Author Topic: New Old Lathe (Read 41409 times)

Gerhard Olivier · « **on:** October 02, 2009, 01:51:51 PM »

Just got this off Fleabay

Not collected yet

but could anybody help with ID of this old lathe??????

Hope I didnt buy a lot of Sh**???
Gerhard

sbwhart · « **Reply #1 on:** October 02, 2009, 02:08:44 PM »

Thats an interesting bit of kit, with that tower of gears and what looks like a quick retracting top slide its obviously a screw cutting lathe and it looks like its got a taper turning attachment as well, and the plastic bag on the ground looks like it could have more bits in it as well.

Its a very old lathe you'll have to see if there's any marking on it to help identification do a google on lathes and you'll find a very good site on old lathes.

Cheers

Stew

HENNEGANOL · « **Reply #2 on:** October 02, 2009, 02:29:41 PM »

Tony at the following address may be able to help you identify your lathe:-

tony@lathes.co.uk

Gerald

Darren · « **Reply #3 on:** October 02, 2009, 04:27:50 PM »

That's a very interesting looking lathe....

All those gears......

John Hill · « **Reply #4 on:** October 04, 2009, 02:52:53 AM »

I cant see, are there any gears in that loverly wooden tower?

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #5 on:** October 04, 2009, 11:28:53 AM »

Yes John -16 gears in there - but haven't a clue what sizes will be collecting this after the Midland Model Eng exibition is over.

Hope it will be in good enough order to warrent a bit of time spending on it.

Gerald -Tony doesn't know this one but puts the date of the design to 1880 -1900???

Gerhard

bogstandard · « **Reply #6 on:** October 04, 2009, 12:14:02 PM »

Gerhard,

I can't see how many sheaves it has on the head, normally 3, which means that with the back gear, 6 speeds. If you mod the motor and belt drive a little, and put twin sheaves on that, you are then looking at a 12 speed machine.

It looks to have a plain bearing head, most probably brass or bronzed bushed (Babbit plain bearing heads usually had a larger bearing holder that they are cast into), so that should cause you no problems if the bearings need to be changed. The only problem with plain bearing heads is the max speed they can run at, but if set up correctly, I found they gave a much superior finish to the cut than a head with bearings.

For the supposedly year of manufacture I am surprised to see what looks like to be a power cross feed on the saddle. A feature a lot of the smaller modern lathes don't have, and certainly a bonus. It even looks to have a tumbler reverse, which means cutting left hand threads won't be a problem.

Ok, it is only looks to be an old lathe, but I am sure with a little tweaking here and there, it will certainly match the performance, or even better, a lot of the smaller modern day machines.

You will need to get the gearing sorted out to find out what sizes of thread it will cut, but initially set up for a fine feed rather than screwcutting, and you will be away with the birds.

Just enjoy your find.

Bogs

John Hill · « **Reply #7 on:** October 04, 2009, 02:57:03 PM »

It is a fine looking machine thats for sure!

I have a feeling some previous, and obviously proud, owner didnt like getting his hands too close to the works and the cross feed, compound and the carriage rack handles looks like enhancements, They do not appear to be from the same era as the tailstock hand wheel.

Having all those gears this appears, to my inexperienced eyes, to be ready for make the chips fly!

I do not see a motor and I wonder what that white thing is behind the head?

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #8 on:** October 09, 2009, 05:12:43 AM »

Off to pick the lathe up after work tonight will take some more pics as I take it appart to fit in car.
Also put some pics of motor and extras as I go on.

Gerhard

Fred Bloggs · « **Reply #9 on:** October 09, 2009, 10:43:10 AM »

Gerhard,

I think the Lathe is a Myford ML2 ( a late 30's/40's design) , dont hold me to the time peroid.

Yours has had some mods (the saddle hand wheel and cross slide/compound cross slide are not standard looking)

The reason I know is that I brought a ML2 when I was in my twenties with a shed load of tooling and then sold the lathe for more than the job lot.

There was a spare cross slide etc which I kept, still got them somewhere in the garage!!!

If I find any techincal info, I did photocopy the manual before I sold it Ill let you know (can always scan and PDF it) not promising though as it was nearly twenty years ago and the Garage is in need of a tidy somewhat.

There is a site on the net that has lots of pics of lathes etc- someone on here will probably know the address.

Regards

Fred by nature if not name

bogstandard · « **Reply #10 on:** October 09, 2009, 11:43:28 AM »

It isn't an ML2 Fred, that had the ends sweeping in to one large foot at the headstock end of the casting. It also never had a power cross feed. I actually restored one a few years ago.

http://www.lathes.co.uk/myford/page12.html

Bogs

tinkerer · « **Reply #11 on:** October 09, 2009, 03:06:48 PM »

There was an old Myford that had an M cast into the legs and the motor was mounted on a shaft under the lathe between the legs.

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #12 on:** October 10, 2009, 03:29:01 PM »

Picked the lathe up last night - Looks ok - a lot of damage to the bed but no lumps only dents and scratches this looks like it has been smoothed/scraped out a long time ago and the movement of the tailstock and the saddle is very nice ( free + firm.)

There are years worth of old oil and grease on the bed and all the gears are so caked with the stuff they stick to your hands.

There are 16 change gears all ok exept 2 gears have a half tooth chipped of - Dont think that would cause any problems.

