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Saving a 1943 Springfield Engine Lathe, Part 8:



At this point, the headstock was pretty much ready to go. The oil feed and drain was in, the A-B and
In-Out shifters had been repaired and painted, the clutch had been (sort of) serviced, etc.
To finish it up, it just needed the three-way shifter fixed and installed.

This unit is a heavier and more complex part than the simple A-B levers. It had both a left-right motion,
and the lever moved in and out, in order to select one of three speeds. Inside the shaft worked a pair
of short racks which did the shifting, using a partial gear quadrant piece.



However, as I was moving the parts around, I'd managed to hit the lever myself and re-break the welds.
I gave kind of a halfhearted attempt at re-re-welding them, but they were just too badly shattered at that point.
It's worth noting the welds held, and the iron cracked above and below them.



So I pondered up a workable plan of attack, and whipped up a quick drawing with the relevant measurements.



Bandsawed off a hunk of 2" square mild steel and got to work.


The block got roughed to the general specs...



And the remains of the lever got milled down to form a mating face.



The old "buttons" got pressed out of the original ears...



And the new yoke drilled to accept them.



After some careful measuring and double-checking, the new yoke got drilled for a mounting-bolt pattern.



And counterbored to accept four 6-32 stainless Allen head screws.



The lever was then drilled and tapped to match.



After that, I milled away some of the excess, for clearance in the shifter housing...



... Until she fit and cycled smoothly.



Then the sides got trimmed down into a slight taper (note the bolt-and-nut "machinists jack" to support the ears.)



After that, a little grinding, filing and shaping completed the part.



Installed, smoothed and painted, and the 'buttons' installed, it's ready to go.






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