motor and a clamp to fix the machine at the workbench. The round cap actually is a bakelite cover for some electrical home installations and which had almost the right internal diameter. I just needed to enlarge it on the lathe by a few tenth of milimetres. The clamp belonged to an obsolote electrical drill. The reciprocal movement of the filing machine will necessitate some form of fixation, or it is likely to jump around a bit. In addition, the high centre of gravity of the machine would make working with it like this rather unstable.
 
To be continued ...

Thanks, gentlemen, once more for the praise  
 
*************************************
 
With all the machining completed, the various castings were cleaned up for their cosmetic appearance and lightly sanded to provide a better key for the new paint. The areas not be painted were masked with tape and and any openings stuffed with toilet paper.
 

Parts masked for painting
 
The castings were given a light coat with a filling primer, while the fabricated parts were just given a coat in an ordinary primer.
 

Parts primed for painting
 
After some light sanding and thorough de-dusting the parts were spray-painted in my favourite colour for machines, in RAL 6007 'Bottle Green'. I find the combination of bright steel, polished brass details, and the dark green aesthetically very pleasing.
 

Painted parts after demasking
 
On the images above there are two parts visible that have not been discussed yet: a round cap that will close-off the electrical installations of the motor and a clamp to fix the machine at the workbench. The round cap actually is a bakelite cover for some electrical home installations and which had almost the right internal diameter. I just needed to enlarge it on the lathe by a few tenth of milimetres. The clamp belonged to an obsolote electrical drill. The reciprocal movement of the filing machine will necessitate some form of fixation, or it is likely to jump around a bit. In addition, the high centre of gravity of the machine would make working with it like this rather unstable.
 
To be continued ...

Just to enlarge the subject a bit: gloves and power-tools are No-No. Never wear gloves when working with either hand-held power-tools or stationary machinery. The gloves can easily get caught in tools or chucks and the torque even small machines can exert is devastating. They can rip off fingers.
 
Personally, I rarely wear gloves for any work, as I just don't have the 'feel' with them. Being short-sighted, of course, I always wore glasses and feel naked without them. Past 45, when eye accomodation became a problem, I started to wear protective glasses, either plain or magnifying ones.
 
Unfortunately, I don't have children (and consequently grandchildren) of my own, so I have no practical experience in teaching them. I remember, however, that my father forbid me to use his wood chisels. At that time, I rather thought in order not to damage them, rather than not to damage myself - as I always was building something, I 'lent' them from his unlocked tool-cupboard until I was given my own tools at about age 8.
 
P.S. after having come across another 'thread': yes, I do wear leather gloves when cutting glass ...

Just to enlarge the subject a bit: gloves and power-tools are No-No. Never wear gloves when working with either hand-held power-tools or stationary machinery. The gloves can easily get caught in tools or chucks and the torque even small machines can exert is devastating. They can rip off fingers.
 
Personally, I rarely wear gloves for any work, as I just don't have the 'feel' with them. Being short-sighted, of course, I always wore glasses and feel naked without them. Past 45, when eye accomodation became a problem, I started to wear protective glasses, either plain or magnifying ones.
 
Unfortunately, I don't have children (and consequently grandchildren) of my own, so I have no practical experience in teaching them. I remember, however, that my father forbid me to use his wood chisels. At that time, I rather thought in order not to damage them, rather than not to damage myself - as I always was building something, I 'lent' them from his unlocked tool-cupboard until I was given my own tools at about age 8.
 
P.S. after having come across another 'thread': yes, I do wear leather gloves when cutting glass ...

Just to enlarge the subject a bit: gloves and power-tools are No-No. Never wear gloves when working with either hand-held power-tools or stationary machinery. The gloves can easily get caught in tools or chucks and the torque even small machines can exert is devastating. They can rip off fingers.
 
Personally, I rarely wear gloves for any work, as I just don't have the 'feel' with them. Being short-sighted, of course, I always wore glasses and feel naked without them. Past 45, when eye accomodation became a problem, I started to wear protective glasses, either plain or magnifying ones.
 
Unfortunately, I don't have children (and consequently grandchildren) of my own, so I have no practical experience in teaching them. I remember, however, that my father forbid me to use his wood chisels. At that time, I rather thought in order not to damage them, rather than not to damage myself - as I always was building something, I 'lent' them from his unlocked tool-cupboard until I was given my own tools at about age 8.
 
P.S. after having come across another 'thread': yes, I do wear leather gloves when cutting glass ...

Just to enlarge the subject a bit: gloves and power-tools are No-No. Never wear gloves when working with either hand-held power-tools or stationary machinery. The gloves can easily get caught in tools or chucks and the torque even small machines can exert is devastating. They can rip off fingers.
 
Personally, I rarely wear gloves for any work, as I just don't have the 'feel' with them. Being short-sighted, of course, I always wore glasses and feel naked without them. Past 45, when eye accomodation became a problem, I started to wear protective glasses, either plain or magnifying ones.
 