There is a 1/4 hp single fase motor included (this says on the tin 100 or 200 Volt??????????)

There are 4 speeds(pulleys/ sheeves) and the back gear so I could do 16 speeds with 2 pulleys inbetween motor and lathe

I started today just cleaning and painting some surfaces. Used hammerite blue as the lathe had some faint marks of blue paint on it. I dont think there has been painted surfaces in the last 30 years.

Gerhard

tinkerer · « **Reply #13 on:** October 10, 2009, 03:49:33 PM »

You're doing a really nice job of the clean up. I am surprised you haven't found any markings yet. The only Myford I could find without the name in the bed casting was the one I mentioned, so it probably is not a Myford.

John Hill · « **Reply #14 on:** October 10, 2009, 03:51:31 PM »

The painted bits look very nice Gerhard, also I see some really choice items on the tarp including, maybe, some parts for an auxiliary spindle?

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #15 on:** October 10, 2009, 04:13:38 PM »

Thanks guys

Tinkerer -There is only one marking on the lathe bed in about 3mm size punched into the bed is 118 no other markings at all.

John there is only one part of the spindle but it is a nice one with the pulley in brass will polish up a treat. -some of the things I dont have a clue about.

There is an extra change gear support but then there is a big one that has a free running pulley on it???? If anybody knows what that is all about please tell.

Gerhard

bogstandard · « **Reply #16 on:** October 10, 2009, 04:38:28 PM »

Looks like you have got a lot to play with Gerhard, you need to find out what everything is for.

Don't worry about the broken teeth, they are very easy to repair and nothing to worry about at this time. When the time comes, just ask.

Bogs

Darren · « **Reply #17 on:** October 10, 2009, 04:56:12 PM »

118 is the only number you need ......

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #18 on:** October 11, 2009, 05:28:59 AM »

Darren I should have expected that one.

Bogs broken teeth wont stop them doing their job as at least half of the 2 broken ones are still intact and mesh just fine. Maybe in a couple of years I could start to learn that as well (be brave enough is what I mean)

NOW THE BIG QUESTION --The lathe has mainly imperial fasteners -but everything that is aftermarket and all the repairs are metric. Most of the stuff I do is metric and it looks like a new topslide leadscrew and a cross slide index ring is going to be needed. DO i keep going in metric -try do convert back to imperial ( I dont want to do that iff not essential as it would cost a lot to buy taps and dies etc.) OR do I leave it a mix that will be a nightmare for anybody that has to do any repairs after me. Or do I change it into a hybrid between metric and imperial by making reversable dials etc.

Gerhard

sbwhart · « **Reply #19 on:** October 11, 2009, 05:34:11 AM »

For my two pence worth keep it mixed and just keep a log of what you do.

Stew

bogstandard · « **Reply #20 on:** October 11, 2009, 06:56:50 AM »

Gerhard,

Everything on your lathe is governed by the lead screw and change gears.

If that is imperial (which I suspect it will be) then everything else that relies on it has to be imperial, otherwise you will end up with a machine that will be almost impossible to use accurately. You cannot mix the two, well you can, but be prepared for trouble ahead.

Imperial screws are not that difficult to obtain. Or I am sure you could get them made. You might even get away with a bit of rework on the lead nuts for now.

With regards to general fasteners, you can use whatever you are happy with.

Bogs

Darren · « **Reply #21 on:** October 11, 2009, 07:10:00 AM »

John, as long as the gear train and leadscrew are of the same type, in this case imperial I assume, would it matter if the crosslide and compound are metric?

Maybe a little demanding on the brain cells remembering you have the two to keep swapping between. But is there anything that could be compromised with a set-up like this?

Raggle · « **Reply #22 on:** October 11, 2009, 10:12:40 AM »

I've no idea what this lathe is but what impresses me most form the first pic is the enormous cross slide travel in relation to centre height. Combined with the power feed it has it looks like a dream to flycut a piece bolted to the milling table seen in the bits that came with it. A good candidate for a vertical slide.

Ray

bogstandard · « **Reply #23 on:** October 11, 2009, 11:04:47 AM »

Darren,

As by the looks of the machine, it has a powered crosslide, in which case the imperial leadscrew would be turning a metric feedscrew.

If like yours, it had no leadscrew, then yes, I would say go metric all round if you wanted to, but because of that interaction, even though it shouldn't make much difference, I would recommend sticking with all imperial.

Even for the resale value alone. Anyone who knew lathes wouldn't want to touch it if it was a mixture of standards.

John

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #24 on:** October 11, 2009, 02:38:58 PM »

I think Imperial for the feedscrews would be better. And I have found a joint in the topslide feedscrew where a longer handle was added so I can just replace that part and keep the origional feedscrew. So in reallity it would still be an imperial lathe but I would like to make the graduated collars in both metric and imperial if the diameter would allow it. The graduated collar at the moment is a brass wheel with masking tape and pen lines on it.

The cross slide travel is not that spectacular at the moment just a very long handle. There is space to change the cross slide to a t-slot table and that would give about 50mm more trvel as well as longer contact with the gib strips - at the cost of some centre hight.???????

The milling table that is included has no feed for up and down. What good would that do as you would have to reset the workpiece opn the table for each cut??????

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Author Topic: New Old Lathe (Read 41409 times)

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