Casters

[markap]

Good to hear, those screws are not very big and can be a pain to remove the remnants from the hole.

Yes they are, couldn't do it without cursing a few times...

[JPG]

Yes they are, couldn't do it without cursing a few times...

Apparently it helps to use the screw's native tongue!:D

[keakap]

... check to see if the legs have become bent or distorted. If this is the cast then the legs will need to be "reshaped".

And I just had to "reshape" the 'headstock' {headREST}leg, hoping to remedy the non-plumb accessory mount. Found a 2lb. hammer does a fine job of "reshaping", and even assisted somewhat in 'reshaping' my attitude about these misalignments for a few heated minutes.

Turns out, tho, that the leg adjustments not only didn't help the dragging caster problem, but had little, if any, effect on the mount. Turns out the accessory mount tubes in the headstock {headREST}are just not square to the bench tubes. So the accessory mount tubes lean in toward the center one full degree +. (Meaning it is impossible on this machine to set up the Extension table to be used on either end interchangeably.)

File to: So What Else Is New Dept.

But the leg looks nicer...

[JPG]

And I just had to "reshape" the 'headstock' leg, hoping to remedy the non-plumb accessory mount. Found a 2lb. hammer does a fine job of "reshaping", and even assisted somewhat in 'reshaping' my attitude about these misalignments for a few heated minutes.

Turns out, tho, that the leg adjustments not only didn't help the dragging caster problem, but had little, if any, effect on the mount. Turns out the accessory mount tubes in the headstock are just not square to the bench tubes. So the accessory mount tubes lean in toward the center one full degree +. (Meaning it is impossible on this machine to set up the Extension table to be used on either end interchangeably.)

File to: So What Else Is New Dept.

But the leg looks nicer...

Did it acquire a nice hammered tone finish?:D

[keakap]

Did it acquire a nice hammered tone finish?:D

Nope. Unfortunately I couldn't find my (3 lb.!) ball peen hammer. Dang-- I coulda had me a really good time with that thing!

But that leg metal is pretty soft stuff, easily formed- and malformed. Sadly so is the headstock (headREST}casting.
Speakin of which, I've got the new Power unit, and new tables. All I need now to make a properly functioning Mark V is--
the rest.

[Okay, I exaggerate. My casters are nearly new.]
;-)

[JPG]

[quote="keakap"]Nope. Unfortunately I couldn't find my (3 lb.!) ball peen hammer. Dang-- I coulda had me a really good time with that thing!

But that leg metal is pretty soft stuff, easily formed- and malformed. Sadly so is the headstock (headREST}casting.
Speakin of which, I've got the new Power unit, and new tables. All I need now to make a properly functioning Mark V is--
the rest.

[Okay, I exaggerate. My casters are nearly new.]
]
I be curious how one 'malforms' an aluminum end casting(headstock rest end)??? I assume it occurs unintentionally!:rolleyes:

FWIW I have found clamps and boards and leverage effective on ss legs. Hammer required for sharp bends only.

[keakap]

I be curious how one 'malforms' an aluminum end casting(headstock rest end)??? I assume it occurs unintentionally!:rolleyes:

I would assume the same. (Problem there would be in figuring out how to intentionally un-malform an unintentional malformation, eh?)

But in this case, if that is indeed what happened, my first guess would be that the unit encountered less than ideal treatment during its trip across the Pacific many years ago. As of now I don't know if that malforming occurred, and am guessing as to why the sets of holes are not perpendicular (as I assume they should be.

Quite likely, however, the point could well be moot. I have just received a surprise from Headquarters, and I must say it is a welcome and comforting one. Sometimes I just love to be mistaken. Rather I should say I love to find out I was mistaken-- goes a long way to dispelling angst regarding misconceptions about how stuff should work (if it doesn't).

Seems that: referring to your fixed extension table that has it's own mounting base, this table cannot be moved from one end to the other without being re-aligned. You will want to align it for either the left or right end of your Mark V and use it there only. Again, it cannot be interchanged without needing to be re-aligned. Your owner's manual should also state this information.

You may imagine my relief, as long as I've been working on getting this stuff aligned, 520 upgrade, new tables, et cetera, none of which worked, I can now blissfully ignore what my owner's manual actually does say as well as Nick Engler's Sawdust Session 13#3, and move on with my new stuff, including the extension table (almost)perfectly aligned in the base mount "only".

FWIW I have found clamps and boards and leverage effective on ss legs. Hammer required for sharp bends only.

I agree. I mostly pounded on a "go-between" piece of 2x4x4 with slightly rounded edges or used a home-made clamp (I don't have any long clamps).

By the way, in investigating the tipsy table trouble, I found the bench tube clamp or lock bars to be a bit loose, or at least not quite tight. Correcting this did actually change the posture of the extension table base, and took most of the hula out of moving the whole machine. A plus.

[keakap]

I be curious how one 'malforms' an aluminum end casting(headstock rest end)??? ...

There was something about that question-- and it just hit me.
Inside the headrest casting is a layout of (I don't know what else to call 'em) sub-castings, spines, ridges, whatever, that sorta define the bench tube receptacle. They make the actual contact surfaces much much smaller than if the tubes simply plugged into a solid casting, such as one might expect by merely looking at the outside of it.
Not to suggest that this is somehow an inferior or inadequate arrangement, but only saying the potential for malformation (given extraordinary abuse) is present, and not a terrible stretch of an imagination.

I dunno, of course, if this non-perpendicularity is intentional. But I have a problem, and I see an oddity. Connection made.

Oops- I should say I *did* have a problem.

[JPG]

. . .
By the way, in investigating the tipsy table trouble, I found the bench tube clamp or lock bars to be a bit loose, or at least not quite tight. Correcting this did actually change the posture of the extension table base, and took most of the hula out of moving the whole machine. A plus.

The spt tube clamps should push against both tubes and the ends of the outer sleeve(the knurled part) should NOT be touching the end casting.

This is achieved by removing the 'clamp' from the casting, screwing both screws in the end all the way in(one be left hand thread), backing both screws out a few turns(same amount for both screws) until it just slides back onto the casting. When pushed in all the way and 'tightened' the screws will extend out from the end of the sleeve the same distance. The clamp may be installed so the clamping occurs either with an upward rotation of the sleeve or the opposite by reversing the clamp in the casting.

Hope this makes sense. If only one side of the clamp is applying pressure against the spt mounting tube, it ain't really secure nor aligned properly.

[keakap]

The spt tube clamps ...the spt mounting tube, ....

Sorry, I wasn't clear. The bench tube clamps as I called 'em are listed as "tube lock bar", and are used to clamp the bench tubes to the headrest.
The contact surface is small, and the contact surfaces of the bench tube to the headrest are also quite small.
Looks strong enough, but the fact is still that the spt tubes are not perpendicular to the bench tubes. I can't figure out how anything would align properly in this circumstance.

Before I tightened the 'tube lock bar bolts' (say that three times fast) the whole Mark V would do a hula with me grabbing the carriage and shaking it, btw.

Another btw: even with the caster assemblies tightened while the assy. at its highest possible position (not a hole lotta playway) there's still some caster drag at fully retracted position (so the M5 is not completely supported by legs only). I don't recall if this is the normal position. I mean when you're not having problems little stuff like that falls under the "So what?" category.
Come to think of it, other than a minor annoyance of having the machine slide unexpectedly on its barely engaged casters, so what?