New Okuma LS owner with questions

FCB84 · Jan 22, 2020

Thanks for the manual PDFs! Now I've got an easy question and a hard question. Regarding oil, does this look like a reasonable option?
AW Hydraulic Gear Oil Fluid ISO VG 68 SAE 20 Industrial Machinery Excavator 5gal
AW Hydraulic Gear Oil Fluid ISO VG 68 SAE 20 Industrial Machinery Excavator 5gal 614654010744 | eBay

And now the hard question: Do any Okuma LS owners have a drawing or picture with rough dimensions of the micrometer carriage stops? Mine did not come with these and I'd like to replicate the original design as closely as I can. Alternatively, if someone has extras or an appetite to make one I'd buy!

AlfaGTA · Jan 22, 2020

Don't know how similar these might be, but here are the stops on my Dong Yang....
Assuming you are referring to the hard stops that clamp directly on the ways, and not the auto trips for the power feed that mount to the lower casting.

Steel blocks measuring roughly;
4.730 deep
2.950 wide
3.780 tall including the clamp strap (as installed)

Stop screws are marked in .001" divisions.
Block threaded through for micrometer stop.
Micrometer stop secured via front bolt that bears on the threads of the stop screw.
Uses brass button with matching threads in its face so as to not damage the micrometer thread.
Stop screw has shoulder that nests into a counter bore in the face of the block for finished look. (same as micrometer screw)

All fasteners have 19mm hex.

There are both a right and left block with contact buttons on the carriage both right and left.
On my machine, i have a trav-a-dial fitted so the right block is not usable. ...And in reality since the dial install i have not used the micrometer stops.

Some detail on the micrometer screw....
Thread is 1/2-20
Thread is roughly 1.580" long
Micrometer dial .880" long 24mm OD
19mm hex .450 tall
Assembly 2.9" OAL.

Cheers Ross

AlfaGTA · Jan 22, 2020

Might be of interest, here is my setup on the Trav-A-Dial:
Mounted to the mounting pad for the thread chasing dial.
Overall length so that the dial remains in time.

Window allows adjusting the tracking of the Trav-a-dial and mounting of the bracket....

Cheers Ross

Botje · Jan 22, 2020

FCB84 said:
Thanks for the manual PDFs! Now I've got an easy question and a hard question. Regarding oil, does this look like a reasonable option?
AW Hydraulic Gear Oil Fluid ISO VG 68 SAE 20 Industrial Machinery Excavator 5gal
AW Hydraulic Gear Oil Fluid ISO VG 68 SAE 20 Industrial Machinery Excavator 5gal 614654010744 | eBay

And now the hard question: Do any Okuma LS owners have a drawing or picture with rough dimensions of the micrometer carriage stops? Mine did not come with these and I'd like to replicate the original design as closely as I can. Alternatively, if someone has extras or an appetite to make one I'd buy!

Hi!

About the oil, I used ISO100 first and it strained the oil pump. Depending on climate I'd run a lower grade yeah, maybe 68 is thin enough.

I have one carriage micrometer stop yeah. It will take some time but I'll take measurements.

Regarding my machine, finally replaced the VFD. Running a new Danfoss drive. Super easy to set up, extremely smooth control and with a huge display it is a breeze to work with. Still need to mount the drive in the cabinet and finalize the wiring.
Tried to fix some play in the on/off/direction control lever but it was necessary to delve deep to get to the worn key so I left it for now. Replaced the felt wipers, fixed some small oil leaks, replaced oil drain hoses, did a lot of cleaning up and organizing now I have a good tool cabinet with drawers.
Todo: new belts, wire VFD and make clever use of the brake function (thinking of using position sensor on control lever to control brake force) and try to find some more quick change tool holders.

Ross, thanks for the excellent info regarding the stops! And your machine is still so nice, looks great!

glenn120a · Jun 12, 2020

Botje said:
Nice!

I have the manual in pdf, including parts list etc. Will send asap.

I would also be very appreciative to recieve the PDF info you have on my Okuma LS lathe... right now i am trying to fix the hand oiler on the front right side of the apron...

Peter S · Jun 14, 2020

Here is a parts drawing of the LS apron, there are other parts drawings of the carriage etc if required.
Click on image, then click again for full size, click a 3rd time (sometimes) for maximum.

