Machsupport Forum
General CNC Chat => Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) => Topic started by: RICH on September 06, 2008, 02:10:43 PM
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POST#1 of 3
Here is a homemade lathe I acquired 10 years ago. I was going to convert it to CNC but just can't destroy
the efforts of the local machinist who made it after retiring. He never got to use it much as he went off to
machinist heaven rather quickly post retirement. Complete base size is 27" x 17".
Other than the purchased Boston gears, all was entirely made on a Logan lathe. Flat material is precision ground
stock and and came complete with a lot of homemade attachments. Although small in size it is built very well,
accurate, and can do some heavy cutting ( 1/8" cuts in 12L ) along with 4 to 80 thread cutting capability.
What is unique is that there is an auto carriage dis-engagement which is easily set and works nicely.
Most of all it is very,very quite when operating.
HEAD: 1/2" BORE, 3/4"x16 TPI nose, 1/2 hp motor, 4" max OD turning Overall Length: 21"
TAIL: #1MT also has an attachment for a lever operated drilling or boring
SPINDLE SPEEDS: 1300, 650, 490, 325 with additional 2:1 reduction to each using backgears.
Don't know if it was made from some plans or just the guys ideas but I haven't seen equivilant at any of the shows.
Post #2 & #3 are pictures of the head and tail along with some of the attachments like carriage stop, stady rest, milling attachment,
turret / indexible tool post.
Hope You Enjoy ( wife won't let me put it in the dining room hutch )
RICH
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POST #2 OF 3
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POST #3 OF 3
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wife won't let me put it in the dining room hutch
I find that hard to believe.
Nice piece of work there. I don't think I would convert it either.
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Very nice wee lathe, just goes to show what can be achieved when you put your mind to it and have a good pair of hands. What I particularily like is its all bolted together, no castings at all, maybe not an ideal way to do things but shows that a perfectly good machine can be made up without having to access to casting.
Is the chuck home made as well? looks like its not a scroll chuck, or atleast not as we know a scroll chuck nowadays.
Hood
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Thats great Rich. Very nice and no way I would convert it. Its just too cute the way it is. Very impressive.
Brett
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Hood,
It's a scroll chuck and no markings on it. May be off a jewlers lathe. As you noticed each piece is bolted together
and then a taper or pin dowel was driven in.
You jogged my memory back to one of our design courses where you had re-design given castings making them into weldments and bolting and calculate the differences in stresses between designs. Now the only stress i calc is how many more years required to work before i can play around all day doing only what i want to do.
;) RICH
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What a great piece, Rich, thanks for sharing - :)
Dave
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Rich,
I'd keep it in glass case in the living room.
Built by a real craftsman , which are few and far nowadays.
Super nice.
Ed
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convince her to put it in the hutch, when you have people over for dinner they will love it!
(beats china dishes)
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Very Cool!
I wonder what the build hours are?
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Amazing,
My Dad built one about 25 yrs ago and still has it in his garage.
The lathe is a design available from a book which details the construction and I remember making a 0-1 morse taper adaptor for it when I was an apprentice.
If my brain cell can remember, I'll take a pickie and post it here.
At last it is not ome of a kind but has a familiy member ;D
ATB
Derek
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DEREK,
If you can provide any info on it would be appreciated. Especially the book.
They say everyone has a twin somewhere in the world.
RICH
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Hi Rich,
I think it is this book, I'll ask my Dad to see if he can find the book and I'll photo the front cover.
Most sites show no photo of the front cover.
Amazon have reference to it......
Building a Small Lathe (Paperback)
by L.C. Mason (Author)
One site says it was published in 1980 which sounds about right.
I'm going round to see him later, I'll program the brain cell now but being volatile memory it might be blank by the time I go round ;D
(In fact I'll ring him now and ask.... but his memory is more volatile than mine so no guarantees :D :D )
Derek
Edit.... here are the photos
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A photo of a photo just after completion & one after ~20yrs
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DEREK,
Thanks so much. That's cool, as now i know where the design came from.
Need to see if i can get the book. Maybe you want to clean Pop's lathe up?
RICH
The book is on the way. That completes the story. :)
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Rich,
How cool is that ?
Ain't this forum the Greatest? ;D
Ed
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Small world....aint it ?
Would be interesting to know how many of these were started, how many finished to some extent and how many were completed to the level of these two.
I'll bet there are a surprising few.
Thanks Derek and RICH,
RC
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Yes, this is cool!
It took me 60 hours or so to do the 1/12 scale lathe model as i wanted it to be made accurately.
So the guy had to spend at least that do this lathe. Who would think that after all these years
you would even be able find out where it came from and then get the book.
It will be interesting to see how much was deviated from the basic design in the book.
Sure is a small world.
Hey maybe we can start a new TV series called "IF THIS OLD LATHE COULD TALK". ;D
RICH
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Hi Rich,
Glad to be of help.
I guess one day I will become the owner of the little lathe >:D and I'll give it a good polish then.
Derek