Unknown lathe

[DavidA]

Any one recognize this lathe ?

Not a very good picture.

One quirky thing about it,  the saddle handle  operates the wrong way. I.e. If I turn it anti - clockwise,  the saddle moves away from the headstock.
This can lead to 'embarrassing' moments.

Dave.

[ieezitin]

HI.

I don’t know the manufacture but I would guess it’s a knock off of the South Bend design, that was common in years past.  I do like the Gap feature that could be very useful indeed.

Please post more pictures of more angles this is intriguing me, I would like to see a close up of the back bearing of the headstock, there is a leaver to which I cant figure out its use.

In in all you have a little gem here, tell us how you got it and what are you going to do with it.

All the best.   Merry xmas      Anthony.

[Bogstandard]

Dave,

Before WW2 and a few years after, there were numerous firms making lathes very similar to yours, Myford had the ML2,3 & 4 series. A lot of them just back street foundries and machine shops.

The non instinctive reverse saddle movement was a common feature (cheap to make it that way, just one gear), and because my Myford had the two levers the other way around, half nuts at the front, I managed to put another gear in the system, to both slow it down and make it into the 'correct sense'.

Unless there is some sort of makers mark on there, it would be very difficult to trace, if at all, unless someone has one exactly the same and knows it's pedigree.

Mine lived with me for many years, and did great work. It now lives in a friends shop, working most days. Not bad for a machine over 70 years old.


Bogs

[John Hill]

Like John says it could be from a number of makers and of course, and maybe this is true of all products from 'minor' margues, it has some features which are similar to major makers.

The head stock has that nice bulbous shape around the bearings like my Drummond, but I doubt this was made by Drummond.

[BillTodd]

Interesting, another Myford type machine (see lathes.co.uk) similar in some ways to a Faircut. I guess British manufacture between 1920 and 1940.

It has some curious features:

The head-stock casting looks nicely finished, it is back-geared, it has a well made tumbler reverse lock (engaging in the head stock casting) and is a separate casting. These are all the features of an expensive lathe, yet the carriage drives on the lead-screw like a cheaper one. Perhaps a lower cost version in a range of machines?

Please post more pictures and forward them to Tony Griffiths at Lathes.co.uk

Bill

[DavidA]

I acquired the lathe due to one of those lucky encounters that happen to good,  clean living people every now and then.  But I still don't know why it happened to me.
One sunday I walked into the club house just in time to hear one of the members saying that he had this old lathe if anyone was interested. On enquiring about the price he said it free to a good home.

I have a few more pictures some where,  but only one is handy.  I'll post others when I find which folder I hid them on. (Bad habit of mine).

Anthony,

If you expand the pic you can just make out the lever.  It is a locking lever for the counter shaft to stop it accidentally sliding into mesh.

As for that gap.  Yes,  no doubt it will come in handy.  But the down side is that with a thin job mounted on the face - plate I have quite a lot of overhang on the tool. Guess I'll have to make a kind of thick spacer to bring the face plate out a bit.

There's always something.  

It's in very good condition except for that hideous silver paint job. Also if you look closely at the new picture you will see that the large wheel on the counter - shaft has been brazed up at some time in the past.  
The bed 'V's are hardly marked at all, same for the leadscrew.  So it probably hasn't done much work. And they are also quite wide with a very large surface area. I suspect that it was quite a high quality machine for it's day.
Generally the whole thing is quite 'chunky' and it has plenty of meat on it's bones.
There are a few things that I want to do to it.  Firstly to add a reduction gear and a wheel at the end of the leadscrew to make it more manageable.  This will entail a bit of hand felting as the bed is rather large to take down to work and fit to the milling machine.
But I agree,  I do seem to have a very good machine here;  and for the best price.  So I must have done some thing right.

Dave.

[DavidA]

Bill,

I did once send a few pictures to Tony,  but they were not very goo quality and I need to do some more.  He also couldn't pin down just what kind of lathe it is.  But I'll do some more and post them.

Dave.

[ieezitin]

Dave,

That was a good idea sending the pictures to Tony, I hope he nails the maker. The paint is going to be a bugger to get off if you so choose to strip it and the colour is ghastly I agree. I see the repair on the gear if it works don’t fix it. Keep us posted on what you do with it I love to see distressed machines reborn to as new and working condition I have in the past restored a couple myself and found it very rewarding indeed.     Anthony.

[DavidA]

...The paint is going to be a bugger to get off if you so choose to strip it and the colour is ghastly I agree...

I use a Stanley knife blade and abrasive paper;  with copious amounts 0f patience and elbow grease.

Dave.

[DavidA]

A few more views.

Dave.

[BillTodd]

That's a big serial number, if the AE3xxx is generic (is it about a 6" swing?) , that's a thousand lathes, so someone, even all these years later, should know of it. So, is this not English?  (I'm thinking Colonial, perhaps Austrailian, Indian etc.).

Is it about 9" between centres? if so, maybe the AE39xx is generic and only hundred or so were planned (which would seem to lack ambition).

The AE could, I suppose be the manufacturers initials.

Intriguing

Bill

[DavidA]

Bill.

I'll go out and check later,  but it's a lot more than 9" between centres.  more like 24".

I wondered if the AE was A Engineering.  don't know what the A stands for.  Atlas perhaps ?

Dave,

[Bogstandard]

Now we can see it a little closer up, it gives a lot more clues.

This is no cheapo lathe being made, it shows some classic signs of being built to fairly high standards.

Serial number.
Hand scraped bedway.
Dovetailed slides with good ajustment points.
Fully articulated tailstock.
T-slotted cross slide.
Adjustment on cross slide and compound handles to take out backlash.
Dowel pinned apron.
Adjustable bearings in the headstock.
Tumbler reverse for leadscrew.
Ball oilers on each lubrication point.

This all points to a quality engineering lathe designed for accuracy, versatility and longevity. Not the usual run of the mill 'last for a few years and throw it away' jobbies being produced at the time.


Bogs

[DavidA]

Bogs,

Yes,  it does have a quality feel to it. With a bit of care it should outlast me,  my sons and their sons.

Just wish I knew who made it.

Dave.