Harkema · Jun 16, 2020

Hi Botje, Nice and helpfull post. I also bought a Okuma LS (short model)and will pick it up next week. I live near Groningen (Netherlands). I tried to send a PM but your inbox is full and cant receive new messages.

I will need to do some work on the machine and a manual and would be very helpfull. Can you please share this with me?

Greetings from Groningen, Bart Harkema

Botje · Jun 16, 2020

Harkema said:
Hi Botje, Nice and helpfull post. I also bought a Okuma LS (short model)and will pick it up next week. I live near Groningen (Netherlands). I tried to send a PM but your inbox is full and cant receive new messages.

I will need to do some work on the machine and a manual and would be very helpfull. Can you please share this with me?

Greetings from Groningen, Bart Harkema

Hi Bart, just cleared my inbox, will send you the manuals asap.

Botje · Aug 1, 2020

Mini update, a few accessories for the Okuma!

Large steady rest, disassembled, cleaned in the parts washer, ready for further cleaning. Already have the small steady and this is a nice addition. Will do a color match and after filling the broken bondo, a coat of 2K semi gloss Spraymax paint to make it shine again. Knobs and levers are mostly OK, should clean up nicely.

Thread chasing dial, will receive the same treatment. Metric version, it has 3 divisions.

The rest of the parts I managed to snag of the machine before it was sent to the junkyard. The big flat-head screw of the cross slide was missing on mine, same as half of the carriage stops.

Further workshop updates to follow. Swiss iron will accompany the Okuma in the future.

Catjan · Sep 30, 2020

Hi, I am new to this chat and like a lot of you are desperately looking for manuels in pdf format for the Ls Okuma lathe
I will appreciate it if anyone can be of assistance

otrlt · Sep 30, 2020

Excellent purchase Botje,

The tool post is a gem, I gave away my KDK $0 here on PM.

hanneswk · Nov 21, 2020

Hi Botje,

I'm from the north of Germany and I recently bought an Okuma LS. To complete the documentation of the machine I'd like to have the part's list and technical drawings. Furtermore I have to disassemble the machine for cleanig so the drawings would be helpfull too.

Could you send me the PDF files, please?

Kind regards
Hannes Wittschieben-Kück

Botje · Nov 21, 2020

Catjan said:
Hi, I am new to this chat and like a lot of you are desperately looking for manuels in pdf format for the Ls Okuma lathe
I will appreciate it if anyone can be of assistance

Sent you a PM

hanneswk said:
Hi Botje,

I'm from the north of Germany and I recently bought an Okuma LS. To complete the documentation of the machine I'd like to have the part's list and technical drawings. Furtermore I have to disassemble the machine for cleanig so the drawings would be helpfull too.

Could you send me the PDF files, please?

Kind regards
Hannes Wittschieben-Kück

Hi Hannes, Just sent you a PM.

Always nice to see pictures of other Okumas, you can post some pics here if you want.

Latest addition is one separate Böni 125 tool holder. Slowly but surely the collection grows. Still need to fix the original ones, one of the previous owners managed to break (jam) the adjustment screws of the 4 holders I got with the lathe. Mystery to me how to over-tighten these screws. Oh well, small issue to fix, super happy with the toolpost.

hanneswk · Nov 22, 2020

Hi Botje,

the drawings have already been very helpfull!
Unfortunately I found out that my machine hasn't seen fresh oil very often as you can see below. It looks and smells quite bad.
But I'll try to make the best out of it.

Good from far...

hanneswk · Nov 22, 2020

...far from good.

Still the nuts and the screw of the cross slide are not worn very much.
When I dismounted the oil drain plug the oil didn't even came out. I had to poke through the rusty mud. :|

Botje · Nov 22, 2020

hanneswk said:
Hi Botje,

the drawings have already been very helpfull!
Unfortunately I found out that my machine hasn't seen fresh oil very often as you can see below. It looks and smells quite bad.
But I'll try to make the best out of it.

Good from far...
View attachment 305428

Good to hear the drawings are useful.

Lathe looks good on this picture!

hanneswk said:
...far from good.

