Boxford C – removing headstock

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Hi all

Just seeking some advice. It appears to be very easy to remove the headstock assembly on my Boxford model C – just two bolts underneath and it should just lift off the bed. Am I right? And more to the point, is it an easy matter just to replace it and not upset the alignment of anything? Is there a specific torque setting for the bolts when replacing?

Hopefully there's no hidden shims or setscrews that would need resetting or anything, it looks like it should just realign itself using the inverted V shape of the bedways.

Thinking of doing this to a) make it lighter to lift up onto the cabinet (I've only got my wife to assist at the moment) and b) make it easier to give everything a good clean and possibly paint.

There's also, I think, something up with the backgear selection, but I'll start a separate thread for that if I can't work it out.

So, drawing on the collective experience here, am I likely to be OK doing this or will I mess it up completely?

Thanks,

Rob

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Is this fraught with danger?

[Pete RimmerParticipant @peterimmer30576]

The headstock site on the bedway vee so it's alignment is assured when you replace it so long as you are very careful when handling it and setting it down so as not to bruise the underside faces.

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Thank you Pete, that's what I was hoping for.

[RichardSParticipant @richards31161]

Just to a little to Pete Rimmers comment.

You will probably need to shorten a spanner to loosen/tighten the clamp bolt at the RHS of the headstock.

Before you refit the headstock, clean the bedways where it normally sits, clean the mating faces of the headstock, lubricate both with slideway oil and wipe off the excess.

Before you tighten the the clamp bolts check for changewheel alignment.

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Thank you Richard, a good tip about the spanner and the oil. It seems to sit absolutely flush with the end of bed, but I will check – wouldn't have thought about the changewheels if you hadn't mentioned it, always something more to learn.

Best regards,

Rob

[Clive Brown 1Participant @clivebrown1]

The bolt holding the RH end of the headstock is a right bu66er to access. Picture shows the spanner I adapted to loosen / tighten it. It's an old "King-Dick" so it didn't fracture when I bent it. Size is 5/16" BSF.

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Thank you Clive, I will have a look at spanners tomorrow and see what I can do. Hopefully the bolts won't be ridiculously tight.

All the best,

Rob

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