Glenn,
The reason I wanted to disassemble the machine is I was going to use electrolysis to clean and remove the paint. I've had very good results doing this with the Craftsman 109 lathes I rebuild. It cleans the lathes to the case iron. It even removes all the rust. All I have to sometimes do is fill pin holes in the cast with Bondo and sand before priming. I really wouldn't even think of going this way if the finish on the 31-15 wasn't such a homegrown mess
ArchaicArcane, About the Army manuals that detail care and feeding, could you tell me where to find them.
Thanks
David Hair