View attachment 305435

Still the nuts and the screw of the cross slide are not worn very much.
When I dismounted the oil drain plug the oil didn't even came out. I had to poke through the rusty mud. :|

And yes this isn't great. I expect the machine has been in the rain once? I would expect it had proper maintenance for most of its time, maybe only having suffered from neglect in the last (half) decade or so. Not a pleasant surprise but when the screw still looks and feels good I would not worry too much.
My lathe also had various traces of neglect, almost clogged filters, leaks etc. They can take a lot of abuse and when fixed in time its no big deal.

hanneswk · Nov 28, 2020

Hi!

Here is a quick update about my Okuma. I think it really had to take some abuse. As my brother and I wanted to drive out the pin that connects the lead screw with the gear box we saw that it was sheered off already. So a user probably had a crash with it. Also there was quite a big burr which caused deep scratches on the screw as you can see below.

When we took out the spindle control shaft there was another surprise. The bushing was sheered off as well. Maybe someone did a power shift.

So now I got to make a new one but I don't know if it has to be out of cast iron. What would you say?

The rest of the disassembly worked good. The crane we built out of a selfmade engine stand worked fine.

CaryC · Dec 2, 2020

I just bought an LS, it's being delivered next week.

Could someone please send me a PDF of the manual? Thanks in advance!

[email protected]

I think I need to step down from the 10hp to something lower...maybe a 5hp due to power availability. Is there a preferred motor? Frame type?

Thanks!

Botje · Dec 8, 2020

hanneswk said:
Hi!

Here is a quick update about my Okuma. I think it really had to take some abuse. As my brother and I wanted to drive out the pin that connects the lead screw with the gear box we saw that it was sheered off already. So a user probably had a crash with it. Also there was quite a big burr which caused deep scratches on the screw as you can see below.
View attachment 306027

When we took out the spindle control shaft there was another surprise. The bushing was sheered off as well. Maybe someone did a power shift. So now I got to make a new one but I don't know if it has to be out of cast iron. What would you say?
View attachment 306029

The rest of the disassembly worked good. The crane we built out of a selfmade engine stand worked fine.
View attachment 306030
View attachment 306031
View attachment 306032

Nice (engine) crane! Still have a normal engine hoist, pulled from the scrap pile at a friends' workshop. The legs are so narrow and hogh that its hard to use around mill/lathe.

Yeah the sheared pin is ugly. Did the shaft/hole clean up enough to be serviceable?

About the fwd/reverse lever.. Not sure if it needs the good lubrication properties of cast iron. Especially if you can make a small sleeve from Igus bearing material or even press in a cheap DU bushing in the hole, you could make it of any other steel. If cast (usually) is strong enough, some form of Automatenstahl would be easiest to make it from.
Good to see how this is assembled, my lathe has a lot of slop where the lever meets the shaft, at the saddle. Probably most slop is removed when I make a new key but who knows how worn the pins near the Norton box are.

Good to remove the saddle etc, still need to do that too one day.

Removed the top slide and disassembled four tool holders for cleaning and fixing. Small winter projects!

First the gearbox from the Aciera F4 needs to be fixed. Suspect the cone clutch slips because it is filled with schmoo:

Botje · Dec 26, 2020

Not really an update, just keeping track of the small odds and ends

Was curious how aspects of the gearbox work and found some interesting reading in old Okuma patents.

The Inch/Metric change for thread cutting was invented by Sato Fumio, August 28th 1962 and patent 3,051,012 is registered to the Okuma Machinery Works Ltd.

Aug. 28, 1962 FUMIO SATO 3,051,012

SHIFTING MECHANISM BETWEEN INCH AND METRIC SYSTEM THREADING FEEDS FOR SCREW THREAD CUTTING ON MACHINE TOOLS Filed July 7, 1960 Inite The present invention relates to mechanisms to select inch or metric system threading feeds in a machine tool.

US3051012A - Shifting mechanism between inch and metric system threading feeds for screw thread cutting on machine tools
- Google Patents

Decided to tear down the compound:

Found a broken nut in the compound, undecided how i will fix it. Braze the crack or machine a new one.

Checked the gib, cleaned the bearings, cleaned the dials, took some measurements for a new adapter plate between compound and quick change tool post etc.

Checked and cleaned the cross slide gibs and screw. Still healthy! Did not know the gib consisted of two separate pieces?

Quick change holders are cleaned too and are getting fixed, need to machine new studs for the adjusters.

New Okuma LS owner with questions

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