Does anyone recognize this lathe?

All discussion about lathes including but not limited to: South Bend, Hardinge, Logan, Monarch, Clausing and other HSM lathes, including imports

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BadDog
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Re: Does anyone recognize this lathe?

Post by BadDog »

Now that could work for me. Modify for a tool support, make some drivers to fit in the headstock. Still have access to the power feeds should it be of interest. Yeah, I can see that. Triggered a memory...

First full time job I had was underage working full time while in high school in a wooden toy shop. It was the only job I could find at my age, payed under the table, and "you were never here"; but my mother was behind on house payments and facing foreclosure (back when you just didn't do that). Old guy we worked for went to craft shows and such to sell these "nice little classic wooden toys made by the nice little old man trying to make ends meet". I've never met a bigger a-hole, and his speech would make a hardened bilge rat blush, but he could sure put it on at the shows. Never admitted he had 15 year old boys working full time late into the nite in a small shop with NO dust extractors and NO safety guards on anything. Anyway, he had what I now know to have been a roughly 17" old school cone head metal lathe that we used for wood. Main thing I remember was stacking up and gluing the 12x12x1.5 cut-offs (from standard poplar boards), putting them in that lathe, and then making them round with some hand ground (HSS? maybe) bits that worked pretty well in the poplar. Then we used belt sand paper to smooth it running at speed in that old lathe. Remembering back, I'm quite sure it was well over driven since those old cone heads don't spin near as fast as I recall, but that could just be a teens memory of the events. Those became the boilers for his little tike rid-on train engines we built. Almost no training at all other than show how it was done once. If we ever asked anything twice, he would start cursing and throwing stuff, like sharp tools, all over the shop. Then got more mad when he broke things, and blamed that on us. After a month or so, at 15, I was actually running that "shop" composed of a 14 year old boy, and one older than me, probably 16. Thought I was "big stuff", had the keys, and once he trusted me, I got to open up for us to work when he was at shows. And I was driving to work, then school, then back to work sometimes till midnight, all illegally driving alone on a learners permit. We had no phone in that shop, so if anyone got hurt, we were supposed to lock up and get out of there, then do whatever we thought necessary. My how things change.

Haven't thought of that in many years. Hard and dangerous, but it taught me a lot about doing what was needed to get things done, and I've never been out of work since the day I started there...
Russ
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John Hasler
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Re: Does anyone recognize this lathe?

Post by John Hasler »

To repeat, I'm investigating this on behalf of a guy on another forum. I know nothing about the machine beyond the photo and his vague reports. I see no serious corrosion on the tiny bit of ways I can see, but that says little one way or the other. Yes, it's filthy, but greasy grime comes off. For scrap price I'd take it.

He may try earlgo's suggestion.
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Harold_V
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Re: Does anyone recognize this lathe?

Post by Harold_V »

The rust I mentioned is just one of the signs I see of a dreadfully neglected machine. If it has been operated without lubrication, as I alluded, the wear it will have sustained will render it less than user friendly, although that may or may not matter to some folks. Many attribute the problems they have with machining to their lack of skill, not thinking for a moment that the machine may be the problem.

I've operated machines from both ends of the spectrum. I was assigned to an EE Monarch that was scarcely a year old, and I also operated a K&T #3 horizontal that had huge error in the table screw--so bad you couldn't hold a 1/64" tolerance over several inches.

That said, my comments are to help this individual understand that machine tools that have been beat to death are not a good idea---not if one hopes to accomplish work with success. They are not meant to demean anyone, nor to anger them. You should inform that individual that cleaning a very badly abused machine will make it look better, but will do nothing to making it operate better. Don't give him false hope. Said another way, if you put lipstick on a pig, you still have a pig.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
earlgo
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Re: Does anyone recognize this lathe?

Post by earlgo »

Boy do I agree with Harold. I'd never try to rebuild a misused lathe... oh, wait... never mind. :lol:
--earlgo
Before you do anything, you must do something else first. - Washington's principle.
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Harold_V
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Re: Does anyone recognize this lathe?