Unfortunately, I don't have children (and consequently grandchildren) of my own, so I have no practical experience in teaching them. I remember, however, that my father forbid me to use his wood chisels. At that time, I rather thought in order not to damage them, rather than not to damage myself - as I always was building something, I 'lent' them from his unlocked tool-cupboard until I was given my own tools at about age 8.
 
P.S. after having come across another 'thread': yes, I do wear leather gloves when cutting glass ...

Just to enlarge the subject a bit: gloves and power-tools are No-No. Never wear gloves when working with either hand-held power-tools or stationary machinery. The gloves can easily get caught in tools or chucks and the torque even small machines can exert is devastating. They can rip off fingers.
 
Personally, I rarely wear gloves for any work, as I just don't have the 'feel' with them. Being short-sighted, of course, I always wore glasses and feel naked without them. Past 45, when eye accomodation became a problem, I started to wear protective glasses, either plain or magnifying ones.
 
Unfortunately, I don't have children (and consequently grandchildren) of my own, so I have no practical experience in teaching them. I remember, however, that my father forbid me to use his wood chisels. At that time, I rather thought in order not to damage them, rather than not to damage myself - as I always was building something, I 'lent' them from his unlocked tool-cupboard until I was given my own tools at about age 8.
 
P.S. after having come across another 'thread': yes, I do wear leather gloves when cutting glass ...

Just to enlarge the subject a bit: gloves and power-tools are No-No. Never wear gloves when working with either hand-held power-tools or stationary machinery. The gloves can easily get caught in tools or chucks and the torque even small machines can exert is devastating. They can rip off fingers.
 
Personally, I rarely wear gloves for any work, as I just don't have the 'feel' with them. Being short-sighted, of course, I always wore glasses and feel naked without them. Past 45, when eye accomodation became a problem, I started to wear protective glasses, either plain or magnifying ones.
 
Unfortunately, I don't have children (and consequently grandchildren) of my own, so I have no practical experience in teaching them. I remember, however, that my father forbid me to use his wood chisels. At that time, I rather thought in order not to damage them, rather than not to damage myself - as I always was building something, I 'lent' them from his unlocked tool-cupboard until I was given my own tools at about age 8.
 
P.S. after having come across another 'thread': yes, I do wear leather gloves when cutting glass ...

Thanks ! Yes, I found it rather strange that the commercial die-filers only have one big hole.
 
************************************
 
The final piece of machining is finishing off the table blank produced earlier. A recess for the inserts had to be made. Normally, this would be a job for the lathe faceplate, but even with the rising blocks the centre height of my WW Lorch-lathe would have not been sufficient.
 

 

Round-milling the recess for the table inserts
 
Therefore, I screwed the table blank with spacers onto rotary table of the milling machine, which had been carefully centered before. The marked-out blank was in turn centered on the table. This set-up allowed to round-mill the recess to a depth, where the inserts are flush with the surface of the table.
 

Table insert in place
 
In the same set-up the clerance slot for the files was milled out to allow the inclination of the table to 45° in both directions. Using an insert as template, the mounting holes for them were drilled in the same set-up. This allowed to screw-down the inserts in their place and to mill the clearance-slots in them in situ, thus avoiding alignment errors.
 

 

Table inserts slotted in situ
 
Again, in the same set-up the holes for the table-bearing barrel were countersunk, which had not been done before, because the table surface was kept protected by its plastic film.
 

Countersinking table mounting holes
 
To be continued ...

Thanks ! Yes, I found it rather strange that the commercial die-filers only have one big hole.
 
************************************
 
The final piece of machining is finishing off the table blank produced earlier. A recess for the inserts had to be made. Normally, this would be a job for the lathe faceplate, but even with the rising blocks the centre height of my WW Lorch-lathe would have not been sufficient.
 

 

Round-milling the recess for the table inserts
 
Therefore, I screwed the table blank with spacers onto rotary table of the milling machine, which had been carefully centered before. The marked-out blank was in turn centered on the table. This set-up allowed to round-mill the recess to a depth, where the inserts are flush with the surface of the table.
 

Table insert in place
 
In the same set-up the clerance slot for the files was milled out to allow the inclination of the table to 45° in both directions. Using an insert as template, the mounting holes for them were drilled in the same set-up. This allowed to screw-down the inserts in their place and to mill the clearance-slots in them in situ, thus avoiding alignment errors.
 

 

Table inserts slotted in situ
 
Again, in the same set-up the holes for the table-bearing barrel were countersunk, which had not been done before, because the table surface was kept protected by its plastic film.
 

Countersinking table mounting holes
 
To be continued ...

Before retirement, Ivan was a real shipbuilder, working at the yard that maintains the Lake Constance fleet. He occassionally still works on restoration projects.