Post by Harold_V »

Chuckle!
It's really hard to speak for the other guy, as one seldom knows what matters to him, or what may or may not be important.
I faced that very problem recently, when I contacted Ajax Magnethermic in regards to the second generation (motor generator) induction furnace power supply I'm working on, trying to get it in a useful mode. Their advice was to not dump good money in the supply, but to purchase a solid state unit. Easy for them to say, but I don't happen to have a spare $50,000 (or more, if I chose a new one) to invest in something that will be used strictly for hobby, and then only infrequently. To me, it's worth the few thousand I have invested, as it will satisfy my curiosity and be equally functional, assuming I am successful in getting it operational. It's now very near being put under power, although it won't be operational because I still have to deal with the furnace proper, as well as a cooling system. All in good time, and I'll provide information in that regard in the thread I started some time ago.

Bottom line is a project may not make sense to others, but it's hard to judge the value for them. The best you can do is see it from your own perspective and provide what you hope is good guidance. I wouldn't let that lathe in my shop, but I also have other options. The prospective buyer may not. And, he may be perfectly satisfied with a machine that makes chips, paying no particular attention to establishing tight tolerance dimensions. That wasn't my world, but it may well be his. 8)
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Does anyone recognize this lathe?

Post by SteveHGraham »

Harold_V wrote: Thu Jan 11, 2018 2:55 am Many attribute the problems they have with machining to their lack of skill, not thinking for a moment that the machine may be the problem.
Yes. Yes. That sounds like me. I'm just too hard on myself.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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Harold_V
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Re: Does anyone recognize this lathe?

Post by Harold_V »

I've told my story before, so I won't repeat it fully, but it's really important to have confidence in your ability. It took months for me to regain mine once destroyed. Sure was fun proving the superintendent wrong!

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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tornitore45
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Re: Does anyone recognize this lathe?

Post by tornitore45 »

I have a Chinese lathe and Mill, pretty crappy machines, but is amazing how much better they got since I bought them.
No longer make non concentric parts, fling the part off the chuck or vise during a tricky holding cut, squareness has improved, End Mills do not break as often and tap snapping is unheard lately, most of all they make many less mistakes in reading the prints, like machining a feature on the wrong side or drilling a hole with a larger drill than required, like a clearance hole before tapping.
Mauro Gaetano
in Austin TX
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Harold_V
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Re: Does anyone recognize this lathe?

Post by Harold_V »

Perfectly normal. It takes a lot of experience for machines to be operated without error, but one should see improvement as time goes on. You get to the point where there's not a question about the end results---you know things will be correct, and when they're not, it's a total surprise. I used to enjoy that kind of confidence, but more than 30 years off the machines has had a way of taking that away from me. It's all still in my head, but it doesn't necessarily come out of my hands anymore.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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BadDog
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Re: Does anyone recognize this lathe?

Post by BadDog »

tornitore45 wrote: Sat Jan 13, 2018 5:32 ammachining a feature on the wrong side
Really glad I have never done that.

What nobody sees, never happened. :oops:
Russ
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GlennW
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Re: Does anyone recognize this lathe?

Post by GlennW »

I've heard about someone making two left or two right parts instead of a left and a right... :oops:
Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Does anyone recognize this lathe?

Post by warmstrong1955 »

I had a local weld shop build a canopy for an LHD. (Load-Haul-Dump, an underground front end loader) I wanted to beef it up a bunch, so I took them a drawing of the OEM canopy, and told 'em what I wanted to change.
When they had the layout drawing done, I went and took a look. I had them add a few more gussets, and gave them a PO.
Well....the guy who set it up and welded it....he was obviously confused on third-angle first-angle things. He built it backwards....a mirror image of what it was drawn as. Would of worked great mounted over the hydraulic tank, instead of the operators compartment.
No one noticed....until I got there to pick it up. Yup....fully welded, blasted, painted, & ready to rock & roll.
Made a good heavy duty work bench though for rebuilding drivetrain components, among other things.

Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
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