Thanks ! Yes, I found it rather strange that the commercial die-filers only have one big hole.
 
************************************
 
The final piece of machining is finishing off the table blank produced earlier. A recess for the inserts had to be made. Normally, this would be a job for the lathe faceplate, but even with the rising blocks the centre height of my WW Lorch-lathe would have not been sufficient.
 

 

Round-milling the recess for the table inserts
 
Therefore, I screwed the table blank with spacers onto rotary table of the milling machine, which had been carefully centered before. The marked-out blank was in turn centered on the table. This set-up allowed to round-mill the recess to a depth, where the inserts are flush with the surface of the table.
 

Table insert in place
 
In the same set-up the clerance slot for the files was milled out to allow the inclination of the table to 45° in both directions. Using an insert as template, the mounting holes for them were drilled in the same set-up. This allowed to screw-down the inserts in their place and to mill the clearance-slots in them in situ, thus avoiding alignment errors.
 

 

Table inserts slotted in situ
 
Again, in the same set-up the holes for the table-bearing barrel were countersunk, which had not been done before, because the table surface was kept protected by its plastic film.
 

Countersinking table mounting holes
 
To be continued ...

Thanks ! Yes, I found it rather strange that the commercial die-filers only have one big hole.
 
************************************
 
The final piece of machining is finishing off the table blank produced earlier. A recess for the inserts had to be made. Normally, this would be a job for the lathe faceplate, but even with the rising blocks the centre height of my WW Lorch-lathe would have not been sufficient.
 

 

Round-milling the recess for the table inserts
 
Therefore, I screwed the table blank with spacers onto rotary table of the milling machine, which had been carefully centered before. The marked-out blank was in turn centered on the table. This set-up allowed to round-mill the recess to a depth, where the inserts are flush with the surface of the table.
 

Table insert in place
 
In the same set-up the clerance slot for the files was milled out to allow the inclination of the table to 45° in both directions. Using an insert as template, the mounting holes for them were drilled in the same set-up. This allowed to screw-down the inserts in their place and to mill the clearance-slots in them in situ, thus avoiding alignment errors.
 

 

Table inserts slotted in situ
 
Again, in the same set-up the holes for the table-bearing barrel were countersunk, which had not been done before, because the table surface was kept protected by its plastic film.
 

Countersinking table mounting holes
 
To be continued ...

Thanks ! Yes, I found it rather strange that the commercial die-filers only have one big hole.
 
************************************
 
The final piece of machining is finishing off the table blank produced earlier. A recess for the inserts had to be made. Normally, this would be a job for the lathe faceplate, but even with the rising blocks the centre height of my WW Lorch-lathe would have not been sufficient.
 

 

Round-milling the recess for the table inserts
 
Therefore, I screwed the table blank with spacers onto rotary table of the milling machine, which had been carefully centered before. The marked-out blank was in turn centered on the table. This set-up allowed to round-mill the recess to a depth, where the inserts are flush with the surface of the table.
 

Table insert in place
 
In the same set-up the clerance slot for the files was milled out to allow the inclination of the table to 45° in both directions. Using an insert as template, the mounting holes for them were drilled in the same set-up. This allowed to screw-down the inserts in their place and to mill the clearance-slots in them in situ, thus avoiding alignment errors.
 

 

Table inserts slotted in situ
 
Again, in the same set-up the holes for the table-bearing barrel were countersunk, which had not been done before, because the table surface was kept protected by its plastic film.
 

Countersinking table mounting holes
 
To be continued ...

Thank you … at my pace it will still take a while ...
 
*****************************
The original drive-shaft was made from a steel of rather poor machineability. It was impossible to achieve a satisfactory surface finish on it with the watchmaker's lathe. As I intended to change the original design slightly anyway, a new drive-shaft was turned from a piece of 32 mm round steel. This shaft was bored out for the 6 mm diameter gear-box output shaft to which it will be attached with a set-screw.
 

Original drive-shaft and crank
 

New drive shaft/crank, cross-head, bearing block, and piston
 
The whole crank mechanism was also replaced, as it was badly worn due to steel-on-steel sliding friction without any lubrication. Originally a round pin was sliding in the cross-head slot. The new design provides for more positive guidance. A proper cross-head bearing block was machined from brass and will slide in a new cross-head.
 

Assembled new drive shaft/crank, cross-head, bearing block, and piston
 
The new crank was bored for the cross-head pin at different distances from the axis, which allows to set the stroke of the machine at 10 mm, 15 mm, and 20 mm. However, it will be necessary to almost dismantle the whole driving mechanism to change the stroke, as the set-screws for the cross-head pin would not be very accessible. The maximum stroke of 20 mm may not be possible with the current file-holder design due to sufficient clearance under the table, when it is inclined. Practical experience will show, whether a 15 mm stroke is satisfactory.
 

New drive mechanism (provisionally) in place
 
To be continued ...